Plans for a new pedestrian zone in the heart of Aberdeen were thrown into doubt this evening after a council roads expert warned of “gridlock” and some of the city’s biggest retailers moved to scrap the idea.
Broad Street would be closed off to traffic as part of a proposed £107million redevelopment of the former local authority headquarters at St Nicholas House.
At a public hearing into the Marischal Square scheme yesterday, one of the council’s top roads officers admitted shutting the street before the city bypass opens would cause major problems on surrounding routes.
Bosses of the Bon Accord and St Nicholas shopping centres, backed by its largest store John Lewis, claimed the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route alone would not solve the problem.
Owners of the malls are seeking urgent talks with council staff and Muse Developments, the company behind the scheme.
The plans also came under fire from Aberdeen Civic Society, who said the proposed office, hotel and retail scheme was “too big, too boxy” and would “overpower” surrounding A-listed architectural gems Marischal College and Provost Skene’s House.
Community council leaders and other residents who made presentations at the hearing were also critical of the application, with some arguing that it should be referred to the Scottish Government as the city council faced a “conflict of interest”.
Muse insisted, however, that the scheme was “good news” for the city and would offer much-needed top class hotel and office space as well as more high end bars and restaurants. Regional director for Scotland Steve Turner said the project could potentially create 1,500 jobs on top of 300 posts during the construction phase.