Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Aerial images show progress at Hilltown’s £26m housing project
EXCITEMENT is building i n H i l ltow n as a £26 m i l l ion hou si n g development begins to take shape.
Stunning new ariel pictures show the current state of works on Derby Street, where a joint project between Hillcrest and Dundee City Council to build 163 new affordable homes is taking place.
The site is where the Derby Street multis Butterburn Court and Bucklemaker Court once stood, before being demolished in 2013.
Council leader John Alexander said he is aiming for further improvements and hopes to target the poorer areas of the city which were highlighted i n a recent Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) report.
Mr Alexander said: “Across Dundee we’ve focused investment in ‘poorer’ communities, from new housing in Whitfield, Lochee, Mill o’ Mains and the Hilltown to new schools in the North East Campus (Whitfield), the Coldside Campus (Hilltown) and the proposed £60 million investment in a new Craigie/ Braeview.
“We’ve also built new community facilities such as those in Menzieshill and the Hilltown.
“But beyond that, we’ve positioned Dundee to be a champion for better pay. We are the first UK city to become a Living Wage City. That isn’t just pie in the sky – it’s about ensuring jobs pay well for folk in every community and that’s important.”
The SIMD report revealed more than a third of Dundee’s localities are considered among the most disadvantaged in the country – and the gap is widening between best and worst-off.
But when the Derby Street development is completed later this year, it will be added to the list of improvements made to the Coldside area.
That has included the new £16m Coldside Campus, which brought together Our Lady’s RC Primary, Rosebank Primary and Frances Wright Nursery, the new Hilltown Community Centre and the £9.5m, 81-property Alexander Street housing development.
Mr Alexander said: “Since 2009, the SNP has spent about £200m on brand new schools and upgrading existing schools
– nearly a quarter of a billion pounds.
“We also started building council houses again following a 20-year drought under the previous administration.
“However, I realise it takes more to turn around a community and this has to be coupled with jobs growth and decent wages.”
Councillor Anne Rendall, convener of neighbourhood services, said: “As the councillor for the area, I know how big the challenges facing the Hilltown are, but that’s exactly why we are focussed on investing in this area.
“I hope that in the coming years, those investments start to help turn things around for families across the Hilltown.”
Muhammad Nadeem, owner of Premier Spend and Save Superstore, said he was “excited” about the Derby Street development.
He said: “There have been a few complaints from customers