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Joe, people keep harping on about shopping centres and car parks because, if you look beneath the content-less citysquareproject.com website, this is exactly what the proposal consists of. I am not an eco-warrior by any means, frankly I'd be happy to see 50 wind turbines on the site if that was offered as an alternative. My issue is that we already have amble shopping/parking facilities in the city, and if you want a civic square we already have such a place in the Castlegate which Woods could help regenerate, or he could spend his money on the area around St Nicolas House. This would leave Peacock to continue their transformation of UTG, which already has planning permission in place, and would satisfy the proponents of the city square project. Win/win, surely? If we look at Dundee as an example, the excellent DCA has transformed the Nethergate area and brings in an estimated £5million a year. The Peacock/Whitespace centre has a wider remit than the DCA, (which is primarily an exhibition space), so the potential for Aberdeen to grow as a centre for the arts is huge.

Author: Iain Kay