Was the failure of the Resident X street-food market a surprise to anyone?
The “Instagrammers’ playground”, supported with a £1.3million taxpayer-backed loan, had been hailed by councillors as an important part of the regeneration of Aberdeen city centre.
In reality, it was a poorly-considered attempt to cash-in on the use of social media which vastly overestimated demand for a place dedicated to the photography of kebabs.
The venue began struggling soon after opening in 2022.
Now the company behind Resident X has been dissolved and the chances of the city council getting that loan back look vanishingly slender.
A Press and Journal investigation raises serious questions about how Resident X was run.
But while there are clearly specific issues with the company, its failure is emblematic of a problem affecting not only Aberdeen but all of Scotland’s cities: the decline of the city centre in an age of both working from home and internet retail.
Resident X was an analogue solution to a digital problem. The idea that Instagram influencers would flock to the venue was… let’s say naive. With its space for four street food vendors, it had all the allure of the location of a mid-season episode of The Apprentice.
If Aberdeen councillors are struggling to address the challenges facing the city, they are not alone. Edinburgh’s Princes Street is punctuated by empty shops while the state of
Glasgow city centre, filthy and run down, has made national headlines.
The change to our cities came quickly.
What does it take to rejuvenate the city centre?
First, online shopping took down many of the big retailers then the coronavirus pandemic picked off swathes of the hospitality sector.
Lockdowns may be an increasingly distant memory but many workers have never returned to their offices and continue to work from home. The pressure on those city centre businesses which have survived is relentless.
The refurbishment of Union Street will result in a city centre more focused on the pedestrian than the driver. A cleaner, safer Aberdeen gets my vote.
Meanwhile, the £50million+ beachfront revamp will, says the council, create a “world class” attraction.
But will a pedestrian-centred city centre layout make any difference to the fortunes of the city if there’s nowhere to walk to? And will a bright new beachfront really be enough to revive the city’s tourism industry or will it just be a nicer place for Aberdeen’s skateboarders to gather?
Of all Scotland’s cities, Aberdeen faces the greatest challenges. The impact of the loss of almost 20,000 jobs in the oil and gas sector continues to be felt, sharply; city centre properties, once considered prime retail locations, lie empty; a recent economic forecast had Aberdeen at the bottom of the table of UK cities in terms of predicted growth.
Investment in Resident X was never going to work
The city council is right to carry out the improvement works now ongoing but there is a role for the Scottish Government here, too. If Aberdeen is to flourish as a tourist destination, shouldn’t it be an easy and affordable place for tourists to reach?
If the answer to that is yes (and I am certain it is) then improvements to the A90 and something resembling a dependable train service are required.
In the effort to improve Aberdeen’s fortunes, the city council’s investment in Resident X always looked rather pathetic, a hefty chunk of money thrown at a “vibes” driven business.
If the council can’t attract retailers to parts of the city centre, how can it repurpose those buildings? Right now, even the best-paid young professionals struggle to get on the housing market. Could Aberdeen City Council become a major social housing landlord by adapting properties for residential use?
More than a decade ago, I was chatting with a senior official at a city council (not Aberdeen) about the number of shops that had sprung up selling American sweets and soft drinks on a cash only basis.
It didn’t take the mind of a detective to realise something was going on with these places. But, reasoned my friend, better a bit of money laundering than yet another grim, graffiti-covered shutter on what had once been a bustling precinct.
Even the money launderers are scarcer on the ground, these days. Cities must change.
Aberdeen, in common with other cities, will never be what it once was. Different needn’t mean worse but successful cities will depend on radical thinking about the purpose of existing infrastructure.
Resident X was a place for people to show off their exciting modern lifestyles. Aberdeen needs to be a place for people to live those lifestyles.
Euan McColm is a regular columnist for various Scottish newspapers
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