Failure to properly celebrate the opening of Union Terrace Gardens has been branded a “breathtaking missed opportunity”.
On Thursday evening, Aberdeen Labour took to the new grand staircase reinstated on the Rosemount Viaduct bank to stake a claim for glory in the £30 million revamp.
Their unofficial opening – a gathering of more than a dozen councillors and activists – was the only event held to mark the opening of the refurbished Victorian park.
Labour politicians past and present celebrate Union Terrace Gardens opening
Current group leader Barney Crockett and former Labour council leader Jenny Laing cut a red ribbon as scores of people flowed through the new-look UTG.
It was Mrs Laing who cut the sod, along with her Conservative and independent coalition partners, to begin work in 2019.
And it was The Press & Journal which exclusively revealed plans to open it on Thursday – before Christmas as promised.
This was more than 24 hours before the council announced details to the public and was the first Mr Crockett had heard of it.
Donning a Santa hat, the jolly Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone councillor told us: “For a century and a half, Aberdeen has celebrated great events like this in an appropriate way and it’s really sad that has no official plan to do that.
“So we just thought it would be good to have an impromptu celebration of a minor kind to celebrate what is really a great event for the city and for its future.
“This is a culmination of much of the work of the whole administration last time – and we in Labour take a particular pride interest in it.
“I think people in the future are going to forget all the negatives and will love what’s here, celebrate and enjoy it.”
UTG project overbudget and opened late
Perceived “negatives” include a recently revealed £1.5 million overspend on the project, taking the city’s bill to £30 million.
The Covid pandemic and war in Ukraine have also forced the project to overrun by more than 450 days.
Visitors attending before the spring will also face a potential mud bath, with December deemed a poor month to lay the main lawn.
It comes as the local authority’s finance chiefs battle soaring prices, which have left them predicting a £4.4 million hole in the budget by the end of March.
Defending the quiet opening, SNP council co-leader Alex Nicoll said he “didn’t think it is appropriate to spend money on a civic celebration when we are facing such financial challenges”.
“We of course want this city to succeed and people to enjoy UTG’s new facilities,” he said.
“I am sure young people and those young at heart will enjoy the new play equipment, which is something that was missing before when most of our other parks had them.
“I hope the whole of the city centre can benefit from Union Terrace Gardens reopening.”
Nicoll: ‘This is mischief-making’
He dismissed concerns his ruling SNP/Liberal Democrat coalition was trying to keep schemes from their Labour-led predecessors out of the limelight.
“I think this is mischief-making. Councillor Crockett possibly found out UTG was opening on Thursday a very short time before or after I did.
“I do not know when The P&J spoke to him but you obviously benefitted from a leak.
“We have gone out of our way to have all councillors e-mailed about the opening at the same time as us.”
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