I consider myself lucky to have spent my childhood growing up in the Aberdeenshire countryside at the Howe O’ Buchan.
My family home was designed by my dad, a young architect at the time, and was pretty cool for its day. People used to say it looked like a Toblerone box and, actually, it did a bit.
We were one of three houses tucked away off the main road.
My next door neighbour and I would spend hours climbing elm trees, making potions, going fishing with makeshift rods, tramping through fields full of cows – I am aware this is bad and I am now ashamed in the same way Theresa May was when she ran through those fields of wheat.
But, at the time, it felt like one big adventure.
If you had given me some more friends, I’m pretty sure we would have given Enid Blyton and her Famous Five, or Secret Seven, even, a run for their money.
However, now that I am an adult, I can think of nothing worse than going back to that way of living. We were miles away from a shop, nothing was in walking distance apart from the River Ugie, and I relied on my parents all throughout my teenage years as glorified taxi drivers if I ever wanted to see my friends.
The second I moved to Aberdeen to study, I knew it was unlikely I would ever move back.
I love the hustle and bustle of city life. I love being able to nip out the flat on foot and be at the theatre, cinema, a restaurant, or shop in under 20 minutes. And I am a firm believer in sustainable, walkable neighbourhoods.
Incentives are required to save decaying buildings
Earlier this week, we reported that, in order to rejuvenate our city centre, we need more people living in it. And Aberdeen City Council is trying to encourage this by waiving affordable housing contributions for developers willing to invest.
I’m aware this is controversial, but if there is no incentive to take on these aging and decaying buildings, who is going to save them?
Like it or not, housebuilders run a business. They need to make profits, or else what is the point? There has to be a reason to take on a building littered with problems after years of neglect and slapped with conservation protections.
But this idea of our “city centre” needs to be explored, as it extends far beyond Union Street.
As I walk the 20 minutes from my flat, situated fairly close to the Queen’s Cross roundabout, to our offices at Marischal Square, all I can see these days are “to let” signs scattered through the West End streets.
I wrote a few weeks ago about how people should abandon their industrial estate offices and move their work to the centre of town, and I stand by that. But, with the current demand in commercial property being as it is, and with more people working from home, it is unlikely most of these buildings will ever be used for business again.
A much-needed makeover for the West End
The West End has, for years, reaped the rewards of the booming oil and gas industry, but it has now had its day. So, shouldn’t we now be considering how we integrate this area into our city centre and provide the housing needed to rejuvenate it?
Big, beautiful buildings are lying empty along Carden Place, Albyn Place, Queen’s Gardens, Rubislaw Terrace and the surrounds, which would be ideal for repurposing as houses – so why is this not happening and, indeed, actively encouraged?
Luckily these buildings have been, until recently, utilised and so the state of decay is less severe than what we have on Union Street, for example. But, unless there are incentives, do they risk following the same route into decline?
As a resident, I firmly believe the West End – lovely as it is – needs a bit of a makeover alongside our vision for a new Union Street, to make it an environment that people want to live in again. It started off as a residential development 150 years ago, so why can’t it be that once more?
Let’s save our granite
There was concern earlier this week when Cala Homes North managing director Mike Naysmith said not every granite building in Aberdeen could be saved. “It’s our heritage; it’s where we get our name”, locals said. These same people bemoaned city centre development.
I understand there might not be much of an appetite for so-called “new build glass boxes” as some put it, but it is possible to redevelop and repurpose our granite heritage and do it well. Just look at the former Mile End School and Beechgrove Church nearby.
In Aberdeen, we have hundreds of potential new homes at our disposal if we utilise what’s already there
But it is harder and more costly to repurpose than it is to build from the ground up, and we have to recognise that.
Despite growing up in a new build, Toblerone box, I now live in a solid, granite flat and would not be likely to purchase a new build any time in the future.
In Aberdeen, we have hundreds of potential new homes at our disposal if we utilise what’s already there. We need more people living close to the city centre, but if we do not make redevelopment attractive we will, without a doubt, lose our heritage.
Rebecca Buchan is City and Shire Team Leader for The Press & Journal and Evening Express
