Design
Green Space
Finance
The Consultation
Who’s involved
Timing
Q. How will this affect existing buildings in the Gardens and Belmont Street?
The City Square project has the potential to be a catalyst for the much needed regeneration of Union Street and the wider City Centre.
The raised platform covering the road and railway line will pierce the rear of Belmont Street, creating south facing plazas that will catch the sunshine. The raised level will allow Belmont Street’s beautiful architecture to be fully appreciated and enjoyed from street level, instead of from across the valley. The team envisions European style cafés and bistros developing in this area.
There have been many exciting ideas tabled for the arches and the Victorian toilets. If the City Square Project proposal wins public support both elements will form an importat part of the final design.
Q. What will happen next?
Only when then results of the consultation are evaluated will the next stage in the process be proposed. This project can only go ahead with the support of the public.
Q. Isn’t this just a giant car park?
No. There will be about 2.5 acres of space available under the new City Square. This could be partially used for car parking, but we haven’t proposed that. Indeed, current planning guidance would make it very difficult to add many more car park spaces in the centre of Aberdeen. We want to find out what you think the space could be used for.
Q. Will there be lots of shops?
No. While there may be a few specialist shops and cafes this is not a retail development.
Q. What about transport infrastructure?
Transport infrastructure is being investigated and analysed as part of the City Square Project. If the proposal goes ahead the scheme will play an important role in the wider regeneration of Aberdeen City Centre. As it stand the proposal has the potential to improve the links between Union Square, the train and bus stations, Union Street and the Bon Accord Quarter.
Q. What about the Peacock proposal?
ACSEF’s vision is about a radical transformation that will ensure the jobs and prosperity we need in the future. The scheme must therefore be ambitious, iconic and inclusive and within the key parameters that can deliver the vision. These are:
- A civic space built across the area of Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley with sloping, sweeping stepped areas to accommodate level changes in the adjacent streets
- Walk on walk off access from the four access sides to the City Square – Union Terrace, Belmont Street, Union Bridge and Rosemount Viaduct.
- A minimum of 2.5 acres of green landscaped garden space
- Concourse covered level (beneath the street level surface) providing access through to Aberdeen Rail and Bus station, the Green and Union Square with natural light wells designed into the street level surface.
Within these parameters, we want to see a contemporary arts centre that meets the needs and fulfils the ambitions of Peacock and the wider arts community and significantly enhances the region’s cultural offering. An iconic building within these parameters could meet some of Peacock’s existing design requirements: i.e. be the same size, have the same daylight, have an off square entrance and, perhaps more importantly, have alongside it other complementary cultural activities and facilities. It could be cheaper to deliver than Peacock’s current design and enhance its operational viability through increased footfall.
Peacock Visual Arts have planning permission to build a contemporary arts centre in Union Terrace Garden.
A contemporary Arts Centre has always been at the heart of The City Square Project. Inclusion in the larger scheme has been offered to Peacock and if the project goes ahead ACSEF hopes they will be part of it.
Q. What about a compromise that would allow the two projects to go ahead (partially decked area)?
ACSEF delayed the public consultation from November 2009 to January 2010 to allow detailed talks with PVA about a potentially integrated scheme.
The lead authors of the technical appraisal, Halliday Fraser Munro, met with Edgar Gonzales of Brisac Gonzales to explore how, or indeed if, the two proposals could be integrated without losing the overriding principles of both. This meeting was facilitated by Scottish Enterprise. A positive discussion concluded that the existing Brisac Gonzales design could not be incorporated into a project based on the parameters regarded by ACSEF as being important to achieve the aspirations for the city centre. The only way that the existing design could be accommodated would be to alter the key parameters resulting in the road/railway not being fully covered preventing full walk-on/walk-off access from Belmont Street in particular.
The Brisac Gonzales building, like all good architecture, was designed for a particular purpose and a specific site. In this case, the building was designed to be part of its landscape setting. Edgar Gonzales recognises that a different site within the Gardens, or within the City Square project, would result in a different building design.
Q. The images show too much concrete. Why are you getting rid of our only green space?
The City Square Project will have at least the same amount of greenery and trees as the current gardens – about 2.5 acres. It will provide green space that is much more accessible and welcoming for everyone than the current Union Terrace Gardens. If you want more than 2.5 acres of green space, let us know. Nothing is set in stone, this consultation is about informing the design moving forward.
It is important to remember that the images we are using for the consultation are artists’ impression to get the conversation and ideas flowing. This consultation is about hearing what people want to see in the city centre. ACSEF is already commited to keeping large areas of green space and should the project go ahead the provision of significant levels of grass, indigenous tree, shrubery and flowers will most definitely be part of the design.
Q. To raise the Gardens you will have to pull down mature trees. The pictures you show are of trees that are many years old. How do you expect to make trees grow in this space?
The final design can be shaped to incorporate space to allow tree root systems to grow. This has successfully been done in other schemes and would include building in space below ground that would be sufficient to allow mature trees to prosper. The design brief could include existing healthy trees especially those round the edge of the gardens. There are also varieties of trees that require shallower root systems. There are many examples of such tree planting in areas with similar type of ground conditions.
What ever happens we will seek the views of an independent Aboriculturalist before making a decision. The City Square Project will ensure that the design incorporates a significant number of trees.
Q. Aberdeen City Council has no money. How are they going to find the money for this?
The proposed City Square Project will cost approximately £120 to £140 million. Along with Sir Ian Wood’s pledge of £50 million, further private money will be leveraged to make up the principal funds.
It is not unusual for wealthy businesses and individuals to give money to improve an area or region for the benefit of all. A similar scheme in Houston, Discovery Green, raised $54 million in private donations. With the starter of Sir Ian Wood’s £50 million together with further private donations this creates unprecedented leverage.
Other funds will be leveraged through innovative funding models that are currently being investigated and are ring fenced for major national infrastructure projects. The project will not seek to source funds from Aberdeen City Council’s annual budget.
Q. I’ve heard that this consultation is a foregone conclusion. Will my opinion count?
An independent company with experience in large public consultations has been employed to carry out the City Square Project consultation. All feedback gathered from the internet, focus groups, exhibitions, reply paid forms, text messages, opinion poll and phonecalls will be recorded. The results will be available for to all to see at the conclusion of the consultation and used by ACSEF to decide whether or not to continue with this development.
Q Who is conducting the public consultation?
ACSEF has commissioned Weber Shandwick to deliver the public consultation. Weber Shandwick’s remit is to a deliver independent, robust and comprehensive public consultation.
Q A PR agency doing public consultation? How can this be independent?
Weber Shandwick has a specialism in delivering detailed public consultations for some of Scotland’s largest and most high profile development projects including Glasgow Airport Rail Links, Trams for Edinburgh and the £150 million redevelopment of the Bon-Accord Centre and have been contracted on behalf of ACSEF through Scottish Enterprise. They will ensure independent, transparent and robust consultation on the City Centre Project.
Q. Who is paying for this consultation?
Weber Shandwick is employed by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of ACSEF.
Q. Who is ACSEF?
Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF) brings together the public and private sectors to realise the ambition for the future of the Region and to shape delivery of economic development in Aberdeen City and Shire.
ACSEF is made up of the City and Shire Councils, Scottish Enterprise, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, Skills Development Scotland, VisitScotland and individuals from the private sector.
Q. What contribution do the private sector partners make to ACSEF?
Our private sector partners offer their time for free and provide finance on a project by project basis.
Q. Why does this consultation not include the Peacock proposal?
This consultation is specifically designed to obtain your feedback on the scheme ACSEF is championing. The PVA proposal can only be offered for consultation by PVA, besides which the scheme has already obtained full planning permission therefore further amendments to the design based upon the public’s feedback would not be possible.
Q. Where can I find out about the results of this consultation?
The results of the consultation will be published and widely available as soon as possible after the completion of the consultation process.
Q. Will my opinion count?
Of course. A comprehensive consultation report will be created and evaluated. This exercise is all about finding out what people want.
Q. If this goes ahead when will work start and finish?
If the people of Aberdeen support this project we will use the feedback gathered during the public consultation to assist in shaping a design brief which is likely to form the basis of a international design competition. The proposals would then have to be submitted for planning permission. It is difficult to produce a definite timeline yet, but we imagine that the development could be completed by the end of 2014.
