Regeneration of city is work in progress

TSome of the ideas thrown into the mix show great ambition

he reinvention of Dundee in recent years has been quite remarkable. Gone are the post-industrial doldrums that beset the city following the demise of Timex and the Caledon shipyard and the highs and lows of major employers such as Michelin and NCR.

In its place has emerged a city with a new economic and social heartbeat, and one confident enough to bang its own drum.

That has not come easily.

In fact, it has taken multiple decades, many millions and a huge physical and mental effort.

But, while much improved for both residents and visitors alike, the city is far from the finished article.

Recognising that fact, a new draft Dundee City Centre Strategic Investment Plan has been compiled to frame the conversation about what the city might look like in another generation’s time.

Some of the ideas thrown into the mix – such as the Eden Scotland development and the tearing down of the Wellgate centre and improvements to the Hilltown – show great ambition, while others appear more mundane but aimed at improving amenity and accessibility and raising living standards.

New ideas will form and many of the proposals in the document may never come to pass, or will come to fruition in a different way than currently envisaged.

It is important the city – which has enjoyed envious glances in recent years from bigger cities doing lesser things – does not rest on its laurels and continues to embrace new ideas and strategic plans, not just for the central area but for the city as a whole.

Doing so, to date, has helped Dundee build a life sciences sector, grow a creative industries cluster, completely reshape much of the city’s physical infrastructure and attract the V&A.

That is a track record not only to be proud of, but to build upon in the years ahead.