ABSTRACT
The strategy for the Industrial Improvement Area was essentially to direct attention to key sites, remove evidence of dereliction and thereby generate increased confidence and investment in the area. Hence the Scottish Development Agency provided valuable business advice, and Dundee District Council provided design expertise for environmental improvements, as well as using its power of compulsory purchase to assemble sites which for a range of uses. Both the District and Regional Councils also promoted a property grant scheme that involved giving advice on property in the IIA area as well as assessing the schemes that were submitted for consideration for grant aid. In terms of economic development, the initial aim of significantly increasing the level of employment in the area unfortunately became unrealistic as a result of the closure of the area's main employer, the Caird Carpet Works, shortly after the creation of the Blackness Project.
