Could the demise of Aberdeen’s main Marks and Spencer be the catalyst to open up St Nicholas Street once again?
The route linking Union Street to George Street made way for a shopping centre in the 80s.
In spring 2025, the adjoined M&S will leave the high street for another shopping centre, with a £15 million expansion planned at Union Square.
But, as the accompanying mall nears the “end of its natural life” anyway, one designer thinks the time for incisive change is now.
“Whether there’s five or 10 years in the St Nicholas Centre remains to be seen,” Rich Tinto of Tinto Architecture tells us.
“So that is something to consider.
“Could you take a St James Quarter offering in Edinburgh and drop something a little bit special, a slightly higher end retail, in an opened up St Nicholas Street?
“Mulberry, Barbour, Ralph Lauren – the brands that had little spaces in conventional department stores, are popping up in concessions in other towns and cities.”
Swap St Nicholas Centre for St James Quarter?
He’s not alone in that thinking. Separately we asked our readers what would soften the blow of losing the high street giant.
Others, like Natali Ja and George Barbour, called for a St James Quarter, boutique shopping idea to be imported from the capital.
Others sought for the M&S building – or the St Nicholas Centre, the Bon Accord Centre, and the John Lewis Norco House building – to be demolished.
However there is added difficulty in razing buildings since the latest planning laws came into force in Scotland. Such work is bad for the environment, and is to be avoided where possible.
Our readers ideas for the footprint left behind by the wrecking ball range from housing, city centre green space or – perhaps with some jest – the new Aberdeen FC stadium.
Need to find ‘compelling’ use for Marks and Spencer building in Aberdeen
The main thing, Mr Tinto claims, is for whatever comes next for the towering M&S building, which will empty next spring, to be aimed at bringing people to the city centre.
When he was posed the question, he gave us an answer from his “sensible head” – office conversion for the civil service or potential residential use – and a list from his heart.
“Venue-based policy needs to come into play, we have to think about experiences and compelling reasons to bring people into the city centre.
“This M&S news tells its own story… Large retail is not really a town centre affair any more.
“It may sound counterintuitive but we are actually blessed Union Square is so close to the city centre. It’s close enough to draw people in.”
Maybe not a football stadium but…
Some of our readers, like Ryan Simpson, thought a museum would be a good idea.
This was on Mr Tinto’s wishlist too – though he feared the Pittodrie chiefs might give him a “slap on the wrist” for suggesting it.
“There have been conversations around an Aberdeen FC presence in the city centre,” he told us.
“There could be an AFC Heritage Trust museum, a retail offering, a fan zone and community engagement space… there is heaps of opportunity for things even as crazy as another Cruyff Court.
“That space on St Nicholas Street outside Marks and Spencer could, on the right occasion, be a fan zone or gathering point for football fans.
“Think how the matchday city centre trade could be really positively impacted by that if the stadium stays in town.”
If not that, he suggested a museum covering life in the north-east of Scotland over the last 1,000 years to complement nearby Provost Skene’s House, the Maritime Museum, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Union Terrace Gardens.
With Marks and Spencer vacant, do we need to build a new Aberdeen market?
Several readers, including Michelle Cormack and Paul Stuart, thought the Marks and Spencer building could save the city some cash.
Instead of raising a new Aberdeen market from the rubble of another departed department store across the road, they suggested M&S would be a fine setting.
Mr Tinto went further, asking if a new market was needed at all…
“Do we need to spend tens of millions on a new market when you already have hundreds of thousands of square footage which could comfortably accommodate it the same.”
And he added: “Surely this is the kick in the bum for the council to look at their notions of grandeur around the beach and wider city aspirations… It is time to double down on the city centre.
“The beach is still an asset as it is. The priority has to sit in the city centre and the beach masterplan can follow.
“We need to start in the city centre and work our way out.”
Council: ‘We’re joining the dots’
Much of the complaining about Marks and Spencer’s decision to close the St Nicholas Street shop has to do with accessibility.
Buses stop almost immediately outside its door.
And while First Bus has vowed to look at laying more services on to Guild Street, nothing has been confirmed at this early stage.
As well as drawing people to the city centre, the new Aberdeen market on the former BHS site is expected to make it much easier to get between Union Street and Guild Street.
The council has already signed Morrison Construction up to build the £40m development too.
And the council’s city centre spokesman, the SNP’s Michael Hutchison, said the combined city centre and beach masterplan was a necessary double-pronged focus.
He said: “If we want Aberdeen to stand out as a destination then we need to focus on what makes our city unique.
“Many other cities face similar challenges to us, but I think Aberdeen has much more about it, that we can draw upon to overcome those.
“No other city has a beach and waterfront as close to its city centre as Aberdeen, and we need to take advantage of that.
“A large part of our investment in the beach will be in improving how it connects with the city centre. Meanwhile, the new market will make it easier to get between Union Street and the city’s main transport hubs, as well as the new M&S.
“These projects are joining the dots, and when they are finished they will make our city centre a more attractive place to visit.”
Read more:
- Our first look at the £15m plans to double the footprint of the Union Square Marks and Spencer in Aberdeen
- The story of how Aberdeen lost St Nicholas Street
- Could the soon-to-be empty Marks and Spencer be a new Aberdeen base for the civil service?
- Why is Marks and Spencer closing its flagship store in Aberdeen?
- Photo gallery: 80 years of Marks and Spencer in Aberdeen’s St Nicholas Street
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