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Granite City Futures - June 2011

Members of the Chamber regularly raise the issue of “the state of the city centre” and the “condition of Union Street” in particular as a key concern. When Chamber member Leo Koot of TAQA spoke about these matters in the Chamber Business Bulletin the story made front page news in November 2010. Like many other members of the Chamber, Leo wants to see improvements, and is prepared to give freely of his time to achieve these.

On June 14, the Chamber will launch “Genius Loci* – Granite City Futures” a collection of “independent visions of the future for Aberdeen city centre.” We challenged our members and partners to stop complaining about the problems, and start to identify the solutions - raise our game by thinking big; articulate our aspirations about what can be achieved; gather together ideas and insights; feed a debate on what we all want our city centre to be – because it is at the heart of the region. The future shape and scope of the city centre matters to every citizen and every enterprise in the region. So, the purpose of our initiative is to act as a catalyst to stimulate, help shape, accelerate and encourage investment within the City Centre in order to achieve those “visions” articulated which strike a chord and win support.

Aberdeen City Council has produced an Aberdeen City Centre Development Framework as part of its local development planning process, and we commend it to you. The spatial planning proposed in the Framework will go a long way to providing a strong foundation for developing a clear strategy for the city centre. Such a strategy or “Masterplan” will be the next important task, and we hope that this publication will stimulate a public debate to ensure that the strategy that is developed is widely owned. It needs to secure wide ownership to be delivered successfully. It needs to be your framework and your strategy to work.

You can view the full Framework at

www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=31760&sID=14394

The redevelopment of the city centre is also regarded as one of the seven strategic priorities in the Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF) strategy for the region, “Building on Energy”, which states:

“Aberdeen City Centre needs to be the vibrant heart of the region, the hub for all those that live, work and visit it, be that for business or pleasure”

By 2025, Aberdeen aims to develop as a globally competitive destination of choice for retail, leisure, environment and business with safety built in; a key business location, a retail centre, a major tourism destination, a historical and cultural centre, a leisure and entertainment centre, a key transport node, a place where people live and feel safe.”

You can view the ACSEF strategy and action plan at www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=2

The Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce wants to stimulate visionary thinking about our city centre, precisely because there is so much concern about it. Chamber members are responsible citizens, wanting to make a difference to their city – not just for local civic pride, but because all businesses know that a strong vibrant city, which is proud of its appearance and confident of its place in the world, is a strong economy too, providing sustainable prosperity and secure jobs.

You too can join the debate which is not limited to members of the Chamber.

Go to www.agcc.co.uk/cityfutures to share your ideas for your city, to comment on the views expressed by our contributors or to lend your support to a particular vision.

Copies of “Genius Loci* – Granite City Futures” will be available to all delegates at our Business Breakfast on June 15 at the Beach Ballroom. The theme is, unsurprisingly, the city centre and our speakers will cover the Development Framework; the Aberdeen BID which goes to vote in the summer; and visioning a new Granite City Future.

One final thought. Bear in mind that you can’t change for the better without change. So any vision of a better future is built on change. Things can’t stay the same indefinitely, so this initiative is not about preserving the city in aspic, but about re-discovering its genius loci and building new excellence on those strong foundations, to create a city centre that we can all be proud of.

*Genius Loci: Noun: the prevailing character or atmosphere of a place; the presiding god or spirit of a place

Origin: Latin, literally “spirit of the place”