Woolly thinking in Dundee

You know, when I receive my personal copy of Planning every week from the RTPI goons in London, I always go straight to the Scottish news. There is some good news this week for Dundee as the Court of Session has dismissed a bid by Tesco to block plans for a new Asda store on the former NCR site at Wester Gourdie. That's great news for Dundee and for Asda - sales of the best Lorne Sausage that money can buy will continue and the good people of Dundee will have the choice they deserve. However in my expert planning view there is a very large fly in the ointment - some might say a big bluebottle.

The English museum commonly known as the V&A or Victoria and Albert is to build a satellite on the banks of the River Tay and it has been the subject of an international architectural competition, the shortlist of which was also announced this week. But what a load of rubbish - no Keppies and no Halliday Fraser Munro though I believe that the Great Dr Donald Trump's manservant architect Gareth Hopkins is playing a minor role in one of the teams. Here's another joke building, this time by Rex - I had a dog called Rex when I was a boy.

Anyway, the point is that this is all wrong. Asda should locate on the waterfront and adopt one of the shortlisted proposals - yes? So what would attract more people and spending? A big Asda or an English Museum? The answer is clear and my proposal is shown below - I got wee Robbie, the technician in the office, to knock this one up for me. It's a proposal by a firm called Snøhetta - first their proposal then my brilliant suggestion underneath!



Fantastic! I know that Royalist Director of Planning Mike Galloway OBE will immediately see the error of his ways and go down the common sense route of retail rather than a dull old English Museum. That's the power of town planning!