Call for Sir Ian Wood’s vision of ‘fresh civic heart’ to be taken up
Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future says time is now right to transform city
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A development body has called for the opening of Aberdeen’s new shopping complex to be followed by the delivery of Sir Ian Wood’s vision for a fresh civic heart to ensure the “economic survival” of the city centre.
On the day the Union Square centre was opened to shoppers, Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef) said the time was right to radically transform the city centre by creating a £140million square through the raising of the Denburn Valley to street level.
Sir Ian, chairman of oil services giant the Wood Group, has pledged £50million of his own fortune to make his dream for Union Terrace Gardens become a reality.
Public consultation on the proposal is to get under way next week, but comes amid growing tensions with Peacock Visual Arts, which has said its £14million centre also planned for the gardens is “under threat” because of the scheme.
Acsef chairman Tom Smith said the Union Terrace Gardens project would build on £360million of recent investment in hotel, retail and leisure developments such as Union Square.
“The time is now right to maximise the benefits of these investments for the region and to attract further investment by ensuring these retail centres are well connected around a vibrant city-centre heart,” he said.
“This is all about a public-owned civic space and gardens that make our city more accessible, more attractive, greener, safer and better connected. It is about the economic survival of our city centre.
“The city needs a heart — a specific point from which all activity and purpose appears to emanate, a focal point which defines the whole, a meeting place from which the city opens up to the visitor.”
Peacock’s project for a centre for contemporary arts in the gardens was, meanwhile, discussed at the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts in London yesterday.
An audience of academics heard about architectural firm Brisac Gonzalez's acclaimed design for Peacock’s new centre in the gardens at the talk, and the challenges the scheme has faced.
Edgar Gonzalez of Brisac Gonzalez said: “We hope by drawing attention to the project in this way we can help to ensure the future of this development which would be our first in Scotland.”
Readers' Comments
Acsef say Sir Ian's square will make Aberdeen "greener". To insult people with such patent nonsense is a strange way to go about drumming up support. To go further and talk about an enormous square making Aberdeen "safer" is equally absurd. The gardens currently offer all the threat and menace of a slice of warm, buttered toast. That Acsef are reduced to such ludicrous - and blatantly untrue - justifications for their scheme ought to raise some serious questions about what their real motivations are. And using the opening of Union Square might be a pointer to those motivations.
Ellis Croft
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Oh oh oh, it gets worse and worse. To link the 'civic heart' with the opening of union square just says it all, doesn't it? “The time is now right to maximise the benefits of these investments for the region and to attract further investment by ensuring these retail centres are well connected around a vibrant city-centre heart”... I thought Ian Wood, said it was for the people of Aberdeen..? Of course the project is not for the people, it's for business. They are filling us with lies. If you want a heart beating in the city, you can't just build that up in concrete - or any other material, for that matter - and tell people this is your new heart. It doesn't work like that, you can't tell people what to think and feel, it has to come from the ground. This whole thing is so laughable you just want to cry... And meanwhile Peacock Visual Arts, who has worked from the ground, in engagement with the community through many many years, is loosing out. It's sad and shameful... Eva Merz, Glasgow/Aberdeen
Eva Merz
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Sir Ian Wood Square an extention to the paradise of pubs, clubs and casinos which are starting to dominate Union Street - yes this would sit well with the councillors future desires for the creation/enhancement of Scotlands fast becomming Sodom and Gomorrah - with real employment seemingly on the decline in the city just who is going to be able to afford the luxury of these developments especially when the council is doing its level best to destroy all capital growth/industry in the area and replace it with retail and leisure centres without any supporting infrastructure - when or even if the Trump Development will attract the wealthy they will spend their money in Edinburgh-Glasgow but very little in Aberdeen when it currently cannot even retain a department store
Thomas Owenson
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yes give Sir Ian Wood his square and pay for it as well just as you gave D Trump his golf course/holiday/housing development so dont be prejudicial
Thomas Owenson
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