How Mills Observatory was saved

Andrew Batchelor explains how the UK's oldest public observatory was brought back from the brink of closure

- ANDREW BATCHELOR

When I stood on Dundee's Balgay Hill last autumn, looking up at Mills Observatory's dome, I couldn't help thinking how close the city came to losing it. The UK's first purpose-built public observatory - a place that has inspired generations to look at the stars - had spent months under the threat of closure.

Just two years earlier, BBC Sky at Night Magazine had named Mills Observatory number one on its list of the 10 best astronomical observatories in the UK. For Dundee, it was a moment of pride. For many of us, it confirmed what we already knew: that this little sandstone building overlooking the River Tay is one of Scotland's most remarkable cultural assets.

But pride alone wasn't enough to save it. In early 2024, Dundee City Council published draft budget cuts that included shutting Mills Observatory, Broughty Castle Museum and Caird Park Golf Course. The move aimed to save £400,000 a year. The threat came after several difficult years. Aside from a brief rebound in 2022-23, visitor numbers had been in steady decline since 2017, and the observatory’s annual operating costs of around £40,000 made it an easy target in a climate of austerity.