A funding lifeline has been agreed to keep alive a £13.5million arts centre project in Aberdeen until the public’s verdict is delivered on the future of Union Terrace Gardens.
Peacock Visual Arts avoided a potentially “devastating” blow to its plans for a new base in the city centre park yesterday after the Scottish Arts Council extended its deadline on a key £4.3million grant towards the scheme.
The project was thrown into doubt when the organisers of a public consultation into Sir Ian Wood’s rival plans for the sunken gardens pushed back an announcement on the results until two weeks after Peacock’s funding deadline had passed.
The Scottish Arts Council agreed yesterday to extend its deadline until June, meaning the project will still be on the table when the views of 10,000 city residents on the Wood Group chairman’s £140million city square plan are revealed on April 13.
Peacock campaign director Elly Rothnie said she was “extremely relieved” the arts council had granted a second extension on its offer.
“It would have been devastating if we had lost this funding before the result of the public consultation was issued and there was clarity over the future of Union Terrace Gardens,” she said.
Since announcing he was prepared to put £50million of his own money into a redevelopment of Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn valley in November 2008, Sir Ian has stressed he would press ahead only if it could be shown that the people of Aberdeen wanted the city square.
The group steering Sir Ian’s project, development body Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef), has blamed the delay in publishing the results of the consultation on the huge volume of responses.
Iain Munro, head of lottery with the Scottish Arts Council, said: “The outcome of the recently concluded public consultation, led by Acsef, will have a significant influence on the continued development of the existing Peacock scheme.
“The initial timetable given by Acsef to announce the outcome of its consultation on City Square was scheduled for March. However, this has now been delayed until April 13.
“As a consequence, the Scottish Arts Council will now review its position in June 2010 at the next scheduled meeting of our lottery committee.”