Plans for an £11.5 million ($15.4 million USD) marina at Dundee Waterfront are unlikely to proceed as rising costs and programme pressures prompted a review of projects under the Tay Cities Region Deal, The Courier reported.
Originally included in the 2017 Tay Cities Deal proposal, Dundee marina was outlined as a 300 to 400-berth facility, alongside investment in marine tourism infrastructure such as pontoon and marina facilities to support sailing, outdoor education skills and supply chain development across the region.
The marina concept was further developed in 2019 when Dundee-based architecture firm Nicoll Russell Studios released artist impressions of the project as part of the city’s £1 billion ($1.3 billion) Waterfront regeneration programme.
The facility was expected to provide “high quality sheltered berthing with direct access for visiting sailors to the city centre shopping and associated facilities”. The marina project was later linked to the Tay Cities Region Deal, which was formally signed in December 2020 as a 10-year investment programme.
According to the report, the agreement included around £700 million ($941 million) of planned investment across the region, with £11.35 million ($15.2 million) allocated to the Dundee marina project.
Concerns over the marina’s future emerged in December 2024, when internal Tay Cities documents identified “Dundee Marina Phase 1” as a project at risk due to funding and programme pressures ahead of its sixth year in April 2025.
During a March 2025 meeting, the Tay Cities Region Joint Committee discussed reshaping the Tay Cities Region Deal and the partnership’s approach to delivering the investment programme during the second half of the 10-year period.
The Courier reported in September 2025 that the marina proposals were under threat due to rising costs, with executive director of city development Robin Presswood saying the costs associated with the marina were “considerable”.
By June 2026, the Tay Cities Region Deal Partnership had recommended a reshaped programme to keep the investment commitment on track and focus funding on projects considered best placed to deliver regional impact, following a review of inflation, construction pressures and wider economic changes aimed at maintaining the deal’s original commitments.
