BREAKING: Dundee Museum of Transport to move to Maryfield in 2027 after £2.7m funding boost

The Maryfield move is highly anticipated (Picture: Supplied)

The Dundee Museum of Transport will move to Maryfield in the first half of 2027 after a £2.7 million funding package helped push the long-planned relocation over the line.

The funding has allowed Dundee City Council to give the move formal backing, bringing clarity to a project that has been years in the making.

The museum has operated from a temporary base at Market Mews since 2014 and has grown into one of Dundee’s most popular attractions.

Despite the limited space, it has built a strong reputation for its exhibitions, community work, and its collection celebrating the city’s transport and industrial heritage.

Plans to move to Maryfield date back to 2015, when the charity behind the museum purchased the former tram depot site from Scottish Water.

The ambition was always to transform the historic building into a permanent home that could properly showcase the collection and allow the museum to expand.

Progress has been slower than hoped, with delays over funding, planning, and rising costs. The new £2.7 million package now secures the move, although the redevelopment of the Maryfield site will take place in stages rather than all at once.

Once complete, the new home is expected to offer significantly more space for exhibitions, events, education programmes, and future growth.

Supporters say the move will allow the museum to fully realise its potential while safeguarding an important part of Dundee’s built heritage.

Maryfield’s history is one of fascination

Maryfield’s story is deeply tied to how Dundee has moved and grown over more than a century. Built in 1901 on Forfar Road beside Morgan Academy, the tram depot was created to support the city’s expanding electric tram network at the height of Dundee’s industrial era.

As demand increased, the building was extended in 1913 and again in 1920, eventually stretching to around 120 metres and becoming capable of housing up to 70 trams, making it one of the city’s most important transport hubs.

What the new museum could look like once fully completed (Picture: Dundee Museum of Transport)

When Dundee’s tram system closed in 1956, Maryfield adapted rather than disappeared. The depot was repurposed to serve the city’s bus fleet, combining maintenance facilities and a paint shop, and continued in active use until the mid-1970s. After passing into the ownership of Scottish Water, the building fell largely silent.

Decades of limited use, followed by a serious fire in 2002, left parts of the structure damaged and unroofed.

Work is expected to start very soon on the project (Picture: Dundee Museum of Transport

Although later designated as a Category B listed building and placed on the Buildings at Risk register, the core structure remained sound despite worsening water damage and neglect.

That trajectory changed in 2015 when the Dundee Museum of Transport acquired the site with a long-term vision for its future.

Recent plans will see the original 1901 section restored, later additions strengthened with modern structural support, and the building reimagined with a new central entrance, improved access from Forfar Road, and revitalised outdoor space.

In doing so, Maryfield will once again serve a public role, transforming from a place that kept Dundee moving into one that tells the story of how the city moved.

Why Maryfield could be transformative for Dundee’s economy and future

The revival of Maryfield represents more than the reuse of a historic building. Bringing a long-derelict, Category B listed site back into active use removes a property from the Buildings at Risk register and returns it to the city’s economic and cultural fabric.

Large-scale heritage-led regeneration projects are increasingly recognised for their ability to deliver long-term value by preserving existing assets while introducing new activity, rather than relying solely on new-build development.

The museum is scheduled to move to Maryfield next year (Picture: Dundee Museum of Transport)

From an economic perspective, a permanent, expanded museum has the potential to increase visitor numbers, extend dwell time, and support wider local spending.

Cultural attractions contribute to the visitor economy not just through admissions, but by encouraging footfall in surrounding areas, supporting hospitality, retail, and events activity.

Located outside the traditional city centre core, Maryfield also helps distribute cultural and economic activity more evenly across Dundee.

The site’s proximity to Morgan Academy creates further long-term opportunities linked to education, skills, and workforce development.

Museums increasingly operate as learning hubs, supporting curriculum-linked activity, apprenticeships, volunteering, and informal skills development.

Dundee Museum of Transport purchased Maryfield in 2015

This aligns with broader priorities around employability, heritage skills, and engagement with young people, helping connect Dundee’s past industries with future pathways.

Finally, Maryfield’s transformation contributes to Dundee’s wider regeneration narrative.

Reusing a landmark transport building as a contemporary cultural venue reinforces the city’s identity as a place that values heritage, innovation, and reuse.

Alongside existing and future projects, it strengthens Dundee’s cultural infrastructure in a way that is incremental, sustainable, and rooted in place, supporting economic resilience and long-term growth rather than short-term impact alone.