A new holiday park could be created at Aberdeen Beach – if the council is willing to sell off the land.
City businessman Hamish McDonald is behind a multi-million-pound vision for the visitor site, which would be the first of its kind in the city.
It’s understood it would be built on a large patch of land along the Esplanade.
The potential sale of the area will be discussed behind closed doors by the council’s finance committee on Tuesday.
Who is Hamish McDonald?
Documents published on the council website ahead of the talks indicate that Mr McDonald wants “to acquire land at the Beach Esplanade on which to develop a holiday lodge park”.
The 56-year-old is a director of McDonald Properties Ltd.
And Mr McDonald appears to have some experience in the hospitality business, as he was a director of River Lodge Holiday Park Ltd from 2017 to 2022.
Where will it be?
Details are scarce at this stage but it is understood the Aberdeen beach holiday park would be based somewhere off the Esplanade, as it stretches from King Street down to the mouth of the River Don.
The location would allow easy access for vehicles coming off the busy route.
Is Aberdeen missing a holiday park?
From Laurencekirk to Peterhead and at dozens of spots in between, holidaymakers are able to stay at caravan parks across Aberdeenshire.
Since the Covid pandemic forced people to holiday closer to home, the staycation market has proven lucrative in various parts of the UK.
And last summer, the cost-of-living crisis meant that many chose to eschew trips abroad in favour of exploring Britain.
Whether this continues in 2024 remains to be seen but decades ago, before the advent of package holidays, Aberdeen was something of a hotspot.
Many will have fond memories of a time when “the silver city with the golden sands” was a holiday haven.
By the 1950s, Aberdeen was known as “Scotland’s leading holiday resort”.
It was this phenomenon city leaders hoped to recapture as they outlined a vision to regenerate the seaside.
Aberdeen beach holiday park comes amid efforts to revive seafront
It’s understood the accommodation plans have been formed to capitalise on an expected surge in interest in Aberdeen’s seafront.
The council’s masterplan for the beach is aimed at making it more of an attraction.
But the only hotel there, the Hilton Doubletree, is currently being used to house asylum seekers and faces an uncertain future beyond that.
In the coming months, work is expected to get under way on a futuristic playpark and events area.
Ultimately, it could also feature a new leisure centre and even a replacement football stadium for the Dons.
Mr McDonald is hoping to speak at the meeting, as the early stages of the holiday park plan take shape.
Read our coverage of the meeting on Tuesday, January 30, HERE.
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