Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen has opened to the public for the first time in three years.
The £30 million revamp has taken more than 1,200 days – more than a year longer than planned.
Fencing, which had surrounded the gardens (UTG) since 2019 was finally taken down on Thursday.
Aberdeen City Council quietly removed the final barriers blocking entry, without ceremony, at around 4pm.
Aberdonians excitedly flocked to see new-look Union Terrace Gardens
Aberdonians beamed, phone cameras aloft, as they took in an unfettered new vantage from Rosemount Viaduct.
That excitement continued as scores of people descended the new grand staircase and ramps down into the Victorian gardens, first opened in 1879.
By then, the new halo ring light above the main lawn was in full effect in the dusk.
And optimism for what the project could do for the rest of Aberdeen city centre was the common theme between them.
A husband and wife walking along Union Terrace on Thursday afternoon said it was “good to get the gardens opened”.
“The view across from Union Terrace is just fantastic now, with this, the art gallery and His Majesty’s Theatre.
“It is Aberdeen at its best. I just hope they can do something with Union Street to match it.”
Rosemount resident Jo Duthie was also “optimistic” for what the rejuvenated gardens could do for the city centre.
“It would be better to wait until the gardens are finished, though I understand why they wanted to do it now.
“Initially, I thought the council was just making a mess of the gardens. But watching it progress, it looks good,” she said.
While the gates have been opened, UTG’s main lawn will be without turf until at least late February due to fears new grass wouldn’t last the winter.
Dusk opening for Union Terrace Gardens
There was a giddiness among passers-by on Thursday afternoon, as the final fencing was removed.
Contractors had spent the day applying the final polish to the £30m revamp, power washing down the new walkways and reinstating the “grand staircase”.
And then, fencing – which had wrapped around the gardens from Rosemount Viaduct to Union Street – was loaded onto a flatbed truck.
One man, cheering on the afternoon’ progress over a pint in Common Sense Coffee House, said the marathon-length revamp was “definitely needed”.
“The trees were just blocking the light all over and nobody was going into the gardens,” he said, sitting in the first to open of three new pavilions built as part of the work,” he said.
“There are a lot of things that we remember as kids, like the draughts boards and the crest on the hill. It’s a nice touch.
“It seems to be the concentrating the kids. It would be brilliant to see families down there in the summer.”
The city’s coat of arms proved a popular sight for many Aberdonians, who fondly remembered growing up seeing Bon Accord emblazoned on the steep slope up to Rosemount Viaduct.
By 5.30 pm, the musical playpark equipment was evidently a hit too.
A Robert Gordon’s College schoolgirl was a few notes short of negotiating Jingle Bells out of the new £400,000 apparatus.
The new slide enjoyed less action – the rain made for poor conditions under the bottom.
An eye-catching end to a £30m project troubled by Covid, war and bad weather
The opening brings an end to a delay-laden project, which was hoped to be finished last summer.
Aberdonians have faced waiting more than 450 days longer than they were promised.
Not only has the project now outlasted many world landmarks. Within the delay itself, the Empire State Building in New York could have been erected.
There had been hope of a so-called soft opening in April. But red-faced chiefs were forced to call off the event on the morning it was due to happen.
Back in October, chief capital officer John Wilson said that public access was only “a matter of weeks” away.
“We are close… very close,” he said, 77 days before the eventual opening.
Delays have been blamed on shutdowns of the site during the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine, bad weather and supply chain issues.
What’s new at the reopened Union Terrace Gardens?
The multi-million-pound project was aimed at improving safety and accessibility. New wheelchair-friendly paths have been added at both ends of the gardens.
For the first time, there is now lift access too, included in the Burns pavilion.
There are new public toilets, while the celebrated Victorian conveniences – long unloved – have been restored too.
Arches under Union Terrace have been restored and lit up, while lighting has significantly improved throughout the whole area.
The council – which faced fierce criticism over the loss of mature trees during construction – claims there is now a net gain in UTG.
And what does that cost?
However, with sky-high inflation, the cost of all of that rose by £1.5 million this year.
Originally it was hoped to cost around £25m, though the budget had an upper limit of £28.3m.
But finance bosses have since confirmed the bill will hit £29.8m.
Union Terrace Gardens’ reopening comes as councillors look for ways to plug a £4.4m hole in the city’s finances before the end of March.
The SNP and Liberal Democrats, who took control of the council in May, had campaigned for a more modest redevelopment. They had wanted to boost accessibility and safety, without the grand redesign.
But that opposition has now got to be, council co-leader Ian Yuill told us, left in the past.
The Lib Dem told The P&J: “It’s no secret that both partnership parties did not support the cost of the project. It was enough to build a new school.
“But it is now in the interest of the city that it is a success. That is certainly what I am hoping for. It is great that the city has its green heart back.
“Union Terrace Gardens have been enjoyed for so many years before and I hope that they will be enjoyed for many more to come.”
The P&J revealed the opening date on Wednesday morning – very nearly 24 hours before the city council confirmed plans.
Even then, the public was still kept in the dark about when they could gain entry.
Opposition councillors have branded the lack of information about the opening “disappointing”.
But the Conservative and Labour councillors agreed that once in full bloom, the UTG they designed would be an asset to the city centre once again.
We have been tracking how far into December we get before the opening. Check out our UTG-themed advent calendar.
More on Union Terrace Gardens:
- The Spectra light festival will be the first major event in UTG after reopening
- Unions have raised concerns about the standard of work on Union Terrace Gardens
- Plans to rename UTG in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II have been parked
- Last summer, the hunt for missing UTG granite gripped our readers
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