Completed Feasibility Study into New City Centre Heart for Aberdeen City and Shire Unveiled

"Aberdeen Now Has Potential to Become a World Energy City" - Sir Ian Wood

The completed feasibility report into a radical transformation of Aberdeen's city centre, unveiled today, has been welcome by Sir Ian Wood who is prepared to pledge £50 million towards the project.

He said: "The report and images unveiled today present us with a real opportunity to become a world energy city. We need an exciting, vibrant city centre that captures and truly reflects the success, enterprise and energy of our people and our businesses if we are to anchor our existing international oil and gas community for the long-term, encourage new inward investment and attract people from all over the world.

"Our city centre should be a showcase for our region, offering something special and unique that allows us to compete with other world energy cities. This project has the potential to make us the Houston of the Eastern Hemisphere and is therefore of national as well as regional significance.

"We have a real chance of making this happen and I believe we need to do it now before it is too late."

The First Minister also welcomed the report. Alex Salmond, said: "I welcome the findings of the feasibility study and the progress made on the project. In difficult economic times it is even more important that we deliver on bold ideas and invest in infrastructure and I support the leadership of ACSEF and Sir Ian Wood in driving this project forward through to the next phase of public consultation."

After studying the completed study, the board of ACSEF (Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future) has unanimously agreed that the project should be progressed to the next stage.

This next stage will involve extensive consultation with the community on what they would like to see in the new city centre square and further work to determine the full feasibility of the project, including infrastructure around transport and potential funding sources.

The interim report into the technical feasibility study to elevate Union Terrace Gardens and cover the Denburn dual carriageway to create a city centre square already revealed that the project is technically and financially viable.

The team of consultants, led by Halliday Fraser Munro, has developed more detailed studies of the three options; a full raised level covering the existing gardens, the railway and dual carriageway that creates eight acres of civic space in the heart of Aberdeen, a partial raised level and finally the enhancement of the existing gardens to improve their accessibility. All the schemes incorporate a Contemporary Arts Centre.

Each option has been appraised against three main criteria of technical deliverability, planning and environmental issues and economic impact.

The ACSEF board gave the go-ahead for options one and two on the basis of the substantial economic benefits to be accrued and the fact that the project would make the city centre safer, better connected and more attractive, restoring a sense of civic pride.

This next stage will be delivered by December 2009, when a decision will be taken to proceed to detailed design if the project has gained widespread public support and a robust funding model is in place.

Indications at this stage are that the costs would be between £110 million to £140 million for the raised gardens and full covering over of the Denburn dual carriageway, opening up an area of five and a half acres within the city right to the back of Belmont Street and a two and a half acre all-weather concourse on the lower level.

Commenting on ACSEF's decision, chairman, Tom Smith, said: "There are huge challenges in taking such an ambitious project forward. It is technically feasible and the cost estimates are in the range originally envisaged but it will still require vision and determination by ACSEF and its partners but also the citizens of Aberdeen City and Shire.

"This presents a radical re-design and re-structure of our city centre, not seen since the construction of Union Bridge and the Denburn Viaduct over 200 years ago. It provides a tantalising prize for us socially and economically and we must work together to win it.

"One of the key attractions for me is bringing the city centre into the sunlight. At the moment the gardens are in a North facing chasm. The elevation and covering of the Denburn would allow the back of Belmont Street, which gets the most of the day's sun, to be opened up, potentially creating a vibrant and cosmopolitan café culture as enjoyed by many cities in the UK and Europe."

John Halliday, chief executive of Halliday Fraser Munro, commented: "The overriding message from our report is that the area containing Union Terrace Gardens is capable of revitalising the city centre and creating a vibrant heart for Aberdeen and the region. It can provide a major civic space, accessible to all. It can connect many dislocated areas of the city centre such as the station, cultural, retail and business quarters. Furthermore it has the potential of creating a "destination" which will attract people from a national and international audience."

The initial plans will shortly be shared with the whole community so that people can start to imagine how it would look and can participate in shaping the final project.

This consultation process will be led by The Lighthouse, Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City. As Scotland's leading body for the promotion of architecture, design and the creative industries locally, nationally and internationally, The Lighthouse will engage with people of all ages in the community through a proven methodology including public design workshops and exhibitions and a schools project.

As the public private partnership bringing together all the players in economic development in the region, ACSEF is providing the leadership to drive this project forward.