Charity Race Night #dundeewestend

There will be a charity race night this coming Saturday – 23rd October – at the Balgay Hill Bar in Rosefield Street.


6.30pm for a 7pm start, proceeds will benefit “Walk and Blether” which does great work promoting mental health locally.


Road lining issues at Blackness Avenue #dundeewestend

Numerous residents have contacted me about the white lining that has been painted on the newly resurfaced Blackness Avenue at its junction with Hawkhill/Perth Road.   In their view – and mine – the left turn lane has been painted incorrectly and the disabled bay far too close to the junction.

I contacted the City Council towards the end of last week and last Friday was advised :

“I would confirm having been on site this morning that the lining works at the south end have not been completed with the left turn/straight ahead arrows still to be painted in the left lane. 

The reason they have not been painted so far is the parked vehicle in the exact spot where the paint has to go down. Once the vehicle is moved the directional markings can be completed.

To date all road markings are restored to their original locations when the surfacing is completed.”

The left lane marking was added later that day – but the situation is not in my view improved – see photos below – you can judge for yourself …

Needless to say, I have gone back to council officers as the current lining is clearly incorrect. I have been advised by the Senior Engineer – Roads Maintenance Partnership as follows :

“I will get the designers to review the lining again and determine where the differences are. I will let you know the outcome asap.”

Old layout on Google Street View – clearly room for a left turn lane :


New layout – left turn lane effectively gone :



Blether Bus for older residents proposed for the axe – a sad tale #dundeewestend

I have today slammed a recommendation that will come before the council’s City Development Committee on Monday 25th October that, if approved, will axe all the Blether Bus services in Dundee that assist elderly residents who have difficulty accessing the main bus routes. These include services in the West End but also services in Stobswell and Lochee.


If approved this would be a really bad decision for the elderly folk who rely on the service. There are older residents in streets in my own ward who cannot manage uphill to the main bus services and, after the SNP axed their supported proper bus service, the Blether Bus has been all they were left with. Now they will have nothing at all – a real disgrace.

I have been promised by the council for months that the Blether Bus would return once COVID positive cases dropped as this was allegedly necessary as the bus is a minibus. These promises have proved worthless and I am furious about this. It would leave elderly folk in parts of the West End with no access to public transport – and I fear the SNP administration will simply rubber stamp this dreadful recommendation.

There is something ironic that Dundee City Council was seeking to reduce public transport and thereby increase private vehicle use as the affected residents would have to rely on family and friends running them about by car if they are to get out at all. At a time of COP26, it is bizarre that the council would be reducing public transport and increasing reliance on the private car – what a dreadful signal to be sending.

I would suggest that the better way forward with the Blether Bus service is to consult communities on making the routes more attractive to increase usage, rather than axing the service. 

I will be strongly opposing the axing of these older people’s bus services when this comes before councillors next Monday.


Weekly Road Report – West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL – WEEKLY ROAD REPORT


REPORT FOR WEST END WARD – WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 18 OCTOBER 2021

Blackness Avenue – closed for 2 weeks for carriageway resurfacing.

Glamis Drive (Glamis Road to Hazel Drive) – road closure from Monday 11 October for 6 days for City Fibre works.

Eton Street (Blackness Road to Cambridge Street) – road closure from Monday 11 October for 6 days for City Fibre works.

Hawkhill (Horsewater Wynd to Session Street) – eastbound nearside lane closure from Monday 18 October for one week for Scottish Water work.

Forthcoming Roadworks

Grosvenor Road (Shaftesbury Road to Perth Road) – closed from Monday 25 October for 2 days for carriageway resurfacing works.

Riverside Avenue (A90 Kingsway to Apollo Way) – closed overnight (7.30pm – 6.30am) on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 October for SSEN Cable Diversion work.

Glamis Drive (Glamis Road to Invergowrie Drive), Eton Street and Elliot Road (Blackness Road to Cambridge Street) – closed from Thursday 11 November for 10 days for facilitating City Fibre duct installation works.


‘Drawn’ exhibition at the Lamb Gallery #dundeewestend

From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee :


We’re pleased to announce that now that semester has started, our main museum venues are re-opening! The Tower Foyer & Lamb Galleries are open Monday to Friday 9.30am-7pm (we hope to resume Saturday openings in the future) and we’ve just created a new exhibition for the Lamb Gallery, entitled Drawn.

Drawing is often seen as the fundamental basis of art, as well as being an important tool in other forms of creative thinking.     This exhibition presents highlights from the University’s wide-ranging collection of around 2,000 drawings. 

It includes rarely seen work by many renowned artists including Thomas Gainsborough, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, W Q Orchardson, David Foggie, James McIntosh Patrick, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, David Mach, Will Maclean, Stephen Sutcliffe, Annie Cattrell and many others. 

Come along to see portraits, life studies, topographical drawings, scientific diagrams, drawings for sculpture, fashion illustrations, comics art and much more!

The exhibition is on until 21st January but will be closed on Fri 22nd October and for Christmas Monday 20th December until Tuesday 4th January. 

Further information, and details of COVID safety, can be found at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/drawn-an-exhibition-of-drawings-tickets-178684499147