A successful crowdfunding campaign is helping to restore a Tayside tram depot to house a comprehensive new museum, reports Nick Larkin
A Scottish transport museum’s appeal to raise millions of pounds to restore a currently derelict 1901 tram depot as its eventual home has benefited from a successful ‘sponsor a brick’ crowdfunding campaign, which netted £27,531 in donations plus a further £6,150 in Gift Aid.
Dundee Museum of Transport is carrying out work on the former Maryfield tram depot, which it hopes to move into during the summer of 2025. An estimated 2,500 bricks in the building are in need of repair or replacement, at an estimated cost of £99,000, far more than was originally thought.
Crowdfunders were invited to give £10 or more per brick. The appeal ended on 22 December, with 506 supporters chipping in over 35 days.
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Museum Executive Director Paul Jennings said: “We are delighted at the support received from the community locally and further afield. It’s incredible to think that this building has stood for over 120 years and with the support of the public and a range of wider funders, there is no reason why
it couldn’t stand for another 120-plus years.”
The museum, which opened in 2014, is currently housed in temporary premises at Market Mews pending the planned move to the tram depot, which it bought in 2015. Already £1.5m has been raised towards the £3.5m needed to open the first phase of the venture and a £1m application to the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund is under consideration. Major work was carried out on the roof of the building last year.
“The date we can move in depends obviously on the state of the building and fundraising. It’s a big project,” added Paul.
The depot housed trams until Dundee’s system closed in 1956, and was also used by buses into the 1970s. Scottish Water at one point occupied the premises, which was later empty for many years and appeared on the Buildings at Risk Register.
After the initial work, a second phase of the project will see 1913 and 1920 extensions to the original building restored to include everything from archives and workshops to community spaces. The whole scheme is expected to cost around £5.5 million.
Added Paul: ‘The aim is a first class museum reflecting social history through Dundee’s transport heritage, bring in tourists and act as a catalyst for urban regeneration in the surrounding area, with a £2m annual benefit to the local economy.
“Maryfield tram depot is a historic landmark that played a crucial role in the development of Dundee’s public transport system. Preserving it allows for the conservation of this history and a better understanding of how transport infrastructure has evolved in Dundee over the years.”
