WIREDGOV

Government reinforces its commitment to the city’s waterfront regeneration.

The Scottish Government has pledged an additional £10 million towards the construction of the V&A Museum of Design Dundee, increasing its capital contribution towards the project to £25 million. 

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the award underlines the government’s firm commitment to supporting the important regeneration project. 

He said: “V&A Dundee will be an iconic statement at the heart of the Dundee Waterfront development. The signature building will create local jobs and contribute significantly to the regeneration of Dundee and its waterfront, giving the city and Scotland a world-class design museum and visitor attraction. 

“The cornerstone of the ambitious Dundee Waterfront development, V&A Dundee is expected to generate more than 270,000 visitor engagements per year and contribute an additional £11.6 million per year to the local and national economy. 

“The £25 million capital funding we have allocated to this iconic project underlines the Scottish Government’s firm commitment to working with the project board to ensure its delivery, success and long-term sustainability.” 

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: 

“V&A Dundee will be an incredibly important asset to the city and to Scotland as a whole in both cultural and economic terms. The project has already played a major role in the recent award of UNESCO City of Design status for Dundee. It will highlight Scotland’s exceptional design talent and illustrious design heritage, stimulate design innovation and attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from far and wide to its world-class exhibitions.

“The Scottish Government’s strong support for V&A Dundee builds on our extensive programme of investment in cultural infrastructure in recent years, including for exhibition and storage facilities for the National Museums, National Galleries and National Library in Edinburgh and new performance and rehearsal facilities for Scottish Opera, the RSNO and the National Theatre of Scotland in Glasgow.”

Notes To Editors

The additional £10 million capital funding will be identified as part of the 2016/17 Scottish Budget. 

The Scottish Government is currently in discussions with the Dundee Design Limited project board in relation to a request for the government to provide an additional £12.6 million through the creation of a Growth Accelerator Model (GAM) loan fund for the Dundee Waterfront Project. An innovative new funding model, GAM is based on prudential borrowing funds being invested in enabling infrastructure within a defined regeneration area, with the benefits and outcomes delivered through this infrastructure reflected in an annual payment from Scottish Government, subject to agreed targets and measures being met. The model has recently been agreed between the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council to enable £61 million of infrastructure investment to be made in the development of the St James Quarter in Edinburgh city centre. The government has invited other city councils to bring forward similar proposals to unlock and accelerate regeneration and growth in their areas. 

V&A Dundee will create local jobs and contribute significantly to the regeneration of the city and its waterfront. Overall the project’s estimated contribution to the local and national economy is an added £11.6 million per year. It is expected the museum will generate more than 270,000 visitor engagements a year from year-three onwards.

Building works for V&A Dundee will generate 519 net job years in the construction sector, including opportunities for apprentices. Significant economic benefits include 51 FTE direct jobs and 361 FTE indirect jobs, with this rising to 628 FTE jobs in the initial years after V&A Dundee has opened.

The Scottish Government has pledged £25 million in capital funding towards the construction costs and provided £3.2 million revenue grant since 2010 to support work including early exhibitions and outreach activities.