Aberdeen’s Labour-led council administration has set aside £20million for city-centre improvements but admits it has no firm plans yet on how to spend it.
The ruling coalition wants to set up a project board to make recommendations to councillors before a vote in six months.
Senior councillors said they wanted to reach “consensus” in the city more than a year after divisive proposals for Union Terrace Gardens were ditched.
Oil services tycoon Sir Ian Wood, along with other private-sector figures and representatives from the city’s universities, will be invited to participate, although no approaches have yet been made.
The opposition SNP group claimed setting up a commission showed the administration had “no ideas” and suggested the issue was being “kicked into the long grass”.
But finance convener Willie Young urged the SNP and Liberal Democrats to support the administration in its efforts to revitalise the centre of the city.
He would not divulge exactly where the funding was coming from but insisted it would be available without borrowing or cutting services.
SNP group leader Callum McCaig said: “They have been talking up their plans ever since turning down the City Garden Project over a year ago but it seems that, despite all the things that have been proposed, they are left with no ideas whatsoever.
“Now the administration wants to set up a commission in the vague hope that somebody else has ideas – it is pretty hopeless stuff.”
In a letter to local authority chief executive Valerie Watts last week, Sir Ian said that discussions should be kept private.
The retired businessman wrote in response to plans from city architect John Halliday.
Sir Ian, who has pledged £50million towards “transformative” proposals for the city centre, argued the Halliday plan fell short.
Conservative group secretary Ross Thomson said he hoped Sir Ian would take up the offer of a seat on the board.
He said: “We want to ensure that things happen quickly, so that we have a clear plan by early next year.
The regeneration board plans will be discussed by the full council on Thursday.
A city-centre electric train or trolleybus were among ideas suggested yesterday as a transport strategy was set out for Inverness. Councillors highlighted the lack of parking.
All options are on the table as Highland Council draws up a plan to deal with increasing congestion.
Councillor Helen Carmichael suggested a small electric train or bus that could make non-stop circuits of the main streets, letting people hop on and off wherever they wanted.
She said the vehicles, used at theme parks and in some European cities, could work in the compact centre of Inverness.
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