Developments at Dundee Waterfront [Archive] - Page 9

Rich B

January 3rd, 2012, 06:20 PM

Dundee waterfront 'changing forever'
By Andrew Anderson BBC Scotland News

The River Tay has played an important role in Dundee's history for hundreds of years.

It was here the ships bringing jute for the city's mills would anchor. It was here the whaling vessels were built, and of course it was here Captain Scott's ship Discovery was constructed - the expertise of the men who built the whaling boats being put to good use.

But as the city developed in the 20th Century its centre and its waterfront grew further apart. The roads taking traffic on and off the Tay Bridge cut a gash between the two.

Anyone wanting to reach the river had to navigate through ugly overhead walkways.

Now, the self-styled city of discovery is re-discovering its waterfront, but at a cost - £1bn will have been spent by 2030.

Over that time buildings which have become a familiar sight in the city will be gone, roads re-routed, new civic spaces created and new offices built, all in an effort to re-vitalise an economy which has suffered badly over the last 20 years.
'Jewel in crown'

Work has already been going on for several years but 2012 will see some of the most visible changes taking place. Tayside House, former home to Dundee City Council, and a tower block regarded by many as an eyesore will be torn down.

Next to the river and standing alongside the RSS Discovery, the Olympia Leisure centre will similarly be reduced to rubble.

The site vacated by the Olympia is to be occupied by the "V&A at Dundee", housed in an iconic £45m building designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma which will thrust out into the Tay.

The V&A is regarded as the jewel in the crown of the Dundee waterfront regeneration. It's due to open in 2015, a centre for contemporary design which will place Dundee firmly on the international cultural map.
'Massive difference'

Three years before it opens there are already some signs of the V&A effect. Take a walk down Union Street, one of the main thoroughfares that lead visitors from the city centre to the attraction and you will find a new café.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

I think economically it's been designed for an economy that we had in the 80s and 90s which we now no longer have”

Sarah Glynn Architect

Proprietor Susan Westwood already has an establishment on the other side of the Tay in St Andrews. She has opened in Dundee, attracted by amongst other things the number of visitors it is anticipated the the V&A will bring.

She said: "The work that the council have been doing on the waterfront and on this area in general had a big impact on our decision.

"We had a look at the plans, saw what they had in mind and it's obviously going to make a massive difference to this part of Dundee."

The Dundee waterfront project is characterised by big numbers. But not everyone is convinced it will bring the economic spin-off that's been promised.

Architect and academic Sarah Glynn has examined regeneration projects both here and abroad. She has seen many other cities turn to their waterfronts for economic salvation, hoping new build will bring new businesses and new jobs. She fears Dundee may have left it too late.

"I think economically it's been designed for an economy that we had in the 80s and 90s which we now no longer have. Who are these businesses who are going to come?" she asks.

"Even in the 80s and 90s, it would be doubtful if it would bring many good jobs for the people in Dundee. They might be cleaning the offices but it was designed to attract people in from elsewhere."
New jobs

Such scepticism is not often heard when the waterfront is discussed and it is rejected by those who are overseeing the massive civic project.

Mike Galloway, director of city development at Dundee City Council, says their forecast for the new jobs it will bring is conservative.

"We're talking about 9000 jobs in total that will be spread out throughout the wider Dundee and Tayside area so that everyone will benefit," he insists.

"The fact that we're creating a really positive, attractive front door into the city will bring tourists, will bring investment, so it will have an impact on everybody, not just the people in the waterfront itself."

Back down at the waterfront the diggers are busy shifting piles of earth, they'll be even busier in the coming months. Whatever results from their efforts and those of the architects, engineers and planners, Dundee waterfront will be changed for ever.

dufc1909

January 4th, 2012, 06:02 PM

VisitScotland chief excited by tourism potential of V&A museum

The head of VisitScotland says the arrival of the £45m V&A museum could herald a new era for the tourism industry in Tayside and Fife.

Agency chairman Mike Cantlay said the landmark building — expected to open its doors in 2015 — is already boosting the profile of the whole region and will bring a flood of new tourists to the area.

He said such major capital projects are helping to sustain and increase visitor interest in Scotland as a holiday destination, while other countries have seen a significant downturn in trade.

Mr Cantlay highlighted debt-laden European states such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland as examples of countries where tourism has suffered in recent years as levels of investment have dropped off.

He said: ''One of the features that is amazing just now is that we still have capital investment rolling out across Scotland. We don't have half-built hotels. We are still investing.''

Mr Cantlay said the waterfront redevelopment in Dundee — an overall £1bn investment project which will include the landmark V&A building at Craig Harbour — is a strong message of intent to the outside world.

''I visited Dundee earlier in the year and the note of confidence was just tremendous. That comes at a time when Scots in particular are staycationing and falling in love again with Scotland.

"Ten years ago Dundee was not an obvious staycation or day visit spot. But Dundee is going to be a real honey-pot for things to do for Scots throughout the whole year.

''I am delighted to see how the V&A is galvanising thoughts about how Dundee should take its tourism industry forward.''

The sector contributed £11bn to the Scottish economy last year with more than 270,000 jobs sustained by 20,000 individual businesses.

Mr Cantlay said the Winning Years initiative —which will cover the three-year period from 2012/14 — is designed to help the industry grow and take full advantage of events like the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and the Commonwealth Games.

Also, 2012 is the year of Creative Scotland and will celebrate the country's cultural life.

Mr Cantlay said it was an opportunity to sell the country to the world as a premium destination giving good value for money.

''Over the next two or three years we have an opportunity to really move Scottish tourism forward,'' he said.

''Value is absolutely crucial at the moment. That does not necessarily mean cheap; it means good value for the quality of product the customer is receiving.

''We need to be very careful to ensure Scotland has strong value.''

Jaydot

January 5th, 2012, 08:03 PM

There is an article in tonight's Tully stating that Malmaison are still in discussions regarding the Tay hotel and are supposed to be close to completing a deal....here's hoping, I think that would really start to get the ball rolling!

Rich B

January 5th, 2012, 08:04 PM

tongue_tied_danny

January 5th, 2012, 11:22 PM

Great news about SSE and Nando. Walking around the city centre last week I found it amazing how many cafes/restaurants have recently openedot are planning on opining in the city. It really does show the confidence in the Dundee retail/hospitality sector at the moment. Some examples are; Cafe Nero, the Blue Marlin (City Quay), Whitehalls Bar and Grill (Whitehall Street), Hal-al (Whitehall Street), Empire State Coffee (Nethergate), Dr Noodles (Nethergate and Fat Sams Level 2), Marco Polo, Bellini (Commercial Street), Nandos (Nethergate) etc.

I checked out Empire State Coffee today, really cool place. The lamb stovies were superb. A nice, relaxing place for a coffee and a bite to eat.

Chinaski

January 6th, 2012, 06:03 PM

Sarah Glynn...http://www.sarahglynn.net/architecture.html

a small scale designer of bad pastiche house extensions in broughty ferry what would she know...

Waterfront piece covered on Reporting Scotland, wonder if the rest of Scotland has woken up to what is happening here yet?
Happy New Year all! I think wrt Sarah Glynn, this is the BBC looking to make a story - you need someone to be negative as a foil. Having said that, it was a shame to put a bit of a damper on the report since it was going national. Only time will tell with such a massive project. Let's hope it all goes well!
As to the Malmaison - this seems to be going at an agonisingly slow pace. I thought it was all done and dusted in the summer?! What's taking so long? Also seems no movement with Customs House or the Greenmarket (remember that one?). Looks like it's going to be a very tough year getting private investment going!

pimtor

January 6th, 2012, 09:59 PM

What is the latest with regards to park and ride facilities in Dundee? Wouldn't it be useful to have park & rides set up either at riverside and/or at the Fife end of the bridge?

djmacdonald73

January 7th, 2012, 08:47 AM

What is the latest with regards to park and ride facilities in Dundee? Wouldn't it be useful to have park & rides set up either at riverside and/or at the Fife end of the bridge?

As far as I remember, there`s some sort of study being done in the next year or so, with a view to establishing 1 of 2 possible park + ride facilities in the west of Dundee - IIRC one location is at the Landmark hotel, I can`t remember where the other one is.

Totally agree about using the Fife end of the bridge though, that would make perfect sense, AND there`s already a fair-sized car park there with existing toilet facilities.

dufc1909

January 7th, 2012, 11:18 AM

Every now and then I read some interesting articles on the West end councillor`s website.
http://www.dundeewestend.com/

Here is the article on the park & ride.

I guess this kills off any airport expansion . . :(

Further to my article last month about possible future Park and Ride facilities sited in the west of the city and the subsequent decision by the regional transport partnership TACTRAN to progress the proposal for siting the facility at Wright Avenue, I sought, on behalf of constituents, some reassurances from TACTRAN about the facility.

The park and ride proposals have been largely welcomed by local residents but householders who live to the north of the preferred site have sought assurances that the facility would be properly screened. Residents who currently enjoy excellent views of Riverside Nature Park, Invergowrie Bay and the River Tay to the south rightly do not wish to look out to a car park in the future.

TACTRAN's Project Manager has updated me as follows :

"As the Wright Avenue location has been approved by the Tactran Board we will now be taking forward the detailed design, in partnership with Dundee City Council through the City Engineers.

As you’ll be aware the outline design was carefully designed to complement the landscaping of the surrounding park. In particular it was designed to be adjacent to the existing trees as they will provide good screening.

In progressing the design there will be an environmental assessment undertaken and this will include visual amenity for those properties that have a view of the site and I will ensure that appropriate provision will be made for any additional screening that may be required at the site."

There is no doubt that the provision of park and ride facilities will bring significant benefits, not just to the drivers concerned, but to relieving parking problems in parts of the City Centre and the West End. However, it is important that a facility is properly screened and I am therefore pleased at the assurances given by the regional transport partnership in that regard.

Rich B

January 7th, 2012, 01:45 PM

For those who missed the BBC tv coverage of the Dundee Waterfront project

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-16314661

SeoulDee

January 7th, 2012, 06:09 PM

Deleted by SeoulDee.

djmacdonald73

January 8th, 2012, 02:12 PM

Ah but SeoulDee, there is virtually no significant congestion in Dundee to merit park and ride at this time.

If the new wind turbine developments combined with the tourism increase associated with the opening of the V&A DOES lead to siginificantly higher numbers of people visiting Dundee, then it probably makes sense to be looking at it now.

dufc1909

January 9th, 2012, 11:22 AM

Rich B

January 9th, 2012, 12:46 PM

Aim Design on behalf of Scottish Enterprise have submitted an application to build a 3 storey creative industries building on the land south of greenbank.

District 10.Formally brownfield goods yard.

Full submission can be viewed on the Dundee public access website.

http://bwarrant.dundeecity.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_searchresults.aspx

The office 'container pods' look quite cool to me, as does the master plan with public spaces located off a wild life corridor. I just wonder whether the architecture will look dated in years to come.

Jaydot

January 9th, 2012, 12:59 PM

RapidTaco

January 9th, 2012, 02:45 PM

By Alastair Dalton
Published on Sunday 8 January 2012 00:00

A BATTLE for Anglo-Scottish business air passengers is looming as CityJet prepares to announce new flights and consolidate operations in Edinburgh.

The Air France-KLM-owned airline is expected to unveil extra services between the Scottish capital and London City airport, which has become a favourite among business travellers.

A new route from Aberdeen to the Docklands airport is also in the offing, along with more flights from Dundee. Aberdeen was chosen because several oil firms have Docklands offices, and flights to Heathrow are expected to be reduced if BA takes over BMI.

While any new flights from Dundee are to be welcomed, I would suggest that Dundee should be pushing for a Heathrow or Amsterdam link, or at the very least Gatwick. London City is fine but it's very limited in its onward connections and is pretty small fry compared with some of the other hubs.

SeoulDee

January 9th, 2012, 05:05 PM

Deleted by SeoulDee.

maccoinnich

January 10th, 2012, 05:58 AM

What he said. ^^^^

Noone other than BA is likely to operate Dundee-Heathrow flights, now that BMI are on the verge of disappearing. And BA have no spare slots, and even if they did, would likely use them for flights to Korea, China, the USA, or any number of other number of long haul destinations they don't currently serve/would like to serve more frequently.

Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Paris are doable though.

djmacdonald73

January 12th, 2012, 10:41 AM

Just waiting now for that pedestrian walkway to come down - think it`s Tuesday next week it starts. That should pave the way for the demolition of the podium behind the Caird Hall first, then the monstrosity that is Tayside House!

Jaydot

January 12th, 2012, 12:57 PM

dufc1909

January 12th, 2012, 02:00 PM

I cant wait to see a transformation of the old market under the caird hall, turning into usable retail units. I wonder if they will open the entrance/ exit from castle st.

djmacdonald73

January 12th, 2012, 04:33 PM

I cant wait to see a transformation of the old market under the caird hall, turning into usable retail units. I wonder if they will open the entrance/ exit from castle st.

Is that where the old Penny Arcade was? I remember that vaguely from my youth...........!

dufc1909

January 12th, 2012, 05:24 PM

The penny arcade was a later refurb in a small area of the once thriving market.
http://retrodundee.blogspot.com/search/label/arcade

If I remember correctly there were at least 2 doors into it from shore terrace and a through fare onto the underpass close to castle st. The door is blocked off now I think.

It was always the way home after a swim at the central baths. The predominant smell of the market was of chicken being cooked on a glass rotisserie. Yummy . . .

If they use the space wisely we can have a great little indoor specialist market.

I can just about smell the coffee . . . . .

djmacdonald73

January 13th, 2012, 11:08 AM

The first tangible signs of work beginning on the landmark V&A Museum at Dundee's waterfront will be seen this weekend.

Detailed investigation work on the site for the V&A is expected to start with a barge being placed on the Tay just off the site of the Olympia leisure centre and Discovery Point.

Onshore site investigations are expected to start during the week beginning January 23.

The work is being carried out to confirm underground conditions at the site for the Kengo Kuma-designed building. Data is already held through past surveys of the onshore and offshore sections of the site but a full investigation is required.

''This is a standard process in a major construction project, making sure that we have full knowledge of the underground — and underwater — conditions so that we can ensure the sub-structure of the building is designed accordingly,'' said Mike Galloway, Dundee City Council director of city development.

Work on offshore bore holes is expected to begin at the end of the week and the offshore works are expected to last around 10 weeks. Onshore work will last around four weeks.

The £45 million V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum, the city council, Dundee and Abertay universities and Scottish Enterprise.

It is being designed by a team led by architects Kengo Kuma and is due to open in 2015.

dufc1909

January 13th, 2012, 02:31 PM

Published on 8 January 2012

Spanish manufacturer still talking to Forth Ports over Leith By Steven Vass

GAMESA, the Spanish renewables company said to have rejected Dundee harbour as an offshore wind manufacturing base last month, in fact missed out when Forth Ports signed up a rival first.

When Gamesa announced last month that Dundee was no longer suitable, the company claimed that the city could not "accommodate [its] foreseen offshore requirements in terms of timescale and scope".

But the Sunday Herald can reveal that harbour owner Forth Ports had reached an agreement with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to make the land available to other manufacturers in a move that will create around 700 jobs.

As well as the fact that they are both Scottish companies, SSE and Forth Ports already had close corporate ties through their joint ownership of Forth Energy, a venture to build four major biomass stations around the country.

Gamesa has since substituted Leith docks, also owned by Forth Ports, in its shortlist of possible UK manufacturing sites along with Hartlepool, but the Dundee deal with Scottish and Southern Energy may have increased the likelihood that the Spanish will go to England instead.

With negotiations between Forth Ports and Gamesa said to be at a particularly sensitive stage, the group is looking to create between 800 and 1000 jobs for the manufacture of blades and parts, and for the assembly of the entire turbines. It intends to make a decision within the next couple of months.

Various sources agreed that Gamesa withdrew from Dundee because the space was no longer available although different versions exist of why Forth Ports chose to go elsewhere for a deal. The Spaniards appear to believe that they were gazumped through no fault of their own and had broadly stuck to their original requirement, although other sources claim the requirement had become too big for Dundee harbour and that the prevarication went on too long.

One source said: "Gamesa did not reject Dundee. It was the other way around ... Gamesa changed their minds several times on what they wanted, and by the time they got to the boat, the boat had already sailed."

The unravelling of the negotiations between Gamesa and Forth Ports is likely to have frustrated Scottish Power, which is closely linked to Gamesa through its Spanish parent company Iberdrola, owner of a 20% stake in the renewables group. Its Glasgow-based executives were known to be keen for a deal to take place in Dundee. Losing out to leading rival SSE will have been particularly disappointing, especially as the Sunday Herald understands that Scottish Power took no part in the discussions.

Gamesa and Iberdrola/Scottish Power have a strategic agreement to co-develop wind power in various countries. Partly as a result of this, Gamesa has already set up a research and development centre near Glasgow with 60 engineers, set to increase during the year.

The deal with SSE will be more attractive to Forth Ports since its strategic partner is a wind farm developer and can therefore guarantee its own manufacturing requirement.

However, it means that deals still need to be finalised with two renewables manufacturers: Mitsubishi and an Asian specialist in network equipment that is closely linked to Siemens. Sources were not clear about the timing of these deals, but said they would be in the "near future".

Kevin Keenan, the leader of the Labour opposition at Dundee City Council, said: "We are hoping that the signing of the memorandum of understanding will mean jobs. Clearly on the jobs front, Dundee is extremely bad at the moment."

Peter Pantlin, the chief corporate officer for Gamesa in the UK, said: "Dundee became no longer an option for us. Since that announcement, we have been closely looking at Leith as well as Hartlepool."

A spokesman for Forth Ports said: "We are confident that the configuration and land available at Leith is better suited to Gamesa's needs and we are pursuing this with them currently."

Rich B

January 13th, 2012, 04:03 PM

^^I knew that the lack of development space argument was a lot of bollocks!

s.findlay

January 13th, 2012, 05:28 PM

It would be great if construction started soon on this site, it would eradicate an unsightly gapsight near the city centre. It would really finish off the East of the city centre, complimenting the new swimming pool and new M&S Foodstore.

http://bwarrant.dundeecity.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=LWYZY8GC04Q00&searchtype=WEEKLY

On the retail front, La Senza in Dundee is staying open and is not included in their 65 store closures, Baretts in the Overgate has also been spared closure after they closed 70 stores. A new outdoor shop has open in the Wellgate, Pine Valley Outdoor which is a chain of 90 stores throughout the UK (mainly England.

Townie Tam

January 14th, 2012, 01:23 AM

.
It's obvious to anyone who likes to think they try to keep up with decisions that affect 'oor toon'...
The Gamesa outcome stinks of decisions made behind closed doors...

So, what's new?

Come the revolution, they who spoke with forked tongue will be first up against the wall...

Rich B

January 14th, 2012, 12:26 PM

http://www.jimmcgovern.co.uk/news/index.php?news_id=577&start=0&category_id=&parent_id=0&arcyear=&arcmonth=

s.findlay

January 15th, 2012, 05:33 PM

Good to see the Dundee Waterfront website (http://www.dundeewaterfront.com/) has been given an overhaul. It looks great! Well done DCC

dufc1909

January 16th, 2012, 02:00 PM

How about an outdoor event on the site of the new museum.

Seems to me an opportunity to good to miss . . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-16574084

djmacdonald73

January 16th, 2012, 06:58 PM

Quite a few good articles in tonights Tully - various "pledges" to give the railway station a much-needed overhaul, plus an article about the Art College getting a brand new exterior on the Perth Rd side.

pimtor

January 16th, 2012, 08:08 PM

New life for Lochee?

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/20312/city-council-reveals-plans-to-breathe-new-life-into-lochee-high-street.html

hmmm....

djmacdonald73

January 16th, 2012, 10:06 PM

What would REALLY help Lochee (apart from getting rid of the junkies!) would be finding some sort of use for the Stack park.

Jaydot

January 17th, 2012, 07:59 PM

from the courier:

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Business/article/20348/dundee-port-named-as-one-of-scotland-s-new-enterprise-areas.html

djmacdonald73

January 18th, 2012, 05:36 PM

From the Courier again :

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/20365/another-dundee-landmark-makes-way-for-waterfront-project.html

Fantatsic news about the Enterprise Zone:cheers:

Chinaski

January 18th, 2012, 09:19 PM

From the Courier again :

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/20365/another-dundee-landmark-makes-way-for-waterfront-project.html

Fantatsic news about the Enterprise Zone:cheers:

Good news on this, but I'm a little concerned that Dundee isn't also in the life sciences zone. With so much of the local economy tied up with life sciences through the uni and its spin-outs we don't want to lose out on any further investment in the sector. I thought the idea was to back winners after all? Not sure why the council didn't pitch for this too. The Edinburgh area after all got its Bioquarter and Leith docks both included so the idea that pitching for both would 'water down' Dundee's case seems unfounded.

Jaydot

January 18th, 2012, 11:27 PM

Good news on this, but I'm a little concerned that Dundee isn't also in the life sciences zone. With so much of the local economy tied up with life sciences through the uni and its spin-outs we don't want to lose out on any further investment in the sector. I thought the idea was to back winners after all? Not sure why the council didn't pitch for this too. The Edinburgh area after all got its Bioquarter and Leith docks both included so the idea that pitching for both would 'water down' Dundee's case seems unfounded.

Totally agree with you, I was miffed that we missed out on the life sciences, but in reflection, I suppose there are many docks who feel they have been left out? The central belt will always get more of the share....that's where the bulk of the votes are!

albatross

January 19th, 2012, 07:31 PM

http://www.dundeewaterfront.com/projects/742/District+10+Seabraes/

Get working on your break dancing moves.

Jaydot

January 23rd, 2012, 09:42 AM

Dundee waterfront wins Malmaison hotel
:banana:

Lifestyle hotel company Malmaison is to open its first new hotel since concluding a refinancing agreement last year. An agreement to lease has been concluded for a new 91 bedroom hotel in Dundee.

The new Dundee Malmaison is being created on the site of the old Tay Hotel, a listed city centre landmark building and will be Malmaison’s 13th hotel. Bounded by Whitehall Crescent to the north and west and Dock Street to the south and east, the redevelopment will start in spring 2012 with completion expected in May 2013, creating 120 new jobs

The new hotel is the latest high profile investment attracted to Dundee Waterfront, and joins a growing number of local businesses choosing to locate in the area.

The vacant Tay Hotel is being redeveloped by M.E.C. Services (International) Ltd. The developer will work closely with the Malmaison team to create an international standard lifestyle boutique hotel.

Malmaison is to take a 35-year FRI lease with an option to extend for a further 35 years. The lease is based on five-year RPI-linked rent reviews that are capped and collared.

The agreement to lease has been concluded by Gary Davis, who joined the

Malmaison and Hotel du Vin group as Chief Executive last week. He said:

“This is a fantastic project. The regeneration on the Dundee waterfront is already underway and we are delighted to have secured the lease on this property that will enable us to create a prestigious hotel on the site.

“My objective is to oversee an expansion of the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin business and expect that this new hotel will be the first of many for these fantastic brands,” added Davis.

Councillor Ken Guild, leader of Dundee City Council and chair of the Dundee Waterfront Board, said: "The new hotel will result in the restoration one of our finest historic buildings as a landmark destination, right at the heart of the regeneration of the city.”

The £1 billion transformation of Dundee’s Waterfront spans 240 hectares stretching 8km along the River Tay. It is the second-largest regeneration project in Scotland and is within the top twenty such projects throughout the UK. The waterfront will provide a home for the V&A’s new £45m museum in Dundee, which is due to open in 2015.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: “MWB’s decision to open a new Malmaison in Dundee reflects the significant opportunities for development and growth in the city. The city’s successful games sector and the creation of the V&A at Dundee strengthen its reputation as a centre for the creative industries. Dundee is increasingly attractive to new investment and visitors.”

Anne MacColl, chief executive of Scottish Development International, said: "That a globally recognised hotel chain has chosen to expand further in Scotland is testament to our increasing reputation as the ideal place to grow and do business.

www.dundeewaterfront.com

www.mwb.co.uk

Share |

The Boy David

January 23rd, 2012, 11:33 AM

That's a bit of a steal! Nice!

Rich B

January 23rd, 2012, 12:19 PM

Absolutely fantastic news ^^ Everything is going so well for Dundee just now :cheers::banana::cheers:

djmacdonald73

January 23rd, 2012, 12:26 PM

Nice one, great news for a Monday morning!:cheers:

Urban Life

January 23rd, 2012, 12:45 PM

Totally argree guys- great news to start off the week and the good signs are still coming!

Can't wait to see the change to the old Tay Hotel. I'm sure a company of this stature will do the building and location justice. This development will add to the big changes already happening.

I'm just curious, I know with the V&A happening and the expected influx of visitors that the attraction will bring to the city, but do you think the Malmaison would be well used- even by Scottish visitors? I'm just wondering, because with the Malmaison now coming, Dundee is in unchartered territory in regards to this kind of hotel development...

Anyway- a couple of these are in order! :

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Jaydot

January 23rd, 2012, 12:57 PM

Chinaski

January 23rd, 2012, 01:14 PM

Really good news on the Malmaison hotel. It seems that the wind might be be changing for Dundee now - organisations like Malmaison wouldn't invest like this if they thought Dundee wasn't on the up. With the two Uni's attracting conferences and the-hopefully-successful renewables business there should be enough people looking for a decent hotel.Let's hope it's just the beginning!

Rich B

January 23rd, 2012, 08:59 PM

With the Tay Hotel finally signed up, does anyone think this news will heap extra pressure on McDonald Hotels to snap up the Customs House? Any news on what is happening here?

djmacdonald73

January 24th, 2012, 12:33 PM

Quite a positive article in the Courier today about the proposed National Football Academy, an interview with Jenny Marra as well - the wording makes it sound like it WILL be coming to Dundee!

Ultima

January 24th, 2012, 02:05 PM

Quite a positive article in the Courier today about the proposed National Football Academy, an interview with Jenny Marra as well - the wording makes it sound like it WILL be coming to Dundee!

I very much hope the National Football Academy is no where near Dundee! Football in Scotland is focused in Glasgow and Edinburgh, particularly Glasgow, and moving the academy to somewhere like Dundee will only make it irrelevant and underused. This has to stay in Glasgow, preferably on one of the green gap sites beside Hampden Park.

Rich B

January 24th, 2012, 02:33 PM

I very much hope the National Football Academy is no where near Dundee! Football in Scotland is focused in Glasgow and Edinburgh, particularly Glasgow, and moving the academy to somewhere like Dundee will only make it irrelevant and underused. This has to stay in Glasgow, preferably on one of the green gap sites beside Hampden Park.

What absolute poppicock. Football in Scotland would have a much better chance to flourish if it was not monopolised by Galsgow, its ugly sisters and all the nonsense which goes with it over there. Dundee is a proper footballing city, where people follow football not religion, and considering its size Dundee punches well above its weight, ie. both its teams reaching the European Cup Semi Final.

RapidTaco

January 24th, 2012, 03:15 PM

What absolute poppicock. Football in Scotland would have a much better chance to flourish if it was not monopolised by Galsgow, its ugly sisters and all the nonsense which goes with it over there. Dundee is a proper footballing city, where people follow football not religion, and considering its size Dundee punches well above its weight, ie. both its teams reaching the European Cup Semi Final.

Good grief, here we go. :ohno:

djmacdonald73

January 24th, 2012, 03:29 PM

SeoulDee

January 24th, 2012, 06:27 PM

Deleted by SeoulDee.

Chinaski

January 24th, 2012, 06:39 PM

I very much hope the National Football Academy is no where near Dundee! Football in Scotland is focused in Glasgow and Edinburgh, particularly Glasgow, and moving the academy to somewhere like Dundee will only make it irrelevant and underused. This has to stay in Glasgow, preferably on one of the green gap sites beside Hampden Park.

Football in Scotland focussed in Edinburgh?? Dundee has two professional clubs, like Edinburgh, and I would think that per head of population Dundee's clubs are far better supported! As for Glasgow - we all know that the 'rivalry' there is actually bigotry dressed up in a football shirt. What is wrong with Scottish football is precisely that it is dominated by the old firm who buy up all the talent from other clubs making the league a dull two-horse race. Anything that gets the focuss away from Glasgow would be a very good thing. Here endeth the sermon...!

tongue_tied_danny

January 25th, 2012, 12:42 AM

The English FA are building their National Football Academy in Burton on Trent. Hardly the focus of fitba' in England but I doubt very much that it will be "irrelevent and underused".

I can't think of a single reason why ours shouldn't be in Dundee.

Ultima

January 25th, 2012, 04:36 AM

So you're in agreement with me...?!

I still say put it beside Hampden.

Townie Tam

January 25th, 2012, 08:48 AM

.
I agree with all the comments following Ultima's piece of nonsense (except Ultima's latest).

Ultima, we all know that Glasgow does football so well and is an example to all other communities in Scotland (like Dundee) who don't understand that members of one family can't support two different local teams.
So, WHY would Glasgow need a football academy, when it already knows everything about the game?

8=)

dufc1909

January 26th, 2012, 12:01 PM

Enough of this nonesense . . . . heres a real story.

An additional £1.75m of Scottish Government funding has been committed to Scotland's newest gallery over the next three years, the Culture Secretary has announced.

Scottish Government support for the new V&A at Dundee is now more than £18m, including the £15m capital investment already confirmed.

The new revenue funding was announced by Fiona Hyslop on a visit to Dundee's waterfront where the new museum will be built. Preparatory work at the site began on Monday.

The Culture Secretary said: "The V&A at Dundee is an international cultural project which has the potential to bring great benefits to the city and the whole of Scotland.

"It will attract visitors from all over the world and presents an opportunity to strengthen Dundee's reputation as a centre for the creative industries.

"In the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, I am delighted to confirm the Scottish Government is making a further £1.75m available to the V&A at Dundee.

"These additional funds will be used to support key activities associated with the project including programming exhibitions, developing education programmes, working with designers and creative practitioners, and fundraising.

"Our significant financial contribution will enable the V&A at Dundee - with its iconic waterfront building - to work towards opening in 2015, placing the project at the centre of Dundee's regeneration.

"It is fantastic to see investigative work under way to prepare the site for construction. With employment in that sector in Scotland predicted to grow at nearly twice the UK average over the next few years, it is clear this Government's decision to continue investing in capital projects such as this is paying dividends for jobs and the economy."

Philip Long, Director of the V&A at Dundee, said: "We intend that V&A at Dundee will be an international centre of design for the widest public, housed in a world-class building at the heart of Dundee's developing waterfront.

"The Culture Secretary's announcement today assures that work can continue on the development of V&A at Dundee, from planning through to implementation and opening.

"V&A at Dundee will show major exhibitions of international design, celebrate our own design heritage, inspire and help develop contemporary talent, and encourage design innovation for the future. We are delighted to have the Scottish Government's continuing wholehearted support for this vision."

Chinaski

January 26th, 2012, 12:03 PM

V & A funding:

What do we make of this? Good news - or is it proving difficult to get funds elsewhere?? It does say some of this will be used for fundraising.

Rich B

January 26th, 2012, 04:11 PM

V & A funding:

What do we make of this? Good news - or is it proving difficult to get funds elsewhere?? It does say some of this will be used for fundraising.

I think it has to be seen as good news. There is no stopping this project now :cheers:

tongue_tied_danny

January 29th, 2012, 01:49 PM

I read in The Courier the other day that City Square is about to get a makeover. About time too, it really is starting to look a bit tired.

djmacdonald73

January 29th, 2012, 03:15 PM

I read in The Courier the other day that City Square is about to get a makeover. About time too, it really is starting to look a bit tired.

I hope they get rid of the unused building at the front if it`s getting a makeover.

Jaydot

January 29th, 2012, 05:48 PM

I hope they get rid of the unused building at the front if it`s getting a makeover.

The small pavilion at the front is going to be flattened.

djmacdonald73

January 29th, 2012, 06:00 PM

The small pavilion at the front is going to be flattened.

:banana:

dufc1909

January 30th, 2012, 11:35 AM

A bit arsy, but a decent review . . . .

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/arts-blog/restaurant_review_the_blue_marlin_camperdown_street_dundee_1_2085203

Ultima

January 30th, 2012, 02:13 PM

A bit arsy, but a decent review . . . .

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/arts-blog/restaurant_review_the_blue_marlin_camperdown_street_dundee_1_2085203

If you read the Scotsman, you will read stuff written by arseholes.

dufc1909

January 30th, 2012, 08:10 PM

If you read the Scotsman, you will read stuff written by arseholes. :yawn:

The Duke

January 31st, 2012, 03:21 PM

A bit arsy, but a decent review . . . .

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/arts-blog/restaurant_review_the_blue_marlin_camperdown_street_dundee_1_2085203

My wife and I would love to try it... unfortunately do not want children under 8 there. So we will go elsewhere.

djmacdonald73

February 4th, 2012, 04:47 PM

Can`t find it on the online Courier site to copy and paste, but there`s an article in todays edition regarding both the Hilton and Gala Casino, who are refusing to move unless they`re paid significantly more than Dundee Council are prepared to pay. Seems the Council are now preparing a compulsary purchase order (which means they would pay the fair market valuation)...............but going down this route could take years:ohno:

Hopefully it`s just the Hilton group trying to make the council up their offer slightly, and that it gets sorted out sooner rather than later.

Chinaski

February 4th, 2012, 04:57 PM

pimtor

February 5th, 2012, 11:30 AM

It would be in the interest of both the Gala and Hilton that this projects goes ahead as quickly as possible - I'm sure an alternative location down at the redeveloped waterfront would improve business significantly for both!

Rich B

February 5th, 2012, 12:33 PM

Can`t find it on the online Courier site to copy and paste, but there`s an article in todays edition regarding both the Hilton and Gala Casino, who are refusing to move unless they`re paid significantly more than Dundee Council are prepared to pay. Seems the Council are now preparing a compulsary purchase order (which means they would pay the fair market valuation)...............but going down this route could take years:ohno:

Hi djmac, even if it does take years going down the compulsary purchase order route, that piece of land wont be ready for development until 2017 according to the waterfront website so probably wont be a problem.

Townie Tam

February 5th, 2012, 04:32 PM

Rich B

February 5th, 2012, 07:18 PM

.
In all the Community Council (and other) meetings I was at concerning the Central Waterfront redevelopment, the casino didn't rate a mention - which irritated me, as that's the only casino I'm a member of. The talk was always about the Hilton needing somewhere to move to. The casino seemed to have been disregarded; a minor inconvenience.

I still think it's crazy that the coming of the V&A hasn't prompted a rethink on Development Plot 7, which is where Olympia is now. It's still pencilled in as a hotel location, blocking off the sight lines to the V&A from almost all directions.

What's wrong with being a bit ambitious and looking at the railway station again, not in cosmetic isolation, but as part of the WHOLE redevelopment?

Restore the station level buildings to their original Victorian appearance, then build upwards from ground level where the station entrance building is now, to create a ground level hotel, railway, and bus station entrance, with a hotel on the floors above and bus stops at ground level. OK, it would require a rethink on South Union Street to, perhaps, restore West Dock Street instead but, where there's a will, there's a way. West Dock Street would then be a wide 'boulevard', pointing straight at the V&A.

I suspect the will is not there and never has been there - look at the omission of a travel interchange in the original Masterplan from 2000, although most people at the time regarded an interchange as "a good idea"....

And anyway, the line proposed for South Union Street is straight down from the Existing Union Street, totally unnatural; South Union Street originally showed the habit of Baltic ports having slightly curved streets at right angles to their waterfronts. Peter Street, Horse Wind and Tindall's Wind are all existing examples. (It was to do with protection from wind.)

Dundee was a Baltic port - it was never Edinburgh New Town...

Townie I think you make some good points in particular that the masterplan doesn't really feel like a natural addition to the old 'baltic city' and that the grid iron street layout feels a little enforced and goes against the 'grain' of how the original dockside streets were planned, ie with a curve to create wind breaks. The new windswept open space which is exposed to the elements may not be particularly successful for these reasons and due to the fact that it will be surrounded by many lanes of traffic. I also agree that it is strange that the council have not redesigned plot 7 to create a view to the V and A from the central space. They could divide the site diagonally for instance . What I like about Steven Hol's entry to the competition was that he turned the western side to plot 7 into an open space which then allowed a view from the new square to the V & A. However Kuma's design worked with the masterplan so may feel that his design may lose its impact if its surroundings are changed at this late stage. With regards to a hotel by the station, I read that Mike Galloway is working with a medium range hotel company to set up shop at the station site as part of the new station development.

dufc1909

February 7th, 2012, 11:50 AM

Some good thought provoking stuff guys . . .

Build the Rex entry on the Olympia site as a hotel, I`m sure that would make a difference to your thoughts. You just dont want another Hilton prison block.

The redevelopement of the station site is vital to the project. Travelling by train up & down the east coast and you wouldnt know anything was goin on, train is underground in both directions, so exiting the station must be a wow factor.
I would like to think there will be a place on the redeveloped site for the lovely old Victorian post box sitting outside next to the bike rack, theres not many of them left. Make it a feature.

On another note, there is an application in to turn 2 unoccupied shop fronts in Commercial st (Dock st end ) into a cafe / resturant.

mediadave

February 7th, 2012, 02:17 PM

I also agree that it is strange that the council have not redesigned plot 7 to create a view to the V and A from the central space. They could divide the site diagonally for instance . What I like about Steven Hol's entry to the competition was that he turned the western side to plot 7 into an open space which then allowed a view from the new square to the V & A.

I still don't understand why the V&A isn't IN Plot 7.

Townie Tam

February 8th, 2012, 12:33 AM

.
In case anyone thinks my mention of Edinburgh new town was plucked from my imagination, the pic below is of a slide taken from a Powerpoint presentation that was available for download from the waterfront.com web site but seems to have been removed. It's not listed under resources/presentations. The presentation's file name was "TPCCSS_8_SEPT_2008.ppt".

It shows what the inspiration for DUNDEE's WATERFRONT street plan was.

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/Slide097.jpg

Rewriting history...

mediadave typed,
I still don't understand why the V&A isn't IN Plot 7.

I had a meeting with Allan Watt (the Waterfront Project Co-ordinator) in September last year, to raise many of the issues (particularly the convoluted traffic system) I have raised in this forum. I won't go into them all again, only Plot 7.

I was told that hands were tied over Plot 7, because funding had been awarded towards the redevelopment of the Central Waterfront, on the basis of x amount of space generating x amount of inward investment, therefore, Plot 7 had to remain as it was, inked in for a hotel, as can be seen on the following pic, which is a slide from another presentation, file name "Stakeholder_Presentation_Aug_08.ppt", which is still available at:-
http://www.dundeewaterfront.com/Presentations/

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/Slide26.jpg

In case you can't read it due to resolution, it says,
"Plot 7
Phase 1
New Hotel
& Car Park".

My own way of thinking is that if the space ABOVE the station was used to replace Plot 7, the funding/investment criteria would still be met but there would be an open plaza directly in front of the V&A, thus improving the overall visual impact and, as dufc1909 typed, the entrance to the city from the station platforms could provide "a wow factor."

I like the idea of making some use of the REX design though!

s.findlay

February 8th, 2012, 12:50 AM

"On another note, there is an application in to turn 2 unoccupied shop fronts in Commercial st (Dock st end ) into a cafe / resturant."

Judging by the application, it appears to be a complete development of the entire block. The ground floor units will become a cafe/restaurant and the floors above will become flats. A similar redevelopment is close to completion at the bottom of Commercial Street (on the same side in the Old David Crabb electrical store). From the street the redevelopment of btis block looks fantastic, I believe it is going to be serviced apartments.

Interestingly, the bottom block is the only building in the city with a fully working original hyfrolic lift.

R.K.Teck

February 8th, 2012, 11:18 AM

dufc1909

February 8th, 2012, 11:23 AM

Brilliant, S Findlay, you are #1 in the Google search for hyfrolic lift . . . I`m none the wiser but guess its a scissor lift !

Does this lift, expand and contract from ground to 3 floors ?

Plot 7 is bound to be the new Hilton? and possibly Gala casino.

Rich B

February 8th, 2012, 02:09 PM

http://www.dundeewaterfront.com/uploads/imageProcessor/within/800_800/1393.jpg

Here's a clear map showing which plot is which. :)

I'd be for combining the station buildings, and the plot 7 hotel to make a modern take on a classic Victorian station hotel!

Hi does anyone know what is being planned for the site which lies between 'Dundee One' (plots 14 and 15) and the tay road bridge ? Seems strange that that area has not been designated for development too

The Duke

February 9th, 2012, 02:00 PM

The Scotsman 9/2/12

Plans for Leith biomass plant ditched after public outcry

Plans for a huge biomass energy plant in the port of Leith have been scrapped after a massive public outcry - despite the area being designated a major renewables hub by the Scottish Government.

Forth Energy, a joint venture between dock operator Forth Ports and Scottish & Southern Energy, has spent almost two and a half years pursuing plans for the massive energy plant.

It has told the Scottish Government it is scrapping the Leith venture but is pressing ahead with three others in Rosyth, Dundee and Grangemouth.

Heritage groups had warned that the massive plant would have become Edinburgh’s unwelcome equivalent of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The official announcement from Forth Energy today made no mention of the level of political and public concern over the plans, which would have involved the building of a chimney stack 120 metres tall - twice the height of the Scott Monument on Princes Street.

Calum Wilson, managing director of Forth Energy, said: “Much has changed since we first applied for permission to build the plant at Leith, not least the port’s emerging status as a hub to support the Scottish offshore renewable energy industry.”

Charles Hammond, chief executive of Forth Ports, added: “The level of demand from renewables companies keen to locate at the port means it is appropriate that we draw breath while we see how the land configuration at the port evolves.”

It was hoped that the facility would have been able to provide renewable energy for 54 per cent of the Capital’s electricity needs.

But most of the fuel - in the form of wood chip - was to come from forests overseas, including as far afield as the United States.

Forth Energy had last year asked the council to delay considering plans for the Leith plant, after more than 1800 members of the public objected.

Days later it emerged that the government had ordered a complete overhaul of plans for Leith Docks under a new partnership with the council and Scottish Enterprise.

The government would have had the final say on the project but would have been forced to order a public inquiry if the council had objected.

Last month it emerged that the government had designated Leith and Dundee as special renewables enterprise zones.

dufc1909

February 9th, 2012, 02:10 PM

Left disillusioned yet again . . . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-16965119

Rich B

February 9th, 2012, 02:29 PM

I think the reasoning behind Forth Ports' / Scottish Enterprise's decision to ditch gamesa for SSE who is behind the biomass plan is becoming increasingly apparent or maybe Im just conspiring once again...

Does anyone fancy organising a protest ?

dufc1909

February 9th, 2012, 03:49 PM

That would be why Gamesa said Dundee did not have enough capacity at the port.

Townie Tam

February 10th, 2012, 05:42 PM

.
I think I see where you're coming from Rich B.

If Forth Ports had been REALLY keen to have Gamesa in Dundee, the plans for the unwanted (by locals and others) incinerator would have been scrapped, to create land for Gamesa's expansion needs. FORTH Ports - the name tells you all you have to know...

I still can't see how an incinerator adjacent to the proposed marina at Camperdown Dock will work from a tourist-satisfaction point of view. Cultural, retail and leisure from the railway station, through the central waterfront and Victoria Dock areas to Camperdown Dock, then an incinerator, with a prominent lum, to finish off this pleasant wee walk along the waterfront...

Jaydot

February 10th, 2012, 07:27 PM

Forth Ports denies Leith move is a blow for Dundee's renewable energy hopes:

The chief executive of Forth Ports has denied favouring Edinburgh over Dundee as its major offshore renewables manufacturing hub in the east of Scotland.

Charles Hammond was speaking on Thursday in the wake of an announcement by Forth Energy that it is scrapping plans for a multi-million-pound biomass plant at Leith to make more land available for renewables manufacture.

Forth Energy — which is a joint venture between Forth Ports and Perth-based energy provider SSE — said its £1.1bn plans for three other biomass plants at Rosyth and Grangemouth and at the docks in Dundee are unaffected by the Leith decision.

The firm will now move to reconfigure the layout of the docks to give the best chance of securing major inward investment — potentially hundreds of millions of pounds over the next decade — from the green energy sector.

A number of parties are exploring the possibility of locating at Leith including Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa, a one-time suitor of Dundee which decided to end its interest in the city primarily because of a lack of available development land.

Mr Hammond denied the plan to free up more space at Leith is an indication that Forth Ports is concentrating its efforts on making the central belt port its main Scottish renewables hub.

He said Dundee remains in the picture for both offshore and biomass developments.

''We have good inquiries at both Dundee and Leith but they are distinct inquiries,'' Mr Hammond said. ''Dundee is at least as much a priority for us as Leith but a lot depends on the nature of the inquiries we receive.

"Different companies are interested in different ports and have different needs. We are working really hard to bring people to Dundee and I am personally involved in that process.

''I want to see Dundee being successful as an offshore renewables hub. We won't try to develop Leith at the expense of Dundee. I value what we have created up at Dundee and I am committed to making Dundee a success.''

The Dundee biomass plant — which has caused major controversy over its location, design and eco-credentials — alone would create up to 70 permanent jobs and hundreds of construction trade posts during the building of the £325m facility.

Managing director Calum Wilson said the firm is committed to the three remaining projects, which would collectively produce 300MW of electricity and 260MW of heat if built.

He said: ''Much has changed since we first applied for permission to build a CHP plant at Leith, not least the port's emerging status as a hub to support the Scottish offshore renewable energy industry. We remain fully committed to bringing reliable, responsible, renewable heat and electricity to Scotland through our proposed developments at the ports of Grangemouth, Rosyth and Dundee and, in the process, assisting the Scottish Government in achieving its ambitious 2020 renewable energy targets.

''Once the configuration of the Port of Leith has been established, we will reassess the opportunity and industrial demand for renewable energy and heat at the port.''

In December, SSE signed a memorandum of understanding with Dundee City Council, Forth Ports and Scottish Enterprise to explore options for a new manufacturing plant to be established at Dundee Port to service the offshore wind sector.

City council administration leader and Dundee Renewables chairman Ken Guild said he is convinced that Dundee remains at the forefront of Forth Ports' plans.

He said: ''I am confident that the facilities located in Dundee have the potential to deliver a major role in the offshore renewable energy industry for the economy of the city and of Scotland as a whole.

''We have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with our partners in SSE and Forth Ports and work is going on to cement Dundee's role in the future of the industry.

''The Scottish Government will make the final decision over the proposed biomass plan (for Dundee), the site for which is not adjacent to the site at the east of Dundee Port for renewables development.

''Dundee remains a key location in SSE's and Forth Ports' plans for renewables hubs and supply chain activity.''

Alan Mitchell, chief executive of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said he remains confident Dundee's drive to become a renewables hub will not be derailed by developments elsewhere.

He said: ''We won't speculate on the rationale for this commercial decision by Forth Ports. Whatever decision they have made based on their assessment of the relative value of the land at Leith for renewables and biomass doesn't change the fact that Dundee has all of the attributes needed to be a key Scottish renewables hub: manufacturing land, a deep water port, engineering skills, a supply chain and, through the Port of Dundee, enterprise zone status.''

dufc1909

February 11th, 2012, 10:28 AM

An Edinburgh point of view.

THE Champagne corks will be popping in Leith at the news that the planned biomass plant is being scrapped, but maybe the celebrations should be put on ice.

The scheme was unpopular from the off, hardly surprising as it involved plans for a chimney stack twice the height of the Scott Monument.

There were also mounting questions over public health, with NHS Lothian calling for a full assessment of the impact, and the green credentials of biomass came under fire with the revelation in the Evening News that woodchip fuel would be imported from North America.
The 3800 people who took the time to lodge official objections will no doubt feel a huge sense of relief at the announcement by Forth Energy, but how long will it be before we have this debate again?

The company is still pursuing similar plants at Grangemouth, Rosyth, and Dundee and its press release spoke about withdrawing the “current” plans for Leith, adding that it would be reassessed in the future.

The Port of Leith seems destined to become a “hub” for renewable energy with or without biomass and you would not bet against there being many more controversial planning applications in the pipeline.

It is a difficult balancing act. Renewable energy of course must be pursued and as Scotland takes full advantage of its natural resources then we need to ensure that the Capital is at the heart of the plans and feels the economic benefit.

At the same time, any development must pay close regard to the views of local residents and businesses, to ensure that the transformation of the waterfront into a vibrant and attractive place to live is not wiped out.
Consultation and consideration is the key as we move forward so that sensitive and potentially lucrative development can happen without detriment to quality of life. When that happens, we can all get the champagne out.

I find it very insulting from both FP & SSE that Dundee is considered the same as Grangemouth & Rosyth.

Have your say, this is the most read newspaper by the Dundee`s politians.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/20871/forth-ports-denies-leith-move-is-a-blow-for-dundee-s-renewable-energy-hopes.html

Rich B

February 12th, 2012, 02:06 PM

I find it very insulting from both FP & SSE that Dundee is considered the same as Grangemouth & Rosyth.

[/QUOTE]

So do I. How are your tweating efforts with Brian, Lorraine and Joey getting on ? Really think we should do everything we can to oppose this.

s.findlay

February 13th, 2012, 03:57 PM

Noticed an external link on the BBC Scotland website regarding this article. Great news for a city the size of Dundee to rank 25th in Europe for future potential to FDI.

Edinburgh 'best city of the future'
Feb 13 2012

Edinburgh and Glasgow have been named Europe's top large "cities of the future".

Foreign investment publication fDi Magazine ranked the continent's cities on their potential to capture future investment and expansion projects.

Edinburgh and Glasgow topped the list of "large" European cities, those with a population of between 500,000 and one million, beating Amsterdam, Oslo and Helsinki.

Birmingham was the only other large UK city in the top 10, in seventh place.

London, classed as a "major" city due to its population size, was named the top European city overall, coming in front of Reading (5th), Cambridge (7th) and Dublin (8th). Edinburgh is in 11th place and Glasgow at 14th, while Dundee came 25th despite being a "micro city" by population.
Edinburgh is said to have the best foreign direct investment strategy of all large European cities.

City council leader Jenny Dawe said: "This result is great news for the city. Edinburgh has moved straight to the top of the same league table as major cities such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Oslo. This is a fantastic achievement and is testament to our success in securing more than 30 new investment projects in the last 12 months, including Amazon and Toshiba.

Lucy Bird, chief executive of Marketing Edinburgh, said: "Edinburgh is undoubtedly one of the world's best cities for investment and location, and this award provides an opportunity for the city to further enhance its profile to inward investors."

Edinburgh was the only large city in the UK to make the top ten for economic potential and came sixth in the human resources category just ahead of Glasgow. It also has the eighth-best quality of life of all large cities in Europe, with Oslo topping the list, according to the magazine.

Courtney Fingar, editor of fDi Magazine, said: "fDi's rankings reveal the cities and regions that stand the best chance of capturing future investment and expansion projects by multinational companies, something that will become even more important should Europe and the world head into recession."

Jaydot

February 13th, 2012, 05:21 PM

Dundee does well in a few of the catagories for Micro Cities, but to come out 25th in the "Top European Cities Overall" is amazing.

djmacdonald73

February 14th, 2012, 12:28 PM

Work is now expected to restart on the flats on Riverside (on the old Homebase site) in April, according to the Courier.

s.findlay

February 14th, 2012, 02:06 PM

It will be good to see the site starting, phase A is due to start in March. H&H Properties (http://www.handhproperties.co.uk/) have the site which is great news as they have been responsible for some major developments in Dundee over the past 10 years; DRI redevelopment, Brook Street redevelopment, Milton Mill redevelopment in Monifeth as well as many others. Interesting to see that they also have the Armistead Site.
Hopefully construction will soon begin on the bridge connecting the Perth Road and Riverside.

dufc1909

February 14th, 2012, 02:22 PM

How are your tweating efforts with Brian, Lorraine and Joey getting on ? :)Not yet, Rich B, I`ll wait until the Courier campaign gets going. There`s more to come from the paper I`m sure.

Great news about the Riverside apartments. Are there any plans for a crossing over the road to the river ?

http://www.dundeewaterfront.com/projects/1236/Riverside+Flats/

Jaydot

February 16th, 2012, 07:40 PM

. Are there any plans for a crossing over the road to the river ?

I hope not!! reduce the speed limit/add traffic calming and put in plenty of crossings.

Townie Tam

February 18th, 2012, 12:36 AM

.
Hi Jaydot.
You typed,
I hope not!! reduce the speed limit/add traffic calming and put in plenty of crossings.
If you build a house on a main road, where no house has been before, is it fair to expect traffic calming measures to be put in place, just for you? If you build many flats in a location on a main road, should you expect the status of that road to be changed, just because you have elected to build homes on what was a retail site, on a former railway site, adjacent to a main road?
Riverside Drive is a main road, the A85 Dundee/Perth/Oban road, in fact. Whoever builds on it should be aware of what it is - a main road! Should traffic calming measures and many crossings be installed on Kingsway because there are houses on it?
Do we really want the whole traffic system in dundee to grind to a halt because there are houses on the main thoroughfares?
A can of worms methinks...

Jaydot

February 19th, 2012, 04:45 PM

.
Hi Jaydot.
You typed,

If you build a house on a main road, where no house has been before, is it fair to expect traffic calming measures to be put in place, just for you? If you build many flats in a location on a main road, should you expect the status of that road to be changed, just because you have elected to build homes on what was a retail site, on a former railway site, adjacent to a main road?
Riverside Drive is a main road, the A85 Dundee/Perth/Oban road, in fact. Whoever builds on it should be aware of what it is - a main road! Should traffic calming measures and many crossings be installed on Kingsway because there are houses on it?
Do we really want the whole traffic system in dundee to grind to a halt because there are houses on the main thoroughfares?
A can of worms methinks...

Hi Townie,

My thoughts were based on the fact that the traffic in the centre will be greatly slowed down once the grid system is in place. Reducing the traffic flow along riverside might encourage the use of the park and ride.

Townie Tam

February 20th, 2012, 04:57 PM

.
Hi Jaydot.
You typed,
My thoughts were based on the fact that the traffic in the centre will be greatly slowed down once the grid system is in place

I'm pleased to read that I'm not the only one that realises that the removal of the three roundabouts from the original masterplan, to be replaced by a forest of traffic lights, will do nothing to optimise traffic flow to, from and through the central waterfront area.

One example: a concern that the CC&HCC raises more than once is access from the Gellatly Street car park to the road bridge. Drivers coming from Fife for an afternoon's shopping will be able to drive straight off the bridge, then turn directly into Gellatly Street to get to the car park.
However, the return journey is a convoluted affair, involving a left turn into South Marketgait, a left turn into Allan Street, then up to and round the East Port Roundabout, back down Allan Street, a right turn into South Marketgait, then onto the bridge.
Anyone heading west from the same location faces the same runaround via East Port but turning into West Victoria Dock Road, to access the westbound boulevard nearest to the river.

The originally planned roundabout at the foot of Commercial Street / bridge landfall would have eliminated these concerns. There is also the problem of increased air pollution due to the start-stop nature of traffic flow, probably in contravention of the council's own policy on diminishing pollution.

Why is driver user-friendliness and air quality of less importance than lining Siemens pockets through the cost of all these traffic lights?

SeoulDee

February 21st, 2012, 11:24 AM

Deleted by SeoulDee.

doctor feelgood

February 21st, 2012, 04:56 PM

.
Hi Jaydot.
You typed,

I'm pleased to read that I'm not the only one that realises that the removal of the three roundabouts from the original masterplan, to be replaced by a forest of traffic lights, will do nothing to optimise traffic flow to, from and through the central waterfront area.

One example: a concern that the CC&HCC raises more than once is access from the Gellatly Street car park to the road bridge. Drivers coming from Fife for an afternoon's shopping will be able to drive straight off the bridge, then turn directly into Gellatly Street to get to the car park.
However, the return journey is a convoluted affair, involving a left turn into South Marketgait, a left turn into Allan Street, then up to and round the East Port Roundabout, back down Allan Street, a right turn into South Marketgait, then onto the bridge.
Anyone heading west from the same location faces the same runaround via East Port but turning into West Victoria Dock Road, to access the westbound boulevard nearest to the river.

The originally planned roundabout at the foot of Commercial Street / bridge landfall would have eliminated these concerns. There is also the problem of increased air pollution due to the start-stop nature of traffic flow, probably in contravention of the council's own policy on diminishing pollution.

Why is driver user-friendliness and air quality of less importance than lining Siemens pockets through the cost of all these traffic lights?

.....Tam, really? :ohno: "roundabouts, optimising traffic flow, convoluted left/right turns, increased air pollution"?

I despair, lets build some overhead pedestrian walkways instead, that would work! This is Dundee city centre we are talking about here, not central Mumbai. :)

Magnog

February 22nd, 2012, 11:44 PM

cladding starting to go up on the new olympia looks rather nice!

djmacdonald73

February 25th, 2012, 01:03 PM

Plans for 'unashamedly modern' Broughty Ferry hotel lodged with Dundee City Council
A controversial plan for a new hotel development next to Broughty Ferry Library has been lodged with Dundee City Council — only a year after a similar proposal was thrown out.

City council presses ahead with waterfront site compulsory purchase order plan
Culture secretary pledges more support for Dundee's 'fantastic' V&A project
Malmaison signs lease to take over the Tay Hotel
Broomvale Ltd, which operates the Gullistan Indian restaurant, wants to demolish the old cottage on the west side of the library in Queen Street to make way for a 22-bedroom hotel.

If approved, the new design consists of a modern three-storey building capable of hosting weddings, conferences and events as well as a health suite and off-street parking.

The blueprint also includes a 'green roof' where vegetation can be planted.

The previous plan attracted a raft of objections from residents and Broughty Ferry Community Council.

It was eventually refused on the grounds that it was out of character with the surroundings in the Forthill Conservation Area.

This time round the architect stressed the development would have a positive influence on the area.

Fraser Middleton of ARKTX said: ''The design is unashamedly modern and uses contemporary materials and makes optimum use of the rising topography and incorporating a terraced garden area.

''Considerable time and effort has been given to completely redesign the development from first principles. The original comments have been integrated into our design brief.

''We believe that our proposals will provide a wonderful opportunity which will encourage more visitors to visit and actually stay in Broughty Ferry.''

'Adverse impact'

To retain some of the area's historic character, the developer hopes that the ceiling of the original Carbet Castle can be installed in the hotel's dining room.

Representation has been made to Dundee Civic Trust who are custodians of the 1871 Charles Frechou fresco ceiling.

The ceiling is currently stored in a warehouse in Stirling by Historic Scotland.

''It would be ideal to relocate it and bring it back to its former status only a stone's throw from where it was originally painted,'' said Mr Middleton.

Despite the intent to return a historic piece of Dundee's heritage, the community council says it is more concerned about the history that would be lost.

Planning secretary David Hewick says he intends to lodge an objection, adding: ''It's contrary to a number of planning policies.

''It could have an adverse impact nearby houses, have inadequate parking and cause traffic problems.

''The plan is also to demolish the traditional cottage towards the back of the site which has been there for over 150 years.

''I would hate to see that lost,'' he added.

dufc1909

February 26th, 2012, 10:46 AM

We should soon start to see quite a lot of work going on down at riverside.
With the new flats promising to get going again in March, there is also the go ahead for this developement at seabraes.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Community/College-and-University/article/21189/abertay-university-welcomes-backing-for-district-10-offices-at-seabraes.html

This will also mean the construction of a bridge linking Perth rd and Reverside.

I like it . . .

Townie Tam

February 26th, 2012, 01:34 PM

.
Hi SeoulDee.

You typed,
I think roundabouts are totally unsuitable for city centre locations and they take up too much space and don't work anywhere nearly as well as they do on higher speed roads.

Here is the 'masterplan' that was put out for public consultation in 2000. The traffic interchange area is more or less the same for the roundabout version and the traffic light version seen further down.

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/masterplan2000.png

That's from the council's document "8-2001.pdf" which is on their web site - somewhere!
As you can see, there was provision for traffic from Commercial Street to head westward, via the roundabout and the south boulevard.

Here is the plan that was adopted in 2001, as a result of the consultation. The main change from the consultation document is the move involving a development plot (Gellatly Street hotel) and the roundabout.

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/BrochurePage06.jpg

The plan for a roundabout on South Marketgait predates, by many years, any plans for the Central Waterfront redevelopment. After the completion of South Marketgait and the 'zoning' of the city centre by pedestrianisation, it was realised that it wasn't particularly efficient to have no direct access to the west for traffic coming out of the city centre from east of Castle Street.
So a roundabout on South Marketgait, at the foot of Commercial Street, was proposed, so that traffic coming out of Gellatly Street / Commercial Street would be able to do a right turn round the roundabout and head westward, either via Riverside Drive or Perth Road. This roundabout would also have provided access to the Victoria Dock redevelopment.
As you will know, a roundabout was installed, subsequently, to cater for Victoria Dock, but too far west to cater for Commercial Street as well.

Below is the altered masterplan, adopted in 2006, without any consultation.

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/waterfront-plan-2006-844.jpg

As you can see, the development plot at Gellatly Street, in the original from 2000 and moved in the version adopted in 2001, has been moved back but the roundabout has been removed.

Why?

At my meeting with Allan Watt, the Waterfront Project Co-ordinator, in September 2011, I was told that the realignment of South Marketgait, then under way, would go some way to resolving the problem of westward traffic, as traffic coming out of Commercial Street / Gellatly Street (and from the west), would be able to carry out a right turn into West Victoria Dock Road, then a right turn into South Victoria Dock Road, to head westward.
This hasn't happened. You still have to go through the Dock Street / Allan Street junction twice. in either direction...

SeoulDee, you also typed,
Traffic lights would still be required for pedestrian crossings anyway, so they might as well have fully light-controlled junctions, rather than roundabouts followed immediately by traffic lights for a pedestrian crossing.

Because of the layout of the Central Waterfront, no pedestrian crossings would be required into the waterfront area from the bottom of Commercial Street, ie directly on the roundabout and, as far as I know from meetings of the Waterfront Design Advisory Group, none are planned. Their preferred locations would be at the Custom House and at the foot of Castle Street and Crichton Street.
These would then act to break up traffic flow as required and would provide a varying sequence of traffic at the roundabout.

You also typed,
There seems to be an obsession with roundabouts in the UK that you don't find in any other country i have visited.

I don't know if "obsession" is the right word. Other countries, for example the USA, are discovering the benefits of roundabouts. See "Is the British roundabout conquering the US?" at:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13863498

Also, the "Q & A: Roundabouts" at the web site of the US "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute", found at:-
http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/roundabouts.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now 'doctor feelgood'...

You typed,
"roundabouts, optimising traffic flow, convoluted left/right turns, increased air pollution"?

I despair, lets build some overhead pedestrian walkways instead, that would work! This is Dundee city centre we are talking about here, not central Mumbai.

You obviously believe that optimising traffic flow is 'a bad thing'. Care to explain why?

I don't believe I mentioned "convoluted left/right turns". What I did type was, "However, the return journey is a convoluted affair...". This would imply that the route was convoluted, not individual turns.

I'm guessing that you don't rate "increased air pollution" as a problem either? Why, then, are there air quality monitoring stations all over the city centre area?

See:-
http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/environment/airquality/

I would also draw your attention to what is said in the "Q & A: Roundabouts", to which I gave the link above...

Because roundabouts improve the efficiency of traffic flow, they also reduce vehicle emissions and fuel consumption.

In one study, installing a roundabout in place of an intersection with signals reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 29 percent
and nitrous oxide emissions by 21 percent.
In another study, replacing traffic signals and stop signs with roundabouts reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 32 percent,
nitrous oxide emissions by 34 percent,
carbon dioxide emissions by 37 percent,
and hydrocarbon emissions by 42 percent.

Constructing roundabouts in place of traffic signals can reduce fuel consumption by about 30 percent.
At 10 intersections studied in Virginia, this amounted to more than 200,000 gallons of fuel per year.

It would seem that these improvements in air quality and fuel consumption wouldn't sit comfortably with you?

Here's what the DEFRA site says, regarding the Dundee Air Quality Management Area at:-
http://aqma.defra.gov.uk/aqma-details.php?aqma_id=476

Description

An area encompassing the whole of the City of Dundee declared due to breaches of the annual NO2 objective in the vicinity of the following junctions: Victoria Road/Hilltown junction, Logie Street/Loons Road junction, Lochee Road/Dudhope Terrace junction, Lochee Road/Rankine Street junction, and in the City Centre of Dundee (including Dock Street, Commercial Street Seagate, Nethergate, Whitehall Street, Union Street, and St Andrew's Street).

Pollutants Declared
Nitrogen dioxide NO2

No room for improvement, in your opinion?

Finally, your comments about "overhead pedestrian walkways" and "central Mumbai" were a tad spurious...
AH! Earth humour! Arf arf!

8=)

Townie Tam

February 26th, 2012, 01:41 PM

.
And talking about restaurants... (Were we?)

I've been wondering why Matthews in Gellatly Street had to move up to Hawkhill Court, temporarily for refurbishment, until the end of the year. Seems a long time for a 'refurbishment'.

Onnyhoo, found this:-

Selected Application: 11/00011/FULL
15 Gellatly Street
Dundee
DD1 3DY
Alterations and extension to existing supermarket and wholesale facility to add 1st floor restaurant.
Applicant's Name: Matthew Foods (Scotland) Ltd

http://bwarrant.dundeecity.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?keyval=LEWRZJGC06600&searchtype=PROPERTY&module=P3

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/frontelevation.png

Looks good for the street. It could be an interesting addition.

tongue_tied_danny

February 26th, 2012, 09:15 PM

s.findlay

February 26th, 2012, 09:49 PM

Rich B

February 26th, 2012, 10:39 PM

Yeah, they have to be built to the same design, this is what was given planning permission so this is what has to be built. However, I believe they are being built in phases rather than all flats at one time. If the early phases sell then the rest of the development will commence.

Planning should only be granted on this scheme if the entire development is completed within 5 years. I have serious reservations about what is going to happen to this section of riverside and seabraes in the coming years. I know the general consensus is that the riverside scheme is positive and yes something needs done there.. but... those attractive computer generated renders fail to show the developments most prominent north facing facade which isnt attractive at all and how the views of the railwaybridge will be entirely concealed from many elevated angles in the city, it is these vistas which set dundee apart from many ordinary towns across the country and should be valued. If the development is to be phased we really run the risk of only a couple of the blocks being built in one of Dundee's most prominent sites. Enric Miralles architect of the Scottish parliament described that site as one of the most dynamic in Europe due to the sites topography and proximity to the river and I just dont think this development does it justice. I also fear a similar scenario may arise at Seabraes with just a couple of 'container pods' being seen through to completion. If the economy continues to struggle we could be left with a real mess.

doctor feelgood

February 28th, 2012, 05:53 PM

.
You obviously believe that optimising traffic flow is 'a bad thing'. Care to explain why?

........mon' the pedestrians! :banana:

"Following a further consultation exercise with key parties during 2001, the Dundee Partnership approved a final Masterplan for the area and this document outlines its main components;

The extension of the city centre down to the waterfront
The creation of a new grid iron street pattern
Improved provision for walking, cycling and buses
The reduction of the effect of cars and parking
The removal of some of the Tay Road Bridge ramps
The creation of a pair of east/west tree lined boulevards
Provision of sites for a variety of mixed use developments
The formation of a major new civic space and re-opened dock
The provision of a new rail station and arrival square"

Townie Tam

February 28th, 2012, 07:03 PM

.
Hi doctor feelgood.

You typed,
........mon' the pedestrians!

Maybe you should look at the 90 second video clip at the link below, if you believe the central waterfront will follow the 'guidelines' you highlighted, in particular,
Improved provision for walking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wK-r2dP0Mc

dufc1909

February 29th, 2012, 09:47 AM

Improved provision for walking.

The walk from Union St to the Discovery, which acts also as the tourist information center, can only be improved . . . . . .

djmacdonald73

February 29th, 2012, 10:47 PM

I always thought it was a bit crazy to have the tourist information down there - surely it would be best situated in or near the city square??

tongue_tied_danny

March 1st, 2012, 12:38 AM

I'm pretty sure it used to be on Castle Street. Just a cost cutting measure I suppose, along with the closure of the public toilets on the same street.

Rich B

March 2nd, 2012, 02:14 PM

Found this interesting article in Urban Realm from Malcolm Fraser who speaks his mind very clearly about the problems with mediocre planners (like Mike Galloway) imposing their will too greatly on the future design of our cities. Malcolm Fraser makes special mention of the Dundee Waterfront Masterplan....

http://www.urbanrealm.com/features/215/Malcolm_Fraser_objects_to_Planners.html

dufc1909

March 2nd, 2012, 02:22 PM

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21391/let-there-be-light-early-tayside-house-demolition-work-starts-to-open-up-new-vistas.html

Urban Life

March 2nd, 2012, 02:51 PM

^^

Yep nice stuff. Good article and photos documenting the change. I'll be in Dundee and I'll try and get some pics from around town and upload them on the thread. It would be nice to capture the change and give an update. I can't keep up with it all!

Chinaski

March 2nd, 2012, 05:44 PM

Rich B

March 2nd, 2012, 06:18 PM

Don't you think this bloke is being a bit premature in his assessment of the waterfront - after all, none of it has actually been built yet.

I personally dont think anything has to be built to make a judgement of the masterplan however I know some will agree with you that judgement should be held until further detail is provided. Good quality buildings will certainly improve the area, but the success of the scheme in my opinion will comedown to the quality of the new open green space which as it is shown is entirely open to the prevailing wind and dominated by traffic, I think sitting there will be a wee bit like sitting in a playing field at riverside. Malcolm Fraser is up there with the top designers in Scotland, so I think his comments should be respected. I agree with him that it is absurd that Planning Chiefs, who in Dundee's case has a 2 years urban design diploma should effectively be 'holding the pencil' on these important projects, and not someone like Kengo Kuma or even Ric Russell who actually knows how to design. However in fairness to Dundee's Director of Planning, he does seem good at getting things done, and perhaps the infrastructure of the city did limit what could be done there ie putting traffic underground etc. however Im not really convinced by that.

Jaydot

March 4th, 2012, 06:01 PM

THE BUILDING THAT COULD REVITALISE DUNDEE ... BY THE ARCHITECT THAT DESIGNED IT

Colin Donald
Business Editor, Sunday Herald
When praising the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, critics note his "hypnotic sensory architecture of relationships" and his "sophisticated spatial articulation and surfaces" but these are not the main talking points in the city where his new building will open in 2015.

The focus in Dundee is more on the millions of pounds of potential future revenue and thousands of jobs that hang on the vision of a softly-spoken, globe-trotting professor from Yokohama.

Heroic feats of architecture never used to be seen in such utilitarian terms, but the times call for hard-headed consideration of the return on lavish capital expenditure, as featured in the debate over the redevelopment of Aberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens, which was approved on Friday. Like its sister city, the new Dundee is a practical place that realised that a statement building that "works" can be as wealth-creative as a new technology, a favourable tax regime or a comparative labour price advantage were in earlier eras.

Kengo Kuma, 57, the Japanese architect behind the extraordinarily ambitious £45 million V&A in Dundee, is not focused on the cost-benefit ratio, but plenty of others are thinking about that for him. It is hard to overstate the expectations for his spectacular polyhedron jutting into the Tay which recreates Dundee's relationship with the waterfront. The main hope for this showcase for design in Scotland is that it will work as hard for the marketing of the city as the Guggenheim did for Bilbao or the Opera House for Sydney.

"The key to this project is the way that it can transform perceptions of the city," says Philip Long, director of the V&A at Dundee (V&AAD), Scotland's first dedicated design museum. "Already there are investments being made along the waterfront because of it."

David Dorward, Dundee City Council's chief executive, goes further: "It is probably the most exciting development in our city for over 100 years. It will improve the internal and the external perception of our city [to create] many other opportunities for inward investment and economic growth will be generated. The central waterfront will create over 4000 jobs and at its very heart will be the civic space and the V&A building."

Of course, these spin-offs only happen if the built architecture pleases people, even subliminally. So it is worth asking what Kuma is trying to do with this addition to Scotland's increasingly rich stock of great museums.

In person, Kuma seems light on ego and is understated, the antithesis of the "star-chitect", jetting around the world imposing funky shapes on alien skylines. A specialist in museums, Kuma doesn't have a signature style, but is known as a master of flexibility and an experimenter with new and natural materials.

"Choosing the site is the first step in the success of the project," he tells me. "This site is amazing. We wanted to find the unique advantages of the site and relate them to the building. The relationship between the water and the interior can be very exciting and we were inspired by the beauty of Scottish cliffs."

"In the 21st century building is getting softer and softer [ie less forbidding], the hole in the middle of my building is to invite people in. My view of the museum is that it should be a living room in the city, not something apart from it."

To experts, Kuma's nature-fixated, less-is-more aesthetic, expressed in buildings like the Hiroshige Museum of Art in Bato, the Louis Vuitton headquarters in Osaka of the Great Wall House near Beijing, makes him the feelgood architect for the age of austerity. While the relationship has a long way to go, so far civic Dundee seems pleased with its choice, which was certainly an easy one.

"We set aside a whole weekend to argue over the winning design from the shortlist of six," says Lesley Knox, former chairman of the city's Alliance Trust who led the judges. "In the event we were finished by Saturday lunchtime."

Although Scots have reason to be cautious about grand projects, Kuma's combination of flair with restraint promises something less divisive than Enric Miralles's Scottish Parliament. If the name of the game is to get Dundee's commercial, creative and academic-scientific assets noticed, it helps that, along with Kuma's own 2013 art gallery in Marseilles, it will be one of the first architectural show-stoppers by a Japanese master in Europe.

Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, who last month announced an extra package of Scottish Government support for the project, sees the design as a celebration of the Tay itself, "It's low and horizontal reflecting the sky and the sea, the width and expanse of the river. It is a very perceptive building; of all those shortlisted it's the one that fits best with the environment. I expect it to be iconic for Dundee, and for the whole of Scotland," she says.

"Kuma is modest to the point of anonymity," says Professor Botond Bognar of Illinois University, a friend of the architect and the leading authority on his work. "Most of his buildings are completely different from each other in conception – there is not a recognisable style of a Gehry or Zaha Hadid. He has refused to participate in what others have called "vapid form-making for its own sake".

FLITTING around from bases in Tokyo and Paris, Kuma has an outsider's perception of the potential of Dundee, centred on in its 7km long, £1 billion waterfront development plan. He has a better understanding of Dundee than many Scots, who see the city as the social work hotspot that missed out on the North Sea boom. Scots are strangely reluctant to acknowledge – let alone attempt to emulate – Dundee's successful model of public-private co-operation.

In fact, the civic car crash of the post-war decades stemmed as much from misguided urban planning as from the demise of traditional manufacturing. Municipal high-handedness landfilled an ancient harbour that once teemed with the traffic of Europe and the Empire, replacing it with a mess of roads and roundabouts. The silvery Tay became dead space, all but invisible to Dundonians except from the heights of the Law, or the upper storeys of high-rises.

Not surprisingly, the idea of another planning-led economic rebirth was greeted warily. According to Derek Little, chairman of city centre business improvement group DD One. "When it all kicked off there was a bit of trepidation as it seemed a bit of a pipe dream. We couldn't see where the idea of reconnecting the city to the waterfront was going and we weren't sure what we were getting out of it."

Kuma, who walked the streets before starting on his design, is well aware of the waterfront's wilderness years, says Little: "He has had a marvellous attitude. He has taken the trouble to understand the city and its history."

Kuma explains: "In the 20th century, most of cities that were facing the river and ocean were blocked by some industrial building like warehouses; probably Dundee had the same problem. The river is a beautiful aspect of the city but it is totally separated by some industrial developments.

"The same thing happened in many Japanese cities. For example Nagasaki, where I built a museum, the location was facing Nagasaki Bay but in the 20th century many big factories meant the relationship with the water was broken.

"If we can combine the beauty of nature with the activity of the city with the use of architectural design, we can activate city life, and we can introduce nature. I want to do the same thing for Dundee. This setting is amazing, if that can be made to be part of the city it can probably attract people from everywhere in the world."

Why did past urban planners get it so wrong? Kuma is more forgiving than many who have had to live with their experiments.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, architects were interested in the infrastructure of the city and the access to the city, but they didn't want to combine the setting with the social activity.

"Urban design was not [thought of] on a human scale at all, they thought in terms of the flow of the city, the flow of traffic, so no real living space exists. What we now know is that what people really want in a city is human space which is [rooted in] the ground, touching nature. I want to design that kind of real space in the city."

I ask him what determines whether a building stands the test of time, as say, the brutalist former council headquarters Tayside House (currently being demolished) has not.

"For me, it is the energy for the details. I want to push every energy into the detail and the material of the building. In my firm we are always saying that God lives in the details, that is our motto."

WHATEVER the building symbolises about Dundee's renaissance, there is pleasing significance of sorts in the Japanese connection. The building is a monument of sorts to the economically significant links between Scotland and Japan. As Alliance Trust's Lesley Knox has noted, this story was founded on Victorian Scots technocrats selling high-tech IP to the emerging Japanese economy like the Dundonian seismologist James Alfred Ewing, William Burton of Edinburgh (sewerage), or Kincardinshire's Richard Brunton (lighthouses), and most famously Thomas Blake Glover of Peterhead (coal mining, arms trading and brewing).

When finance secretary John Swinney visits Japan later this year he will be working a rich seam of goodwill that paid out on a generation of Japanese investment promoting Scottish manufacturing skill and management science in silicon glen and beyond.

It is the physical foundations of the V&AAD building that are now the focus of attention. There are ongoing explorations of the Tay's topography, which along with the design being finalised by Kuma & Associates and Scottish partners Crea8 Architects of Edinburgh, will inform the detailed planning application due to be considered within months. Work on site will start later this year, though the benefits are already quantifiable. Last month's announcement of a £15m new Malmaison hotel in the old Tay Hotel building would be hard to conceive without the V&AAD. Tim Allan, of local property developers Unicorn reports that, even before a single pile is driven, interest in the riverside is building fast: "What people really want to know when we discuss a property, is how many minutes from the V&A will it be?"

While V&AAD director Philip Long talks up the economic potential of the great Scottish design heritage to be showcased in the museum, DD One's Derek Little is preparing local business to take fullest possible advantage of a culture-led tourism boom that the building and its contents will bring.

"It would be very silly of us to think that we can just sit there as businesses and expect more business to come our way. Everyone else has got to do the work in getting the city centre ready to provide what new visitors will need. We are running workshops to help people to get ready for it in retail, professional services, cafes etc, where do our concerns lie, how best to get people to enjoy Dundee and the other cultural and retail attractions.

"Yes it's only one building, but it will be a catalyst for other things to happen. If this wasn't happening Malmaison wouldn't have signed up, and that kind of [boutique] hotel raises the city's game another notch higher, bringing in others. It's a domino effect, but that doesn't mean we don't have to keep working for it, we can't take our foot off the pedal"

A NEW book, The Great Builders (Thames and Hudson, £24.95), places Kengo Kuma at the contemporary end of a long line of visionaries, from Brunelleschi to Telford to Kuma's own heroes Frank Lloyd Wright and Kenzo Tange, architect of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. According to Japanese architecture expert Botand Bognar, he earned this exalted place by addressing the "sobering realities" of Japan's "post-bubble" age, an era of retrenchment now spread to the economies of the West.

Kuma's architecture, writes Bognar, is "hypnotic and sensory with vibrant and sensuous surfaces, subtle details and shifting patterns of light and transparency which heightens our perceptive sensibilities and invites us to slow down and think within it".

One subject of contemplation in the meantime is, of course, whether the building can be built on time and on budget.

Time will tell, but the role of project co-ordinator Mike Galloway of Dundee City Council inspires faith. Galloway is a regeneration expert with a record of delivery unparalleled in the Scottish public sector. Pessimism is also reduced by the on-time, on-budget triumph of the National Museum of Scotland and the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland.

Kuma notes that northern China, where he has built several important buildings, endures weather extremes more testing of engineering and materials than anything the Firth of Tay can muster.

dufc1909

March 5th, 2012, 11:13 AM

Excellent aticle . . . . thanks Jaydot

Rich B

March 5th, 2012, 05:07 PM

..love kengo kuma... went to see him lecture at Dundee Uni and he seems real gent which is unusal for a bit of a genius

Another good article here on how Aberdeen is following Dundee's lead on urban regeneration

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21429/in-dundee-we-have-a-fantastic-example-aberdeen-s-regeneration-plan-inspired-by-east-coast-neighbour.html

Rich B

March 5th, 2012, 05:36 PM

Interesting new 'virtual tour' of dundee waterfront on website. Makes discovery point look amazing

http://www.dundeewaterfront.com/Virtual+Tour/

dufc1909

March 5th, 2012, 05:50 PM

I have an idea for the "New green park"

http://www.mega-stage.com/

R.K.Teck

March 5th, 2012, 07:22 PM

Maybe holding a music festival in Camperdown would be a good idea, there's plenty space.

And I've said it before, but Dundee is lacking a big concert hall. It would be the perfect final addition to the Waterfront project. The Caird Hall is 2500 and gives a decent intimate gig, but a venue designed specifically for music with a capacity of 7,000-10,000 could compete with Aberdeen's P&J Arena for big name bands that wouldn't want to play the Caird Hall. I feel Dundonians are missing out because of a lack of big 'Naming Rights' Concert Hall!

djmacdonald73

March 6th, 2012, 12:18 AM

adammccall

March 6th, 2012, 04:54 AM

I feel really passionate about this issue, I posted this on this thread some time ago:

...it's fairly laughable to think that the fourth largest City in Scotland doesn't have a venue to accommodate theatre arts companies and bands, etc.

People wonder why very few big productions and concerts come to dundee, but if you think about what we have currently, you can't blame booking agents for turning away from Dundee.

The Caird Hall is the only good venue (capacity wise), however a half assed attempt at turning a town hall into a performance space doesn't quite cut it- especially when you take into consideration the acoustics*, terrible staging, masking, Rigging points, production Access, sight lines and facilities to highlight only a few problems, makes the Hall a terrible venue for most events.

The Whitehall has much of the same problems due to the fact it's shell is a Cinema, and it is extremely dilapidated (out of the public's view). The capacity not adequate either.

The Rep is good theatre,as it was built to be a theatre, but they don't hire it and capacity again is an issue.

Then Dundee's left with the Little Theatre (need I say more), Gardyne Theatre (Which is again a purpose built Pros Arch theatre, but is in a college campus and only seats 390), and that's about it.

And again, for bands, they are left with the above or a choice of Fat Sam's Live (tiny stage, medium capacity) or Dundee's many make shift pubs stages.

Pretty shocking really, especially when the City portrays this image of being cultural and arts centred these days- they seem to turn away from the Caird hall criticisms and pretend it is the best venue on earth.

It also quite frustrating to see they haven't planned for any music/Arts venues on the waterfront Development plan, as it wouldn't be wrong of me to associate a good waterfront city with a good music/arts venue.

Dundee should capitalise on its central location which surely would appeal to bookers, artists and travellers alike and build a good venue, in return we would get a big boost in tourism / local spending.

I starred the gripe about acoustics as it is well documented online that the caird hall has great acoustics.
This is correct for orchestras, and acoustic performance. But is a nightmare for anything else, in comparison to modern building.

It was designed to carry sound acoustically but there is a reverb time of about 3.5 seconds which means amplified sound especially rock concerts loose clarity due to all the reflections of sound bouncing of Walls and roofs, etc. Piano concertos and organ recitals along with choirs and orchestras sound amazing.. It was designed pre sound system

The Caird hall has another downfall: the roof space- Smoke, haze and pyrotechnics can only be used sparingly as there is isolation issues in the roof, meaning that the smoke that travels into the roof can make its way to alarmed areas and set off a fire drill.
Also, on the subject of the roof and pyrotechnics: even for orchestral performances the caird hall is a bit of a risk... The famous 1812 overture which traditionally has the sound of cannon fire during it was played. Using controlled pyrotechnics called concussions (which are used very often in theatre and concerts) to create the cannon "boom". As this was happening, the roof tiles in some rooms of the caird hall couldn't cope with the pressure of the low frequencies and some fell down.
This is not conducive to a modern events venue.

The list is endless really.

Examples:

Caird hall is run by Dundee City Council. Events venues run by local authorities are just a bad idea. Yes, the caird hall functions, but that's about all it does. Could you imagine if we had a venue run by a business. It would be in its best interest to be good for monitory reasons, and would be actively selling the venue to big promoters etc. DCC doesn't do this.

Caird hall doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with big audiences all the time. By this I mean bars, toilets, ticketing and crowd control strategies, etc etc.

R.K.Teck

March 6th, 2012, 07:21 PM

I was going to suggest between the Tay Bridge and the new marina, but I don't know how big this space is, and I don't know the dimensions of an 8,000 seater auditoium!

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg15/scaled.php?server=15&filename=dundee.png&res=medium

Plus points about this location:
It's 5 minutes walk away from the Train Station.
2 Multi Storey Car Parks within 10 minute walk: 1 at the new swimming pool, 1 next to Sensations. I would also build a new multi story on the other side of the road bridge, and a footpath going under the bridge to link the car park with the new arena.

So the transport link aren't too bad, although an out of town location would be more practical it wouldn't have the same impact as a Riverside Arena. I think I would use the arguement that the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff is a 75,000 stadium on the riverside, and they cope with the transport for an arena 10 times as big as my propsed Dundee Riverside Arena, so I'm sure 8,000 seat auditorium would be fine. :)

New hotel getting built on the other side of the marina, which will likely be 4 or 5 star, and many other hotels in the city where people would want to stay after seeing a big name music star.
The riverside location would be stunning with a marina full of yachts, the V&A and a new signature Arena.

dufc1909

March 7th, 2012, 04:24 PM

There`s an application to turn the ground floor shop next to Coutties wynd, Trades bar in the nethergate into a cafe. The interior design is by Aim.

http://bwarrant.dundeecity.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?keyval=LGT1OJGC04Q00&searchtype=PROPERTY&module=P3

SeoulDee

March 7th, 2012, 06:26 PM

Deleted by SeoulDee.

Rich B

March 7th, 2012, 06:54 PM

Bizarre. It's already opened as a coffee shop! It was open before Christmas certainly. Empire State Coffee it's called. I've not been in it but it looks quite nice. Don't know what that application is all about?

Are they adding an additional floor maybe ?

tongue_tied_danny

March 7th, 2012, 09:27 PM

Are they adding an additional floor maybe ?

It's already on 3 floors, would they need permission to open another?

Really cool place though, the lamb stovies are superb.

Jaydot

March 8th, 2012, 12:36 PM

It's already on 3 floors, would they need permission to open another?

Really cool place though, the lamb stovies are superb.

If you look at the weekly application list for this week, the proposal for this property is "Change use of footpath to outdoor cafe seating" rather than anything interior to the property.

http://bwarrant.dundeecity.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=M0H0T4GC06600&searchtype=WEEKLY

The other application linked in the previous posts appears to be from early last year?

djmacdonald73

March 9th, 2012, 11:16 AM

Walked round by Whitehall Crescent yesterday - I see the podium beside Tayside House is fairly coming down! You can finally see the back of the Caird Hall again:)

Rich B

March 9th, 2012, 05:03 PM

According to today's Courier, Pizza Express plans to open a restaurant at Broughty Ferry station

Rich B

March 10th, 2012, 04:31 PM

Can reiach and hall really hope to get away with this...http://www.reiachandhall.co.uk/project/civic/scottishwater_01.htm

Townie Tam

March 11th, 2012, 01:12 PM

.
Forgive my naivety - but are architects incapable of coming up with NEW ideas for a commission? Why retread something that is perceived to be "good design"? Do they not understand that there has been a globalisation of information, thanks to the WWW? No hiding in corners any more...

Saw the same thing from Rex re the V&A and Belfast...

Sweet Zombie Jesus

March 11th, 2012, 01:22 PM

Eh? That's a bit hostile. Does every single building have to be completely unique? If that was the case then cities would look completely ridiculous with every building trying to be 'special'. I'd argue if the formula works then go for it, especially if it leads to a bit more harmony in our urban landscapes, we definitely need it. These are completely different scale buildings in different parts of the country anyway, the office in Stepps is in a business park down a back road, whereas Dundee House is huge and highly visible. They both seem to be of a high quality, so if all new office buildings were designed in a similar way I honestly wouldn't complain.

Ultima

March 11th, 2012, 02:14 PM

SWJ is right. If you keep going for original buildings you'll end up like the situation in Glasgow where we have a host of interesting buildings in place or in development...but they are all based around the same small area of the clyde and just look like UFOs have landed. Subtle is good. Think NORD.

alonzo-ny

March 11th, 2012, 07:21 PM

Sweet Zombie Jesus

March 11th, 2012, 10:01 PM

Better knock down all those similar Victorian or Georgian buildings that look a bit alike, so ugly.

Exactly, all made of stone and copying styles off each other... no originality!

dufc1909

March 12th, 2012, 01:20 PM

Apparently . . . . there`s a large sign in the window of what used to be Parky`s store in the Seagate, which says, Turkish baths opening soon . . cant find anything on the internet . . anyone know?

s.findlay

March 12th, 2012, 01:39 PM

Apparently . . . . there`s a large sign in the window of what used to be Parky`s store in the Seagate, which says, Turkish baths opening soon . . cant find anything on the internet . . anyone know?

I believe that Parky's have moved round the corner to St Andrews Lane and their former unit is to become a Turkish baths and flats above. they will however keep the fascade of the listed retail unit.

dufc1909

March 12th, 2012, 02:37 PM

Thanks for the info :

How good would it be if the large empty warehouse opposite became appartments.

Rich B

March 12th, 2012, 07:48 PM

Thanks for the info :

How good would it be if the large empty warehouse opposite became appartments.

If you mean the old McLeish warehouse, that site has been identified by the council as being of strategic importance and the director of planning has spoken of his desire for a high quality office development to be positioned there

djmacdonald73

March 13th, 2012, 12:44 AM

Jaydot

March 13th, 2012, 09:10 PM

I see that Dundee is the latest city to get it's own monopoly game :)

Rich B

March 13th, 2012, 11:12 PM

looks good...http://www.oberlanders.co.uk/projects/educational/duncan-of-jordanstone-college-of-art-design--university-of-dundee/

djmacdonald73

March 14th, 2012, 10:26 AM

looks good...http://www.oberlanders.co.uk/projects/educational/duncan-of-jordanstone-college-of-art-design--university-of-dundee/

Yeah, I was down the Perth Road a couple of Sundays ago and saw that some sort of work was being done on it - the artists impression of the final does look good! It WAS in desperate need of some sort of makeover.

dufc1909

March 14th, 2012, 12:29 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqlZUMO9Zpw

Looking forward to next weekend when I get to climb the 232 steps to the top of St`Marys tower, seen in the background, and have a look around from 50m up :)

Jaydot

March 14th, 2012, 12:32 PM

Dundee to be immortalised on Monopoly board

Residents will now be asked to vote on which landmarks should make it into the famous finance game.

Dundee has become the latest Scottish city to be immortalised with its own Monopoly board.

It was chosen over ten other towns and cities, including Perth and Stirling, to be awarded its own version of the best-selling board game.

Local people will now be asked to vote for which landmarks will vie for the most prominent positions on the board, which will be available from October.

Officials have confirmed that the city's two senior football clubs, Dundee and Dundee United, will also seek positions on the Monopoly board.

Mark Hauser, licensing director at manufacturers Winning Moves UK, said: "We are delighted to be making this exciting announcement that Dundee is 'Passing Go'.

"To have come ahead of ten other cities and towns across the whole Scotland is a magnificent achievement.

"We were particularly impressed with Dundee's great landmarks -- historic, heritage and contemporary.

"Where else can you buy and own your favourite landmark or soccer club for just paper money?"

Dundee Lord Provost John Letford said: "We are delighted that Dundee is to get its own version of Monopoly and I am sure there will be an enthusiastic response to the call to nominate local landmarks for the game.

"Through regeneration projects, our city has developed and changed over the years. There will be some very interesting suggestions for landmarks reflecting the city's proud past and the future that is now being built."

Dundee is the fifth Scottish area to get its own official Monopoly version, after Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and the Highlands & Islands.

For the Highlands and Islands edition, Loch Ness came out top in an online poll to take the board's most prestigious property slot.

In 2006 Aberdonians voting for locations to feature on their city's edition voted to feature "Go to Dundee" in place of the "Go To Jail". Dundonians were outraged and some local shops refused to stock the Aberdeen edition.

Should we start a similar campaign against aberdeen?? :)

Urban Life

March 14th, 2012, 01:35 PM

Looking forward to next weekend when I get to climb the 232 steps to the top of St`Marys tower, seen in the background, and have a look around from 50m up :)

Sounds good dufc1909! Can you get up St Mary's Tower anytime? Any details on times next weekend? I thought they had restricted entry to 'Doors Open Day' etc? I was just wondering as I'd love to get some pics from the top...:)

#EDIT# Some web details about admission below? Don't know how reliable it is???

http://www.dundee.world-guides.com/dundee_landmarks.html

P.S. Crackin' news about the Monopoly Jaydot! Long overdue I might add. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

dufc1909

March 14th, 2012, 02:09 PM

Urban life,

I contacted the leisure & culture department.
As part of the spring/summer public programme, they will be having tours of the churches and tower.

Dates are by appointment and are :

Saturday 31 March, 2.30pm

Wednesday 04 & 11 April, 2.30pm

http://www.dundeestmarys.co.uk/history.html

Rich B

March 14th, 2012, 06:39 PM

Cool library extension included in Ninewells redevelopment

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2012/february12/medicalschool.htm

Townie Tam

March 15th, 2012, 03:13 AM

.
Hi Rich B.

Starting and finishing this composite post in the education sector.

You mentioned,
looks good...http://www.oberlanders.co.uk/projects/educational/duncan-of-jordanstone-college-of-art-design--university-of-dundee/

And they're not going to incorporate this proposal?

https://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/uploaded-pics-page-1/100_0669-700.jpg

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Auld Steeple

http://www.dundee.world-guides.com/dundee_landmarks.html
"and even this 49-metre / 160-foot tall structure had to be rebuilt after bomb damage in WWII...."

First time I've ever read of
a) any WW2 bombs landing in the city centre,
b) The Auld Steeple suffering bomb damage of any description, never mind enough damage to need a rebuild!

I think dufc1909's info should be regarded as more accurate.

BTW: you can get info on the Steeple Church redevelopment at:-
http://www.thesteeplechurch.co.uk/overview/
And there's a history time line at:-
http://www.thesteeplechurch.co.uk/about-us/history/outline-history/
But no mention of horrid Heinkels!

In the meantime, here are three pics taken on a "Doors Open" visit in 2008; one from the top and two from the middle.

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/auld-steeple/DSCF0252-1000.jpg

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/auld-steeple/DSCF0204-1000.jpg

http://sites.google.com/site/webgaffer/home/auld-steeple/DSCF0199-1000.jpg

Enjoy the climb!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEDICAL SCHOOL EXTENSION

Although the floor space available to the Medical School is being expanded, there will be no space for the Medical History Museum, which currently has its show cases in the "Blue Carpet Area" of the foyer. It changes the exhibition every 6 months or so.
Having spoken to sources close to the Museum staff, it would appear that it has been suggested that upper management at the College see no place for "old stuff" in a modern environment.

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/_lib/img/medical/nicola1.jpg

In 2008 Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, visited the Medical
History Museum as part of a tour of Ninewells Hospital. Medical curator Dr Graham Lowe
was on hand to show her some of the permanent displays and the Medical Impressions exhibition.

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/medical.htm

Personally, I feel that "upper management" are, perhaps, suffering from the same attitude that was displayed by Dundee's planning convener in the early 60s. I'm reading "Jute No More" at the moment and it is mentioned, in Charles McKean's chapter, that the whole of Airlie Place was pencilled in for demolition. A.J. Thomson was the planning convener around 1964 and his reason for the projected demolition? "There are buildings up there that are very very old."
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jute-No-More-Transforming-Dundee/dp/184586090X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331586085&sr=8-1

How can medical students know where they're going, if they have no understanding of where medicine has been?

Pious Fraud

March 15th, 2012, 08:01 PM

University of Dundee commence Medical School extension
Urban Realm 15th March 2012

The University of Dundee has announced that it has teamed up with Archial to plan an £11.2m extension to its School of Medicine at Ninewells.

Taking the form of a 600sq/m extension to the north side of the existing building, alongside a refurbishment of the library and teaching space. This will serve to expand the amount of teaching space available and incorporate state of the art IT and electronic learning equipment.

The extension will feature a frontage adorned with artwork by Janice Aitken, a lecturer from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, who has illustrated an aspect of medical research with a transparent panel design.

These represent elements of a eukaryotic cell, a fundamental building block of the human body, whilst imbuing a colourful personality to the structure.

ISG are acting as main contractor with Gardiner & Theobald serving as project managers.

Work begins this month with completion scheduled by 2014/15.

http://www.urbanrealm.com/images/news/news_3411.jpg

http://www.urbanrealm.com/news/3411/University_of_Dundee_commence_Medical_School_extension.html

Rich B

March 15th, 2012, 10:21 PM

Hi Townie,

Sorry but was your previous post referring to the lack of 'Bionic Man' with the DOJ refurb. ? I didn't quite understand it. If it was I think that plan has been scrapped with the sculpture now being mooted for a site at Seabraes but not sure whether that will happen either.

Was walking down nethergate today and I noticed that work appears to be commencing on the new bar/restaurant beside braes with the external terrace, I think by AIM. Will be good to see a new beer garden in dundee.

Pious Fraud

March 15th, 2012, 11:35 PM

Nice railway poster...
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59096000/jpg/_59096136_1957.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17380917

Townie Tam

March 16th, 2012, 05:09 PM

.
Hi Rich B.

The original proposal was that the bionic WOMAN would be leaning against the west end of the Crawford Building.
I think that would work great with the new entrance to the Matthew Building.

http://www.oberlanders.co.uk/img/dynamic/4cf92c7a.jpg

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=201368&sectioncode=26

Townie Tam

March 16th, 2012, 06:50 PM

.
"Building firm says rumours of Dundee swimming
pool project problems are 'absolute poppycock'

The firm building Dundee's new swimming pool has rejected rumours
of problems with the project, and insisted work is "progressing well"."

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/img/photos/biz/photo_18577_wide_crop.jpg

From:-

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21681/building-firm-says-rumours-of-dundee-swimming-pool-project-problems-are-absolute-poppycock.html

dufc1909

March 16th, 2012, 09:24 PM

Nice railway poster . . . it is . . .

I have this £10 note . . . .

http://www.rbs.com/about/our-banknotes/historic-notes/10-pound-note-from-interim-series-1969.html

:)

dufc1909

March 20th, 2012, 06:10 PM

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21743/dundee-karting-arena-almost-ready-for-the-starting-grid.html

Jaydot

March 21st, 2012, 02:20 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-17456014

Great news, that old NCR site was getting a bit untidy!

Rich B

March 21st, 2012, 07:42 PM

Corporation tax cut to 24% from next month. By 2014 it will fall to 22%.

Enhanced capital allowances for businesses setting up in new Scottish enterprise zones in Dundee, Irvine and Nigg. A Welsh enterprise zone to be created in Deeside.

Consultation on simplifying the tax system for small firms with a turnover of up to £77,000.

Government support for £150m of tax increment financing to help councils promote development and an extra £270m for the Growing Places fund.

Tax relief for the video games, animation and high-end television production sectors.

Government considering enterprise loans for young people to start their own business.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17449501

RapidTaco

March 21st, 2012, 08:15 PM

Good to see Dundee, Irvine and Nigg singled out in Scotland ahead of other ports. The locations selected require and deserve the investment much more than others. :)

Urban Life

March 22nd, 2012, 03:52 PM

Jaydot

March 22nd, 2012, 04:32 PM

A link below covering the news that Gladman Developments, who have build some offices on the old Valentines site off the Kingsway, have put in revised plans to DCC.

More below:
http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-17473588

Seems a varied selection of developments, good that it is not going to be just identikit office pavillions, but do we need another 'out of town' development out that way? Nonetheless, it would be good to seen the site being used up...

EDIT- Great news re: Dundee Port being named an enterprise zone- such potential down there! :)

Was wondering where that development was going!

Interesting to find out who these could be:-

"We have had interest from prospective occupiers who are household names not already represented in Dundee, while others are well known local businesses looking to relocate and expand."

They are also looking to build a hotel.....who for...any Ideas??

dufc1909

March 23rd, 2012, 01:21 PM

I like the idea of the planned micro brewery for the hawkhill.

http://bwarrant.dundeecity.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=M1AB68GC03700&searchtype=WEEKLY

ORGANISERS of the Dundee Spring Festival are appealing for local and regional food & craft traders, singers, musicians and dance troupes to come on board and join in the fun.

The festival, which will run from 26 April to 13 May in Dundee city centre, will feature a great range of original foods, drink, crafts, clothing, jewellery, home furnishings and accessories from all over the world. However, organisers, Market Square Group, are keen to ensure the event contains both a local and regional element too.

Paul Kennedy of The Market Square Group said: “The Spring Festival will feature green and ethical goods and we are always keen to feature homemade and handmade goods made from local and regional ingredients or materials.”

The Festival, which is being organised in conjunction with City Centre Management (City Development, Dundee City Council), will also feature a programme of live music, children’s entertainment and a themed bar. A covered performance area will be set up on the City Square in front of Caird Hall and interest is invited from singers, musicians, entertainers and local theatre/dance groups.

Lorna McKenzie, City Centre Manager for Dundee said: "This will be Market Square Group's first ever market in Scotland, not to mention the first Tudor chalet market for Dundee. For 2012 we wish to bring something new and exciting to visitors and shoppers in Dundee. This market has this fabulous combination and is a great opportunity for local businesses and entertainment groups to get involved."

Anyone interested in securing a stall should send a short description of their business to Paul Kennedy at office@marketsquaregroup.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.marketsquaregroup.com for more information and booking forms.

Anyone interested in a chance to show off their performance skills should contact Jayne Russell at Jayne@marketsquaregroup.it

Rich B

March 23rd, 2012, 04:44 PM

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21829/council-shares-vision-of-bringing-continental-cafe-culture-to-dundee-city-square.html

Sounds like a good idea to me :)

djmacdonald73

March 23rd, 2012, 10:52 PM

Good idea.........didn`t realise the Twin City cafe had closed though.

adammccall

March 24th, 2012, 03:44 AM

A Pecha Kucha presentation from the mighty Jed Young of AiM talking about the District 10 dev.

Follow the link for the video:

http://www.creativedundee.com/2012/03/ged_young/

:bowtie:

The Boy David

March 26th, 2012, 10:28 AM

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21829/council-shares-vision-of-bringing-continental-cafe-culture-to-dundee-city-square.html

Sounds like a good idea to me :)
Great idea indeed! So much potential around there, would be great to see the square being put to good use.

dufc1909

March 26th, 2012, 11:22 AM

The "Old" Ascot bar on the corner of south tay st & westport is to have a new lease of life. About time too, it was once deservedly on the city pub crawl route but recently has been neglected. The new name is The West.

Ultima

March 26th, 2012, 01:39 PM

dufc1909

March 26th, 2012, 02:40 PM

Is it a West Brewery pub?

As in the WEST from Glasgow ?, I had`nt thought of that.
Looking at the application again, it does`nt seem so. :sad2:

Rich B

March 26th, 2012, 03:59 PM

Surely it is West as in West Port !

Jaydot

March 28th, 2012, 10:14 AM

Don't know how long this link will work, supplement on Dundee.

http://www.times-scotland.co.uk/

tongue_tied_danny

March 28th, 2012, 01:42 PM

Is it a West Brewery pub?

I hope so as St Mungo lager is my tipple of choice these days.

I hope whoever takes over the "ascot" makes a good job of it. That pub has been shite for too long. It was previously called the Snow Bar, I never went in but from the outside it looked like a very half assed attempt at creating one of these ice bars, but without the ice.

I'm also pleased to see that the Stack Leisure Park has found a buyer, TJ Morris. I'm not sure what plans they have for it though. The Courier reckons that they're going to open a Home Bargains store on the site. I imagine this'll be in the old Tesco building. It would be great to see the bowling alley open again.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/21866/home-bargains-chain-owner-takes-over-stack-leisure-park.html

Rich B

March 28th, 2012, 05:24 PM

Don't know how long this link will work, supplement on Dundee.

http://www.times-scotland.co.uk/

brilliant coverage of the rise of 'the dee' by the times :cheers:

s.findlay

March 28th, 2012, 06:09 PM

I hope so as St Mungo lager is my tipple of choice these days.

I hope whoever takes over the "ascot" makes a good job of it. That pub has been shite for too long. It was previously called the Snow Bar, I never went in but from the outside it looked like a very half assed attempt at creating one of these ice bars, but without the ice.

I'm also pleased to see that the Stack Leisure Park has found a buyer, TJ Morris. I'm not sure what plans they have for it though. The Courier reckons that they're going to open a Home Bargains store on the site. I imagine this'll be in the old Tesco building. It would be great to see the bowling alley open again.

It won't be West, its to be called the West House and is owned by the same people (Perth Hospitality) who run a few upmarket bars in Perth . The Snow Bar was a temporary bar managed and run by Absolut Vodka - they opened in other cities as well for a few months.

The old Tesco building is not included in the sale - Tesco own their own land so that and the old petrol station are being sold separatly by a different company. I think there are plans for a new bowling alley beside Camperdown Leisure Park when the expansion takes place.

Townie Tam

March 28th, 2012, 10:46 PM

.
The Courier also reported, in the past couple of days, that the Twin Cities Cafe
in City Square is being refurbished as the second Henry's Coffee House in the toon.

dufc1909

March 29th, 2012, 09:30 AM

The Courier also reported, in the past couple of days, that the Twin Cities Cafe in City Square is being refurbished as the second Henry's Coffee House in the toon.

I hope there are plans for huge sun / rain umbrellas or even better a giant awning . . . .

I also think he should use his influence and bring over a carousel for permanent placement somewhere in the square.

Townie Tam

March 31st, 2012, 03:24 PM

Just came across a brochure I downloaded a while ago, which has info and more pics re the Bio Colossus. Just checked and it's still available, at:-

www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2006/prmar06/inspirationbrochure.pdf

dufc1909

April 2nd, 2012, 10:44 AM

I had my tour of St Marys tower on Saturday.

What a great experience. I had only ever been up the stairs but this time on the tour we were allowed into the rooms. The staff from the Mcmanus were superb. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the towers history or the need to have a good view of the city.

Some photos . . .

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020157.jpg

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020204.jpg
http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020158.jpg

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020160.jpg
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http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020162.jpg
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http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020184.jpg
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http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020190.jpg
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http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t363/dufc1909/P1020200.jpg

Dundonian

April 2nd, 2012, 11:20 AM

http://www.times-scotland.co.uk/

pimtor

April 3rd, 2012, 08:22 PM

Funding for Scottish Railway Stations...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-17604451

Dundee station can do with more than just a new lick of paint!

Townie Tam

April 4th, 2012, 03:08 AM

.
Hi dufc1909.

I see your pics have made Facebook already!

8=)

dufc1909

April 4th, 2012, 09:32 AM

Thanks for the info Townie, I dont do facebook so would`nt know.
I resisted photobucket for long enough. :)

On another note: Dundee Airport. It makes me wonder, when you see Manchester United`s charter aircraft (Avro RJ85) I think, land and take off safely, why we still dont have a link to a European hub.

http://www.virtualtenby.co.uk/video.asp?About=Dundee%20Airport&HD=hHR3TsDr8b4

Man U arrived in a silver one . . . .

Rich B

April 4th, 2012, 05:37 PM

pimtor

April 4th, 2012, 10:41 PM

Article from The Courier regarding the funding for Scotland's Railway Stations...

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/National/article/22023/scotland-s-railway-stations-to-benefit-from-30m-of-investment.html

Jaydot

April 5th, 2012, 10:07 AM

Dundee leaps into Olympic league 04/04/12

Stewart McIntosh

One of Scotland’s most remarkable regeneration stories has suddenly found itself in the limelight. After several years of quiet planning and preparation, dramatic changes are taking place along the Dundee’s 8km waterfront as its £1 billion transformation accelerates.

Recently, the massive project broke into the premier league of regeneration schemes, joining the likes of London’s Olympic Park, Greenwich Peninsula and Wembley City in the UK’s top 20.

The ambitious scheme will breath new commercial and community life into 240 hectares of waterfront land extending along the Firth of Tay. Demolition of 1960s-style buildings and parts of an urban ring-road have already unlocked strategic development sites.

With the sheer pace of change in the city now apparent, developers and investors are sitting up and taking notice. The organisers of an Economic Summit in the city at the end of March had planned for 150 participants – those plans had to be radically extended when more than 300 business people, property specialists, planners and funders etc applied to attend, keen for an update on the rapidly changing face on the waterfront.

Five distinctive development zones have been established, creating sites for different types of commercial, residential and leisure schemes. Stretching eastwards from the city’s famous rail bridge, the zones comprise:

Riverside: the area provides the main access to the city by road, rail and air. Leisure facilities include sports grounds and a 35-hectare nature park beside the Tay. Waterfront apartments are under development

Seabraes: As one of the UK’s largest centres for digital games and other creative industries, Dundee is home to more than 350 businesses in the sector with 3,300 local jobs created. Local turnover is £185 million per annum.

With its easy access to the Universities, the city centre and the waterfront, Seabraes has been designated as a the key centre for creative industries. The development area comprises 4 hectares.

Central Waterfront: As the location for the V&A at Dundee and Captain Scott’s ship RRS Discovery, this is the focal point of the waterfront’s regeneration.

1960s style roadways and buildings which blocked access to the waterfront are under demolition, reconnecting the nearby city centre with the sea via a new grid iron street pattern, attractive boulevards and civic green space.

With 500,000 visitors predicted in the first year of the V&A at Dundee’s opening (2015), there is growing developer and investor interest in leisure, retail, office, hotel and residential projects in the Central Waterfront.

Lifestyle hotel group Malmaison’s 91-bedroom hotel is being developed within the restored, and listed, former Tay Hotel on the waterfront. Other hotel groups are expressing interest in sites close to the V&A.

City Quay: a pioneering £204 million redevelopment of the 10.5 hectares City Quay saw historic jute warehouses converted by developer Unicorn into commercial use for waterfront offices, surgeries, gym and leisure uses etc.

Also, a total of 20,000 sq metres of new commercial space has been created, including 10,000 sq metres of modern offices. The Scottish Police took 5000 sq metres for its new forensic science HQ, covering the whole of Scotland from Dundee.

Together, these developments have created 1110 job so far. Plans are now being prepared to create a marina at City Quay.

Port of Dundee: with a planned investment of £92 million, the port is a key strategic area in the city’s regeneration and job creation. With its 25 hectares of available development land and its immediate access to the North Sea, the port is ideally located for servicing Scotland’s rapidly expanding renewables sector.

The Scottish Government recently designated the port as a special ‘Enterprise Area’. Mike Galloway, Director of City Development, said: “The renewables sector offers Dundee’s economy the equivalent of Aberdeen’s oil industry – and the good news is that, unlike oil, renewable energy isn’t resource with a finite limit.”

As awareness of Dundee’s sheer potential grows, new investors are climbing aboard. In a sign of investor confidence in the city’s future, the Wellgate shopping centre was purchased by Invista Real Estate Investment Management for £31.2 million, one of Scotland’s top retail deals of its type in 2011.

Mike Galloway said: “Investors are now listening to us and asking questions about opportunities. They can see the importance of the regeneration project. Malmaison would not have come to Dundee without the waterfront regeneration and the commitment of the Council and Scottish Enterprise to seeing this £1 billion project through.

“In fact, it’s not a Dundee project any more – it’s a regional project where the major economic impact on the city centre will ripple out to towns and communities in the Dundee hinterland. Perthshire, Angus and Fife will all share in the benefits.”

Find out what’s happening and take a virtual tour of Dundee’s transformation: www.dundeewaterfront.com

R.K.Teck

April 5th, 2012, 04:34 PM

We got the V&A at the right time, coming out of recession and the economy slowly picking up Dundees only going to get better as the waterfront project continues, V&A is completed, economic confidence gets high and other companies want to come in to rival other companies who enter Dundee market.

I'll say Perth getting City status is a similar thing, I'm back I home just now so I was in Perth for the first time in months yesterday, there seems to be a real buzz about the place, which I imaging there is in Dundee. Perth was really struggling, it looked a bit run down last time i was there to be honest, but there are new shop units as well as new high street paving, it's been freshened up, and there's more in the pipeline - The billion pound V&A waterfront development and the Perth City status are two shots in the arm that will do wonders for Tayside.

The £30m railway fund, what will that mean for Dundee? A new Dundee Main station building, a new Dundee West Station and Levenmouth Rail Link, we're all mentioned by the Courier, seems a lot to do with £30m considering Queen Street's new buck course is to be £50m and St Andrews Rail Link was to be £35m.

Finally, can somebody tell me what that 10 ft pyramid in the city is for?

Jaydot

April 5th, 2012, 08:08 PM

djmacdonald73

April 5th, 2012, 11:56 PM

dufc1909

April 6th, 2012, 12:05 PM

Westport Pyramid :http://www.panoramio.com/photo/24184438

Townie Tam

April 6th, 2012, 05:26 PM

.
Trespass is still open but, today, a large sign has gone up above the window, inviting "All Enquiries Montague & Evans", so it looks like word of its closure is not far off the mark.

Quirinalian

April 6th, 2012, 08:39 PM

Westport Pyramid :http://www.panoramio.com/photo/24184438

Looks a bit of a squeeze to get in to!

Do they have some sort of religious iconography on the side of them? It certainly looks like that, although it seems more likely they'd have gone with some sort of Dundonian theme.

Townie Tam

April 7th, 2012, 09:55 AM

.
Quirinalian typed,

Do they have some sort of religious iconography on the side of them?

At the link, you'll find the following comment from the artist, Stan Bonnar:-

"The work comprises a number of elements. I saw the pyramid as a symbol for the structure of a patriarchal society - classically architectonic, hard edged with highly polished marbling. But on each face of the pyramid, there is inlaid a small symbol, a reflection from the direction which it faces. From the City Churches reflects a golden cross. From the River Tay reflects a fish. From the university to the west there reflects a blue roman letter W, and from the Angus countryside reflects a green tree. These symbols ameliorate the patriarchal structure, to one which is more willing to look around and reassess its priorities.

"The two steel canopies, situated at either end of the pyramid, are designed to look like trees, with an urban feel. In the middle of each canopy, there rises an ancient vent from the toilets below. For the top of these I made a sun and a moon globe, one yellow and one blue. Their purpose was to shine with a kind of gender equanimity - an equal mind to illuminate the scene. If you can imagine the classical pyramid rising from the gloomy depths of a subterranean patriarchy, looking round and blinking in the light, with trees spreading to reveal the birth, then you’ve got the same picture as I have."

Rich B

April 9th, 2012, 07:24 PM

What a great idea this is : http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/22086/v-and-a-museum-could-be-served-by-broughty-ferry-water-taxi.html

pimtor

April 9th, 2012, 08:40 PM

how about water taxis between the V&A and St Andrews?

Jaydot

April 10th, 2012, 03:33 PM

Rich B

April 10th, 2012, 04:01 PM

After all these years, Scaffolding eventually begins to grow around the Tay Hotel :banana:

http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o620/jaydot1/IMAG0133.jpg

Excuse the image quality, taken whilst waiting at the lights!

Hey Jaydot you just beat me to it, was about to post the exact same thing, brilliant news :cheers::banana:

Other positive developments I noticed today include the opening of the West House, which looks really swanky and that the pub further up, Temple Lane I think its called, is being done up.

Rich B

April 10th, 2012, 06:45 PM

I thought Mitsubishi were meant to be investing in Dundee...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-17667197

s.findlay

April 10th, 2012, 06:56 PM

Was walking down Union Street today and its clear to see how business confidence has risen in the street with the arrival of V & A. Marble slab has recently opened a new outlet there and Lorraine Law the jewellers will be joining the Kilt Hire Company in moving their premises there from Commercial Street. Unfortunately Commercial Street has really suffered recently with Burns and Harris, Lorraine Law, Hendersons, the famous pub at the top of the street (forgot the name) and Trespass all closing.

Really positive news about Union Street, however I think Commercial Street is also going through some exciting developments; the entire tenement at the bottom of Commercial Street (old Crabb electrical) has been transformed into luxury serviced apartments. The builders were working on the site for a good 14 months. (http://www.richmond-apartments.co.uk/index.php), the entire block above Waterstones is being converted by Jamal Properties into student flats which will include complete exterior and interior redesign, the entire block and two vacant retail units (next to Waterstones) are being converted have recently been given planning permission to be converted from vacant offices into flats and the two retail units will be joined and turned into a new cafe.

Great news about the former Tay Hotel, it will make a huge difference to the entrance to the city by train. On a similar note, the blocks of flats on Dock Street (Tayview Apartments - next to the Tay Hotel and the rear of the Gilfillan Memorial Church) have been re-pointed and new windows have been put in by the company that owns them.

Jaydot

April 10th, 2012, 07:57 PM

I thought Mitsubishi were meant to be investing in Dundee...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-17667197

It's strange how another Dundee possible has slipped into Edinburgh!?

However, a few weeks back, returning on a train to Dundee from a rugby match at Murrayfield,
I was chatting with a guy who turned out to be the manager of Dundee Port. He was very positive that there would be some good announcements for the port this year as there were a lot of companies queueing to get in!! He also said that the news would be "up and Down" I assume he meant announcements like the Mitsubishi one?

Here's hoping!

Ultima

April 10th, 2012, 10:24 PM

It's strange how another Dundee possible has slipped into Edinburgh!?

However, a few weeks back, returning on a train to Dundee from a rugby match at Murrayfield,
I was chatting with a guy who turned out to be the manager of Dundee Port. He was very positive that there would be some good announcements for the port this year as there were a lot of companies queueing to get in!! He also said that the news would be "up and Down" I assume he meant announcements like the Mitsubishi one?

Here's hoping!

Why is that strange? Edinburgh is a large/major city. Dundee still has a long way to go. Edinburgh will definitely attract a significant amount of investment as it always does. Dundee will get it too. It's not a conspiracy!

Rich B

April 11th, 2012, 08:35 PM

Why is that strange? Edinburgh is a large/major city. Dundee still has a long way to go. Edinburgh will definitely attract a significant amount of investment as it always does. Dundee will get it too. It's not a conspiracy!

It is strange Ultima because a memorandum of agreement was signed between the Port of Dundee and Gamesa to create a manufacturing hub in the city after years of site research before Forth Ports rejected Gamesa for Dundee http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/gamesa-beaten-by-sse-on-dundee-harbour-deal.16378404 favouring instead a deal with SSE who wish to build a massive biomass plant in the city. The deal with SSE was meant to include a deal with Siemens and Mitsubishi. Since then it transpires that Gamesa will move to Leith, followed by Mitsubishi and the port of Leith has dropped its Biomass plans. Dundee which has been generally recognised as being the best location geographically for these operations has so far been left with only promises.

When you say that Edinburgh is a major city and that Dundee has a long way to go, what in due respect has this got to do with the citing of industrial tubine manufacturers ?

Ultima

April 11th, 2012, 09:43 PM

It is strange Ultima because a memorandum of agreement was signed between the Port of Dundee and Gamesa to create a manufacturing hub in the city after years of site research before Forth Ports rejected Gamesa for Dundee http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/gamesa-beaten-by-sse-on-dundee-harbour-deal.16378404 favouring instead a deal with SSE who wish to build a massive biomass plant in the city. The deal with SSE was meant to include a deal with Siemens and Mitsubishi. Since then it transpires that Gamesa will move to Leith, followed by Mitsubishi and the port of Leith has dropped its Biomass plans. Dundee which has been generally recognised as being the best location geographically for these operations has so far been left with only promises.

When you say that Edinburgh is a major city and that Dundee has a long way to go, what in due respect has this got to do with the citing of industrial tubine manufacturers ?

Edinburgh naturally attracts in large amounts of foreign investment because of its status, is what I mean. Dundee is relatively unheard of and still has a long way to go in becoming an attractive place for continued long term investment. A memorandum of agreement seems like quite a flimsy thing, no? It seems to have been. Like I said, Dundee's turn will come but it's a bit silly to suggest a conspiracy because a city like Edinburgh has been favoured over Dundee.

Jaydot

April 11th, 2012, 10:42 PM

With Due respect Ultima, nobody said it was a conspiracy but yourself?

RapidTaco

April 12th, 2012, 12:18 AM

Edinburgh naturally attracts in large amounts of foreign investment because of its status, is what I mean. Dundee is relatively unheard of and still has a long way to go in becoming an attractive place for continued long term investment. A memorandum of agreement seems like quite a flimsy thing, no? It seems to have been. Like I said, Dundee's turn will come but it's a bit silly to suggest a conspiracy because a city like Edinburgh has been favoured over Dundee.

Well, I dunno if it's as simple as all of that. Yes sure, Edinburgh may attract more inward investment than Dundee and thats probably the same for other larger cities such as Glasgow. However the types of jobs we are talking about are not your normal Edinburgh job such as investments or finance. Edinburgh would perhaps have a stronger claim for jobs like those given its local strengths in those sectors. However, these are manufacturing jobs, not specifically skilled and certainly not naturally suited to Edinburgh. Both Dundee and Glasgow would have a far bigger claim for the jobs given their backgrounds and local skill sets. Now, taking Glasgow out of this, Dundee was the natural choice for Gamesa and Mitsubishi. However there appears to have been a change of "plan" by those involved and i would agree that it is a little strange and Rich B is probably correct to ask questions - Dundee needs these jobs far more than Edinburgh does. I just hope patience is all that's required on Dundee's part and we'll get some sort of announcement soon. Edinburgh may be our capital city and while we need a strong capital, we don't need and definitely don't want a greedy one!

SeoulDee

April 12th, 2012, 12:52 AM

Deleted by SeoulDee.

Ultima

April 12th, 2012, 10:03 AM

With Due respect Ultima, nobody said it was a conspiracy but yourself?

Er, nope! People on this thread have been suggesting that something dodgy is happening behind closed doors.

dufc1909

April 12th, 2012, 11:12 AM

Global wind turbine specialist Gamesa will over time invest around £125 million in a manufacturing base in Leith that could create up to 800 jobs. UK Chief Corporate Officer, Peter Pantlin explains more...

What is Gamesa?

We're headquartered in Spain and employ about 8,000 people in more than 50 countries. We're a world leader and certainly in the top four in this industry. Our main activities involve research and development, manufacturing the blades and turbines, developing windfarms and carrying out the operations and maintenance.

Why did you choose Leith?

Over the last year or so we looked at about 11 ports and had shortlisted a couple. We felt that Leith was better for Gamesa mainly on cost grounds, but also for possible access to an order pipeline and proximity to our R&D centre at Strathclyde University, which is a world leader in this kind of technology. We have about 60 to 70 engineers there totally focused on developing the offshore platform. I can't stress enough the fantastic support we received from both north and south of the border, including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, the ports themselves and from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and others.

What will happen at Leith if your plans go ahead?

We intend to pursue a Memorandum of Understanding that we're going to be working together and developing this site as a manufacturing base going forward. The activity we'll be doing there is manufacturing the blades and the nacelles (the generator units that sit at the top of the towers). If everything goes to plan, our best estimate is that we'll have about 800 Gamesa jobs in Leith over time. When we start manufacturing there's the whole supply chain on top of that, so we're going to have suppliers from many different parts of the United Kingdom helping us put all this kit together and get it out.

How important is this project?

Very. About 18 months ago the company made three important announcements in relation to the UK. One – it was going to open an R&D centre in Glasgow, and that was opened by the First Minister last September. Secondly, the company announced that it would establish its global offshore wind division HQ in London, and we moved into the premises at the end of January. The third element was establishing a manufacturing base in the UK, hence Leith. Gamesa has histrorically focused on onshore, but its activities in the UK will also be very focused on offshore – and Leith is a crucial part of that.

http://www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com/invest/blog.aspx?keyword=10260

It does`nt explain the Mitsubishi discision though . . .