As of Tuesday May 26):
• Council Leader highlights Dundee’s potential in recovery from Coronavirus;
• High levels of interest in Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc despite pandemic;
• Test and Protect information added to the Council’s website;
• Update on emergency and urgent housing repairs for Council tenants.
The strengths which have led to Dundee being named one of the UK’s best places to live in 2020 will help it “build back better” following the Coronavirus pandemic, the leader of the city council said today.
Just before lockdown was implemented, Dundee was named on a list of the Best Places to Live in the UK 2020 by the Sunday Times, alongside the likes of Cheltenham, Norwich and Leith in Edinburgh.
The inclusion in the Sunday Times’ prestigious list comes after the same title named the city the best place in Scotland to live in 2019.
In its list, the newspaper said Dundee “continues to lead the way for design, innovation and affordability.”
The authors praised the city for “forging ahead and forging communities,” highlighting the redevelopment of the Waterfront and strengths in fashion, gaming and publishing.
Councillor John Alexander, leader of the administration and chair of the Dundee Partnership, said the report identified many of the building blocks which will support Dundee’s recovery and rebuilding.
“To have been named one of the best places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times is another tremendous accolade for Dundee,” he said.
“This report came out just before we went into a difficult but necessary period of lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, which has meant that many of the great things they highlight, like bars, restaurants and attractions, have sadly been out of reach.
“But reading this now also reminds us just how far Dundee had come before the pandemic, and the strengths we have to build on in the weeks, months and years to come.
“The night-time economy and tourism, the Waterfront, video games design, fashion and more will all be key pillars of our economic recovery.
“Dundee has its challenges too – we’ve never shied away from that – and the authors are right to point to drug use and air quality as two of the key issues we are working to address.
“By harnessing the new-found Dundee optimism the Sunday Times refers to, alongside innovation, creativity and a sense of community, together we can build back better from this unprecedented period of disruption.”
Meanwhile, Council leader John Alexander today also welcomed the news that Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc has continued to receive high levels of interest from potential tenants during the Coronavirus lockdown period.
MSIP Chief Executive John Reid said an increasing number of enquiries were coming from larger firms looking to reassess their strategic plans and investments in light of the pandemic.
Mr Reid said: “This is particularly encouraging, as these companies are seeing MSIP as the right kind of long term, sustainable investment to take them out of the pandemic period and into the future.“
Despite the disruption caused by Coronavirus, the project remains on track, with partner funding now in place and a number of developments that are either progressing or ready to get under way as soon as restrictions are lifted.
It is expected that announcements on the first tenants for the Parc and strategic partnership agreements with key academic institutions will be made by summer.
Ahead of the launch of Test and Protect, Scotland’s approach to implementing the ‘test, trace, isolate, support’ strategy, on Thursday 28th May, information has been added to the Dundee City Council website.
The initiative is a public health measure designed to break chains of transmission of Coronavirus in the community. The information will evolve with time as more resources and detail becomes available.
Additionally, in line with the Scottish Government’s latest guidance, the Council’s housing repairs service remains operational for emergency and urgent repairs only.
At the same time, housing repairs staff are reviewing non-emergency issues reported to the Council prior to the Coronavirus lockdown which still require completion. Therefore, tenants may be contacted by staff members in order to establish if the repair is still required, the condition of their reported repair and if there has been any deterioration.
Please note that the repairs service cannot currently provide timescales for these repairs being undertaken.
The full list of council services affected by Coronavirus can be found on the Dundee City Council website.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
