The man behind the Scottish Government’s review of town centres was left “aghast” by Aberdeen City Council’s decision to reject £50million of private sector funding for improvements to Union Terrace Gardens.
Leading architect Malcolm Fraser said he was baffled when the local authority snubbed offshore industry doyen Sir Ian Wood’s offer to pump tens of millions of pounds into plans to invigorate the Granite City.
He also said he was amazed that Aberdeen had failed to capitalise on the huge amount of money “sloshing around” the city.
Mr Fraser has been asked by the government to come up with ways of breathing new life into Scotland’s town and city centres.
Speaking at a regeneration discussion held by law firm Burness Paull in Aberdeen, he said the city had missed an opportunity to develop the Trinity Centre into a throughway to link the Union Terrace Gardens and Union Square.
“How to move people through here (Trinity Centre) is absolutely critical to the health of Union Street,” he said. He urged the council to consider a revamp of the Castlegate area into a modern open-air market, and the introduction of a tramline in the centre.
“I don’t think some of the things happening in Aberdeen are bold enough,” said Mr Fraser.
“I think they need to be bigger and brasher and more confident.”
He said the harbour area was one of the “greatest urban dramas in Britain” and that office developers should be encouraged to build there rather than outside the city.
He praised the council’s Strategic Infrastructure Plan (SIP), launched in August last year, and said it was now time to convert words into actions.
Subsea 7 HR director Chris Taylor told the discussion that, from a recruiter’s perspective, the key barrier to attracting staff to Aberdeen was the perception people had of the city. However, he said there were both positive and negatives and oil and gas workers with families were happy to come and work in the city because of its community feel.
A number of local businessmen attending the discussion said they felt isolated from the council and ignored during the planning process.
Graeme Gordon, from Internet for Business, said he thought the relationship between the private and public sector in Aberdeen was broken.
Ellon farmer and developer Colin Tawse said he felt the council had not taken on board recommendations from the private sector when it developed the SIP.
Aberdeen City councillors were present at the meeting but declined to comment on the issues discussed.
However, local authority finance convener Willie Young later told the Press and Journal that people had to move on from talking about the Union Terrace Gardens project.
Council leader Barney Crockett said the council was working with the private sector to develop the city, with projects such as the redevelopment of the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and Marischal Square.
“Joint work with the private sector is absolutely critical to what we are doing,” said Mr Crockett.
“Marischal Square is a huge joint venture between the council and the private sector. The city centre will hinge on the wider city environment, led by investment in the AECC, and I think we will become a huge centre for business.
“What I have always said is that the centre feature for Aberdeen isn’t leisure buildings.
“What is important and critical is the development of infrastructure.
“The next stage is delivering the SIP. It’s radical and it’s cutting edge and it’s seen as the model to go forward.”
Mr Fraser has led a number of high profile projects including the Scottish Poetry Library and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
He also worked with Orkney Council on the Stromness Pierhead project which brought together a number of public services into a one-stop-shop and is involved with plans to revamp Lews Castle in Stornoway into a hotel and museum for the isles.