GP services over the Easter holiday

From NHS Tayside :

Most GPs in Tayside will be closed on Monday 3rd April.

Please ensure you have enough of your regular medication before the public holiday and only order what you need.

Choras at the Wighton

From Sheena Wellington :

This Saturday - 1st April at 11am - Choras, a harmony trio, will sing at the Wighton Heritage Centre in the Central Library.

Aileen Carr, Barbara Dymock and Janice Reavell are all much loved and respected traditional singers.

All three of them, as harmony trio Choras, will sing this Saturday.

A concert with this cappella trio with their superb harmonies, eclectic selection of songs and sense of fun is not to be missed!

All welcome - admission is £5 at the door.

Roads and pavements improvements for the West End 2023/24 #dundeewestend

The City Council’s Roads Maintenance Partnership has published its proposed roads and footpaths resurfacing and improvements programme for the new financial year.

West End proposed work includes :

Adopted Footway Programme 2023-24

· Perth Road South Side - West Wynd to Springfield (Partial Reconstruction)

· Blackness Road North Footpath, Elliot Road to Roundabout (Slurry Seal)

· Hawkhill - Taits Lane to Peddie Street North (Slurry Seal)

· Menzieshill Road - Link Path to Perth Road (Slurry Seal)

· Perth Road - South Path either side of Millbay (Slurry Seal)

· Perth Road - Riverside to Invergowrie - South Side (Slurry Seal)

Non-Adopted Asset Programme 2023-24

· Pitfour Street at Junction of Rosebery Street (Reconstruction)

· Western Cemetery Drainage Work

Carriageway Programme 2023-24

· Riverside Drive - Northbound from Tesco goods to Railway Station (Resurface)

· Riverside Drive-Avenue Roundabout and patches (Resurface)

· Rockfield Crescent - Marchfield Crescent to Hyndford Street (Resurface)

· South Marketgait - Railway Station to Greenmarket (Resurface)

· Sycamore Place - Balgay Road to Logie Avenue (Resurface)

· West Grove Avenue - Bottom Section (Resurface)

Whilst any pavements and roads improvements are welcome, the current budget is wholly inadequate and far too few roads and footpaths are being upgraded. At the council’s revenue budget last month, the Liberal Democrat Group proposed an additional £2 million next year for roads resurfacing, £1 million on pavements resurfacing to properly tackle the state of many footpaths and road surfaces that we get so many complaints about.

Unfortunately the other parties voted this down but our group will continue to campaign for roads and pavements improvements.

Dundee Creative Writing Group at Blackness Library #dundeewestend

The Dundee Creative Writing Group meets this Thursday at Blackness Library.

Running from 10am to 12 noon, all welcome! 

Weekly Road Report – West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 27 MARCH 2023

Abbotsford Street (at Seymour Street) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 27 March for 4 days for telecommunications mast maintenance.

Seafield Road (at No 28) – closed from Tuesday 28 March for 3 days for Neos duct repairs.

Forthcoming Roadworks

Perth Road (at Springfield) – temporary traffic lights from 9.00am on Monday 3 April to 6.00am on Tuesday 4 April for Scottish Water work.

Abbotsford Place – temporary traffic lights Thursday 6 and Friday 7 April for Hyperoptics work.

Abbotsford Street – temporary traffic lights Friday 6 April for one week for Hyperoptics work.

Perth Road (at Riverside Drive) – temporary traffic lights on Friday 7 April for Scottish Water work.

McGonagall Square - traffic control from Monday 10 April for 2 weeks for street lighting replacement works.

Tay Square (southmost leg off South Tay Street) – closed from Monday 10 April for 2 weeks for Scottish Water work.

Glamis Road (at Blackness Road) – temporary traffic lights on Monday 10 April for Scottish Water work.

Rosemary Matheson-Dear art exhibition #dundeewestend

Yesterday, we had the great pleasure of visiting the fascinating exhibition of the artwork of the late Rosemary Matheson-Dear.

Rosemary's prolific artwork going back to 1947 shows her great talent and the exhibition is well worth a visit. Rosemary and Denis Matheson-Dear were much respected West End residents and great supporters of Harris Academy over many years.

The exhibition is open again today - Sunday 26th March - from 10am to 4pm at 324 Blackness Road. Entrance is £5 and proceeds of the exhibition will go to the Guide Dogs charity.

We are pictured with Jonathan Matheson-Dear, one of Rosemary's sons, at the exhibition.

Getting things done - Victoria Park #dundeewestend

Michael is pictured at one of the entrances to the Victoria Park playpark.

We have asked for repairs at the gates and for proper latches to be fitted to each gate, following a number of residents raising this with us.

Temporary Traffic Order – Seafield Road

From the City Council :

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 NEOS cable maintenance works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Seafield Road (at number 28), Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Tuesday 28 March 2023 for 3 working days.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Perth Road / Thomson Street / Magdalen Yard Road / Bellefield Avenue / Seafield Road.

For further information contact 433082.

Executive Director of City Development

Dundee City Council

Path from Tait’s Lane to Peddie Street #dundeewestend

Residents will recall that we have previously highlighted the unkempt state of this path, particularly the planters and a lot of graffiti.

 

There’s now been a couple of site visits to discuss a positive future for the planters and we are grateful to a local resident who has proposed community use of the planters for growing herbs, vegetables, fruits or flowers.

Given the waiting list for allotments, this is a really good idea and the council agreed to bring the site up to a standard where this can happen and work on that has already commenced - see second photo - below.

If any resident is interested in getting involved, please e-mail peddietaits@gmail.com - many thanks.

Victoria Gardens energy efficiency event #dundeewestend

This Saturday at 11am, the Victoria Gardens community garden will have an energy saving/advice talk from Home Energy Scotland.

All welcome and free to attend!

School crossing patroller vacancies - West End Campus #dundeewestend

There are currently school crossing patroller vacancies at West End Campus - St Joseph's Primary School, Victoria Park Primary School and Balgay Hill Nursery School.

Please see further information below :

Weekly Road Report – West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 20 MARCH 2023

Explorer Road – temporary traffic lights until Tuesday 21 March for Scottish Water work.

City Road (at Tullideph Road) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 20 March for 4 days for O2 work.

Forthcoming Roadworks

Abbotsford Street (at Seymour Street) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 27 March for 4 days for telecommunications mast maintenance.

Seafield Road (at No 28) – closed from Tuesday 28 March for 3 days for Neos duct repairs.

Perth Road (at Springfield) – temporary traffic lights from 9.00am on Monday 3 April to 6.00am on Tuesday 4 April for Scottish Water work.

Tay Square (southmost leg off South Tay Street) – closed from Monday 10 April for 2 weeks for Scottish Water work.

Glamis Road (at Blackness Road) – temporary traffic lights on Monday 10 April for Scottish Water work.

Getting things done - Roseangle playpark #dundeewestend

We recently received concerns that the climbing rope next to the slide at the Roseangle playpark was broken.

We drew this to the attention of the council's environment management to ensure it is repaired.

Getting things done - Elliot Road and Glamis Road #dundeewestend

We recently again received concerns about the difficulty at times for drivers accessing or egressing Elliot Road at the junction with Glamis Road due to some vehicles parked very close to the junction.

This has proved particularly challenging for the X7 bus turning the corner into/out of Elliot Road.

We had long raised this on behalf of residents and were pleased that some yellow lining at this junction was approved by the City Development Committee on 5th December 2022.

We recently asked the council's Head of Sustainable Transport and Roads about progress with the legal/consultation process and he has updated us as follows :

"If no objections are received to the statutory consultation and public notice we target installing the road markings in the autumn.

If objections are received we'll report these back to committee in the summer to consider whether to proceed with the order."

Getting things done - Western Cemetery #dundeewestend

We recently received concerns about gravestones in the Western Cemetery lying in their sides and sought an explanation from the City Council.

The Operations & Development Manager (Environment) at Dundee City Council has advised :

"Yes we have contractors in working in the Western stabilising stones.

The stones you see have deliberately been laid down for safety reasons and will be erected over the coming weeks.

We have been carrying out this type of work over the years but were keen to concentrate on the Western.

Apologies this looks unsightly but I will ask for an update from the contractor."

Dundee Art Society talk #dundeewestend

The next Dundee Art Society talk is this Friday evening - 17th March - 7pm to 9pm at the Roseangle Gallery.

All welcome and as usual the talk is free to attend.

Allan Henderson

Neo Impressionistic technique of Pointillism

Allan is a highly regarded contemporary artist.

He is inspired by Seurat, Signac, Cross and others. He will demonstrate using pastels, the principles of Pointillism, exploring the technique of divided colour, in order to create a work in the gallery.

Carole and Alan Prior at the Wighton Heritage Centre!

From Sheena Wellington :

Saturday 18th March - 11am - Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library

The Friends of Wighton are delighted to welcome Carole and Alan Prior, one of the best loved and most respected singing duos in the British Isles.

Carole is a well known and powerful singer who, together with her husband Alan, has been invited to many folk festivals and singing weekends throughout the UK and Ireland. Whilst traditional songs and ballads are her first love, she also enjoys newer compositions in a traditional style, particularly when they convey emotional themes or a good story. She also likes humorous songs as well as dabbling in a bit of song writing and composing tunes for poems. Most notably, her tune for Violet Jacob's Baltic Street has become a favourite with many other singers.

With a big voice, Alan has drawn his repertoire from diverse areas of song and is well known and respected in many places, appearing together with his wife Carole at quite a few of the festivals and clubs throughout the UK and Ireland and in Ian McCalman's production of Far Far from Ypres. Alan enjoys traditional style singing, a sprinkling of Burns songs and chooses songs that he enjoys and identifies with from more recent writers.

While each has their own repertoire, they also enjoy singing together in unison and sometimes with a sprinkle of harmony – and a fair bit of humour!

All welcome - tickets £5 at the door.

Botanic Garden - research project #dundeewestend

Research is currently being conducted at the University of Dundee Botanic Garden by Tanya MacDonald, a PhD researcher at University of Dundee based within the Botanic Garden.

The research aims to explore the community’s perspectives of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden’s value, role, and impact on the community.

Part of this research is to invite the University of Dundee Botanic Garden network and wider community to share their experiences, views, and opinions.

Further details are in the poster below. All welcome to take part and please contact Tanya at 2438369@dundee.ac.uk

Weekly Road Report – West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR THE WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 13 MARCH 2023

Lochee Road (at Gardners Lane) – temporary traffic lights from 9.00am on Thursday 16 March to 6.00am on Friday 17 March for Scottish Water work.

Forthcoming Roadworks

City Road (at Tullideph Road) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 20 March for 4 days for O2 work.

Abbotsford Street (at Seymour Street) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 27 March for 4 days for telecommunications mast maintenance.

Seafield Road (at No 28) – closed from Tuesday 28 March for 3 days for Neos duct repairs.

Getting things done - Union Place #dundeewestend

We have received complaints about the unkempt paths at the Union Place car park.

We have therefore raised this with environment management at the City Council to ensure a tidy-up takes place.

Dundee Community Toolbox

If you need to do some DIY or working on the garden Community Toolbox is the project for you.

No need to buy expensive tools for one or two jobs - just join Community Toolbox at Unit 20b Wellgate Centre.

Based on a tools library model, members of the public can borrow tools or equipment for a small membership fee.

You also have an option to Pay It Forward and buy a membership to gift for someone else.

For further information call Dundee 227288 or e-mail toolbox@wellbeingworksdundee.org.uk

The City Council's CONNECT team

The CONNECT team is part of Council Advice Services and gives assistance to anyone requiring help with income maximisation, benefit form filling and benefit problems.

Call Dundee 431188 (option 2) for help and advice.

Getting things done - Tullideph Road - an update #dundeewestend

Some months ago, we highlighted that the paths to the rear of the Tullideph Road flats near to the north end of Loganlee Terrace were in a poor state of repair, creating trip hazards.

We reported this to the City Council who promised an upgrade and we are grateful to the council team that has ensured a quality job was undertaken as the 'before' and 'after' photos show :

Invergowrie Medical Practice update

A number of residents have contacted us about the unfortunate possible closure of the Invergowrie Medical Practice from 16th June.

Although this is situated across the boundary with Perth and Kinross, of its 1891 patients, 343 are in Dundee and of these 108 live in the West End.

The current position is that a group of representatives from NHS Tayside and the Perth and Kinross and Dundee health and social care partnerships has been established and it will consider five possible options :

• Invitation to submit a business case for another GP Practice to take over the practice contract
• Merge with another independent practice
• Merge with one of the two Dundee practices already operated directly by NHS Tayside
• Operate the practice directly by NHS Tayside
• Close the practice and disperse patients across other practices in surrounding areas

The outcome of the options appraisal will subsequently go before the Perth and Kinross and Dundee health and social care partnerships in due course and a final decision will then be made by NHS Tayside.

We are pleased to speak with any West End resident about the situation.

Getting things done - Queen Victoria Works #dundeewestend

Residents will be aware that we have repeatedly raised the security of the former Queen Victoria Works  site that is situated between Brook Street and Douglas Street.

We are grateful to the residents who recently highlighted to us that one of the boarded up access doors was open and persons had accessed the site - very worrying as it is not a safe environment.

We immediately raised this with the City Council who had it repaired (see photo) and advised :

"I can confirm the door breached at Queen Victoria Works has been secured and recorded against the relevant record.

We are currently awaiting the cost from the contractor and we will add this to the cost recovery process once we are in receipt."

We have also asked for an update from the council on its progress with engagement with the Dubai-based owners, as we are anxious to see a positive future use of the site.

Weekly Road Report – West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 6 MARCH 2023

West Marketgait (Nethergate to West Port roundabout) – off‑peak northbound nearside lane closure on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 March for Virgin Media work.

Forthcoming Roadworks

Lochee Road (at Gardners Lane) – temporary traffic lights from 9.00am on Thursday 16 March to 6.00am on Friday 17 March for Scottish Water work.

City Road (at Tullideph Road) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 20 March for 4 days for O2 work.

Abbotsford Street (at Seymour Street) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 27 March for 4 days for telecommunications mast maintenance.

West End Third Sector Network #dundeewestend

Thursday 9th March sees the next meeting of West End Third Sector Network taking place at Dundee Science Centre at 14 Greenmarket.

If you work or volunteer in the third sector and have an interest in the West End, come along and meet colleagues in our area.

More details at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-end-third-sector-network-tickets-537587858757

Citizen of the Year 2023

Nominations to find Dundee’s Citizen of the Year for 2023 are open.

Each year an individual, usually a volunteer, from the community is chosen to highlight their work and selfless efforts by naming them Citizen of the Year.

The process is an opportunity to recognise someone who has gone the extra mile to support their community.

If  any residents knows some that they feel is worthy of nomination, please return a completed nomination form by Friday 31st March 2023.

The full criteria for eligible candidates is available on the form, including that the individual must live within the Dundee City Council area.

The Citizen of the Year 2023 award nomination form is available at www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/corporate-services/democratic-and-legal-services/dundee-citizen-of-the-year

Let's plant a woodland! #dundeewestend

Ben Wilson - "chewing gum man" #dundeewestend

Like many others, we are hugely impressed with the work of Ben Wilson and his miniature paintings on discarded pieces of chewing gum in the Perth Road - and many other locations.

Ben's ‘gum pics’ have amazed and delighted pedestrians since he began creating them in 2004.

With thanks to Jillian at the Little Green Larder for the photo montage, you can read more about Ben's fabulous work at https://benwilsonchewinggumman.com

Getting things done - Perth Road/Ryehill Lane corner site - further update #dundeewestend

Over a long period, the Perth Road/Ryehill Lane corner site and seating area has looked very unkempt.

This was in the ownership of JC Decaux who owned the original advertising hoardings at the rear of the site - but they sold it during 2022.

We asked JC Decaux for details of the new site owner which it has kindly provided and we have asked this new owner to have the site properly tidied.