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Q&A guide as council paves the way for traffic-free Union Street and new Dons stadium at the beach

We help answer some of the questions on your mind following the big Aberdeen council meeting.

A monumental Aberdeen council meeting has now cleared the way for traffic to be banned from a large stretch of Union Street – and for a new Dons ground at the beach.

The debate has inflamed public opinion, with thousands of votes cast in our poll on the major changes.

And there were countless questions raised before, during and after the meeting about what this might mean for the Granite City.

So, where do we go from here?

What exactly was agreed during the Aberdeen council meeting?

There was just one vote – on a single £150 million package of improvements.

In the end, the city growth and resources committee backed plans to pedestrianise Union Street from Market Street to Bridge Street.

Alongside that, the old BHS building is now set for a £50m upgrade as the new Aberdeen Market.

Brighter days ahead? Councillors reckon the BHS revamp will revive the embattled city centre.

The authority will also progress plans to pedestrianise Schoolhill and Upperkirkgate between Harriet Street and Flourmill Lane.

And George Street, recently left wounded by the loss of John Lewis, will now be included in the masterplan.

An ambitious revamp of the beach was given the go-ahead too – including an eye-catching new pier, improvements to the Beach Ballroom and a series of new paths.

And most importantly of all, a new stadium for the Dons is part of those plans too. 

This design image shows the council’s vision for the city’s beach

What were the main arguments against pedestrianising Union Street?

Hussein Patwa, from the Aberdeen Disability Equity Partnership, criticised the council for a lack of talks with disabled people before rolling out the plans.

He said the proposals would make the area “a no-go zone for a significant majority of disabled people and others”.

The SNP group accused the council of using the controversial Spaces For People measures as a way of ushering in permanent pedestrianisation along the stretch currently sealed off.

And what was the winning counter argument?

The counter argument was that banning traffic from Union Street is desperately needed to breathe life into the stagnating city centre.

Council leader Jenny Laing said the £150m package was the “next step in the city’s journey”.

Finance convener Ryan Houghton added that the plans will “heal the city from the economic damage inflicted by Covid by breathing new life into our city centre”.

How the upgraded Beach Ballroom will look under the plans.

Was it a close vote?

Yes. It came down to four Conservative and Aberdeen Labour councillors against three SNP members and Liberal Democrat Ian Yuill.

Finance convener Ryan Houghton, as chairman, used his casting vote to seal the deal.

Marie Boulton, who sits on the administration as a member of the Independent Alliance group, declined to vote. More on that in a bit…

What about buses, why can’t they use this stretch of Union Street?

That proved a major source of contention in the meeting.

Those who voted against the plans cited the need for public transport to be able to reach the section of the city centre.

However, changes will now be made to give buses, taxis and private hires and bikes priority on Market Street, Bridge Street and Guild Street.

So WOULD the council lose the £20 million pledged by the UK Government if it didn’t plough ahead with the Union Street plans?

Last week we reported that councillors were faced with something of an ultimatum when it came to the £20m “levelling up” grant announced promised by the UK Government.

Essentially, if they didn’t vote to pedestrianise the Granite Mile then the money guaranteed for the market revamp may not make it into the local authority’s bank account.

A clear view of the city’s traffic-free stretch of Union Street from when Aberdeen was in local lockdown last summer.

SNP group leader Alex Nicoll dismissed this as a “scare story” as he argued for buses to return to the stretch to help shops prosper over Christmas.

Jenny Laing scoffed at the suggestion that the money could still be handed over, even if the council changes its plans on what to do with it.

Resources director Steve Whyte said voting against the Union Street proposal would mean “we would certainly have to notify the UK Government that the project we submitted was no longer going forward”.

OK, so when will these changes take place?

Granite City residents, never short of some advice for the council, will be able to have their say before any construction work happens.

Six months of consultation are due to take place at the start of 2022, while detailed plans are drawn up.

Business cases could then be ready by the end of next year.

But some work on the beach will start soon – such as resurfacing footways, replacing unsafe steps and corroded railings, installing new bins and improving accessibility.

The beach will soon be getting some much-needed TLC. Picture by Chris Sumner.

What’s the majority view?

Our reader poll carried out online last week suggested that people are broadly in favour of the ideas backed on Friday.

Nearly 700 folk took part, with 61% supporting the Union Street scheme and 67% saying they want a new Aberdeen FC stadium at the beach.

See the full results here.

What happened with the Dons stadium during the Aberdeen council meeting?

Plans to keep Aberdeen FC in the city inched closer to becoming a reality.

As a result of the crunch talks, the council will now explore the possibility of jointly funding the new facility along with the Dons.

Before the meeting, club chairman Dave Cormack hinted that he was a fan of the idea.

He praised the “scale and vision” behind the project, claiming the new stadium could be a “focal point” of the regeneration of the beach.

A business case will be prepared, but with Liberal Democrat leader Ian Yuill “totally opposed” to any council cash being spent on a new stadium there could be some rocky exchanges ahead…

Did the Lord Provost say something ill-advised and get into a spot of bother?

Barney Crockett was criticised for his remarks during the meeting.

Barney Crockett came a cropper at the meeting when he accused his rivals of using people with disabilities as a “human shield” to hide behind as they voted against pedestrianising Union Street.

The off-colour comment, made after Hussein delivered an eloquent argument surrounding concerns about accessibility, sparked some condemnation.

“He might choose to reflect upon that,” said a “disappointed” Ian Yuill.

Any other drama coming out of the Aberdeen council meeting?

Before the dust had settled, Marie Boulton quit her role as city centre masterplan chief.

Marie Boulton with author Stuart MacBride in happier times last month. Picture by Kath Flannery.

The Lower Deeside councillor said her position had become “untenable” after a perceived snub from her colleagues.

Her plea to allow buses back onto the central stretch of Union Street wasn’t seconded by any other councillor.

At around 9pm, she emailed Aberdeen Journals to announce she was stepping down. 

You can watch the meeting for yourself here.