9:46 am, February 6, 2024
A £10m car showroom that had to postpone opening for more than a month because it was kept waiting for approval over its fire safety measures is still waiting to be inspected.
The Eastern Western Motor Group Lexus and Toyota site in Dundee was originally due to open on December 1 but lay empty for 41 days because of a disagreement over a fireproof ceiling.
It was finally given a temporary occupation certificate by the city council last month and allowed to open its doors – but only after it put in place what managing director Keith Duncan called ‘bizarre conditions’, such as taking some glass doors out and taping off glass-walled offices.
Duncan was also quoted by the Courier and Evening Telegraph as saying the delay had cost it £20,000 a day.
He also said: ‘Considering building standards are moving on, everything you build is better than the last. We’ve built this to a standard we’ve never built a dealership before.’
A used car licence was granted by the council last week, but the dealership says it is still to be visited by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to award it its safety certificate, meaning it’s now been kept waiting for it for two months.
Back in December, the SFRS said it had a two-month backlog of applications.
Despite the hiccups, though, Duncan said the new showroom, which operates under the Barnetts banner, had been proving popular.
‘The new site has been very busy. Customers have been hugely complimentary and happy to see another Barnetts business open,’ he was quoted as saying.
However, he added: ‘Heaven knows what’s happened to our public services… but it is all going well, notwithstanding offices without doors and police-style tape over entrances.’
The SFRS has been asked for a comment.
Pictured at top via the Eastern Western Motor Group website is an artist’s impression of the Dundee Lexus showroom
