The design firm behind London’s Olympic Park has been drafted in to drive forward the £17million revamp of Aberdeen’s historic Union Terrace Gardens.
Council chiefs hope Glasgow-based LDA Design – which has previously worked on multi-million park projects across the world – will help deliver a gold for their ambitious masterplan vision for the sunken gardens.
The firm has been involved in more than 50 park restorations, including the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London and Gorky Park in Moscow, and has received more than 90 awards.
Earlier this year, it was revealed the council had earmarked up to £17million to spruce up Union Terrace Gardens. Shops and galleries could be fitted into the arches, and a bridge spanning the gardens from Belmont Street to Union Terrace built.
An amphitheatre for public events could also be installed, and the toilets turned into a lift.
Renovation of the Victorian gardens is a key priority for the council’s ambitious 25-year masterplan, which was agreed unanimously last year.
Money for the design work will come from a £2million pot agreed by the finance, resources and policy committee to cover a number of masterplan initiatives, including Golden Square, a new public realm space on Schoolhill and Operation Union Street Rejuvenation.
LDA Design have already impressed planners in the north-east, having assisted with the landscape framework and concept design for the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre at Bucksburn.
And it landed the Union Terrace Garden project after submitting pictures, including this mood image of the arches lit up by fairy lights, as part of their bid. Work on the drawing up of detailed proposals will now take place.
Project director Kirstin Taylor said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded a project of such national and international significance.
“The city centre masterplan provides a powerful vision to set Aberdeen apart on the global stage and the gardens have a huge part to play. The masterplan attracted lots of positive local engagement which we want to harness. We see the community’s ongoing participation as key to the gardens’ success.
“Union Terrace Gardens have great beauty and charm, and can be revitalised in a way that completely respects and enhances their 19th century heritage. They can offer traditional park enjoyment alongside new ideas and uses, and LDA Design is experienced in securing this kind of careful balance.”
Council leader Jenny Laing said the firm had been chosen after a “rigorous selection procedure”.
She said: “We are delighted to announce that LDA Design has been chosen as the consultant to draw up detailed proposals for Union Terrace Gardens, being taken forward under the city centre masterplan.
“LDA Design has a world-class reputation as the team behind high quality, iconic projects that demonstrate both innovation and respect for heritage.
“LDA Design faced fierce competition from nearly a dozen leading firms during a rigorous selection procedure for UTG – evidence of a desire from the country’s leading design practitioners to be part of the Aberdeen city centre masterplan programme.”
Ms Laing the firm would be working closely with the public and other stakeholders while drawing up the detailed proposals.
“Together, we can secure UTG’s position as the city centre’s green jewel,” she added.
Deputy council leader Marie Boulton, who is leading the 25-year masterplan, said she was looking forward to seeing the “very best” of the park once more.
She said: “We have a wonderful blueprint to work from in the form of the city centre masterplan, which contains a number of ideas for improving access, amenity and activity while showcasing the very best characteristics of this Victorian park.
“The city centre masterplan has cross-party political support and the backing of residents and the business community, and the focus now is on making that spectacular vision a reality.”
Last night, a council spokesman stressed that £17million had been set aside for the project, it would not necessarily all be spent.
A public engagement exercise to gather feedback on proposals is expected to take place towards the end of this year, before detailed plans go before the council in early 2017. If approved, work on the refurbishment – which could take one or two years – would start in the autumn.
Union Terrace Gardens has been a political battlefield since 2008, when north-east oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood pledged £50million to build a street-level city square.
His five-acre vision would have covered the gardens, the Denburn dual carriageway and the railway line while opening up new public space to breathe life back into the city centre – at an estimated cost of £140million.
But Sir Ian’s ambitious plans ultimately ended Peacock Visual Arts’ hopes of building a £13million contemporary arts centre in the sunken Victorian park – despite having been granted planning permission and being just about ready to start construction.
The issue split the city, and eventually a two-month consultation was held – with 54% against Sir Ian’s plans and 43% in favour.
He told councillors to back his scheme, or lose the £50million offer, with many business bodies warning Aberdeen’s reputation would be damaged forever if city leaders said no to the donation.
The authority agreed, and in May 2010 a decision was taken to back Sir Ian’s proposal and reject the Peacock plan.
Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef) announced it was holding an international design contest, and changed the name of the scheme to the City Garden Project in an attempt to make it more attractive to those who feared it would become a “concrete jungle”.
In January 2012, the Granite Web – featuring a cultural arts centre and two public plazas – was selected as the preferred design, which was backed in a public referendum, with 45,301 votes for and 41,175 against.
But two months later in the May 2012 local government elections, Labour – who had vowed to scrap the City Garden Project if elected – became the largest party in Aberdeen. f
In August 2012, councillors on the new Labour-led council voted 22 to 20 to reject the project, and in December 2013 Sir Ian walked away from the development, with his £50 million offer rescinded.
In the years since, there has been continued debate over the future of Union Terrace Gardens, and last year a fresh row erupted after images of drug users injecting themselves in tents close to the site emerged.
And earlier this year, a young woman was raped in the gardens. Last week, Crimestoppers offered a £5,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction for the offence, which happened on January 28.
The incidents added fuel to calls for the gardens to finally be regenerated, and brought back to life.