The restoration of Maryfield Tram Depot and its conversion into the new Dundee Museum of Transport has taken a huge step forward after the organisation was awarded £1.2 million.
It comes as part of a £20m announcement promised by the UK Government as part of the Levelling Up partnership, announced this week.
Dundee Museum of Transport executive director Paul Jennings said the money would allow the organisation to fully restore the derelict tram depot on Forfar Road.
It is hoped this will encourage even further investment to bring the dream of a new museum to reality, which could create 30 new jobs and bring in £2m annually.
He said: “Today’s announcement is a huge boost to our efforts.
“These funds will help us restore the former Maryfield Tram Depot to its former glory and create a new museum that truly celebrates Dundee’s transport heritage.
“We are also hopeful the government’s support will help us leverage additional funding towards a project that will generate up to 30 new jobs and almost £2m a year for the local economy.”
Dundee & Angus College new building
Dundee & Angus College and Dundee University will be handed £5m and £3.1m respectively.
A portion of this will be used to build new education centres in legal technology and health and social care, among other initiatives at each of the establishments.
College principal Simon Hewitt said the construction of a new health and social care centre would create more professionals for a sector with a “critical shortage” of personnel.
He said: “This training facility will help to address the critical shortage of skilled staff in these areas with a learning environment that will replicate real-life health and social care settings.
“We hope to begin work on these improvements as soon as we can so that our students can benefit from this investment.
“The (additional) £4.5m will form the start of our wider campus developments and enhancements.
“It will enable us to invest in our buildings and facilities, particularly in the areas of green skills and technology.
“It will support training for students and apprentices in the energy transition and construction sectors, meeting some of the key economic needs of regional and local businesses.”
A new legal technology centre, a collaboration between Thorntons and Dundee University, will be realised after the institution was awarded a total of £3.1m.
The investment will allow students to work with the latest technology and see how it is used in practice, ensuring the curriculum prepares them fully for the workplace.
It will also allow students, staff and legal practitioners to collaborate on developing innovative products and services for legal and other professional services.
Professor Sarah Hendry, head of Dundee Law School, said: “This expanding area of practice needs practitioners, academics and law-tech specialists to work together, to ensure the lawyers of the future have the skills they need to meet the pace of change in the workplace and in wider society.”
More than £2m was also announced for the targeted protein degradation (TPD) unit.
TPD is a process where proteins in the cell that lead to disease are targeted for removal, or degradation, using molecules called degraders.
The centre is expected to double in size over the next five years and support more than 120 high-skilled jobs.
It will also support and create new spinout companies, translating research into commercial products that can benefit patients across the world.
Professor Alessio Ciulli, of the centre, said: “Since 2019, we have worked together to build our initial facilities to time and on budget, staffed it, installed initial critical instrumentation and infrastructure, published some of the field’s most recent breakthrough papers and continued to make progress on our drug discovery programmes toward the clinic.
“We really see this as only the tip of the iceberg in the field.
“Now, we want to push forward our vision to unravel the full potential of TPD and accelerate the development of novel tools and therapeutic molecules in areas such as cancer, immunology and neurodegeneration.”
‘Realisation we cannot do this alone’
The council will also receive millions from the funding partnership.
£500,000 has been allocated to complete a 26-mile active travel route around the city, connecting neighbourhoods on the outskirts with each other and the centre.
More than £2m will go toward improving access to housing and regenerating the city centre — including refurbishing empty properties and reviewing the condition of the local private rented sector.
£500,000 will go toward treating drug and alcohol addiction, £200,000 to develop the next phase of the city centre strategic plan and £120,000 for commercial training and networking to support high-potential businesses.
Dundee City Council leader John Alexander welcomed the funding announcement and said: “As a city, we’ve been working extensively in the background to attract and deliver investment, public and private, and to create jobs and economic growth.
“With Dundee already featuring in positive ratings, such as a top 20 UK destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), a top city break destination and attracting world-renowned opportunities such as the Eden project, the future is bright.
“Although Dundee’s challenges are well known, I believe the opportunities that exist for the future significantly exceed these.
“Organisations in Dundee are working together to create the conditions that will enable growth and prosperity in the years ahead.
“There is a realisation we cannot do this alone and that is why we have been in discussions with both the UK and Scottish Governments for strategic investment to drive Dundee’s economy forward.”
