£1bn Waterfront plans are intact

THE fut ure of Dundee’s £1 billion redevelopment of the Waterfront is intact, regeneration bosses have said.

Work started earlier this year on the long-awaited urban beach, and it was hoped the project would be completed by spring next year.

But with construction work on hold as the pandemic continues, questions have been raised over the future of the development, and the long-term impact on the vision for the area.

However, the council has sought to allay any concerns and, in a statement, a spokesman said: “The council has put a number of measures in place to deal with this global pandemic and we are working hard with partners to provide lifeline services.

“The Waterfront project is a longterm transformation initiative.

“Officers from city development remain in contact with prospective tenant and developer partners throughout the Covid-19 crisis, and hope the transformation of the Waterfront will resume later in the year when restrictions are lifted.”

Councillor Kevin Keenan, leader of the Labour opposition, welcomed the reassurances but urged caution given the potential economic impact of the lockdown.

He added: “We are all hearing the suggestion we could be in a recession and the economy could shrink over a period of time.

“Obviously I hope the economy

AN Angus nurse’s experiences tackling Ebola are helping him lead the battle against coronavirus.

David Anderson encountered terrifying scenes when he was deployed to Sierra Leone to assist with the world’s worst Ebola outbreak in December 2014.

The 51-year-old has returned from preparing South Africa for its Covid-19 response with a UK Government-funded Emergency Medical Team to become gets buoyant again, in which case the redevelopment can continue.

“I suppose it would be unrealistic that things won’t take a knock but I hope construction will get back up and running fairly quickly.”

Meanwhile, he said the city can make the most of a bad situation and become the place to take a city break when the lockdown is lifted.

The Strathmartine councillor urged the city to take advantage of the potential increase in demand for socalled “staycations” once life begins to get back to normal, with an international travel ban potentially in place for far longer.

“It could be a bit longer before flights get back to normal and might be a while before low cost air travel is what it used to be so it could be that Dundee can push towards being the destination of choice,” he said.

“People might want to come to see what the city has to offer, for example the V&A, The McManus and the Discovery.

“Some good may come good of this from a local point of view and as a councillor I want to see the people of Dundee doing well and the city also.”

The proposed redeveloped area, with the urban beach in the foreground.