The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Joy as hairdressers and garden centres prepare to reopen
Business owners in Tayside are looking forward to opening their doors once again. Hairdressers, barbers and garden centres are expected to reopen on April 5, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed yesterday.
The news has been welcomed across Dundee and Angus.
Drew Montgomery, who runs Roe-Bucks in Dundee city centre, said: “To have an actual date is good.
“Just to get out of the full lockdown will be good in fact. I am looking forward to getting back in the shop.”
Mr Montgomery saw a flurry of new customers at Roe-Bucks, the city’s longest-running barbers, when reopening after the first lockdown but noticed a downturn shortly thereafter.
He added: “At first we were really busy, but after a few weeks it died down.
“A lot of people got clippers for home so they must have got used doing it themselves.
“Before Covid, it was normal to have a slow day now and again but you would sit there knowing you had a good day coming afterwards.
“However, last summer it wasn’t like that at all. We were sitting there with nothing to do for two or three days in a row quite a lot. Hopefully it will not be like that again.”
One of Dundee’s newer hairdressers, Jayne Valentine, said she is “really excited” about reopening in April.
She said: “I’ve been provisionally booking people on my waiting list for reopening.
“I say provisionally because things could change, but April 5 isn’t too far off so there is reason to be optimistic.
“Hopefully we have a really busy first few days and weeks after opening.
“We’ll be doing extended opening hours to get more to bookings in. It’s been a while we’ve had to be closed, so why not?”
Ms Valentine had been cutting hair in the city for more than a decade before opening her own salon, Valentines, on Clepington Road last October.
However, she was forced to close after just 10 weeks as the second lockdown in Scotland was announced.
She said: “I understand why it had to be done and it was for the greater good, but hopefully we can open for longer than 10 weeks this time.”
Forfar florist Michael Ower has been looking across the border with envy as garden centres in England did not close during the second lockdown.
Nevertheless, the owner of Ferngreen Garden Centre, in the town’s Kirriemuir Street, cannot wait to open his doors.
He said: “We have been doing a click and collect service so that has kept us going but it hasn’t been anything like how busy it would have been had we been open.
“Suppliers have understandably been sending stock to English garden centres so there might be some gaps in stock here but it will still be great to open the shop properly in April.
“There will be a one-way system and physicaldistancing to keep everyone safe. That was one of the things people would say when we reopened over the summer last year – it felt safe to be there.”
Ross Turriff, owner of Turriff ’s Garden Centre and Farm Shop in Broughty Ferry, is also delighted by the news.
He said: “Last year, the first lockdown came just as the garden centres were getting towards their busiest period and this year we are getting to reopen just at the tail end of that busy period, so that is good.”
More than 130 jobs are to be created in Dundee after a hydrogen technology company received a £1.5 million funding boost.
Arcola Energy Ltd received the grant from Scottish Enterprise to create a new engineering and manufacturing complex in the city.
The company, which specialises in fuel cell technology integration, will be one of the first tenants at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) – a joint venture between Dundee City Council, Michelin and Scottish Enterprise.
MSIP will help transform the former tyre factory site to into a world-leading sustainable transport hub.
The cash, a Regional Selective Assistance grant, will allow the company to create up to 135 roles over a three-year period.
The first phase will bring in around 20 employees to support the Scottish hydrogen train project and product development for hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The remainder of the staff will be recruited over the next three years as Arcola expands production at the site.
Arcola also has a rail engineering unit at the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway and plans for a service centre in Glasgow.
It has previously worked with St Andrews University on a hydrogen-powered train project.
Arcola CEO Dr Ben Todd said: “We were attracted by MSIP’s ambition to become a leading hub supporting the decarbonisation of Scotland’s transport system and infrastructure, and in particular by the hydrogen production and fuelling facility that MSIP is building to support development and deployment of zeroemission vehicles.
“We are very pleased to be an early part of it.
“This new facility will be Arcola’s main manufacturing base,
supporting our growing business needs as we expand our range of heavyduty fuel cell vehicles.”
The company’s new Dundee facility will support their work in adapting heavy-duty vehicles and transport applications to zero-emission, hydrogenpowered solutions, supporting Scotland’s ambitions for a net-zero carbon emissions economy.
Andy McDonald, head of low-carbon transition at Scottish Enterprise, said: “This announcement is obviously great news for the company and the people of Dundee, but also in terms of the growth of our sustainable mobility sector.
“The creation of MSIP has been a huge step in supporting the growth of this sector and Arcola will be a really exciting addition to the facility, as well as a real boost to the efforts towards Scotland leader in mobility.”
Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop added: “The Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc vision is to be a world-class centre of sustainable mobility and low-carbon energy.
“We want Scotland to lead the way in developing and manufacturing the technologies of the future establishing as a world sustainable
and MSIP will be vital in helping us achieve this.
“This announcement is another positive step forward for MSIP and Dundee as a hub for the green jobs that will be vital to our post-pandemic recovery.”
MSIP CEO Greig Coull said: “When MSIP was established, jobs creation was the priority and that is still the case.
“Our ambition is to have 850 jobs located at the Innovation Parc by 2028.
“Today’s announcement is a big step towards achieving that.
“I’m pleased Arcola has recognised MSIP as the best place to grow its business.
“I’m sure the people of Dundee will join me in welcoming this news and I look forward to seeing the impact that Arcola will have at MSIP, but also across the city and Scotland over the coming years.”