We note a recent application (22/00078/LBC) for listed building consent to convert the western half of the former Eagle Jute Mills to 34 apartments, an internal courtyard, a commercial unit and a basement apparently to be used for plant research. This is Phase 2 of redevelopment of this extensive site enclosed by Dens Road, Lyon Street, Brown Constable Street and Victoria Street. Phase 1 (covering the eastern half) was approved in 2018, but work does not seem to have started.
The oldest part of the complex (now Category B listed) dates from 1864 and was originally Baxter Brothers’ engineering works, where mill machinery was manufactured. In 1930 the site was converted to a jute spinning mill for Low and Bonar. The ‘eagle’ name seems to date from this time, although the familiar wooden aquiline effigy once a feature of the Dens Road/Victoria Street corner was a much later addition.
Many examples of Dundee’s industrial heritage have been rescued through a remarkably successful series of restoration projects since the early 1980s. Upper Dens, Camperdown Works, Tay Works, the Coffin Mill and, most recently, the hotel/apartment development at Lower Dens all have their place here. After the recent sad loss of Wallace Craigie Works, let us hope a secure future can be found for the Eagle Mills.