Opening of Seabraes Bridge

Pupils from Victoria Park Primary School help the Lord Provost and Joe FitzPatrick open Seabraes Bridge

I was pleased to be able to attend the official opening of the Seabraes Bridge on Friday.  This bridge links the West End/Perth Road area with the Waterfront.  I think that it is important that we recognise and make use of the magnificent setting we have for our city and re-establish links that have been broken between the city and the Tay over the years.

 It was great to hear from pupils at Victoria Park Primary School about their involvement in projects about bridge-building inspired by the work at the bridge. It was great to hear how much they had enjoyed this engineering project and it was good to see them taking part in the official opening.  Well done to the contractors who played a key role in linking with these local schoolchildren

I hope that this bridge will provide a link between the waterfront and the West End. I hope that many people will be encouraged to visit the attractions of the West End by crossing this bridge and that this will benefit West End shops and businesses.  In February of last year I raised some concerns that this bridge might have a detrimental impact on the Perth Road shops.  I was advised by the Director of City Development that he did not think that this would be the case.  As I said at the time it was good to hear his opinion but I will be monitoring this.  For those of us who live in the West End it is great to have a relatively vibrant shopping district with a variety of shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants, we must do all that we can to protect it.

 

 

Flower & Food Festival & Fairtrade

On Friday I was delighted to visit the Flower & Food Festival at Camperdown Park.  I was volunteering at the Dundee Fairtrade Forum stall.  I am the Convener of the Dundee Fairtrade Forum and the Flower and Food Festival offers a great opportunity to promote the benefits of Fairtrade.  As a Fairtrade City it is right that Dundee uses the Flower and Food Festival to promote Fairtrade.

The festival is continuing over Saturday and Sunday and I hope that there is good weather.  I hope that when people visit the Festival they will look out for Fairtrade products at all of the stalls and catering outlets.  Fairtrade is about making sure that the human dignity of workers is respected and that workers receive a fair wage for their work and that they work in a safe environment.  As a strong supporter of the co-operative movement it is interesting to note that many Fairtrade businesses are co-operatives.

The Flower and Food Festival is a great day out and well worth a visit.  I was pleased to see many friends and community groups represented at the festival.