It was a revamp that split Aberdeen before work had even begun.
The Granite City was torn down the middle – even holding a local referendum – on what to do with Union Terrace Gardens.
A decade on, with work on a near £30 million refurbishment now well underway, the sunken Victorian gardens seem as polarising as ever.
The Press And Journal reported on noticeable progress in long-awaited planting in Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) on September 7, 2022.
Thick green grasses have been put in place down the steep banks leading from Rosemount Viaduct into the park.
And our readers were quick to react to the latest green shoots of planting progress in UTG.
The majority of the comments won’t make pleasant reading for city bosses.
Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The good on UTG planting progress: ‘It’s all coming together!’
There was some positivity in The P&J’s virtual postbag about the state of UTG.
City restaurateur Steven Bothwell – who at one time had planning permission to build his own cafe in UTG – was full of praise.
“Superb! I love it,” he wrote.
The search goes on for tenants in two of the three pavilions built as part of the multi-million-pound overhaul.
But Mr Bothwell told other commenters he was not in the running for a lease.
Meanwhile, Michael Davidson shared hopes “it’s going to turn out rather well actually”.
He added: “It wasn’t really that much to look at before.”
His optimism was shared by Juliet A’wse, who also told us she was looking forward to seeing the finished gardens.
She commented: “It’s all coming together.”
The bad on UTG planting progress: ‘Have you seen the mess of the rest of it?’
Their optimism was not shared by the majority of commenters, who described the huge spend as a waste of money.
Aberdeen City Council‘s refurb of the park, with its sweeping and winding paths down from street level and the new buildings, was likened to using a “sledgehammer to crack a nut”.
Missing the boat on planting because of site shutdowns during the Covid pandemic is one of the main reasons city chiefs give for delays in UTG’s reopening.
Originally, it had been hoped they would be finished by summer 2021.
Reacting to The P&J’s assessment of planting be “progress” in the project, James Dick argued: “Come on, that’s one little space. Have you seen the mess of the rest of it?
“Over budget and late like every project the city does.”
Others hit out at the “soulless” council for wasting resources and “burning money”.
Elizabeth Scott longed for the way things were before work began in 2019.
“I’m glad I had the chance to see the gardens -neglected though they were – before they were ruined,” she said.
The concern over UTG work
Furthermore, concerns were raised about the nature of the work.
Those included the width of pavements around the new terrace across from His Majesty’s Theatre.
Additionally, the power-blasting of historic UTG granite was criticised too.
The quality of the gardening came under criticism from Nicola Fraser, who criticised earlier planting next to the King Edward VII statue in Union Street as “just looking a mess”.
She added: “I can’t see this looking any better.”
Derek McInally also reckoned “there’s still a hell of a lot to do yet,” casting doubt on predictions of “practical completion” this year.
His assessment was backed up by Daz Mcnaught, who said it was “no wonder” calls for this year’s Christmas market to spread out into UTG were ignored – as reported by The P&J this week.
UTG planting progress: The hay fever victims
Some readers were more light-hearted as they reacted to the planting progress in UTG.
The long, bushy grasses planted around the new grand Rosemount entrance have sparked fears from those sensitive to pollen.
Sarafina Peters told us the winding path now looked “like my hay fever hell”.
The choice of tall grasses is “hated” by commenter Elaine Clark, who encouraged more use of plants “with scents, flowers and native ones at that”.
The commenters are still in the dark about new light feature
Meanwhile, readers still appear to have questions about the new ring light feature hanging above the lowest level of UTG.
The so-called halo, suspended from three metal legs above a new paved area where the lower lawn once was, was put in place last month.
Additionally, see how readers reacted to it if – like Casey Dylan – you missed news of that “weird suspended rusty looking UFO thing”.
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