The latest Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) proposals will provoke fresh debate over the future of the site.
But it could have all been very different today had Sir Ian Wood’s £50million offer of investment been accepted by the city council.
The oil industry tycoon’s vision for the Victorian park divided the public and local politicians when it was first mooted nearly a decade ago.
It involved raising the gardens to street level and creating a civic square.
But despite initial backing from the SNP-led council, the £140million City Garden Project was ultimately rejected amid a storm of controversy.
A public consultation was held in April 2010 which revealed 55% of almost 12,000 people who expressed an opinion did not support the proposal.
Later that year, councillors moved ahead with the scheme and, the following year, even commissioned an international design competition for the project.
In January 2012, Granite Web was chosen as the preferred design, which was backed by the public in a referendum held in March of that year.
But the park would become a political battleground in the city after the SNP administration was voted out of power.
At the May 2012 local government elections, Labour – who had vowed to scrap the plans if elected – became the largest party on the council.
A vote on whether to reject the scheme would be held later that year, which the Labour-led administration won 22-20.
However, Sir Ian said his offer to invest £50million of his own money in the City Garden Project would remain on the table for a year, a deadline he would extend twice before it was rescinded in December 2013.
In the years since, there has continued to be debate over the future of the park.
Last year, a fresh row erupted after graphic images emerged of drug users injecting themselves in a makeshift campsite.
Dozens of burnt spoons, syringes, and drink bottles were discovered discarded at the site.
