City Council

Dundee Airport will offer direct flights to and from Belfast and London City from early next year.

Loganair is switching its existing Dundee service from Stansted to London City, and increasing the number of seats available.

The air link to the capital is supported by a Public Service Obligation (PSO) which protects routes that boost tourism, connect the UK and encourage economic growth.

The route is backed by funding from the government, Transport Scotland and Dundee City Council.

A larger aircraft will be deployed when flights move to London City from March 29, 2020.

An ATR 42-500 will replace the Saab 340 presently used to Stansted, increasing seat capacity from 33 to 48 seats on every flight.

The new aircraft will also cut carbon emissions per passenger by around 30% against the Saab 340.

The lead-in fare is being cut by £10 to £59.99 each way. The new Dundee-London City route will be served by two flights in each direction on weekdays and one on Sundays.

The carrier is also resuming year-round flights between Dundee and Belfast City from April 2 – the first between the two cities since the end of a previous service in 2012.

Fares start at £44.99 one way with up to six flights a week in summer and three a week during the winter.

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “There are real benefits for our customers in this move to fly directly into UK’s capital, not least being the reduced travel time to the heart of the city.

“London City Airport is only ten minutes from Canary Wharf and 30 minutes from central London. It’s a substantial time saving on the Stansted Express journey.”

Mark Flynn, deputy convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said: “The announcement of these routes to and from Dundee into the heart of London and Belfast are attractive propositions for business and leisure travellers, making it quick and easy for them to get directly to and from the city.

“Our air link with the UK’s commercial centre is an important part of our travel infrastructure and a positive piece in the delivery of a strong and sustainable economy that will provide jobs, retain graduates and make Dundee a magnet for new talent.”

Dundee has won in the UK’s first national Staycation Awards and is now officially the best city in Britain to enjoy a holiday, weekend away or short break without leaving the country!

“We’re thrilled to have won the City Staycation of the Year in the i Staycation Awards,” said Councillor Mark Flynn, on behalf of Dundee, One City Many Discoveries. “We were up against very stiff competition, with the holiday hotspots of York, Brighton & Hove and Bath also being shortlisted for this award.

“In the last few years, Dundee has emerged as one of the most vibrant cities in the country for a staycation. Widely known as Scotland’s coolest – and sunniest – city, Dundee combines the best of contemporary culture, inspiring architecture and a rich historical heritage with fabulous food and drink, good transport links, a great choice of places to stay and a fantastic selection of things to do.”

The i Staycation Awards are a nationwide search for the country’s best loved holiday spots, and the winners were announced on November 21 at a glittering awards ceremony in London by The One Show and Countryfile presenter Matt Baker. Launched by i Newspaper and holidaycottages.co.uk, the awards have 17 categories, ensuring all types of UK staycation are covered, including city breaks, country escapes, family seaside holidays and dog-friendly getaways.

Councillor Flynn, Depute Convener City Development, Dundee City Council revealed that winning the city category of the Staycation Awards is recognition of the success of the city’s vision to make Dundee one of the best small cites in the UK for a cultural short break. “We’ve focused on collectively telling the story of our city’s transformation from industrial centre to cultural capital – an approach which appears to be working.

“Well over one million people visited our city in 2018, with a 19% increase in visitors to Dundee in the first six months of 2019.

“Our spectacular waterfront setting is now home to V&A Dundee, Scotland’s first design museum, which has already given our city a £187 million tourism boost, as well as a green public space hosting everything from outdoor music gigs to free exercise classes.

“Many exciting new activities have been developed by local businesses and individuals, such as walking tours, wakeboarding in the docks, scenic trips around the area on a vintage bus and dolphin-spotting boat trips on the Tay. These visitor attractions perfectly complement our existing, well-known attractions such as The McManus Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee Rep, Dundee Science Centre, RRS Discover, HMS Unicorn and Verdant Works.”

To further enhance Dundee’s reputation as a city staycation destination, a number of new hotels, bars and restaurants have opened, Dundee train station has had a £38 million upgrade and transport links to and from the city have been improved. “We are also installing a fleet of electric bikes, so once they get here, visitors can easily explore Dundee and the surrounding area,” continued Councillor Flynn.

“Dundee is a dynamic Scottish city which looks to the future, offering a refreshing alternative to the traditional tartan, shortbread and bagpipes image. We believe, as do many of our million-plus visitors that Dundee is the best place in the UK for a city staycation - and its great news for the city that the judges of the i Staycation Awards, agree.”

Hanna Tavner, i news said :  “Congratulations to all the winners at the inaugural Staycation Awards. The destinations, attractions and accommodation on offer in the UK are truly exceptional and deserve to be celebrated.”

Caroline warburton, VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director said : “I would like to offer my congratulations to Dundee for winning City Staycation of the Year, although it comes as no surprise!

“The city’s remarkable rise within Scotland’s travel scene continues as its thriving hub for design, innovation and culture is revealed. Visitors know they can thoroughly enjoy a staycation here, with countless great places to eat and drink, shops galore, easy transport access and a plethora of diverse things to see and do.

“The growing number of visitors all helps the tourism sector’s contribution to the local economy by creating jobs and sustaining communities. The arrival of the iconic V&A has propelled Dundee into the global spotlight and, together with the McManus Gallery, RRS Discovery and Verdant Works, help shine a light on all this incredible city has to offer. This accolade has cemented Dundee’s reputation as a must-see city and we look forward to this continuing in 2020 and beyond.”

5.30pm – 9pm, Friday, 15^th November, 2019 City Square, Albert Square & city centre streets

As darkness falls on the evening of Friday, November 15, buses across Dundee will be ferrying passengers to a spectacular event in the city centre – Dundee’s Christmas Light Night.

Dundee’s Christmas Light Night will bring sparkle, colour and the flicker of flaming torches to the city centre streets, marking the lighting of the city’s Christmas decorations and the start of over two months of seasonal festivities in and around Dundee.

Cllr Alan Ross, Convener for Dundee, One City, Many Discoveries, said:

“This is shaping up to be a fantastic and unique event for Dundee.  The combination of street entertainment and late night shopping culminating in the Christmas Ceilidh in City Square is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the city centre.”

Dundee’s Christmas Light Night will begin with fun and music in City Square from 5.30pm, along with impromptu Street Theatre performances, exciting carnival rides, a Wishing Wall and the chance to sing and dance through Dundee’s streets on a Silent Disco Tour.

Then, at 6.30pm, when the festive atmosphere’s in full swing, a breathtaking Torchlight Procession will wind its way from the High School of Dundee to the City Square, passing through Albert Square, Commercial Street and the High Street.

The lanterns which will be ablaze for Dundee’s Christmas Light Night’s Torchlight Procession were made by the people of Dundee at special workshops earlier in the year.

Organisers are inviting people to join in with the atmospheric procession on the night. Torchbearers simply need to register at the High School of Dundee meeting point at 5.30 pm on November 15 and be ready to join the procession when it begins at 6.30pm.

Once the Torchlight Procession reaches City Square, the traditional countdown will begin for the Christmas Light Switch On, when the city’s show-stopping decorations and, of course, the giant Christmas tree, will burst into colour.

For younger visitors, a more relaxed countdown will take place in Albert Square - The Mini Christmas Lights Switch On. This family-orientated event will include a kids’ disco, face painting – and an illuminated Pingoo, the loveable Christmas penguin.

In addition, there will be a very special bus stop on Albert Square, where Mrs Claus will be welcoming children on board the Santa Bus, which is making a magical journey from Lapland specially for Dundee’s Christmas Light Night. The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and will also be joining in the fun, keeping their doors open until 7.30pm.

Once the lights are shining brightly all over the city centre, Dundee’s Christmas celebrations will continue in City Square with a massive Christmas Ceilidh with live music from top ceilidh band, Skyrie.

Dundee’s Christmas Light Night also features a free nativity play in the atmospheric setting of the Steeple Church. Dundee Nativity – The Christmas Angel allows the Archangel Gabriel to tell his version of the first Christmas and will include chances for younger members of the audience to join in.

Christine McGlasson, Managing Director, Xplore Dundee said:

“Dundee’s Christmas Light Night is always a wonderful evening for all the family and as always, we're delighted to transport people to and from this fabulous event by bus. And we hope everyone will experience the excitement of Christmas when they meet Mrs Claus on our Santa Bus, which is back for the festive season and will be welcoming kids of all ages on board. What a wonderful way to begin Christmas in Dundee, with a packed programme of celebrations which will continue until January 2020.”

Plan your Dundee Christmas Light Night experience

Christmas in Dundee features a wide range of festive events, including markets, winter fayres, workshops, foodie experiences, plays, concerts, ballet, pantomimes, children’s shows, live music, carol singing, exhibitions, dancing and even Christmas movies!

For the full programme of events, including information about bus routes over the festive period, download a copy of the Christmas in Dundee Festive Guide from dundee.com

https://www.dundee.com/sites/default/files/Christmas%20in%20Dundee%20brochure_0.pdf

Dundee has been named among the coolest places in the world to visit in 2019 by a top travel magazine.

National Geographic Traveller UK’s Cool List 2019 names the 19 destinations it expects to dominate the headlines over the next 12 months.

Dundee is joined by the likes of Hong Kong, Corsica and even Antarctica on a list featuring everything from futuristic cityscapes and modernist architecture to pristine rainforest and rehabilitated wildlife.

The magazine said: “Being chosen as the only city outside of London to house a V&A Museum has created a new kind of swagger for Dundonians — and there’s more transformation to come.”

Highlighting the city’s main attractions, it added: “The £1bn redevelopment of the waterfront is still ongoing, but its crown jewel — the V&A, which opened in late-2018 — is in place.

“The project has also brought new restaurants, bars and new railway station building to a part of town that had been in decline for decades.

“A few minutes’ walk away you’ll also find Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic exploration vessel, the RRS Discovery, which was built here in 1900.”

Dundee council leader John Alexander said: “It’s great that the spotlight continues to shine on our city’s transformation.

“Tourism has been on the up in Dundee for a while now, and the most recent figures show it is worth more than £150m a year to the local economy.

“We’ve seen fantastic visitor figures at V&A Dundee since it opened in September, and look forward to even more people discovering what Dundee has to offer in 2019.

“As cool as the Antarctic – that can’t be bad!”

The proposal could see the Mecca Bingo in the Nethergate turned into a 6,000 capacity hall, making it Scotland’s fourth largest concert venue.

It comes just a week after V&A Dundee opened its doors as part of the £1billion redevelopment of Dundee Waterfront.

The designs were created by Glasgow architects Wilson+Gunn, as part of a feasibility study commissioned by the property developers who own the building.

The renovations would see the existing roof raised, with the Nethergate entrance restructured to include a restaurant or café.

The rear of the building on Yeaman’s shore would also be remodelled to create an entrance.

Internally, the building would have 102 underground car parking spaces.

The ground floor would contain the auditorium, a bar, toilets and ticket office.

There would be further bars and balcony spectator seating on the first floor while the second floor would have a corporate dining area and upper deck seating.

Architect Kenny Stephen, who worked on the redevelopment of Malmaison Dundee, said it would be cheaper to redevelop the Mecca Bingo building than building a new concert hall from the ground up.

He also added “It is purely a feasibility study because of the interest and discussion around creating a facility of this nature in Dundee.”

Original Article - https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/729618/exclusive-dundees-mecca-bingo-could-be-transformed-into-one-of-scotlands-biggest-concert-halls/

Dundee has held their annual Christmas Light Night, check out some of the pictures from all of the weekends events here!

The Torch Light Procession

The Torch Light Procession kicked off at Dundee High School and headed to City Square with music from Town Waits and The Boys Brigade Pipe Band.

The Christmas Lights Switch On

The lights and tree in City Square were turned on by the Lord Provost and Santa.

Big Winter Warm Up

Dundee Leisure and Culture led a festive group aerobics workout in the City Square.

Wishing Wall

Crowds headed down to Shore Terrace to make a special wish at our Wishing Wall.

Celebratory Fireworks

To celebrate the Christmas festivities there was a spectacular firework display in City Square and could be seen from Slessor Gardens.

Pop Up Christmas Market

Over Friday and Saturday Slessor Gardens held a pop up market selling food, drinks and gifts.

Urban planning is like "real-life SimCity" to the man who is spearheading Dundee’s waterfront development

Like so many students in Dundee, Mike Galloway immediately left town after earning his degree from Dundee University. His next 18 years as an urban planner included various stints in Glasgow, London and Manchester before eventually returning to Dundee, where he is now working to create a community that will encourage more of today’s graduates to stay put.

Homes for young professionals are currently among the top priorities for Mike, who has been spearheading Dundee’s massive £1 billion waterfront redevelopment since its inception in 1997. With anchor projects such as the V&A design museum and a new railway station now coming out of the ground, he wants to channel further investment into offices, creative space, hotels and housing.

"We need flats for young professionals filling the growing number and variety of jobs available, so they don’t feel they have to leave to pursue their career or have the lifestyle they desire," he says.

"I got all of that out of my system, but I would like to make the decision easier for today’s graduates to either come back or even stay in Dundee."

Raised in Glasgow’s east end, his family later moved to Perth, he says he had no particular ambitions at school, but was eventually drawn to town planning because it’s like "real-life SimCity".

Ironically, he prefers the series to Minecraft, whose local connections include Dundee tech entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl’s 4J Studios, which worked on console editions of the outrageously popular 3D cuboid game. Last year, 4J Studios also released a Minecraft version of what Dundee’s waterfront will look like when the regeneration project is complete.

"I don’t actually rate Minecraft, but of course the links to Dundee, and what they’ve done with the waterfront project, are fantastic."

www.dundeewaterfront.com