BOSSES at a social club that suffered thousands of pounds’ worth of damage in recent floods say they’re concerned about the venue’s future.
Fairfield Social Club at Drumgeith Park, in Dundee, was badly affected during the deluge last month.
At the time, those in charge of the club said they feared the cost of the clean-up could hit as much as £150,000.
They have since received some backing from a national fund, but say that their staff have had to try to find new jobs, because the venue is unlikely to open any time soon.
Nearly a month on from when the damage was caused, Jim Sorrie, a trustee at the club, says he still doesn’t know when it will reopen — but has called for more help from the authorities.
He said: “We haven’t got any further — everything was going really well about four weeks ago.
“We got flood money through the help of Shona Robison’s office — we got £4,000 because we are a small club.
“That was great, but we are still in a position where we can’t pay the staff’s wages.
“There isn’t any money coming in.
“The place is being damaged more by the day because there is water coming in through the roof too.
“The longer it goes on, the more we lose.
“Our employees have had to go and sign on at the JobCentre.
“I will actually need to do it myself.
“I have been putting it off as long as I can, I am trying my best not to, but if you don’t have any money coming in then what else can you do?
“Everyone keeps asking us for a timescale but we honestly don’t know — I just don’t have the information to give them.
“We have done everything we can do ourselves, we have gutted the place and did all the ground work — now we need help.
“It is gutting to be honest. When you have put so much into a place and then it all gets put back to square one.
“We just want to know what is going on and what the future holds for the place.”
Mr Sorrie has called for Dundee City Council to step in, having already held talks with the local authority when the damage was done.
As a result, the council has now confirmed that it will, from today, help with work on the roof. A spokeswoman said: “A roof fault was reported to the council on Thursday.
“Repair work will start today.”
The flooding came as the surrounding Drumgeith Park was left looking like a lake, as the city experienced one of its wettest Januaries on record.
It took several days for the waters to recede, but locals took advantage of the situation by taking to the water on jetskis and inflatables.