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support grows for the garden project

Sir Ian Wood's bold plan to create a new green beating heart for Aberdeen city centre by raising Union Terrace Gardens has won the backing of ACSEF, the public private partnership driving prosperity forward in the North-east.

Sir Ian has pledged £50m of his personal fortune to help create a visionary street level square - a cross between a grand Italian piazza and a mini-Central Park - above the under-utilised Union Terrace Gardens.

Some years ago a Scottish Enterprise survey revealed the graveyard of St Nicholas Church, where in the summer office workers enjoy picnic lunches sitting on the commemorative stones of generations past, is perceived as the "centre" of Aberdeen.

Sir Ian wants to create a hub, a focal point for future generations, which will draw together the retail and cultural aspects of the city.

Significant public and private funding is vital to make it viable and he hopes his contribution will be the catalyst to attracting the funding for the "North Sea oil-led transformational development."

Talks are under way with Peacock Visual Arts, which has planning permission for a £13.5m contemporary arts centre in Union Terrace Gardens, to try to ensure that it goes ahead as part of the development.

Tom Smith chairman of ACSEF (Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future) said: "Sir Ian Wood has kick-started an exciting project which could transform our city centre. However, it should no longer be viewed as ‘Sir Ian's' project but as part of a joined-up approach towards redeveloping our city centre which is a key priority in ACSEF's action plan.

"Union Terrace Gardens and the surrounding area have been the subject of debate and detailed feasibility studies as well as fund-raising projects on at least three occasions in the past but have failed due to lack of funding or inability to secure funding. With Sir Ian's commitment we have a significant base from which to successfully apply to a variety of local and central funding sources."

Scottish Enterprise, which is one of ACSEF's partners, has launched an invitation to tender for the feasibility study and will commission a team of consultants to provide a technical appraisal to outline costs for three main options to develop Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley.

Mr Smith added: "This invitation to tender signals the first steps and once we have a technical appraisal, we can examine the costs and start to put detail on the project so that people can visualise it and fully understand the scope of the benefits it could derive.

"There are already some misconceptions about the project, chiefly the fact that this is not about creating a concrete square. It is about a new green open space, designed and landscaped with greenery, trees and water features with the only built aspects being sculptures and the Peacock building. We want to create a cultural destination for leisure and recreational use with space for concerts, street theatre, ice-skating in winter and other seasonal displays that will be the envy of other cities and significantly differentiating our city to put us on the ‘must visit' list.

"Equally it is about joining up the city in a way that connects the currently disparate retail hubs and cultural heritage sites, using the new space to be created by the elevation of Union Terrace Gardens and the covering of the dual carriageway and railway for retail and commercial use as well as a new transport inter-change that brings people right into the heart of the city from the train and bus stations."