A key council meeting in Aberdeen had to be halted yesterday – because of ear-splitting drilling noises and vibrations from the site of the controversial Marischal Square development.
Lord Provost George Adam was forced to temporarily suspend the fathering of the full council at the Town House as members could not speak over the sound of metal beams being driven into the ground.
City-centre business owners said the councillors were simply getting a taste of what they had been forced to put up with for weeks.
Some complained that the work had caused their buildings to shake – with bottles falling off shelves and customers walking out on a daily basis – while one compared the racket to “the scene from Jurassic Park where the dinosaurs escape”.
Initial demolition, excavation and piling work is being carried out at the Broad Street location of the £107million offices and retail scheme, which was approved by councillors despite a storm of protest.
The noise from the site, which is on the other side of Broad Street from the Town House and the local authority’s Marischal College headquarters, repeatedly disrupted yesterday’s full council meeting.
It delayed voting and prompted a 10-minute break during a sensitive debate on plans to build 3,000 homes at Countesswells.
Neil Cooney, the council’s infrastructure convener, said: “These are unique circumstances today, both in Countesswells and in Broad Street.”
Staff at several nearby shops, pubs and cafés reported that the noise had affected trade in recent weeks.
Norman Rodger, who works at the Kirkgate Bar at Upperkirkgate, said: “I’ve found it is affecting the bar here because the whole block is vibrating.
“The council say it’s being monitored each day and it’s the level it should be at but it’s still too much.
“I have to keep the door closed and when we have a nice day out there we can’t take advantage of it – it’s really frustrating.
“I know it’s got to go on but it affects us every day, sometimes the glasses shake from the vibrations.”
Mohammed Hossen, who works at the Tasty Tattie on Upperkirkgate, said: “It can be quite bad, the building shakes. Most of the time I leave the door closed because of the noise.”
Another local business owner, who did not want to be named, said he had kept a diary of the issues since mid-July.
“We have had a lot of noise and vibrations particularly affecting our lunchtime trade and have had people walking out on a daily basis,” he said.
“I’ve had regular discussions with environmental health who have told me there’s nothing they can do and have asked me to speak with the site manager and the council.
“There’s the constant drilling but the worst part is the loud bangs, it’s like the scene from Jurassic Park where the dinosaurs escape.
“It’s not just the reputation of the business but the integrity of the building, I have had bottles falling off shelves on a regular basis.”
A worker at the Games Workshop on Upperkirkgate said: “It gets really loud during the morning and quietens down later on about 5pm.
“I can imagine it must be a nightmare for a lot of people living in the area who are working night shift.”
A spokesman for Muse Developments, the developer behind the project, said the work causing the loudest noise should be completed after today.
“The Marischal Square building contractors, Morgan Sindall, are doing all that they can to minimise noise and disruption during this essential early phase of activity around the development and have monitored noise and vibration levels to ensure agreed limits are not exceeded,” he said.
“They have also contacted local residents and businesses to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.
“This early activity involves demolition, excavation and piling works which can, at times, create higher than normal noise levels – especially in confined areas.
“Morgan Sindall has advised that the use of the vibration hammer, which may have been responsible for the disruption over the last few days, completes tomorrow and the equipment is going off site. There will be intermittent hammer driven piling for a further week.
“We are ensuring that this stage of the construction process has been kept to an absolute minimum.”
A council spokesman said: “The Marischal Square development is an integral part of this council’s plan to regenerate Aberdeen city centre.
“Any inconvenience caused by essential building works is temporary and will be far outweighed by the benefits this project will bring to the city.”