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MICHAEL ALEXANDER: What happened to Dundee’s high-rise dream?

19 0
31.05.2026

When Dundee’s Dallfield multis rose above the Hilltown skyline in the 1960s, they were seen as symbols of aspiration and progress.

Families moved from ageing tenements and overcrowded streets into modern flats with indoor bathrooms, central heating, balconies and magnificent views across the Tay.

For many, it felt like the future had arrived.

More than half a century later, the towers still dominate the skyline – though the optimism surrounding them has long since faded.

“When my auntie moved into Tulloch Court back in 1966/67, it was brilliant,” says a former Dundee bus driver I meet outside Hilltown Court.

“The Tay Road Bridge was opening and everybody was up taking pictures from the windows. The views were unbelievable.

“But nowadays, I get my morning ‘wake-up call’ at all hours of the day and night.

“Screaming, shouting, you name it. It’s something else.”

I’m standing at the foot of Hilltown Court as the man, who lives near the multis, carries his shopping bags home.

He is frustrated that Dundee is sometimes described as the “best place to live in Scotland” versus what he says he experiences daily on the ground.

Dundee’s remaining multis continue to divide opinion

To some, the multis are failed housing experiments long past their sell-by date.

To others, they are unfairly stigmatised communities where most residents are simply trying to get on with life.

I’ve been speaking to people in the Hilltown and Lochee as part of our Courier Focus series this week looking at life inside Dundee’s remaining multis, and what they have become more than half a century on.

Across the series, I’ve heard stories ranging from addiction and crime to fear, frustration and resilience inside the city’s remaining tower blocks.

I met a “criminal with a conscience” speaking about his chaotic life in Hilltown Court and a law-abiding........

© The Courier