Traffic Order : James Black Place

From Dundee City Council regarding a temporary traffic order affecting James Black Place in the Ninewells Hospital grounds:

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984  :  SECTION 14(1)

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water repair works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in James Black Place, Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Sunday 23 March 2014 for 1 day.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

No alternative route is available.

For further information contact 433082.

Director of City Development

Dundee City Council

Repainting of historic West End rail bridge

I have, in the past, raised residents' requests that something is done to improve the appearance of the historic rail bridge that crosses the rail line at Riverside Drive, just south of the Botanic Garden (see right).

The bridge is over 100 years old (built in 1903) but has not been repainted in a very long time.   When I asked the City Engineer in 2010 what the cost of repainting both sides of the bridge would be, he estimated the total cost could be as much as £65 000 (this included substantial Network Rail possession costs/interface costs of approximately £20,000 to ensure both sides of the bridge were painted) and in the current challenging financial climate this has proved a very challenging project to find finance for.

One bit of good news happened in the past few months.   As part of other works in the area, Network Rail did a splendid job repainting the railings adjacent to the bridge.

I recently approached Community Payback to see if painting the road side only of the bridge might be a project Community Payback might consider, subject to the City Engineer's Department approving the works and providing appropriate paint.    I am delighted to say that, in principle, both the City Engineer's Department and Community Payback have agreed to progress this.

Whilst this cannot be a full repaint including the rail side, it will provide for an aesthetic enhancement on the road side that is very welcome indeed.

New West End Community Council website @DundeeWECC

West End Community Council now has a new website at www.dundeewecc.com that will help update West End residents about community council activities, including forthcoming meetings and events, minutes of meetings and other news.   Thanks go to Andrew O'Malley, community council vice-chair, for creating the new site.

The new website also links to a Twitter feed and a Facebook page.

Getting things done ... Road safety at Pinegrove

Residents have highlighted to me a road safety concern at the south exit from Pinegrove that exits onto Shepherd's Loan.

The part of Shepherd's Loan that the slip road exists onto is the one-way only (northwards) at the north end of Shepherd's Loan, but there is no 'one-way only' sign on exit.    Vehicles have been noted by residents exiting south onto Shepherd's Loan in error.

I contacted the City Council's transportation division in City Development about this.    It was pointed out that the east footway of Shepherd's Loan (opposite the exit) is very narrow and a sign there would add to street clutter on an already narrow pavement.    However, an obvious solution would be to place a "one way" sign within Pinegrove itself as drivers exit onto the main road.

Pinegrove is a private road and so I contacted the factors (Graham & Sibbald) about seeking permission to have a sign erected within Pinegrove.   Graham & Sibbald has been extremely co-operative and helpful and consulted householders about the proposal - all are supportive.    Representatives from Graham & Sibbald and the council's transportation division are shortly to meet on-site to agree the "one way" sign's precise location.

Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden event

Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden event  :  Saturday, March 29th, at 2pm:

Plant Heritage Lecture.

Professor Michael Tooley will give a talk on "Gertrude Jekyll and the plants she bred at Munstead Wood." 

Admission is £5 and booking is essential. 

Contact Frances Tait on 665719.

Getting things done ... Riverside Nature Park and Recycling Centre

Some weeks ago, constituents highlighted to me concerns about the lack of road markings at Wright Avenue (the entrance road to the Riverside Nature Park and the Recycling Centre) where the entrance to the recycling centre meets the main road to the Nature Park (to its left) and back to Riverside Avenue (to its right).

Given the significant vehicle movements going in and out of the recycling centre (including large council vehicles), the need for proper road markings was obvious and I asked the council to provide these.    As you can see (below) this work has since been carried out:

Construction of the Tay Road Bridge - a fascinating film!

Dundee crowds at the bridge opening - 1966

As a member of the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board, I was interested to be advised recently by the Bridge Manager that the Scottish Screen Archive has released an on-line version of a film made in 1967 recording  the construction of the Tay Road Bridge.    

There's a link to this fascinating film on the Board's website and you can access it directly here.     It is in full colour and runs for half an hour.

There are a number of other fascinating videos about the construction of the bridge and its opening ceremony, including this below that has a mix of black and white and colour footage:

Dundee SpringFest 2014 @ddSpringFest

SpringFest is a brand new festival for Dundee in Spring 2014, celebrating music on both a local and national level.   
Running from 5th to 29th March, it features a host of superb concerts including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, lunchtime concerts at the University of Dundee Chaplaincy Centre, Children's Classic Concerts, Dundee Chamber Music - and a whole lot more.

You can read the whole SpringFest programme here.

The Skills Express Art Exhibition at @VerdantWorks with @skillsharednd and @dundee_angus students

Excellent inspection report for Balgay Hill Nursery School

It was very pleasing, earlier this week, to be advised of the excellent inspection report for Balgay Hill Nursery School, undertaken by Education Scotland.

The evaluations and key strengths outlined in the report highlight the very positive experience children receive at Balgay Hill Nursery School:

Key strengths of the school

• Children are actively engaged and motivated in their learning.
• Staff provide a nurturing, caring and welcoming learning environment.
• Inclusive ethos in supporting children and their families.
• Transition arrangements for children transferring to P1.
• Effective leadership of the headteacher.

More detail of the inspection report can be read here.    Congratulations go to Mrs Cowan, Head Teacher, and her team, for such an excellent outcome.

You can read more about the work of the Friends of Balgay Hill Nursery School here.

Dundee Youth Council @DundeeYC

Dundee Youth Council was established in March 2011 by local young people and is the Dundee City Council recognised forum for representing the wide range of views and issues of the young people of Dundee to the city decision makers.

It does a great job representing the views of the young people of Dundee and I'm pleased to promote their new publicity poster (below):

Many thanks

Now I am feeling a little better, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their kindness during my recent illness.    I am making slow but steady progress, having been discharged from hospital just over a week ago.    It’ll be a bit of time until I am well enough to return to full duties but arrangements are in place to ensure all constituents’ issues and queries can be progressed and assisted with as normal.   I am very grateful to the excellent members’ support staff at the council who are ensuring that service to all constituents continues as normal.

I have to say how impressed I was with the care and attention from the doctors and nurses from the high dependency ward and at Ward 3 at Ninewells Hospital and also at Wallacetown Health Centre.  

I have been really touched by the number of messages of concern, cards and flowers.   It has been very kind of everyone.     

I am looking forward to resuming normal duties just as soon as my health allows it.   Meantime, with kind assistance, I hope to update my blog with West End news when I am able.

Getting things done - Blackness Avenue, Hyndford Street and Seymour Street

Residents have brought to my attention that fact that some of the gullies at road edges in Blackness Avenue, Hyndford Street and Seymour Street are full and blocked.   I reported this to the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership who have advised:

"Gullies are cleaned on cyclic maintenance with a frequency of approximately twice per eighteen months with particular attention given to gullies at low points. The gullies in the area will be checked by the Road Maintenance Partnership inspector who will arrange for an additional emptying if required. This will be done as soon as resources are available."

Time2Give launch event - all welcome!

Proposal to save Early Year Practitioner Posts in Dundee Primary Schools

I am pleased to say that I have identified alternative savings that can be made to Dundee City Council’s proposed revenue budget that would to save Early Year Practitioner Posts in Dundee Primary Schools.     

My alternative budget savings proposal has been approved by Chief Officers as financially and legally competent and I am now calling for all parties on the council to work together to save these posts that he says provide vital work in Dundee’s primary schools.

The SNP administration has proposed moving these staff to nursery schools in order that the salary costs can be funded from Dundee’s share of the funding Scottish Government is making available to fund extra nursery hours.

The extra hours in nurseries is a good thing and, indeed, my party leader Willie Rennie MSP has been campaigning for this over a long period of time, but it is hugely disappointing that the SNP council administration in Dundee is aiming to provide these hours by taking away a much-valued and needed resource for Primary One children.    Why do they think it is acceptable that Primary One pupils in Dundee should lose out?

My proposals will allow for the continuation of Early Years Practitioners in Primary Schools and the increased nursery hours and I urge all parties on the council to work together to achieve that.     It can be paid for by taking quite modest savings over a variety of areas including hospitality budgets, some furniture and equipment budgets reductions in subscriptions, a reduction in waste funds, advertising, catering and printing.

I hope there will be cross-party agreement to accept my proposal for the benefit of the young people in the city’s primary schools.

New West End Curling Group

There's now a new "ice free indoor curling group" that is meeting at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall on Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm.    

It is run by are Reshaping Care for Older People and open to all aged over 50.

It is really good to see this initiative started and I wish it every success!

Area around Glamis Road/Drive/Blackness Road roundabout

A number of constituents have contacted me about how difficult they find it to get across the road in the area around Glamis Road/Drive/Blackness Road roundabout.    As one constituent put it:

"I am an elderly woman who frequently visits friends in Hillside Road off Glamis Drive and am finding it increasing difficult to safely cross the road at the Glamis Drive circle when coming to and from the bus stops in Blackness Road and I'm sure I am not the only one who finds this to be the case. The traffic can come very fast from different directions around the circle."

She wondered about the viability of traffic islands in the middle of the wide Glamis Road to allow pedestrians to cross the road in two stages with a safe place to break their journey mid-way.

I raised this with the City Council's Head of Transportation who has sent the following helpful update:

"I will arrange for an inspection and survey the width of Glamis Road to the north and south of the roundabout with Glamis Drive and Blackness Road. To provide a central refuge island the carriageway should be sufficiently wide enough to provide a 2.0m wide island and provide a 0.5m wide safety zone for construction and future maintenance. In addition 3.25m desirable minimum or 3.0m absolute minimum should be provide in each direction to maintain two way flow. 

Therefore the required total width of carriageway required is 9m absolute minimum to avoid a lane closures for construction or future maintenance of the central refuge island. This will not cause any delays or disruption to the network. 

If the 9m wide carriageway is available I will consider provision of a central refuge island and drop kerbs for inclusion within the future minor works programme."

On Wave 102 News - Road safety measures outside Harris Academy

I was on Wave 102 News yesterday about the road safety measures outside Harris Academy the City Council has agreed to.   You can hear the interview by clicking 'play' below:

Community Spirit Action Group meeting

Earlier tonight,  I attended the February meeting of Community Spirit - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Pentland, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area.   The meeting took place in the Mitchell Street Centre.

There was firstly a presentation by George Gammack of Living Streets, on the advantages of 20 mph zones in highly residential areas, an issue I have long campaigned for, particularly in parts of the West End that have very narrow roads, like Logie, the Perth Road lanes, Pentland and Ancrum Drive.

Thereafter, at my request on behalf of residents and with the kind agreement of the Chair of Community Spirit, a representative of the Environment Department spoke to update everyone about the communal 'eurobin' trial in Saggar Street and the intention, in due course, to review the bin collection arrangements in other parts of Pentland, such as Loganlee Terrace.

I am very grateful to the residents who attended (particularly as it has been a miserable, rainy evening!) to give their feedback on the trial.   Loss of parking through placing the bins on the road edge is a clear issue and I have asked that the council look at the viability of placing the bins off the road and, meantime, the department has agreed to ensure the siting of the bins minimises parking loss.   It will also look at changing the bin lids, which are rather heavy, particularly for older residents to use.

In Britain, in Europe, in work @scotlibdems

Tonight's Scottish Liberal Democrat broadcast:

Blackness Library update

Further to my previous updates last year about the improvement works at Blackness Library that saw the provision of an accessible lift to allow residents with mobility difficulties to access the upstairs meetings rooms for the first time, I requested thereafter that the council's Chief Executive agree to a number of further improvements - in terms of sink provision upstairs and redecoration and I am pleased to advise that this was agreed to.

Leisure & Culture Dundee has now advised me that :

"The two upper floor rooms are (currently) being painted and the adult lending library will be painted during the week beginning 11th February.  

In order to allow this final week of decoration we have reluctantly taken the decision to close Blackness Library from the 7th -14th February inclusive. 

The library staff will remove the books from the shelves, and the shelving will be dismantled to allow the painters access to the walls, radiators and windows. The shelving and books will be stored in the children's library until the painters have finished. The public access computers will be protected by plastic sheeting. 

The library staff will then rebuild the shelving and replace the books and the building will reopen on Saturday 15th February. 

We regret this temporary loss of service and the inconvenience to our readers."

I asked if, during the period the library is shut, if the mobile library service could make a visit to the area.    It already is scheduled to visit the following places on Wednesday 12th February:

Oxford Street / Eton Street	1.50 pm - 2.05 pm
Glamis Road	2.10 pm - 2.30 pm
Teddy Bears / Thomas Wise Place	2.35 pm - 3.00 pm
Naughton Place	3.05 pm - 3.25 pm
Glamis Road / Dunkeld Place	3.30 pm - 3.55 pm
Elmwood Road	4.00 pm - 4.20 pm

Leisure & Culture Dundee has kindly agreed that the mobile library can make a stop that day near to the library - on Shaftesbury Road - between 9.40am and 10.15am.

Road safety outside Harris Academy site, Perth Road - an update

Residents will recall that, back in December, I had a site visit with the City Council’s Chief Executive to the Harris Academy site at Perth Road to look at road safety outside the site during the school rebuilding project.

I had received a number of constituents’ concerns that, with the road narrowed, there is more limited space for vehicles passing each direction on what is a busy bus route and the white lines are no longer in the middle of the road.

I have now had feedback from the City Council’s Head of Transportation following the site visit as follows:

“Whilst technically the lane widths are within the regulations we have agreed to look at repositioning the centre line (so it is centred across the remaining carriageway and the contractor is to investigate the provision of advisory 20 mph signage to encourage people to drive through the area more slowly.

In addition the contractor has agreed to remind all vehicles accessing the site to follow an agreed approach route and signage is in place to deter large vehicles using inappropriate residential streets near by.”

These suggested measures are sensible and I hope the advisory lower speed limit will be introduced given the narrowing of the road at present and the number of construction vehicles exiting and entering the site at this location.

Scotswood Terrace pavements

Over the past few years, on behalf of local residents, I have highlighted to the City Engineer the very poor state of the unadopted footways in Scotswood Terrace.   These now have high priority on the unadopted footways list and looked likely to be upgraded and adopted next financial year.

However, the City Engineer has now advised me of some good news that will see the pavement work carried out a little sooner:

"... letters (have been) issued to residents in Scotswood Terrace (to) advise of footway upgrading works proposed to be carried out in 2013/14, ie before 30th March 2014.    Works to date this year on the unadopted programme have accrued sufficient savings to allow other streets to be promoted and added to the programme for upgrade and adoption this financial year."

I am delighted that this work is now about to commence and there should be further progress with some other West End pavements in 2014/15.

Back from Australia

We're just back from Australia, where we had a fab time visiting our younger son, daughter-in-law and grandson, as well as seeing a fair bit of the east coast.    Many thanks to my colleagues who kindly covered my West End Ward surgeries when I was away and to the council's excellent members services staff who were very helpful with constituent enquiries (as always!)

Here's a few photos!

Brisbane skyline

At Cairns' excellent Botanic Gardens

Melbourne's lovely south beach

In Sydney at the inspiration for the Dundee Discovery Walk proposal

Janet with our grandson Henry at Bundoora Park in Melbourne

... and, of course, Skippy!

Latest news from Friends of Wighton

Amy Leach

From Sheena Wellington:

Wighton Heritage Centre (Central Library), Lunchtime Recital, Wednesday 5th February 2014 : 1.15pm-1.45pm.

First Friends of Wighton Lunchtime Recital of the year will feature the fine young singer, Amy Leach.

Amy Leach is from Edinburgh, now living and studying in Newcastle upon Tyne.    She grew up singing through the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin and particularly enjoys singing the muckle sangs. She will graduate this year from the Folk and Traditional Music BMus at Newcastle University - and hopes to sing and write about ballads for the foreseeable future.

Admission free, donations welcome!

Skill Share Dundee - February activities @skillshare

Conclusion to Photopolis series : Hawkhill

This photograph, concluding this series of the Photopolis photographic resource, shows the north side of the Hawkhill at the junction with Bellfield Lane at the left (in the west).

Alexander Wilson's Dining Rooms and Coffeehouse were at No. 167. One of the advertisements on the gable end are for the Dundee Select Choir's performance of Handel's oratorio "Samson" at the Kinnaird Hall.

The Dundee Directory lists the other shops as Mrs G. Harper, tobacconist, Mrs A. Boyack, draper, The Annandale Dairy Company, Isabella Miller, fruiterer, and Miss F. Sheriff, confectioner. Then comes Lowden's Alley.

Photopolis : Session Street

The original caption is misleading, as the photograph shows Dundee's Scouringburn, whose layout was incorporated into the new Hawkhill section of the city's inner ring road system in the 1970s, here seen leading westwards, Session Street to the right.

Mrs J. McManus, the general dealer, is first listed at No. 13 Scouringburn in the Dundee Directory for 1888-89. The 1893-94 edition has John Finnigan as the owner of the public house at No. 15, the Celtic Bar.

James P. Casey is described there as 'dealer in furniture, left-off clothing, antiquarian and general bookseller, and licensed broker'. Their advertisement says Mr and Mrs Casey will pay good prices in cash for any part of anyone's 'superfluous wardrobe'.

Photopolis : Scott's Close

The Dundee Directory for 1895-96 lists two streets in the city called Scott’s Close. One is given at No. 97 Overgate, and the No. 6 Hawkhill.   It is impossible to say categorically which this is.

This photograph shows an alleyway between two tenement blocks, with a gaslight attached to the left-hand side.   The image is important, because shortly afterwards the buildings were demolished.

Adult learning in the West End

The new Dundee City Council adult learning newsletter is now available and you can download it here.

The following courses are available in the West End :

Photopolis : Balfour Street Public School

A School Board was set up in Dundee in 1873 and under its direction a number of new schools were set up, including the Balfour Street Public School.

In 1894, there were 23 schools under the School Board, with accommodation for 21,000 scholars. 

By 1913, the School Board was employing 585 teachers in Dundee.

Roseangle Playpark Campaign - Kids Movie Screening

Kids Movie Screening - The Aristocrats

When: Saturday February 1st at 1.30pm

Venue: The Hannah Maclure centre (Abertay University Student Centre)

A relaxed fun afternoon viewing a family film - The Aristocrats. 

Crafts and activities from 1.30pm with the film starting just after 2pm. We will have a number of play-park 'mood boards' on display so it will be chance for kids and grown-ups to share their ideas for the park.

Admission is free but suggested donation to the park- fund is £3 per person.

Food and drink is available to purchase from the other venues in the Abertay University Student Centre.

Due to limited spaces please book a place by clicking here.

Photopolis : Perth Road at Hermonhill

This photograph shows a section of Dundee's Perth Road's north side, looking to the west, with a no longer extant road at the righthand side.

The taller block is Hermonhill (numbered 21-27 Perth Road), the smaller one Hermonhill Terrace (1-6, disregarding continuous numbering of Perth Road). George H. Gibb, the town postmaster, lived at No. 21, Hermonhill House.

In 1895, the residents of the terrace included Mrs J. McCheyne (widow of the Rev. J. M. McCheyne, a [prominent Dundonian preacher), George A. Harris, an architect, and the undertaker William Scarlett, who had offices in Ann Street and Logie Street.