Aberdeen residents whose homes will soon be torn down to ease congestion at a notorious roundabout have narrowly backed plans to replace the buildings with only shops and greenery.
The housing estate at Haudagain is being bulldozed as part of a £30million ploy to ensure a smoother flow of traffic at the bottleneck.
The council has now published the results of a survey of people who will be affected by the demolition work on the Middlefield Triangle.
But the statistics have been labelled “inconclusive” after only 131 responded, despite 2,800 homes being told about the research.
Locals were asked whether they would like the patch of land to ultimately feature 72 one-bedroom flats along with greenery and shops, or if they would prefer it without any housing element.
In a tight vote, 52% of those polled said that they wanted the latter.
Aberdeen City Council’s communities, housing and infrastructure committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the findings.
Elected members are being urged to progress matters by investigating businesses’ interest in the site with a “market testing exercise”.
After the level of interest has been determined, there will be another report compiled in time for January.
Officers also believe the site could be ideal for “incubator” buildings designed to nurture new businesses, and for new nursery or childcare centres.
But a report for members describes the public consultation results as “inconclusive”.
Despite 2,800 homes being leafleted about a gathering at the Manor Park Community Centre in May, only 131 people turned up to be surveyed – with 63 in favour of including housing and 68 against.
The report adds: “This is considered as being
inconclusive, so our recommendation is that market testing the site against both options would be useful.”
The development of the triangle where the A90 and A96 roads intersect has been described as key to breathing new life into Middlefield.
Papers describe the area as a “priority neighbourhood” when it comes to regeneration.
The council agreed to form a business plan for the area in January.
Local authority leaders have already asked the government to pledge cash towards revamping the Middlefield Triangle.
Ministers said they were “open to discussion, once Aberdeen City Council shares a concrete plan for this area and the area’s residents”.
Last year, the local authority agreed to rehome 79 tenants living in Logie Avenue, Logie Gardens, Logie Place and North Anderson Drive.