Thank you Steve.
And thank you to everyone at the Crescent Community Centre in Whitfield for welcoming Catherine and me here today.
We have just come from a meeting next door with many of the workers and families that will be directly affected by the decisions on the future of the Michelin factory here in Dundee.
The factory has been a huge part of Dundee’s very fabric.
It has been a key employer for generations, and has helped sustain the local economy for nearly 50 years.
For everyone affected, the hope is that all of you sat in this room can find a positive way forward.
You all deserve enormous credit for sitting around this table together to find a constructive way forward.
It is understandable that there are different views about what is the right course to take.
As I have just heard, when a community faces uncertainty, people feel more optimistic when leaders such as yourselves work together for that community.
Because of the collaborative approach adopted by the people in this room, I am optimistic that a good outcome is possible with the site at Michelin.
I am encouraged by the fact that this task force has been established, and that all the key players are represented.
As a result of you working together responsibly to find a long-term solution, you have already reached agreement on developing the site into a manufacturing, recycling and low carbon transport hub.
The workers we spoke to just now were encouraged to hear about this.
They look forward to hearing further detail about how this will affect them directly.
Catherine and I look forward to learning more about your plans in this discussion. And we will be interested to hear how you get on over the coming months.
Both of us, and all of the people that we have spoken to today, are willing you to succeed.
