What could help, who could lead and how to tell whether it works. These proposals respond to the evidence; they are separate from the council’s actual commitments.
Proposal
Use Bell Street as a practical link in Dundee’s walking and cycling network
Bell Street transport hub has opened, while the proposed Eden connections remain at concept stage with further design funding awaited.
The existing hub can support current journeys even while the wider routes are still proposals. Its value should be tested through safe, usable connections rather than the future attraction alone.
Who could lead: Dundee City Council; Dundee City Council and Eden Project Dundee.
- Start now
Check how people reach and use the hub’s bicycle storage and walking and cycling facilities.
- Over the next few years
If design funding is secured, connect the Eden route proposals to existing streets and the hub through an accessibility review.
- Over the longer term
Maintain useful facilities and judge future extensions by everyday journeys as well as visitor demand.
How to judge progress
Starting point: Bell Street sustainable transport hub: Council reports hub opened in early 2026. Eden walking and cycling connections: Concept designs finalised; further design funding awaited.
Measure: Hub use, secure bicycle-storage availability, safe connections and barriers reported by users.
Trade-off: Concept routes need design, permissions and funding; maintenance and personal security also affect whether people use a hub.
Cost: No costed delivery assessment has been established here. These are proposed sequences, not funded promises or completion deadlines.
Bell Street sustainable transport hub →
Eden walking and cycling connections →
Proposal
Connect flood protection to usable housing sites
Lochee’s approved drainage scheme is intended to make derelict housing sites usable as well as reduce flood risk.
Proposed response: track finished drainage and its maintenance separately from housing permissions, starts and completions.
Evidence 1 · Evidence 2
Who could lead: Dundee City Council and Scottish Water, with the appointed works contractor and housing providers.
- Start now
Publish the current works stage and remaining costs, and confirm who will maintain the rain garden.
- Over the next few years
Check that drainage is working before relying on it for new housing development.
- Over the longer term
Track maintenance, local flooding and occupied homes on the connected sites.
How to judge progress
Starting point: Tender and £830,000 expenditure approved on 17 November 2025; grant announcement dated 14 November 2025.
Measure: Drainage completion, maintenance checks, flood incidents and subsequent homes occupied.
Trade-off: Drainage investment does not itself deliver homes or remove every source of flooding.
Cost: No costed delivery assessment has been established here. These are proposed sequences, not funded promises or completion deadlines.
Lochee drainage and rain garden →
Proposal
Make room for homes people can afford
The average home price is £147,000 (July 2026) in Dundee City council area. This is about £49,000 lower than the Scotland average for the same month.
Housing costs matter most alongside earnings and the number of affordable homes available. A local average cannot tell us whether a particular household can afford its home.
Who could lead: The housing and planning authorities, housing associations and developers.
- Start now
Publish the local waiting list, temporary accommodation and affordable-home delivery figures together.
- Over the next few years
Test proposed housing sites against affordable-home need, access to work, school places and water capacity.
- Over the longer term
Check whether completed homes reduce unmet need, rather than counting planning permissions as delivery.
How to judge progress
Starting point: The average home price is £147,000 (July 2026) in Dundee City council area.
Measure: Affordable homes completed, households waiting, time in temporary accommodation, and rent compared with local earnings.
Trade-off: More homes can put pressure on infrastructure and land. Affordability requirements also affect development viability.
Cost: No costed delivery assessment has been established here. These are proposed sequences, not funded promises or completion deadlines.
Evidence: Average home price →
Lochee drainage and rain garden →
Proposal
Connect local skills to local opportunities
31.3% of people aged 16 or over had a degree or higher (20 March 2022) in Dundee City council area. People aged 16+ with a degree or higher ranged from 19.7% in East End to 44.5% in West End — a gap of 24.8 percentage points.
Qualifications show one part of the skills available locally. They do not show whether people have secure jobs or work that uses those skills.
Who could lead: Employers, colleges, universities and the relevant skills authority.
- Start now
Compare vacancies and employer needs with training available to local residents. Start by checking the different needs in West End and East End; census differences are not proof of unmet demand.
- Over the next few years
Link training to real jobs, including routes for people without formal qualifications.
- Over the longer term
Track sustained employment and earnings after training, not just course starts.
How to judge progress
Starting point: 31.3% with a degree or higher; 20 March 2022. People aged 16+ with a degree or higher ranged from 19.7% in East End to 44.5% in West End — a gap of 24.8 percentage points. 20 March 2022; 8 of 8 current wards have comparable figures.
Measure: Sustained jobs, earnings and training completion for residents who face barriers to work.
Trade-off: Training takes time and cannot create demand for jobs on its own. Qualifications are not a complete measure of ability.
Cost: No costed delivery assessment has been established here. These are proposed sequences, not funded promises or completion deadlines.
Evidence: People aged 16+ with a degree or higher →
Evidence: People aged 16+ with no qualifications →
Eden walking and cycling connections →
Proposal
Target safety work where problems repeat
Recorded-crime figures cover the whole Dundee City council area; they do not identify individual wards.
These are police-recorded crimes under Scottish counting rules. They cannot be ranked alongside the mapped incidents shown for other UK nations.
Who could lead: The local police force, council community safety team and relevant services.
- Start now
Check recurring places and categories alongside local police priorities and residents’ reports.
- Over the next few years
Test focused prevention and support, with a comparison period agreed before the work starts.
- Over the longer term
Publish whether problems fall, move elsewhere or return, and adjust the response.
How to judge progress
Crime evidence and coverage →
Starting point: Use the dated, complete periods shown in Crime and safety; keep anti-social behaviour separate.
Measure: Comparable recorded incidents, repeat victimisation and residents’ reported experience; never a single crude league table.
Trade-off: More reporting can increase recorded crime. Enforcement and support may work differently for different problems.
Cost: No costed delivery assessment has been established here. These are proposed sequences, not funded promises or completion deadlines.
Proposal
Turn published plans into visible progress
3 named local projects or plans have official evidence in this collection.
A published plan makes responsibilities and intentions easier to inspect. It does not prove that funding is secured or that promised benefits have arrived.
Who could lead: The named project owners and council scrutiny bodies.
- Start now
Put the scope, owner, funding position and next milestone in one public place.
- Over the next few years
Report delivery against the agreed scope and explain delays or changes.
- Over the longer term
Check the benefits residents actually receive after completion.
How to judge progress
Starting point: The dated stages in Projects; unknown costs and funding remain unknown.
Measure: Milestones met, costs against the approved budget, and measured outcomes after delivery.
Trade-off: Delivery reporting takes staff time, but a launch announcement alone cannot show value for money.
Cost: No costed delivery assessment has been established here. These are proposed sequences, not funded promises or completion deadlines.
Bell Street sustainable transport hub →
Eden walking and cycling connections →
Lochee drainage and rain garden →
What still needs an answer
Delivery costs, current service capacity and residents’ experience need to be assessed before choosing a programme. The time bands describe a possible sequence, not promised delivery dates.
Project locations have not been matched to official ward boundaries. No ward-specific delivery claims are inferred.
Costs, funding and benefits are only reported where the selected official evidence states them; blank fields are not zero.
Lochee has a verified tender decision, but a later completion certificate, final spending and housing delivery enabled by the work have not been verified. Funding awarded is not treated as money already spent.
