Dundee is, most people would agree, a city on the rise.
By aiming high with the waterfront redevelopment, city leaders have turned former perceptions of depressing, depressed Dundee on their head.
But like every other sizeable town or city in Scotland, the heart of the city is not what it should be.
Or, to put it more bluntly, our high streets are dying.
Walk through Dundee city centre on a Saturday and you would be forgiven for thinking everything is alright — there will be plenty of shoppers milling around — but there is no hiding the number of empty units and charity stores.
It’s the same across Scotland, and indeed, the UK.
Town centres offer the same chains selling the same produce to what is, thanks to the rise of internet shopping, a shrinking market.
Many once vibrant town centres are now seemingly caught in a death spiral.
Dundee, fortunately, is not in such a dire position.
Although it has a number of empty units and plans to upgrade the Wellgate Centre appear to have stalled, its potential is clear to see.
The waterfront development is helping boost the city’s profile and its night-time economy will be boosted by the arrival of places like Boozy Cow.
But as far as shopping goes, the picture is not quite so rosy. Brantano in the Gallagher Retail Park is closing, the latest in a long-line of big names to go to the wall in recent years.
Meanwhile, out-of-town developments are continuing to divert shoppers from the city centre.
The tension between the need for new development and the need to protect the city centre is what caused such a rumpus at Dundee City Council’s development management committee this week.
Although councillors approved plans for a new Starbucks and Martson’s pub at Gourdie Industrial Estate, many councillors expressed fears that the development could draw vital business away from the city centre or other district centres.
While councillors may have been satisfied the project would not detract from city centre outlets, they have repeatedly rejected other out-of-town projects, such as Next’s proposal for a new Home store at Kingsway West, only to see that decision overturned by the Scottish Government.
Each application has to be decided on its own merits and the need for investment and jobs in Dundee cannot be over-estimated.
But at the same time, finding ways to restore the city centre to full health will be a key for the next council administration.
