Ardler is an area in the north-west of Dundee, Scotland, built on land previously owned by Downfield Golf Club.

To the north was St Mary's, built in the 1950s, with the golf course in the land depression between the two with the Gelly Burn running through the middle.

A land transfer between the Council and the Club saw the golf course move to its current location where Ardler Cottages and their fields once stood.

On the south part of the site were 'courtyards', bungalows with an enclosed courtyard which offered some privacy, walk-ups and maisonettes, with shared entrances which may have been intended to further increase a community spirit, and in the north were the multi-storey blocks.

The scheme was provided with many facilities, mostly in the centre of the area, in an apparent attempt to create a strong sense of community.

The cheap, quick solution to the housing problems of the 1950s and 1960s proved also to be short-term, and when it was realised that refurbishing the buildings was financially not viable, the decision was taken to regenerate the area more fundamentally.

The re-building of Ardler started in 1998 when a partnership of Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association, Wimpey Homes and HTA architects was selected by residents and Dundee City Council.

There is substantial open space in and around the village with new and innovative landscapes that include sustainable urban drainage systems, meadow and woodland areas.

A priority for the regeneration of the Ardler Housing Estate included long-term strategies for social inclusion and community development.

Many of those who grew up in Ardler in earlier years of the scheme took advantage of the greater freedom children had and would make good use of the woods as an area for playing and exploring.

In 1986, then ten-year-old Ardler resident Ross Prendergast made the news headlines when he ventured into the Camperdown Park zoo after hours.

[5] Some residents, however, feel that they could be better served by public transport and that in some ways Ardler and St Mary's, as the north-west extremities of Dundee, are still the forgotten areas of the city.

There were many activities available to patrons but on Saturday afternoons it was specifically for the children with educational film shows, cartoons and games with prizes.

The current Community Centre contains a library, a cafe, a gym and many other facilities which are extensively used by local residents, and also by people from much further afield.

In 1973 the shops were built in the centre of Ardler, bisecting Turnberry Avenue and closing it as a through-road, and included Templeton's Supermarket, a McColls newsagent, hardware store, hairdresser, Chemist, post office, council housing office, butcher, a Chinese restaurant and a fish and chip ship.

The Fairways was situated between the westernmost two multi-storey blocks in the north and the Golden Pheasant was on Macalpine Road at the eastern edge of Ardler.