Rebecca Baird: Cleanliness of Dundee will be determined by us

Dundee is dirty.

This is one of the main concerns that you, our readers, raised when asked what new Dundee City Council leader Mark Flynn should prioritise.

From unruly vegetation cracking through walls and pavement to litter strewn across the city centre, unkempt parks and unloved cemeteries, the people of Dundee are crying out for a city-wide clean-up.

As a resident, I feel these concerns myself. I adore Dundee.

But each day I walk to work dodging the overspill of overflowing bins and dancing round piles of dog mess.

It’s disgusting and depressing to live in an inescapable tip.

Which is why it was heartening to see the previous council leader, John Alexander, pledge £200k to clean up the streets. It’s a start, albeit only for the city centre.

“What about the other areas?” people asked.

And again, I agree – the clean-up is required across the whole city, not just the bits that visitors see.

The authorities can (and should) give the place a fighting chance by implementing a city-wide, intensive cleaning operation.

Kill the weeds, power-wash the paving, pick up the rubbish – start again.

But that’s only going to get us so far.

City residents are being messed about

Ultimately, the cleanliness of Dundee isn’t going to be determined by the council; it’ll be determined by us, the residents.

We are the ones letting our dogs use the public pavements as a bathroom. We are the ones dumping yet more rubbish next to overflowing bins.

The vapes in the streets and the cracks in empty shopfront windows all fly from human hands, not some council administrator’s ledger.

Overstuffed bins are a common sight around Dundee. Image: Shutterstock.

We are making our own mess and stewing in it. We’re not beating it, so we’re joining it. Even if we’re not actively littering, or vandalising, we’re just watching it happen with our palms in the air.

What else can we do?

Council must scrub below the surface

Until the city’s sicknesses – chronic poverty, rampant drug use, petty crime, squalid social housing, inadequate waste management, endless healthcare waits, unemployment – are addressed, the place will always descend back into dilapidation.

People don’t have a reason to take pride in their city when their city doesn’t take care of them.

Which is why cleaning up Dundee’s streets can’t just be a jet-wash and a lick of paint on the Tay-facing facade.

Or shoving all the rubbish into shadowy corners.

It has to be an ongoing effort, with sustained funding put into our waste management and infrastructure maintenance.

Yvonne’s Fancy Dress Shop on the Seagate was vandalised earlier this month. Image: DC Thomson.

And it needs to scrub below the surface.

The council’s priority should be cleaning up the city’s act – starting with the most disenfranchised people, the most disillusioned citizens.

The biggest mess is the one Dundee’s made of Dundonians, who are struggling to keep roofs over their heads and food on their tables. Start there, Mark.