COURIER OPINION: Loss of historic Dundee buildings is about more than bricks and mortar
As Craigiebank Church becomes the latest historic Dundee building to be demolished, it's important to remember what these landmarks meant.
The demolition of Craigiebank Church in Dundee. Image: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson.
ByThe Courier
The historic built environment in Dundee is taking a beating.
The past days have seen Craigiebank Church razed to the ground and its commanding position overlooking the estate and the Tay estuary beyond replaced with a pile of rubble.
The old Regal Cinema in Broughty Ferry, which has long since been used as a garage showroom, will soon suffer the same fate, after major structural defects were identified in the building which meant it was no longer safe for habitation.
The old Regal Cinema is facing demolition. Image: Gareth Jennings/DC Thomson.
There will be many who will rue the loss and who have memories – in the case of the church of some of the most significant days of their lives – wrapped up in the bricks and mortar of those buildings.
And where there is an end there is the opportunity for a new beginning.
Ground preparation work at the site of the old Halley’s Mill on Broughty Ferry Road. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson.
At the former Halley’s Mill site on Blackscroft the ground is being prepared to give the land a new lease of life following demolition.
But where the historic built environment is to be impacted, there should be consideration given to recording for posterity what is to be lost.
Otherwise the fabric – and narrative – of our towns and cities will be gone forever.
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COURIER OPINION: Loss of historic Dundee buildings is about more than bricks and mortar
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