Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson says Dundee should seize the opportunities that lie before it as the world does not owe the city a living.
Addressing Wednesday’s Bonnetmakers Supper on the theme Dundee a City in Transition, the veteran politician said the arrival of the RRS Discovery 25 years ago was a masterstroke that gave the city a strategy for the future.
Subsequent developments were at the city’s universities, DCA and the Rep Theatre, ”and all of a sudden Dundee became interesting to the sophisticates of Edinburgh and Glasgow to whom anything north of Stirling was a cultural wasteland.”
The V&A will accelerate the growth in prestige, he stated, and will enhance economic activity for which there are encouraging sings.
These included agreement with Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Enterprise and Forth Ports to develop with waterfront for renewable manufacturing, regeneration of the waterfront, confirmation that the Malmaison is taking over the Tay Hotel, with others in prospect, and four new schools including the new Harris which was good news for construction.
It was time for more civic pride, but what was the vision of Dundee today?
”Let’s maximise the benefits of the V&A,” he said. ”Do so in practical ways such as the training of young Dundonians in hotel skills so that service jobs bring down our youth unemployment.
”We live in a mobile world. Greece and Spain have nearly 50% youth unemployment. Just as our teachers are emigrating, so their young people will look for jobs. Encourage others to start their own service industries and benefit from the spin-offs.
”Dundee still should be a manufacturing city. As with Scotland, we must get back our skills in precision and innovative engineering. Britain abandoned making things in favour of financial services this was a strategic error.
”Dundee is part of industrial Scotland. We possess huge potential in renewable energy from wave and tide, both more strategically important than wind.
”The development of natural resources normally leads to the injection of finance, technology and jobs. This happened with oil, but opportunities to build worldwide expertise were lost to suit a fast rate of extraction. We should learn from our mistakes.”
Mr Wilson said the coming of Samsung to Fife for research and production is very welcome, but if multi-national companies want to harness Scotland’s wave and tidal power there must be a pay-off through training in the engineering skills.
Germany, pre-eminent in Europe, did everything right that Britain calamitously got wrong keeping its manufacturing and basic skills.
”Now that Germany has forsaken nuclear power, it will need to gain access to Scotland’s green energy. We should set a price.”
Scotland has German connections as in Lower Saxony where David McAllister is Prime Minister, but any commercial relationship has to be mutually beneficial.
He told the craft gathering in the Queens Hotel: ”Wave and tidal technology are in their infancy which is an advantage; but, as one of the first in Scotland to recognise the importance of Scotland’s oil, I sense a similar opportunity. Seize the day. We cannot afford to lose twice over.
”Dundee must be involved. The world does not owe us a living. There are no soft options for Dundee, Scotland, Britain and Europe.”