Alex Drummond

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The World's Most Liveable City

Alex Drummond - Lloyds Banking Group, AGCC Premier Partner, AGCC Council Member

The Brief is to articulate my vision for Aberdeen City Centre – be bold and imaginative. And to describe just what the City Centre could be with excellence unleashed.  This is my own personal vision, for which I have chosen to push the boundaries of bold and imaginative.  The goal should be to make Aberdeen the world’s most liveable City

There are 2 main measurable indexes’ to show the World’s most liveable cities:
Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey is based on 39 criteria, including safety, education, hygiene, health care, culture, environment, recreation, political-economic stability and public transportation.

Lifestyle magazine Monocle also publishes an annual list of the top liveable cities. Important criteria in their nonscientific survey are safety/crime, international connectivity, climate/sunshine, quality of architecture, public transportation, tolerance, environmental issues and access to nature, urban design, business conditions, pro active policy developments and medical care.

‘Successful places have distinct identity’ According to the Scottish Government’s “Designing Places – A Policy Statement for Scotland”. The Policy also states that ‘successful places are safe, pleasant, easy to move around and welcoming to visitors.’

Successful places should also be seen as ‘sustainable and adaptable to changing circumstances in social, economic and environmental conditions, in other words dynamic’.

The Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan (2009) sets out its vision for a ‘successful and sustainable future’
The report recognises the importance of the completion of a City Centre masterplan, which should include pedestrianism of part of Union Street.

Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future’s Economic Manifesto, and Action Plan states that the City Centre must act as:

• A key business location - Union Plaza and new hotels would suggest maybe.
• Retail Centre - yes, thanks to Union Square which has slowed down the flow south of Aberdonians choosing Dundee and its pedestrianised City Centre as their preferred shopping option.
• Major tourist destination - no.
• Historical and cultural Centre - if you look hard enough.
• Leisure and entertainment - no, unless your idea of leisure and entertainment is boozing, night clubs, carry out food and fighting over taxis.
• Key transport mode - debatable.
• A place where people live and feel safe - in majority of cases, no.

With a need to tick more of the boxes and a reminder that the plan states that ‘The principal focus will be on the
enjoyment of the City Centre by the pedestrian, allowing and encouraging people to spend time in a vibrant urban environment’, there is much work to be done.

The plan also states that ‘The City Centre must capitalise on its unique character, welcome visitors and leave them with a lasting positive impression of a distinctive vibrant place with a clear and unique identity’

Aberdeen already has a solid platform in terms of lifestyle, accessibility to the countryside, amenities, wealth and confidence.  But looking at the City Centre, how would Aberdeen rate in some of the world most liveable City criteria, or more importantly how would Aberdonians perceive it to be?

• Safety/crime - reputation for drunken and rowdy behaviour at weekends.
• Hygiene - filthy at weekends due to drunken/rowdy behaviour.
• Culture - good reputation but those attending events at venues such as HMT or Music Hall travel to event; attend event and leave to avoid ‘trouble’.
• Environment - hostile due to weather and late night revellers.
• Recreation - nothing in City Centre.
• Climate/sunshine - climate does not support al fresco or café culture.
• Quality of architecture - some highlights but nothing to attract people into City.
• Urban design - blighted.
• And what does it have to attract visitors? - Golf-but not in the City
• Beaches - but not in the City
• Royal Deeside - but not in the City

Aberdeen has seen a number of new hotels opened recently to address needs of business travellers, and be accessible to tourism at weekends-but why would tourists visit Aberdeen City Centre?

Shopping may be one of the answers to that question, given the success of Union Square Shopping Development-a great addition to the City Centre, which shows the attraction of a safe, warm and modern environment with a mixture of retail and leisure in a family friendly environment.

However the reality (and danger) of Union Square is that a visitor can arrive by train, shop, go for dinner, catch a movie, stay over in a nice hotel, enjoy a long morning after lunch with the Sunday papers, then catch a train home-sounds like the ideal tourist and advocate for Aberdeen?  But they need never have set foot outside Union Square into Aberdeen City Centre, or have any feel for the City.

The visitor returns home not describing Aberdeen, but telling of a shopping Centre, which to be frank could be in any City.

And why should they come into the City Centre?  What is there to attract people out of their warm houses (or shopping Centre) into the cold, wet and dreich City Centre?

Look at Manchester-not really a Mediterranean climate, and a City that rains more than Aberdeen, or to be specific lets look at its indoor Printworks Centre in the Millennium quarter, one of the most popular parts of Manchester City Centre. Labelled ‘The Millennium Quarter’, following its rebuild after the 1996 IRA bomb destroyed many of the original buildings, it’s now an area full of pubs, bars, restaurants and designer stores.  The main attraction is The Printworks itself, a converted newspaper printers packed with large bars, massive night clubs, chain restaurants, a comedy club and a huge IMAX cinema. With over 150,000 revellers visiting the Printworks each week, it’s one of the most vibrant areas in Manchester.

I have happily strolled through the Printworks Area of Manchester with my 9 year old daughter, going for some casual food before taking her to an evening show. And whilst it was indoor, it felt vibrant, safe, and most importantly it felt like I was in Manchester.

Would I do that in Aberdeen City Centre?
No, I would take her to the show and leave immediately after it.

Could I do that in Aberdeen City Centre?
No, Aberdeen City Centre is not family friendly.

For the purposes of this paper I have made the assumption that Union Street Gardens will go ahead-but much of what might attract visitors to Union Street Gardens is also weather dependant.

The Clarkson Alliance states:

‘Local Authorities (LA’s) have a wide and diverse portfolio of services and as a result they are not specialists in the field of managing sports and leisure facilities. However, they have realised that the opportunity to improve the provision of those services lies with contracting out to leisure management companies. This has prompted local authorities to change their leisure departments into leisure trusts.

The immediate financial benefits to an authority doing this is that the charitable status of the trust means that it receives up to 80% relief on commercial rates, enabling it to operate leisure facilities at a lower cost than the LA.

There are various examples of what can be done:

Torbay

The authority wanted to improve its economic regeneration and development capaCity. The council used the well-being power to set up a public–private partnership, Torbay Development Agency Ltd, as a company limited by guarantee without share capital. This represented a fundamentally new approach for Torbay to address in an integrated way a variety of functions relating to tourism marketing and development, economic development and regeneration and the management and development of Torbay harbour and its three enclosed harbours.

There are already various examples in Scotland of what community led development trusts can do;
www.dtascot.org.uk/content/what-is-a-development-trust

Boyndie Trust

Established to serve the community of Boyndie and others along the Banffshire coast and inland to Turriff and Fyvie.

The Boyndie Trust vision is to ensure the broad-based regeneration of the area, including the employability and well-being of people who are disadvantaged in the labour market. The Trust owns and has converted a beautiful red-brick Victorian school building into a visitor Centre attracting 35,000 visitors a year. The Centre boasts a four star restaurant, gift shop, plant nursery, textiles workshop, joinery business and office space. Together these provide training opportunities for 70 people, many who have special needs, and paid employment for a further 30 people. Products from the textile and joinery workshops and plants from the nursery are sold at the Centre and under contract to local organisations

Out of The Blue Arts Trust-Leith

Out of the Blue was started by a group of individuals responding to the lack of production and performance space for artists. Now provides studio space for 100 artists; runs a multimedia arts Centre, events, projects, performance/club space, a cafe and exhibitions. Provide opportunities for people to be creative, for the sake of being creative but also as a valuable tool for individual and societal change.

Easdale Island Trust

Established in 1997 to carry out projects on the island of benefit to the community and with the long term aim of regeneration and sustainability for the island, the impetus for this coming from the desire to convert the old drill hall into a community facility when it’s most recent use as a fishing processing plant ceased.

The hall was converted into a multi- purpose community facility, which is now up and running and provides a Centre for community, educational, social and arts activities, with a full arts programme.

Easdale Trust also set up “The Easdale Island Trading Company Ltd.”, to raise funds for the Trust, purchase the harbour and some adjoining land, refurbish the harbour and improve its facilities and moorings for islanders and visitors. Consideration is being given to the erection of boat sheds and craft units on adjacent land.

Currently consulting and responding to the Lorn plan which proposes reclassifying areas previously designated as potential development areas on Easdale, one of which is an area owned by the Trust, and which are intertwined with a proposal to build a causeway to the Island.

While these ambitious projects were set up in remote areas, why can this not be done on a larger scale in an urban area such as Aberdeen City Centre?

Aberdeen City Centre requires much more than tinkering around the edges, it requires, and deserves bold, radical and life changing proposals.

Aberdeen City has 43 councillors. At most, the City Centre is made up of 4 seats-Queens Cross, Gilcomston, Langstane and Castlehill.  I propose that a separate ‘borough’ is set up for Aberdeen City Centre to incorporate only local councillors elected to the City Centre wards.

Local business groups such as Aberdeen City Centre Association, Licenced Trade Association and AGCC would then join with City ‘borough’ councillors to form a trust or Development Company with responsibility for
making Aberdeen City Centre a major tourist and leisure attraction.

To do so requires a major attraction:

Union Terrace Gardens on its own will be good for the City and provide a focal point to the City Centre.  But will it attract tourists and visitors?

The world’s one and only pedestrianised and weatherproofed City Centre would be that attraction.

My Proposal would be to pedestrianise the area between Bon Accord Street/Union Street Junction to Trinity Centre and to put a roof over this area to take it indoors and away from the Scottish weather.  As well as shops, bars and leisure, the open spaces would be used for performing arts, sculptures, Peacock Contemporary Arts Centre, and have open access to the new Union Street Gardens.  The project would be environmentally friendly by using the solar power and rainwater captured by the ‘roof’ to power the indoor City Centre.

The ‘Trust’ would take responsibility for Aberdeen City Centre and the indoor City Centre project would give Aberdeen its unique identity.

These bold and radical proposals would, in line with Scottish Government Policy, make the City Centre safe, pleasant, welcoming and easy to move around.

It would be:
• sustainable
• unique
• dynamic

It would be a major tourist attraction, transform the City Centre and make Aberdeen one of the world’s top cities to live.

It would give Aberdonians a City Centre to be proud of, and create a distinct and unique ‘genius loci’.

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