Few topics in recent memory have ignited the imagination of the north-east public quite like Sir Ian Wood’s plan to create a £140million city square on the site currently occupied by Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen.
The arguments between supporters of the proposal and those who back the rival bid by Peacock Visual Arts for a contemporary arts cent- re within the existing Victorian park have been fought out on an almost daily basis in the letters page of the Press and Journal in recent months.
Here the Wood Group chairman answers some of the questions posed by readers, and explains why he is so committed to realising this longstanding dream.
Q. Edinburgh has a similar sunken park in the centre of the city, with a railway line running alongside, but no one has ever said Princes Street Gardens should be turned into a civic square. What makes you say Union Terrace Gardens are no longer fit for purpose?
A. The two are totally different. The Denburn dual carriageway and the rail line make up about half of the Aberdeen site and Princes Street itself hasn’t lost its former glory in the way that Union Street has.
The Edinburgh gardens are still popular with the public for concerts, events and everyday visits, whereas schools in Aberdeen have even banned their pupils from going into Union Terrace Gardens because of some of the unsavoury things that go on there.
Q. Isn’t that because Union Terrace Gardens has been allowed to fall into disrepair? Couldn’t Aberdeen City Council encourage people back there at a fraction of the cost of the city square project?
A. Not with the design of the gardens as they are now. They’re 45ft down and they get very little sunlight.
Very few people go down there, or even look down. They’re something to walk round – a big hole in the centre of the city – whereas what we are proposing would give people a reason to come back into the city centre and explore further.
Q. How can you justify tearing out the lungs of the city and replacing the gardens with fake greenery?
A. We want to see at least the same amount of space given over to gardens as we have at present, but if the public tell us they want the entire top level of the city square covered in grass and trees we’ll double it. Many of the trees at the HM Theatre end of the gardens will be left and it may even be possible to engineer the square so that some of the other existing trees can grow through.
Q. But the gardens are part of the city’s history. As an Aberdonian wouldn’t you like to see them preserved?
A. I share people’s concerns about losing part of our heritage, but there are a lot of parts of the existing gardens that can be retained – the arches, the balustrade, the statues, the stone cats on the bridge.
What we are aiming to do is to create a heritage that will still be relevant to people in 100 years.
Q. Why does it have to be this site, instead of any of the others in the city that have been suggested for redevelopment in the past and could arguably benefit more, such as St Nicholas House or the Castlegate?
A. This site is the centre of the city geographically, so it works in a way that the others wouldn’t. It pulls together the Bon Accord and St Nicholas centres, connects them to Union Square through the Green, and leads people on to attractions like the art gallery and the theatre.
A city square could highlight the magnificent architecture all around, stimulate the regeneration of the Triple Kirks and pull people back on to Union Street, restoring it to one of the finest shopping streets in the country again.
Q. You must have some sympathy for the position Peacock Visual Arts finds itself in?
A. I absolutely understand Peacock’s disappointment, but I’m really disappointed this has become a ‘them and us’ situation.
A centre as part of the bigger scheme would cost less and would have a better chance of being viable because there would be more people visiting the square.
The door is always open to Peacock and I’m still hopeful that we can work together. I personally believe the Scottish Government would like to see a contemporary arts centre in Aberdeen – and a city square – and, far from being left with nothing, as some people have suggested, the city could have both.
Q. How can Aberdeen even consider funding a project on this scale when the city council is closing day centres and laying off staff? Wouldn’t all these millions of pounds be better spent on roads and other infrastructure?
A. This scheme won’t be paid for from council revenue budgets. There are other potential funding streams and Aberdeen is long overdue its share of city centre regeneration money.
The Scottish Government is looking into letting cities borrow against future rates growth under the tax investment finance system, which has worked well in other countries. If that’s happening, why shouldn’t it happen for Aberdeen?
Q. And can that really be done with five acres of concrete that could be found in any city in the world?
A. It’s not going to be an anonymous expanse of concrete. The drawings in the feasibility study suggest a five-acre landscaped square on three or four levels, linked by water features and sculptures.
Below that we could have a two-and-a-half-acre concourse housing an arts centre and facilities for kids, families and – importantly – people in their late teens and early-20s who don’t have any other option at the moment but to hit the pubs at night.
Q. The public consultation makes bold statements about the scheme being necessary to safeguard the future prosperity of the city. How can a city square do all that?
A. North Sea oil is winding down, and that will affect the thousands of jobs that depend on it in Aberdeen. We have the potential to move to a world energy city and transfer that expertise into a centre for wind and tidal power, but other places are competing for that business too and right now our city centre is a real negative when it comes to attracting people to live and work here.
We want to give Aberdonians a chance to be proud of their city centre again.
Q. You kicked this off with a pledge of £50million of your own fortune. Have any of your fellow north-east business leaders promised funding too?
A. I haven’t asked anyone for money, but I have had many conversations with people and I believe they will definitely be prepared to put up funding of their own because they see the long-term advantages. Quite rightly they want to wait and see the outcome of the consultation before they make firm promises.
Q. Then there’s the argument that this is simply a vanity project for Sir Ian, and that £50million would go a long way towards transforming the lives of some of the poorer people in the city.
A. I set up the Wood Family Trust two-and-a-half years ago to give £50million to impoverished people around the world, and at the back of my mind I always had this idea about doing something for Aberdeen if I could find just the right project. This was the only one I kept coming back to because I truly believe it could be transformational for the city.
This isn’t about me, I don’t want to be associated with this square forever, I don’t want my name on it. I already have a legacy in the shape of this international business that I’ve been lucky enough to build as part of the North Sea oil generation. If the citizens of Aberdeen decide they don’t want this city square then I’ll just finish up a miserable old Aberdonian who’s £50million better off.
Q. What would make you walk away from this project?
A. Nothing, unless something suddenly occurred that made me think this is not going to fulfil the objectives we have set ourselves. But, as time goes on, and more possibilities open up, I am becoming more committed.
I could very happily have sat back and had a peaceful life and not unwittingly have made myself so unpopular, but I really believe it’s the right thing to do for the long-term future of Aberdeen, and I’ll be really disappointed if the consultation results in a no vote.