Dundee’s positives

sadly, Lesley Riddoch (Perspective, 21 January) is quite correct: Dundee has to achieve its aims despite lack of interest in the city from elsewhere. There is much to do. We hope to be a UK city of culture and later a European one in the not too distant future. The SNP-controlled city council is now housed in the fine, modern Dundee House, as the hated Tayside House is demolished – slowly, because it was built wrongly over the railway tunnel.

The waterfront is one of the best yet to be developed. There are many fine buildings in the city, including the only Frank Gehry in Scotland – the Maggie’s Centre – flanked by a Charles Jencks landscape.

The Caird Hall is the largest after the Royal Albert, has good acoustics and houses one of the world’s finest concert organs.

To complement the city’s five smaller theatres, the King’s Theatre will be restored to its original Edwardian splendour with some 1,300 seats for all the touring companies that have to give Dundee a miss at present.

The refurbished McManus Museum and Art Gallery has some amazing and beautiful 
exhibits.

The shopping centre is more compact than any other in Scotland and is in a traffic-free area with many car parks nearby making shopping a pleasant 
experience. There are shops of all kinds, many eating places and restaurants for fine dining.

The centre of Broughty has no empty shops and there are only a few in the city centre. New and refurbished hotels will open for the expected visitors to see the Victoria and Albert building.

It is possible that Leuchars will open as an international airport for low-cost airlines and be served by train to St Andrews.

As one of your letters (21 
January) states, the ScotRail fares system is impenetrable to understand: the rest of Europe calculates fares on distance 
travelled there and back so why not here?

PETER MURRAY 
SPENCER

Castleroy Crescent

Dundee