Work has started on the Castlegate improvements and continues on others which are part of the £150million commitment by Aberdeen City Council towards the City Centre and Beach Master Plan (CCBMP).
The Council’s Finance and Resources Committee agreed today (Weds 13 May 2026) to updates on the current CCBMP projects including the new market building, Union Street Central, and the new beach park. The projects are designed to create vibrant and accessible areas to help make the city a destination of choice for the benefit of residents, visitors, and businesses.
Committee convener Councillor Alex McLellan said: “These projects represent a huge transformation of our city centre and beachfront to ensure Aberdeen remains a place people want to live, work, raise a family or do business.”
“The works at the beachfront are creating a real sense of excitement - and I very much look forward to seeing it finished later this year.”
Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “Like everyone else, I want to see the work on these projects completed as soon as possible. The contractors are working hard to achieve that.”
For the Castlegate, the vision is to re-establish the area as a central civic location, providing a high-quality space creating a destination and encouraging sustainable economic activity while providing an important gateway to the beach. Site activity started in March (2026) and works include diverting or accommodating utilities. The report to committee said despite steps taken to mitigate the risks during the pre-construction design and procurement phase, the utility works continue to pose significant risk to the programme.
With the exception of BT Openreach, all of the known utility providers have provided quotations and programmes for their works which have been accepted and co-ordinated with the master construction programme which will help manage risks. BT Openreach has so far been unable to commit to a start date and programme of work.
For the new market building, the report said the completion of the base build is programmed for spring 2027 with further fit out works expected to be complete in summer 2027 with further operator led installations likely to achieve an opening in early autumn 2027.
Works are progressing on programme with statutory approvals in place for the base build works.
The report to committee said for the Union Street Central streetscape project, which will provide enhanced public realm from Union Terrace to Market Street, there has been additional work required to deal with the removal of undocumented and redundant utilities and the complex vaulted structures since work on the site started.
Given current measures taken to mitigate issues and delay, current programme estimates indicate completion in late summer 2026. There are a number of risks still present within the planned works, which if realised, may extend the works into early autumn 2026.
For the beach park, the report said it will provide a significantly sized outdoor destination within the unique beachfront context. The core play park is part of the wider landscape masterplan and importantly facilitates connections back to the city centre. It will also have the events park of 2.5 hectares which is intended as a flexible space capable of holding events including festivals, larger concerts, and gatherings. The events park will have the capacity to host 11,000 people for outdoor events.
Works are on programme to date with above ground works now progressing across the vast majority of the site. Progress over the next three months will consider the internal fit out of all buildings, soft and hard landscaping, play equipment installation and progression of the internal fit out of the play structure.