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Could an ambitious cable car plan help give Aberdeen the Barcelona-style wow factor it’s looking for?

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Visitors to Barcelona, Santorini and Madeira all flock to take in the views over the city by cable car.

Suspended around 164ft from the ground, the cabs pass through the air and over the water on a journey which lets the passenger experience the city in a way like no other.

And under ambitious plans it is hoped that Aberdeen could soon be able to offer the same.


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The cable cars would be positioned at the beach, the Citadel and Nigg Bay in a move which is hoped would not only give the Granite City the “wow” factor but also regenerate the respective areas.

Architect Chris Smith said what started off as a bit of a “mad” idea to illustrate how ambitious Aberdeen’s renaissance plans should be has proved to be “extremely well received” since he presented it to a group of 150 prominent businessmen and women this week.

Last year a group of like-minded people, led by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), set about coming up with an array of ideas to revitalise Aberdeen.

Some of these involve “small and quick changes” like finding ways to introduce outdoor seating in our city centre.

While others have been “bold, ambitious and a bit mad”.

Mr Smith is an architect at Davidson Smith Partnership, who are currently working on the Aberdeen International Airport terminal transformation.

He presented his cable car ideas, alongside a group of others, at the Vanguard conference on Tuesday.

He said since then he has been overwhelmed by the support and excited to see some genuine interest in the potential project.

At the moment the idea is merely a concept, however the harbour board, Aberdeen City Council, the AGCC and Aberdeen Inspired have all been consulted and say they are excited by the idea.

Last night Mr Smith said: “This idea came about because we’d heard that, although there will be many cruise tourists arriving at the new harbour who will head straight out to the Shire, there will also potentially be thousands of tourists who will come into the city centre for the day.

“There are logistical challenges involved in transporting hundreds if not thousands of people by bus into the city centre, so we just wondered if there were other alternatives out there to avoid all these problems, something that might give tourists a better first impression of the city, something with a bit of wow factor.”

This week leading businessmen told the conference that in order for Aberdeen to reinvent itself we needed to find an iconic attraction like the V&A or the Kelpies to put us back on the map.

Mr Smith the next step is to find someone willing to invest and work with the Vanguard project to fund a feasibility study which would take it to the next level.

He added: “It was meant to be more of an example of the level of ambition we felt the city should be aiming for, but it turns out a lot of people think this idea ticks a lot of boxes. If that’s the case, the next step is to find someone who’d be willing to work with the Vanguard to fund a feasibility study.”

 

‘Quick wins’

As part of the Vanguard initiative, a group of volunteers have been working on ideas to find “quick” and “practical” ways to regenerate Aberdeen city centre.

Mr Smith said he signed up because he “wanted to make good stuff happen in the region, which without Vanguard would not”.

He said the group he was working with had been focusing on “quick wins” which included converting Union Street into a more pedestrian friendly area.

This, primarily would be by creating seating areas on pavements outside cafes and restaurants as well as “parklets”. These are small raised areas like decking which sit on the road themselves leaving the pavements clear.

Mr Smith said both Starbucks and Muchacho have expressed a keenness to find a way to incorporate these at their Aberdeen premises.

He said: “The improvements to Union Street as set out in the city centre masterplan won’t happen until the impact of the AWPR is known, that the substantial investment required is found, as well as political backing for the changes – whatever form that may take at the end of the day.

“This is just our small attempt in the meantime to try and improve things now, quickly and cost-effectively. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it might just help to get people to use Union Street in a different way.”

Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The passion, positivity and enthusiasm that exists for the Aberdeen City Region comes across loud and clear from the Vanguard groups and the project updates and new ideas the volunteers bring to the table are truly energising. They also continue to demonstrate ambition in their thinking and the desire to start a conversation which may, in turn, inspire others to get involved.”