Green bus stops are to be installed in Aberdeen in an eco-friendly trial.
The grass-topped stops are to be introduced as part of a pilot programme, aimed at making the Silver City a little more green.
European cities, such as Utrecht in the Netherlands, have hundreds of sedum-roofed shelters lining their streets.
It is hoped similar efforts could lend the likes of Union Street a more natural feel.
Plant-topped ‘bee bus stops’ could become Aberdeen norm
Officials believe what they call “bee bus stops” will improve biodiversity in urban parts of Aberdeen, helping to boost insect numbers.
Their early test run will be limited to just nine, council chiefs say.
However, the city could yet make it a blanket policy for all new bus stops – and even require older ones to be topped with plants.
The possibility of mandatory insect and bug friendly shelters was outlined in the local authority’s recently-published plan to repopulate empty Union Street shops.
The eco stops would also absorb heat and pollutants in the air. Planners hope they could be maintained by volunteers, bolstering community spirit in the Granite City too.
And the government’s wildlife quango Nature Scot has a fund which could help cover the cost of new and retrofitted bus stops alike.
Planning chief: No time to ‘pontificate’ on Aberdeen city centre
But concerns have been raised the move would make an ever-present problem worse.
Asked about potential pitfalls, council planning chief David Dunne chuckled: “I am going to say if you live in Aberdeen there is always a risk around seagulls.
“But it is a consideration and something our passenger transport unit is taking forward.
“It is very much a trial in the first instance to try and identify challenges. We will see how that goes.”
Hilton, Woodside, Stockethill councillor Hazel Cameron feared the council could end up in “quite a bit of difficulty”.
“We are trying to make our city centre pest-free. By doing this, we may be encouraging pests we don’t want.
“When I was out one day with my grandson, he had a baguette. A seagull landed on his shoulder and lifted it.
“I think we need to look carefully at this.”
Gulls have been known to leave Aberdonians bloodied in swoop attacks – sometimes to scavenge food or to protect their young.
Mr Dunne accepted there were risks but claimed they could all sit at the Town House “for six months pontificating on what will or won’t happen”.
“I think the best approach is to try and let’s see,” he said.
‘Miserable’ Aberdeen bus stops could be a thing of the past
Transport convener Ian Yuill quipped the Granite City’s wildlife were becoming bourgeois.
“That’s a middle class seagull, pinching baguettes,” he joked.
“Councillor Cameron makes an important point, though I am tempted to say one person’s pest is another’s biodiversity…”
It would bolster work in Aberdeen to boost bee numbers, including two hives previously introduced in the city centre.
Other councillors welcomed the “exciting” news of sedum bus stops.
Tillydrone, Seaton and Old Aberdeen SNP member Kairin Van Sweeden said the city’s bus stops can be “quite miserable places” at present.
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