Dundee gets £20m to ‘turbo-charge regeneration’

Dundee has been chosen as the first area in Scotland to receive funds from the UK government’s Levelling Up Partnerships. It will receive £20m of government funding to help “tackle barriers to growth and turbo-charge regeneration”. The Levelling Up Partnerships, first announced in the 2023 Budget, are bespoke regeneration programmes targeted in areas that have too often been ignored. The partnership for Dundee follows similar announcements for Hull and Mansfield in England. Other areas in Scotland that have been selected for Levelling Up Partnerships include the Scottish Borders, Argyll and Bute, and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles). Levelling up minister Jacob Young said: “This Levelling Up Partnership will allow us to tackle the historical issues faced by this city head-on, ensuring overlooked communities get what they need to fully reach their potential.”   The funding for Dundee will help unlock a development on the waterfront to provide grade-A office space and lever in more investment, refurbish vacant and underused buildings in the city, build a legal education centre to boost opportunities, and provide support for people struggling with addiction.  Minister for Scotland John Lamont said: “Our Levelling Up Partnership with Dundee – backed by £20m UK government investment – is a real game-changer for driving regeneration in the city and boosting opportunities. “Collaborative working between the UK and Scottish governments and local leaders means the lives of people living in, working in and visiting Dundee will be transformed with exciting initiatives such as new educational centres specialising in digital, green skills, health, social care and life sciences; improved access to housing; better transport connectivity; improved city streets; tackling antisocial behaviour and substance abuse and attracting business to the area.” Dundee’s £20m Levelling Up Partnership includes:   £5m backing for Dundee and Angus College, including £4.5m to build a new campus providing training opportunities in the digital, green skills, energy transition and construction sectors, and £500,000 for a new health and social care training facility  £3m towards the creation of new grade-A office development on the waterfront  £2.5m for grassroots projects focused on enhancing opportunities for young people, improving safety and benefitting the community   More than £2m to improve access to housing and boost regeneration in the city centre, including by refurbishing vacant properties, and reviewing the condition of the local private rented sector   £2m to develop a specialist centre for protein science in the Life Sciences Innovation District  £1.2m to develop a bespoke permanent home for the Dundee Museum of Transport  £1.1m to establish a legal tech education centre and workspace  £500,000 to complete a 26-mile active travel route around the city, connecting neighbourhoods on the outskirts with each other and the centre.  Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said: “As a city, we have been working extensively in the background to attract and deliver investment, public and private, and to create jobs and economic growth. Although Dundee’s challenges are well known, I believe that the opportunities that exist for the future significantly exceed these.” The new funding builds on almost £23m of wider UK government levelling up investment in Dundee, which has received more than £14m from round two of the Levelling Up Fund for a new green transport hub in the city centre featuring electric vehicle charging points, and £5.6m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for projects including improvements to the district centre of Perth Road and digital skills training opportunities. Photo by lucentius/iStock