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Building Better Cities: Delivering Growth and Opportunities
DUNDEE
Recent experience
Recent improvement in Dundee's economic performance and external image have been based on revitalisation of the city centre, on the back of long-term strategic investment in the cultural, retail and public realms, and the growing clusters of biotechnology, medical science and multi-media software companies. Dundee has a large student population, bringing a vibrancy and diversity to the city.
Nevertheless, a high proportion of manufacturing industries have experienced difficult transitions to new technologies and markets. This has left a legacy of high unemployment and deep social deprivation, declining population and vacant land.
Key challenges
The development of biotechnology and software clusters at the high skill end and call centre developments are providing new opportunities for the Dundee economy. Business links with further and higher education are strong. These are promising developments on which to build. The city's business birthrate is well below the Scottish average but has scope to improve within the newly developing environment. Recent improvements to the city-centre retail facilities and the excellent cultural and tourism related initiatives are also redefining Dundee.
Maintaining this momentum of growth to offset decline elsewhere can be supported through effective public sector support, which should focus on new industries and on the legacy of economic change. Dundee's educational and health experience is marked.
Dundee, uniquely among the Scottish cities, loses a disproportionate number of its young people in their 20s: they take with them their skills, energy and spending power. Alone amongst the cities, Dundee is projected to have both declining population and household numbers.
Short-term priorities
Key requirements are:
- Championing the success in biotechnology and games software, together with other new industries;
- Building on improvements in the city centre and in city "image" to make Dundee a place where people aim to live and work. This will require improved joint working with adjacent councils;
- Managing economic transition, and its effects on population change and housing markets. Enhancing the skills and capabilities in deprived communities in Dundee represents both a challenge and an economic opportunity.
Longer-term directions
Dundee is of course midway between two major cities experiencing problems of success - Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Both might provide opportunities e.g. a competitive location in the wider Central Belt economy.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS
- City Growth Fund will provide city with 9.3m over 3 years;
- Accelerating land renewal, through additional 2m in both 2004-05 and 2005-06;
- National Office of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and the Scottish Social Services Council located in Dundee, bringing in over 160 jobs;
- New Intermediary Technology Institute for the Life Sciences will help strengthen the sectors technology base;
- "Quality of Life" initiative worth 2.9m in 2002/03 to help improve the quality of people's everyday lives. Further 5.4m allocated in the Scottish Budget over 3 years.
DETAILED ACHIEVEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS
- The Digital Media Park, supported by Scottish Enterprise, will capitalise on the city's strength in the games industry;
- Action Teams for Jobs set up in Dundee to increase employment rates amongst disadvantaged groups within high employment areas;
- 2m to support 1200 trainees on Skillseekers, Modern Apprenticeships and Training for Work courses;
- 8,000 more vocational students at Dundee colleges since 1999;
- Increased investment in Dundee and Abertay Universities - up 24% since 1999 to 64m;
- Over 12m from the Public Transport Fund for bus priority measures, real time information and transport interchange improvements.
- 25m of improvements to A90 interchanges west and north of Dundee;
- Future options for rail links to Dundee are being examined in the Scottish Strategic Rail Study and support is being provided for the Tay Estuary Rail Study;
- 570,000 has been provided over the 4 years to 2003/04 for investment in walking, cycling and safer streets projects;
- Scottish Enterprise Tayside supporting city centre improvements, such as the 150m Overgate Centre development;
- Over 1m for CCTV systems to fight crime in known "hot spots";
- Since 1999, Communities Scotland supported 890 units of affordable housing in Dundee to help regenerate disadvantaged communities and provide housing for those with particular needs worth 22m;
- Over 17.6m of Social Inclusion Partnership funding committed to deprived areas and communities in Dundee from 1999 to 2004;
- Since 1999, over 7,000 homes in the city have benefited from the Warm Deal and Central Heating Programmes;
- Providing community safety partnership grants of nearly 150,000 to help Dundee develop local solutions to local crime problems;
- Tayside NHS Board received an additional 17m as a result of the new funding formula for the NHS;
- Sporting facilities, out of school hours sporting and cultural activities and projects aimed at diverting young people away from criminal activity, through the New Opportunities Fund PE & Sport programme worth 2.6m;
- 35m of Lottery Funding for Dundee since 1993;
- Scottish Arts Council supporting the City's exciting cultural hub made up of the Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), the Scottish Dance Theatre and the Dundee Repertory Company.
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