A derelict Dundee asylum could have redevelopment work delayed until 2017 after the plans were requested by the Scottish Government.

Plans to develop the former Strathmartine Hospital into 222 new homes were approved on 18th December 2014 following years of debate and an initial failed application.

The Scottish Government now wants to make a final decision on the plan due to the hospitals 'national significance'.

The hospital was originally part of an asylum and orphanage in Baldovan, Dundee. It was decommissioned in the 1980s and shut in 2003. The building has been abandoned for over a decade and has been the target of antisocial behaviour in the past.

Robert Evans, of Muir Smith Evans, which represents site owner Heathfield, is hopeful the application will be granted but admitted the delay meant it could be 2017 before construction work starts.

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Mr Evans said: "It will still delay us, but the six to nine months it will take for them to decide is a lot quicker than any court action. Hopefully the Scottish Ministers make their decision by the end of the year and then it will take about another year for us to go through detailed plans, so we could be looking at construction in early 2017 or late 2016.

"We've always thought we’ve had a strong case and we think we’re in a strong position."

However, Karen McAulay, a campaigner for preserving the history of the hospital, is concerned that further delays will eventually lead to someone injuring themselves in the decaying building.

She said: "Unfortunately, there are still people visiting the site and the longer the planning issues continue, the more likely it is that someone will get hurt.

Ms McAulay stated her fears of young people gathering at the site over the holiday period and engaging in antisocial behaviour.

She said: "Groups of youngsters will be heading there over Easter and the summer, drinking, and there will probably be a fire at some point.

"They could quite easily fall through a floor or cut themselves on broken windows. It’s not safe."

(LM/CD)