As you may have seen reported in the press, along with two other councillors, I had to withdraw from the council meeting on 19th may which discussed the future of Union Terrace Gardens as we were council-appointed directors of Peacock Visual Arts. This was because the decision made on 19th May had the potential to impact on Peacock’s future viability. This meant we had no choice but to ‘declare an interest’ and withdraw from that part of the meeting.
As you can imagine I was very frustrated and annoyed at not being able to participate in making this hugely important decision about our city’s future. I have now resigned from the Peacock Board to hopefully ensure that this difficulty does not arise again.
If I had been able to take part, I would have opposed the ‘City Square’ proposal.
Sir Ian Wood’s offer is incredibly generous but the ‘City Square’ scheme has a huge £90 million funding gap, lacks clear public support and would obliterate part of our city’s heritage.
In my view Union Terrace Gardens needs some ‘tender loving care’ and action to improve access. I also believe that – if funding could be found – it would be a great improvement if the railway line and dual carriageway could be covered.
A clear majority of people who took part in the ACSEF consultation were against the ‘City Square’ scheme – yet ACSEF continued to promote the scheme.
Many people in Aberdeen feel very strongly about this whole issue. In my 16 years as a councillor I have never been contacted by so many people about a single issue – the vast majority of whom opposed the ‘City Square’ scheme.
The decision made on 19th May is not the end of the process. There will be further opportunities for people to comment on the scheme and I urge everyone to participate in these. Your views do matter.
You may view the report councillors considered on 19th May here.
You may view a note of the council’s discussion of Union Terrace Gardens and the ‘City Square’ here.
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