The Murraygate?

‘We should be looking at bars and restaurants’

A vacant lot on the city centre street — destroyed by a fire in 2014 — failed to sell for the second time this year when it went under the hammer at an auction held by SVA Property Auctions in Glasgow last week.

The site’s failure to sell is just one of several problems to have plagued the street this year.

In June, the Disney Store announced it was pulling out of Dundee after almost 20 years.

It closed i n July, meaning shoppers now have to travel to Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Glasgow to get their Disney fix.

Burtons and Dorothy Perkins also closed last month after owner the Arcadia Group said it would not be renewing its lease on the store.

But despite the high-profile closures, there was still hope for the Murraygate according to key figures in the City of Discovery.

Alison Henderson, chief executive of the Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said there were a number of ways the area could be rejuvenated.

She added: “In some ways, it is about looking at reaching out to businesses and showing them what is on offer in the city centre in terms of business properties for let.

“For some of the larger units, this could be a case of looking at what brands we have in the city and what ones are missing, then going to them directly.

“That is not to say that all the bigger units in the Murraygate, or anywhere else in the city, need to be filled by national companies or larger chains.

“There are some independent businesses in the city which have larger premises and manage them very well.”

Maryfield councillor and convener of the city development committee Lynne Short said she felt there was a chance to move away from retail.

Ms Short explained: “More people are coming into the town for leisure and pleasure.

“Shopping habits have changed, people shop online so much and supermarkets stock everything, so the days of huge department stores have changed.

“I think perhaps we should be looking at things like bars and restaurants, rather than retail.

“As far as the Murraygate area goes, I think in addition, the street

COMMUNITY and business leaders today insisted there were ways to rejuvenate the Murraygate — despite the popular shopping area being dealt another blow.

markets we see in the city tend to be in the City Square area.

“The Murraygate would be ideal for one of those and would help with footfall to the street, as well as the Wellgate.

“It would bring a bit more focus to that side of the city centre.”

Meanwhile, despite the site not selling, Syme Property — the agents marketing the vacant lot — said there was still hope for its future.

A spokesman said: “We are still to get the f ull report back from SVA, but we have had interest prior to the auction and we’re waiting for an offer.

“There has been interest and we have had offers — just not at the level that we had wanted.

“We will no doubt get the report from SVA with a bit more to tell.

“We do have one offer that came in pre-auction but we can’t say much more about that until we get the report through.” Ourvoice

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