The body responsible for the £1 billion redevelopment of Dundee’s waterfront has been urged to ensure the project lives up to the design standards set by the outpost of the V&A Museum which will form its centrepiece.
The regeneration project spans 240 hectares of land stretching 8km along the River Tay. Alongside the V&A development, projects which will either be started or completed this year include a new railway station, three new hotels and an office property constructed from recycled shipping containers.
There will also be extensive demolition and infrastructure upgrades as well as landscaping and harbour infilling, making it the second largest regeneration project currently underway in Scotland. It is forecast that the completed development will attract a wave of inward investment creating up to 9000 new jobs in Dundee.
Mike Galloway, Dundee’s city development director, is confident that the waterfront regeneration will prove to be a major contributor to the city’s economy.
“We are marketing the Dundee Waterfront investment message far and wide as there are still exceptional opportunities for a wide range of businesses in a wide range of sectors.
“The increase in investment, job creation and visitor numbers is going to generate hundreds of millions of pounds of additional revenue for the city and for those entrepreneurs that grasp the business opportunities now emerging,” he said.
The new branch of the V&A will play a major role in this, with an additional 500,000 visitors expected during the initial twelve months following the opening of the museum. After this, visitor numbers are forecast to settle into the region of 300,000 annually.
This week the museum’s project, design and estate director, Moira Gemmill, described it as an “exceptionally clever building” and called on developers to demand the same high standards throughout the redevelopment.
“The challenge for this project will be to ensure that Dundee and the rest of the regeneration along the waterfront maintains the design quality that’s absolutely going to be realised through this project,” she said.
The redevelopment is being overseen by a joint venture between Scottish Enterprise and the city council. It is expected to be completed by 2015.
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