EXCLUSIVE: Dundee and Angus College plots Wellgate takeover as part of unprecedented £265m campus shake-up

Dundee and Angus College is planning a takeover of the Wellgate Shopping Centre as part of an unprecedented £265 million transformation that would also have a major impact in Arbroath, The Courier can reveal.

The college’s ambitious plans involve creating two new campuses, in the City of Discovery and Angus, and expanding its third campus at Gardyne.

In what would be a first for Scotland, the institution hopes to work with a range of local and national partners to bring education, employability and support services together under one roof.

Principal Simon Hewitt, at the helm since 2020, is leading the project.

His masterplan would see the college move from the Kingsway Campus in Dundee to a new facility at the Wellgate, with the current base – which opened in 1963 – closing.

The plans would also create a green thoroughfare connecting the Murraygate with the Hilltown.

Arbroath campus move also on the cards

If the expansion bid is successful, the college’s Arbroath campus will move to the town centre.

One of a range of options being explored is developing the site occupied by the Abbeygate Shopping Centre.

However, discussions are at an early stage as the owners consider several potential options

It is hoped the Arbroath plans will complement the work of the town board, set up to decide how £20m worth of levelling-up funding will be spent over the next decade.

The third part of the transformation is a potential expansion of the Gardyne campus to include construction, engineering and science in a new purpose-built STEM facility.

This would also incorporate a green skills and innovation hub.

Initial estimates are that the building works will cost around £265m, with finance talks involving several parties already underway.

‘Amazing opportunity’

The Scottish Funding Council, the government body charged with bankrolling Scotland’s further and higher education facilities, will help Dundee and Angus College realise its vision.

College staff were made aware of the plans – backed by both Dundee and Angus council leaders – on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Hewitt said: “This is an amazing opportunity to build world-class facilities that are fit for the future and develop a transformational model for education and employment services located in the heart of each community we serve.

“We want to bring together partners to provide advice, support, training and skills under one roof.

“Every individual would have access to all of this in one place, tailored to their needs.

“If we were to develop a new campus on the site of the Wellgate Shopping Centre, it would put the college at the heart of Dundee’s regeneration and breathe much-needed new life into the city centre.

“In Arbroath, we have been developing incredibly exciting plans to put Dundee and Angus College firmly in the centre of the town where our staff and students would help provide a boost to the local economy.

“This would complement the plans and actions being developed by the Arbroath Town Board to improve the high street.”

Regeneration of Dundee city centre

The Wellgate Shopping Centre has faced an uncertain future in recent years.

In 2011, Gloucestershire-based wealth management company St James’ Place bought the centre for £31.2m.

Ten years later, however, it was sold at auction to Belgate Estates for just £1.4m.

But the sale was subject to a legal wrangle between the company and Dundee City Council, with the latter refusing to approve the purchase.

The local authority owns the land the centre was built on and the sale could not go through until the transfer of the ground lease was granted.

A representative for Belgate confirmed to The Courier the sale never materialised.

The wider Dundee city centre area also has been hit hard by declining footfall and a plethora of shop closures.

Major retailers including Zara, Disney, Game and Clarks have all closed in recent times, while Marks and Spencer moved from the Murraygate in July after more than 80 years.

To tackle the growing problem, Dundee City Council published a 30-year regeneration plan in 2022.

Dundee 2050: Our Vision for the Future revealed the local authority was open to the demolition or redevelopment of the Wellgate.

‘Exciting’

Dundee City Council leader Mark Flynn has expressed support for the college’s transformation proposals.

“This is an exciting announcement for Dundee”, he said.

“It has the potential to be a massive investment not only in the future of the college but also our city centre.

“The council is working alongside a range of partners to secure improvements for the city centre to make it a vibrant location for locals and visitors alike.

“Different, creative thinking about how we use buildings and spaces is at the heart of our 30-year masterplan to reinvent central Dundee. I look forward to seeing how this prominent site develops.”

Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West constituency, added: ”These exciting new plans will contribute enormously to Dundee’s ongoing regeneration and are an example of the college’s innovative, creative, and collaborative work.

“I look forward to continued engagement with Dundee and Angus College, as well as other stakeholders, to ensure that these ambitions become a reality.”

Angus reaction

Arbroath has also been at the centre of ambitious transformation plans in recent years.

A town board was set up to decide how £20m worth of levelling-up funding will be spent over the next decade.

The group’s key themes are enhancing the town centre, improving connectivity and making the area safer.

Angus Council leader Bill Duff said: “We welcome this ambitious development for the college which already provides an impressive range of opportunities for our young people to develop their skills and education closer to home.

“We are excited about the possibilities that the college’s vision will bring for students from across the whole of Angus, as well as complementing the range of redevelopment projects taking place in Arbroath already.”