Dundee City Council has outlined plans to spend almost £400 million on city infrastructure over the next five years.
A gross capital expenditure investment of £378 million from 2017 to 2022 has been outlined in the council’s general services and housing revenue account capital plan.
The plan outlines how much the council is planning to spend on developments in Dundee including the V&A, replacing and upgrading schools, coastal erosion protection, and improvements to shopping parades in the city centre.
The information, most of it released already, has been collated in a single report before councillors meet on Monday to review and approve the plan as affordable, at the policy and resources committee.
An upgrade to council buildings in city square has been included in the plan, with almost £2.3 million to be spent on refurbishments between 2016 and 2019.This budget has increased from an initial £1.5 million.
An open plan design for offices and facilities in the East and West wings of the city square buildings has been planned for, and will see improvements to the building’s electrical supply and kitchen and toilet facilities.
A “modest upgrade” of the city chambers has also been allowed for, to replace lighting in the corridors outside. It is understood the new energy efficient lights will replace the current lighting system which has been in place for almost 50 years.
A “significant proportion” of the money spent will be borrowed, with the council hoping to offset costs by vacating older properties and selling some.
Money will also be provided through grants, including funding from the Growth Accelerator Model (GAM) from the Scottish Government.
The grant, worth over £40 million, was applied for as part of the central waterfront development, and will help with costs for the V&A museum, railway station concourse and office block developments planned for the area.
The council hope to have the agreement signed by December.
Depute policy and resources convener, councillor Willie Sawers, is confident people in the city will benefit from the council’s investment programme.
He said: “The council, its partners in the city and the Scottish Government have been working extremely hard together to put improvements in place for the people of this city.
“This annual review of the current council plan identifies a number of successes and highlights why we have extremely good grounds for optimism.
“But the report does highlight that there are a number of areas we need to keep concentrating on and we are all determined to make more efforts on the future.
“That is why I am pleased to see the ambition that is shown in the capital plan to take forward projects that will benefit people in communities across the city.
“School buildings, the V&A Dundee, well insulated council housing and a replacement for Craigie House are among the highlights of this excellent vision for our city.”
