Old Aberdeen shed branded ‘monstrosity’ SAVED by Scottish Government after council wanted it knocked down

The hut on the Spital sparked fury among neighbours of Aberdeen University lecturer Anna Riemen.

By Ben Hendry

April 4 2023, 11:45 am

An Old Aberdeen shed has been saved after the government stepped in. Image: Ben Hendry/Mhorvan Park

An Old Aberdeen shed has been saved by the Scottish Government after neighbours and councillors demanded it be torn down.

Lecturer Anna Riemen lives in a picturesque cottage at the corner of the Spital and Sunnybank Road.

The academic’s garden is her “main solace in life”, and the 4m structure was erected to help with her hobby.

But neighbours were less than impressed – saying such projects in the historic area need special permission.

Old Aberdeen is most commonly associated with historic buildings like King’s College at the university or St Machar’s Cathedral. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson

It was branded an “unsightly object” and a “monstrosity”.

And the bird-friendly sedum roof caused one resident to fume that Old Aberdeen “is a conservation area, not a wildlife park”.

The council’s planning committee concurred, ordering the unauthorised shed to be taken down due to looking out of place.

Dr Anna Reimen lives in a cottage near the campus. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson

Old Aberdeen shed saved after P&J readers back structure

But towards the end of last year, Dr Riemen turned to the Scottish Government for help.

She pleaded for Holyrood officials to overturn the decision of the local authority.

And consultants Aurora Planning highlighted the “unprompted” positive comments from Press and Journal readers when we reported on the issue.

Government reporter Ailie Callan visited the site, just yards from the lecturer’s Aberdeen University workplace, in January.

The plans for the Old Aberdeen shed came in for criticism — The controversial Old Aberdeen shed, pictured here before it was saved by the government.

And this week she published her decision, rebuffing neighbours by saying she “did not find it to be visually dominant”.

Should the Old Aberdeen shed have been saved? Let us know in our comments section below

What did government guru say?

The government official added: “Although the shed is of a non-standard design, I do not consider this to have an adverse effect on the wider character and appearance of the area.

“It has a low-key appearance and I did not find the shed to be unduly prominent,
nor does it appear out of place given it is within a domestic rear garden.”

The green-fingered health expert will be able to enjoy her shed this summer after all. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson

One neighbour had claimed that the shed would infringe on the privacy of their home on Orchard Road, by offering views into the property.

But this was dismissed as the reporter “was not persuaded that there would be greater potential for overlooking from the shed than from the garden itself”.