Council bosses will go looking for hand-outs if the multi-million-pound refurbishment of Union Terrace Gardens goes over budget – as the public remains in the dark as to when they will gain access.
Town House chiefs say the work on the city centre gardens is expected to be finished this spring after a number of delays due to bad weather and the pandemic.
And while the authority’s top finance officers remain convinced that the project will come in under its £28.3 million budget, they are now outlining what will happen if costs do spiral.
So far, £23.2m has been spent on the overhaul, but council resources director Steve Whyte has briefed councillors on his plan of action, should the cost of the work break the £28.3m mark.
In a report to be considered next week, he said: “Development costs have been tested with key suppliers for robustness and confirmed through the tender process.
“External funding will be sought to support any overspend to mitigate cost to the council.”
Deadline to have all Union Terrace Gardens building work finished in 2021 missed
Another deadline was missed at the end of 2021, when all construction and engineering was due to be complete.
Work on two retaining walls rolled into the new year, while landscaping work that was put off for a year due to prior lockdown-prompted site closures got underway.
It is this gardening work which will keep the public out of the much-loved Victorian park for even longer, after the opportunity for seasonal planting was missed earlier in the pandemic.
Despite looking all but finished in the coming months, crowds will still be turned away to give flowers, plants and mature trees being planted time to put down roots.
No date for public access has yet been announced.
It has not been plain sailing for project bosses, who were initially expected to have the park reopen last summer and who were forced to apologise after historically protected granite went AWOL from the site.
Risks highlighted since the coronavirus lockdown forced Balfour Beatty to down tools on site still remain – in that everyone returning to construction work at once is driving up demands for materials.
Deal close on first business to take up lease in Union Terrace Gardens pavilions
Despite that, the three entrances into the gardens are expected to be finished this month, with waterproofing, some paving and cladding remaining.
Internal fit-out work in the three new pavilions near each of the street-level walkways into the gardens is also said to be at “an advanced stage”.
There has also been progress in finding an occupant for the smallest of the three – the Rosemount Pavilion, which has been nestled into the space beside the William Wallace and Prince Albert statues in Rosemount Viaduct.
Talks are understood to be at an advanced stage with the council’s preferred occupant for the “under offer” new building, close to the iconic His Majesty’s Theatre and Central Library.
Bids on the Burns Pavilion, taking its name from the nearby statue of Scotland’s bard, will close a week on Friday, while viewings of the largest new building at the Union Street end remain ongoing.
All this progress means there is some hope the remaining hoarding boards surrounding the park can be shifted, perhaps allowing views into UTG which have not not been seen for years.
However, these will be kept in place in some shape or form until all work is completed.
