Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Voice of the North: Rather than mourn John Lewis we must focus on resurrecting Aberdeen city centre

The John Lewis brand is leaving Aberdeen entirely
The John Lewis brand is leaving Aberdeen entirely

Final confirmation that John Lewis in the Bon Accord Centre will not reopen is a blow, not just for Aberdeen but the wider north and north-east.

Hopes that the retailer might move the department store to smaller premises in the Granite City have also been dashed by branch head Jamie Wishart, who stated that the brand’s time in the area “has come to an end”.

“Aberdeen is a special place,” he continued, “And I wish the city every success in the future.”

What that future might look like, though, still remains to be seen.

Aberdeen city centre must have the best chance possible of bouncing back post-pandemic

The number of empty shopfronts in the city centre has been steadily increasing throughout the pandemic. It is disheartening that a company as large and popular as John Lewis feels it cannot buck that trend, even with a dedicated taskforce in place, which was intended to find a solution to the situation we now find ourselves in.

Currently the north-east is left without a department store and – perhaps more pressingly – with an empty 200,000-square-foot space where one once stood.

As we move towards emerging from the Covid crisis, timing is crucial. Energy must quickly be put into making productive use of the John Lewis site, ensuring that Aberdeen city centre has the best chance possible of bouncing back post-pandemic.

It is undeniable that the landscape of the high street as we once knew it has changed, most likely irreversibly

Aberdeen is a special place that deserves special attention

It is undeniable that the landscape of the high street as we once knew it has changed, most likely irreversibly. However, rather than grieving over what we have lost, it is time to focus on how the city centre can evolve in order to meet the needs of the people who live, work and play there.

This mammoth task will require input and support from the council, government and business owners but, crucially, from citizens, too.

Jamie Wishart is correct: Aberdeen is a special place, and it deserves special attention.

If the former John Lewis is left to rot, we fear that the rest of the city centre will soon feel akin to a graveyard.


The Voice of the North is The Press & Journal’s editorial stance on what we think is the most important story of the day