Aberdeen City Council’s deputy leader has claimed that ambitious £150million plans for a cinema, hotel and supermarket development on the outskirts of the city could cause commuter towns to “die off”.
Plans have been submitted to Aberdeenshire council for an 850-seater multiplex, a 150-bed hotel, petrol station, supermarket and office space at Blackdog.
However, planning bosses have raised concerns that the scheme, which has been put forward by developers Ashfield Land, would put people off coming to the Granite City.
Last night city’s deputy leader Marie Boulton, who is leading the ambitious 25-year city centre regeneration masterplan, said that the effects of the development could be felt in communities throughout the north-east.
She said: “We want there to be real cultural and shopping reasons to come to Aberdeen and developments like this could lead to less and less people coming into the city centre from other parts of the north-east.
“Aberdeenshire has things like the castles and whisky trails so we are worried the development could dilute the reasons for visitors making the journey to the city.
“It will also help places like Ellon basically die off. It’s a vibrant town at the moment which residents have worked hard to create a community in.
“We saw all the supermarkets move into the shire which closed a lot of local businesses.
“Now it’s come full circle and people realise that they want high streets with individual shops and a sense of community.
“We want to support that throughout the north-east.”
It is understood the proposals, which would form a major part of the Energetica development between Aberdeen and Peterhead, would create 1,200 construction jobs, and 1,500 full-time jobs upon completion.
In his letter to Aberdeenshire Council, Energetica development manager James Welsh said: “Blackdog is a key development for Energetica because it is strategically located on a key junction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and A90, giving good access from both north and south.
“It therefore has a unique opportunity to create a high-quality new development encapsulating the Energetica vision, utilising the accessibility and visibility of the location for a landmark/gateway building.”
