Aberdeen City Council is preparing to go out to tender for work to regenerate Union Terrace Gardens (UTG).
The flagship City Centre Masterplan project will transform the Victorian gardens into a usable and inclusive space by improving access, amenity and activity.
The renovation work will include landscaping and new lighting, pavilions on Union Street, Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct, and the refurbishment of the Union Terrace arches.
Balustrades round the park would be strengthened and a new safety barrier installed on Union Bridge.
Potential contractors have been invited to attend an event at the Town House on Thursday (June 14) to learn more about the project ahead of a tender being published.
The move follows the grant of a petition by the Court of Session allowing the Council to use land for the building of the pavilions.
Councillor Marie Boulton, lead on the City Centre Masterplan, said: “The Masterplan vision respects UTG’s heritage while transforming it into a 21st Century green space.
“It’s tremendously exciting to have a reached the point where we can share detailed plans with potential contractors.
“We are now very close to seeing work start on the ground and transforming Aberdeen’s heart in line with the wishes of the community.”
Bids for the work will be brought back to the Council for consideration and construction is expected to start before the end of the year.
Award-winning consultancy LDA Design was appointed in autumn 2016 to develop plans based on the Masterplan vision. Feedback gathered during a public engagement exercise in December 2016 helped inform the detailed design.
Features of the scheme include:
- New accessible walkway route into the gardens from Union Street
- Lift access from Union Terrace into the upper level of the gardens through a new entrance building on Union Terrace at the existing Burns Monument
- Improved disabled parking facilities on Union Terrace directly adjacent to the new accessible walkway routes into the gardens
- Retaining the central lawn space as a flexible space for large scale gathering and events, and a new entrance opposite His Majesty’s Theatre to accommodate smaller scale events
- Reinstating the ‘grand staircase’ as a central part of the new accessible route into the gardens from Rosemount Viaduct
The project was granted detailed planning in March this year.