Mike Barron spent decades without a bad word to say about his former employer.
But now, 30 years into retirement from the council, he can only watch on in dismay at the trail of broken promises made over his beloved hometown.
He feels Inverurie “has been abandoned”. And it’s enough to turn him against the body he once served so faithfully.
Mike was chief executive of Gordon District Council for nine years from 1986 to 1994.
He tells me his stint in charge was during a “lucky time” for the region and that “things were good” in the late 80s and early 90s.
The former Alford Academy pupil moved to Inverurie in 1986 to oversee operations at the district council.
However when the reorganisation of local government came in 1996, he made the decision to retire.
But, the 83-year-old has always kept an interest in the goings on and had never complained about Aberdeenshire Council in 30 years…
District council proud of its ‘one door shop’ approach to business
Sitting in his Inverurie home, the former bowler explained that Gordon District Council operated as a “one door shop”.
Business was carried out in an office on the town’s High Street, the one where law firm Kellas happens to be now.
Meanwhile, meetings were held in the Town Hall just metres away.
But this all changed when Gordon House was built in 1982.
While the building was designed to act as the “nerve-centre” for Gordon District Council, a third of it was occupied by Grampian Region Council.
The massive site housed various sub-departments from water and sewage to roads, environmental health and housing.
“Anybody with any query could walk into that place,” Mike recalls.
The building later became a base for the newly formed Aberdeenshire Council in 1996.
But this leads Mike to the local authority’s first “broken promise”.
Harlaw ‘first-class’ project scrapped
Before the reorganisation, there were discussions held around the site of the former Harlaw Centre on Harlaw Road.
Plans had been drawn up to demolish the building with a new one to be constructed in its place, designed to be the new council headquarters for Aberdeenshire.
Meanwhile, the Colony football Park next door was to be transferred and Loco Works Football Club were to be bought out.
Plans for a state-of-the-art Garioch Sports Centre were drawn up too including a new home for the Locos and indoor facilities including tennis and squash courts.
“It really was a first-class project,” Mike said.
This project seemed to be going well and councillors agreed to approve a business case for the new council office at Harlaw in January 2017.
Officers were also told to “negotiate and acquire” Harlaw Park and provide a masterplan for the Harlaw site.
But things didn’t quite go to plan after that.
Mike explained: “Officers, after the new council came into being, reported negotiations with the Locos and Harlaw had broken down.
“I had contact with the committee at Locos and Colony Park who said there was no meaningful discussions after the elections.
“It was a waste, all the plans are there and nothing happened.”
The demolished site of the old Harlaw Centre still lies derelict and abandoned to this day.
Did Aberdeenshire Council break promise on Inverurie Town Hall?
The second broken promise relates to the proposed closure of Gordon House and upgrades to the Town Hall.
Aberdeenshire Council wanted to transform the historic building into a “top class” facility with an extension to house 450 employees.
Mike said: “The design they came out with was futuristic, well designed and modern.
“But it went out for consultation and there were very few in favour of it.”
In fact, more than 350 residents objected to the plan and it was later withdrawn.
The former council boss reveals that in 1995, there were plans to completely revamp the Town House, but nothing ever happened.
“But again, the project was abandoned,” Mike said with a sigh.
To add to this tale, the local authority closed and demolished the former Market Place School, building Uryside School on the outskirts of town to replace it.
The Garioch Partnership wanted to take ownership of the old school building and turn it into a top-notch community facility.
However, their request was refused and Aberdeenshire Council unveiled its hopes to use the land as a car park for staff working at the extended Town Hall.
Councillors then voted to close Gordon House and press ahead with the £13 million Town Hall project in 2018.
The former school building was demolished five years ago and like the Harlaw Centre site, it is still sitting empty today.
What else did the former chief executive take issue with?
This leads to the third and final broken promise.
Before it was agreed that Gordon House was to be demolished, the council stated there would be “adequate” premises available to run services in Garioch.
Mike tells me he got a call “out of the blue” a couple of weeks ago from someone who said the Garioch housing service was still listed online as being based in the former HQ.
Now that Gordon House has closed and is due to be demolished in the coming weeks, the area manager’s office has moved to a unit at the Harlaw Industrial Estate.
And Mike doesn’t really feel it is all that prestigious a spot.
The unit is tucked away with no visible signs to guide residents to the right place.
Fears council is ‘trying to destroy’ previous work
The former chief executive said he was “very disappointed” Aberdeenshire Council has not delivered on its various Inverurie projects.
“All the way along they made promises that an appropriate alternative would be provided, but it hasn’t,” he said.
“They’ve destroyed the former Gordon District approach of the one door shop, what is going to happen next?
“Are they trying to destroy what happened back in the old days?
“I appreciate there is new technology and communications, you can work from home and so many other things.
“But to classify that unit as the headquarters for the area manager of Garioch is an insult.”
What did Aberdeenshire Council have to say?
A council spokesman confirmed the Garioch Area Office, along with numerous council teams, is based at the Harlaw Industrial Estate in Unit 7.
Area committee meetings take place at the same location and can be attended by the public.
If residents can’t resolve their queries online or by phone, they can schedule appointments to meet face-to-face with the relevant officers.
Payments can be made online or by telephone, as well as via PayPoints throughout the town.
Does council have any plans for Inverurie Town Hall?
Meanwhile, a new service point within Inverurie Library is due to open soon.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “Employees who were based in Gordon House have been relocated to alternative office locations across Inverurie and Kintore.
“The council continues to investigate a longer-term solution to future office requirements at Inverurie and will review a number of options, including an assessment of Inverurie Town Hall.”
But, the council official confirmed that there were currently no plans to carry out any refurbishment works to the historic hall.
Read more:
- Aberdeenshire Council withdraws plans to revamp Inverurie Town Hall after hundreds object to ‘desecration’ of historic building
- Inside the secret nuclear bunker at Inverurie’s soon to be flattened council HQ
- Gordon House: ‘We want to demolish Inverurie offices as soon as possible to prevent vandal attacks’
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