Aberdonians with long memories could be forgiven for having a sense of deja vu when Sir Ian Wood revealed plans to build a city square on the site of Union Terrace Gardens.
The £140million proposal, due to go out to public consultation next week, is the latest in a long line of similar schemes proposed for the city-centre site since the 1930s.
What sets this bid apart is the presence of one of Scotland’s wealthiest, most-respected – and most-determined – businessmen at the helm.
Projects like the Aberdeen Beyond 2000 plan, Aberdeen City Centre Partnership’s 1991 Heart of Aberdeen strategy and the £30million Millennium Square project of 1997 faltered because they failed to attract private-sector investment.
This time, Sir Ian has already promised £50million from his own fortune, and Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF), the public-private partnership which is steering the bid, is confident the pledge will give it the leverage to secure extra funding from elsewhere.
ACSEF chairman Tom Smith said Sir Ian’s largesse put the city square project in an “extraordinary” position.
He said: “What other project has that kind of funding in the pot from the start?
“There are people trying to get developments off the ground elsewhere who would bite your arm off for that kind of head start. I don’t want to be part of the generation that says we had this chance and didn’t make it happen.”
It’s high time too, says ACSEF, that Aberdeen – for so long the poor relation in terms of central government funding – received its share of the spoils from budgets set up for city-centre regeneration and infrastructure projects.
Leaders point to the £66million of public funding going into Dundee’s waterfront development and the extra £45million being sought for the proposed Victoria and Albert Museum offshoot.
The controversial settlement of the Edinburgh trams scheme has also cost the public purse £80million, while Glasgow has received hundreds of millions of pounds of public funding for various projects, including the Commonwealth Games.
“Aberdeen is Scotland’s third-largest city and it punches above its weight in terms of what it puts into the economy, but it has never had its share of investment,” said Mr Smith, managing director of oil and gas communications firm Nessco.
“We are speaking to people at the right level in local and national government and hopefully this time it’s our turn.”
This new optimism is reflected in the theme chosen for the consultation – This Time, This Place, This Generation.
From Monday, the north-east public will be asked what they want to see in the five-acre site in one of the biggest public engagement exercises yet mounted.
ACSEF envisages raising the existing gardens to street level, using the £1.5million foundations constructed for just such an eventuality in 1996,and covering over the Denburn dual-carriageway and the railway.
In their place could be a multi-level arts centre creating a new “cultural quarter” around HM Theatre and the Central Library, street cafes to catch the evening sun behind Belmont Street, space to host outdoor concerts and other public events, and at least two-and-a-half acres of trees and green space.
Members will attend presentations, exhibitions and displays across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and the public will be invited to have their say by text, Twitter and other social networking sites, as well as more traditional methods.
The aim is to get a barometer of public support, or otherwise, for the plans. If people share ACSEF’s enthusiasm, the partnership will press ahead with a planning application and the most popular suggestions will be incorporated in its blueprint.
A sizeable opposition has already mobilised, most notably among supporters of Peacock Visual Arts, which was forging ahead with its own scheme to breathe new life into the gardens when Sir Ian unveiled his vision.
Peacock had secured full planning permission for a contemporary arts centre and 75% of its funding, and had expected to begin construction last year.
Backers agreed to extend their funding deadlines to see if the two sides could resolve their differences but no end to the deadlock is in sight and the public will not be asked to comment on the Peacock scheme in ACSEF’s eight-week consultation.
Peacock has urged supporters to make sure its proposal is not ignored, saying it would bring huge economic, social and cultural benefits to the city with minimal impact on the taxpayer and the environment.
Campaign director Elly Rothnie said: “This exciting new facility was designed to enhance our historic gardens and offer something for everyone – arts-goers, families and the general public alike.
“It is a huge disappointment for the people of Aberdeen that they will not be consulted on the full range of options for the gardens. We now risk losing a viable, affordable and deliverable option for our city.
“Aberdeen has seen too many projects fall by the wayside over the years. We would encourage the people of Aberdeen not to throw this one away.”
Peacock is by no means alone in opposing the city square project.
An online petition in favour of preserving the gardens, led by the I Heart UTG campaign, collected its 4,000th signature this week.
The union Unite entered the fray yesterday, expressing its concerns about Aberdeen City Council’s involvement in the scheme at a time when it is cutting back services to the vulnerable and reducing its workforce by up to 1,000.
ACSEF is confident this is the time, the place, the generation to transform the green heart of Aberdeen. The next two months will tell if it is right, or if Sir Ian’s grand plan is to become another footnote in the city’s history.