Aberdeen City Council’s Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee today agreed to call for further information before deciding whether to hold a referendum or opinion poll on the City Gardens scheme and the future of Union Terrace Gardens.
The Committee asked council staff for further information on the costs and feasibility of an independently conducted opinion poll as an alternative way of judging the level of public support for the project.
I remain convinced that Union Terrace Gardens should be retained and enhanced – not obliterated. I also believe the Peacock project should have been allowed to proceed as this would have helped revitalise Union Terrace Gardens without destroying them.
I believe it was a mistake for those organising the recent competition on the six short-listed designs not to include an “option seven”, the retention of Union Terrace Gardens. As a member of the Council’s City Gardens Monitoring Board I argued for an option seven to be included. This would have allowed people to judge the level of support for retaining Union Terrace Garden relative to the six short-listed designs.
I believe that it is very important to accurately determine the views of Aberdeen citizens and that this can be achieved through either a referendum or a professionally and independently conducted opinion poll.
My preference would be for an opinion poll where the wording of the question is agreed by the City Gardens Trust AND Friends of Union Terrace Gardens.
A referendum would be very costly and I understand the City Gardens Trust and the Scottish Government have both made it clear they will not pay for one. I do not believe the council can justify spending £250,000 on a referendum when that money could have been spent on front line services like education and social care.
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