David McKay
A north-east businessman has blamed Aberdeen City Council’s planning department and Historic Scotland for delays in redeveloping a derelict textile mill.
Ian Suttie has claimed in a letter to city MSP Kevin Stewart that progress at the Broadford Works is “very dependent” on the authorities.
The former Richards plant has lain empty for several years, and has fallen into serious disrepair and been repeatedly targeted by fire-raisers and vandals.
Mr Stewart has now appealed to Historic Scotland to work “as fast as possible”.
However, a spokesman for the conservation body last night said its role was purely advisory.
Permission to redevelop the area, the largest collection of at-risk Grade A listed buildings in Scotland, is already in place but a Section 75 legal agreement still has to be signed.
Mr Suttie’s firm First Construction wants to build 517 flats, about 50,000sqft of commercial space, a restaurant, nursery and 569 parking spaces.
In his letter to Mr Stewart, Mr Suttie said: “Progress is very dependent on the planning department and Historic Scotland.
“We are making slow progress, but hope to have the Section 75 agreed by the end of the month.
“This will allow matters to move forward significantly.”
Mr Stewart said: “I have written to Historic Scotland to make sure there are no road blocks in place slowing down work starting so that this blot on the landscape can be removed and the history of Aberdeen can be preserved.
“The site should never have been allowed to get into this bad a state.”
An application to redevelop the site was refused by councillors in 2012, but the local decision was overturned on appeal by the Scottish Government, subject to conditions and the legal agreement.
A city council spokeswoman said: “Discussions about the Section 75 agreement are ongoing. We have put terms to Mr Suttie’s legal team and await their response.
“Once a satisfactory agreement has been reached, Aberdeen City Council will report back to the Scottish Ministers to confirm that an agreement on the Section 75 notice has been reached and it will then be for the Scottish Ministers to determine whether to grant planning permission for the scheme.”
The Historic Scotland spokesman said: “Our role in the consent process for the Broadford Works development is to advise the local authority which is what we done throughout.
“We have been supportive of the process throughout and hope that the council and the developer will be able to reach agreement soon to allow the work to get underway.”