Dundee could be facing a major employment blow and a five-year road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the council leader is warning.
John Alexander said there will be no “quick bounce back” from coronavirus as he made a plea for a collective response which will require “experience and enthusiasm” to get the city back on its feet.
Responding to UK Government plans unveiled to get the economy moving, and in the wake of two Scottish Government reports looking at the path of recovery, Mr Alexander said a local plan to guide Dundee out of the pandemic impacts was “at the very earliest stages”.
He said: “Detailed planning has already begun with the emphasis squarely on protecting jobs and businesses and striving to maintain the unparalleled progress Dundee has made over the last decade.
“Recovering from the effects of the measures to contain coronavirus and getting Dundee back on a positive path are the greatest challenges we have faced in our lifetimes.
“We are under no illusion that this is a mammoth task but also that, as with any crisis, there are opportunities to find new and better ways of doing things.”
Mr Alexander said the situation had created openings for the city to move forward on the climate agenda and noted Dundee’s existing leading role in renewable energy and sustainable transport gave it an edge over other places.
“We want to build back better, ensuring that nobody gets left behind and everybody can contribute to the recovery that will keep our great city moving forward,” he added.
Priorities will include kick-starting construction activity, getting the Tay Cities Deal in place, safely re-starting cultural/leisure facilities and tackling unemployment and opportunities for young people.
However the leader sounded a cautionary note that areas including the city plan and the Waterfront masterplan may need to be “refocused to reflect the radically changed context brought about by the pandemic.”
He continued: “It is still too early to understand the full impact, but our planning is based on the sensible assumption that full recovery could take around three to five years rather than there being a quick bounce back.
“Next year will be one of the most challenging economically for the Dundee economy with a significant rise in unemployment envisaged. To succeed in our recovery we need to keep working closely with partners whose specialist skills and knowledge will enable us to get the city’s economy back on track.”
He said the challenge would mean harnessing experience and enthusiasm across the board from sole traders, through SMEs to the biggest firms to use their creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and energy to guide the city’s recovery from the impacts of the pandemic and lockdown.
Fears for the progress of the Tay Cities Deal have already emerged during the pandemic lockdown, which has also seen a call for a task force to be set up in neighbouring Angus to deal with the Covid-19 impacts.
