The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Curtains for Draffen’ s – city store fit for a royal
Draffen’s was a landmark department store and stylish meeting place which numbered the late Queen Mother among its customers.
Local shoppers mourned the passing of the family firm when Debenhams took it over 40 years ago in March 1981.
The original firm began its career in 1834 when William Moon and John Langlands opened a little store at 10 Overgate.
They were the pioneers of a new style of business and were the first shopkeepers in Dundee to deal in fixed prices, instead of selling, as the custom was then, by bargaining.
The new method met with an encouraging response from a time when gentlemen wore silks.
The quality of the goods attracted a growing custom and Moon and Langlands were soon on the hunt for bigger premises.
They moved to 27 Overgate and 1 Tally Street in 1837 and a circular was issued following the switch containing a list of goods for sale.
Men could choose their coats from cloths in blues, clarets, dahlias or olives; their vests from silk or swansdown; and trousers from cotton drill or painted moleskin.
The men’s hosiery included open-work silk stockings and by 1842 the new Overgate premises were too small for the ever-growing volume customers.
Albion House was erected at the corner of Union Street and the firm stated that “each department will be found to contain a large assortment of very choice goods, and will be under the superintendence of a young man of experience who shall give the most vigilant attention to every customer”.
The original partnership came to an end a few years after the move to Union Street when Mr Langlands retired and was replaced by John Robertson.
The business flourished and prospered through the long reign of Queen Victoria until Mr Moon died in 1887 and the firm of was bought Blakeney.
A serious fire devastated Albion House and Mr Blakeney instigated a redevelopment of the centre of Dundee after the clearance of slum dwellings.
The firm moved into premises which were known as Blakeney’s Building at the corner of Whitehall Street and Nethergate.
In 1889 Mr Blakeney sold the concern to Coatbridge draper George Draffen, who ran the business in partnership with his brother-in-law John Jarvie.
In 1891, Mr Jarvie was bought out by Mr Draffen.
He was the sole proprietor until 1896 when he took his sons – William by Thomas
Stirling Draffen and John J Draffen – into partnership.
His sons played a leading part in the expansion of the business following his death and Draffen’s became increasingly well-known for its service.
The firm celebrated its centenary in 1934 with the opening of a new men’s store and a series of displays and an exhibition.
The department store had a prominent impact on Dundee’s shopping and social scene and gradually introduced various tearooms, lounges and a restaurant on its top floor.
The firm continued to be known as Draffen and Jarvie Ltd before becoming Draffen’s of Dundee in 1948.
Draffen’s was turned into a public company and in 1960 almost all the shares were sold to an Edinburgh firm.
The store and its restaurant went into a slow decline before being taken over by Debenhams in 1981.
Debenhams then spent almost two decades at the site before it became the anchor store at the heart of the Overgate’s second reincarnation in 2000.
In 2016 part of the basement area was reopened to form a speakeasy bar, which continued the Draffen’s name.
In 2019 the green light was given to plans for even more of the old store’s floors to be opened up and turned into a whisky bar and Asian-style restaurant.
Anew affordable housing development will lead to a 10% rise in the population of a Fife village.
Councillors have approved proposals for 30 homes on prime agricultural land on the outskirts of Gauldry, currently home to 309 households.
The application by Kingdom Housing Association proved divisive, with many fearing it would impact on GP practices and other services.
Planning officers received 18 letters of objection, including from the community council.
Concerns hinged on the loss of countryside land, the narrow access road and a lack of public transport.
Locals said it would lead to an increase in traffic on village streets.
A number of people also fear the development could swamp the water and sewage network and lead to a reduction in water pressure in the area.
While most members of the north east planning committee voted in favour of the plan, some were against it.
They said house-building outwith the settlement boundary was against planning policy.
However, officers argued it could be permitted if it met a specific local need.
The field next to Balgove Road is not allocated for development on the local plan.
It is zoned as countryside land and is part of the Tay Coast Local Landscape Area.
But service manager Alistair Hamilton told councillors there was an “established and unmet need” for affordable housing in Gauldry.
There is a need for more than 38,600 new homes in the TayPlan area by 2036, including 325 in north Fife.
Thirty homes is an acceptable number for a village the size of Gauldry, Mr Hamilton said.
“There is an identified housing need shortfall,” he added.
Mr Hamilton said there were no other suitable sites in the area.
In addition, the education service does not expect the development to affect capacity at local schools.
The new homes will be built in the Passivhaus style – a German concept which uses very little energy for heating.
The 22 houses and eight flats will sit in a horseshoe accessed by a narrow strip of land off Balgove Road.
An existing cottage will be demolished to make way for the development.
Liberal Democrat
councillor Tim Brett moved to refuse the plan, saying he could find no justification for it.
“I’m a big supporter of affordable housing but unfortunately I’m not persuaded by the argument,” he said.
“The community council does not support this for a variety of reasons.”
However, his Lib Dem colleague Jonny Tepp said it should be approved,
subject to a condition requiring the developer to sort out the water and sewage capacity.
“I would like to applaud Kingdom Homes for bringing a proposal to build to Passivhaus standards,” he said.
“Passivhaus is something our planet is crying out for.”
The committee voted in favour of the application by nine votes to five.
Residents in Abernethy have thrown their weight behind a new path aimed at making a Perthshire road safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
The plans for a £1.6m cycleway along the A912 are set to be progressed soon, but have divided opinion locally.
Sparked by the tragic death of cyclist and local teacher Adam Pattinson last year, funding has been secured for a 1.6km path along the northern fringe of the single carriageway connecting Bridge of Earn with Aberargie.
Construction work is expected to progress soon and it is hoped the path will eventually extend to Newburgh, something active travel campaigners like Perth Area Living Streets are keen to see come to fruition.
However, while the project has been met with some opposition from the community council in Bridge of Earn, counterparts in Abernethy say the community are “unanimous” in their desire to see the path installed to improve safety for cyclists.
Earn Community Council expressed fears over the conditions the cycleway will be exposed to, its cost and the implications it could have on the adjacent 60mph main road.
But Abernethy and District Community Council chairman Ritchie Young says it is crucial to use the Sustrans money or face losing it. He said that neither the existing route nor with the alternative road to Bridge of Earn via Dron are fit for purpose for cyclists and said blocking the first phase would put the second part at risk.
He said: “Cycling is not great here. The overriding feeling is that people would probably use it (a cycle path) if it was there. The alternative route along the Dron road is not safe either.
“People have got some questions about there being no barrier but it is still much safer than cycling on the A912 road.
“Funding has been achieved, if we don’t use it, it will go away.”
Ritchie says the community would be shooting themselves in the foot if they don’t back the plans.
He said: “There is much positivity toward the project at our end of the road as we have no safe alternative way of commuting to Perth and whilst there are some concerns about design elements, amongst the members present there was
unanimous support for this project which will bring enormous benefits to the area.
“We suggest that the green tourism income, increased safety of the
Baiglie Straight, local health benefits and potential reduction of car travel are all extremely positive for our communities.”
Perth and
Kinross
Countryside Trust, who have achieved funding through Sustrans, will discuss the project at Abernethy Community Council’s next digital meeting on March 25.