Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Terrace Gardens labelled the ‘forgotten park’ due to rubbish and graffiti

By Lauren Taylor

February 28 2023, 6:08 pm

Local resident, Colin Gardiner, has said the park was "once magnificent" but now points out that it is left covered in "mud, rubbish, broken bins and graffiti". Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson

The once magnificent Bon Accord Terrace Gardens has been labelled as the “forgotten park” by a concerned resident.

Right in the heart of the city centre, Bon Accord Terrace Gardens is a busy thoroughfare between Union Street and Ferryhill.

The green space is popular with dog walkers, joggers and nearby residents who enjoy picnicking or sunbathing in the open area in warmer weather.

However, some locals are worried that the garden has been forgotten by Aberdeen City Council following the £30 million revamp of Union Terrace Gardens and the “immaculate” Duthie Park.

The walls have been covered in graffiti, meanwhile, traffic cones and rubbish can be seen strewn across the grass. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

The park is littered with rubbish, including shopping trolleys and traffic cones, as well as graffiti covering the walls of the garden.

The ground has been “chewed” up by transit vans driving on the grass to empty bins and from leaves that have fallen from the towering trees and left on the ground.

‘It was once magnificent’

Colin Gardiner has lived in the area for 22 years and walks his dog Nusa through the gardens every afternoon.

The 55-year-old has been left feeling dismayed about the basic maintenance of the council-run garden explaining it wasn’t always this way.

Mr Gardiner with his dog Nusa in the gardens. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson.

“It was once a magnificent small park,” he recalled. “But now it is covered in leaves, mud, rubbish, broken bins, and graffiti.

“It’s just not maintained to the same standard that the other parks in Aberdeen are, it feels like the forgotten park.

“I have written to the council on two occasions about clearing mud off the paths and been told nothing will be done until spring, but by then it will be too late.”

Mr Gardiner, an oil and gas engineer, said he was concerned about areas where there was no lights.

Although some of the paths are well-lit he says that the lighting on the lower paths is “non-existent”.

Mr Gardiner believes something should be done to stop rubbish being dumped behind the fencing of the old terraced area. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson

He said: “There’s a lot of flats around here and people who don’t have their own garden so they come to the park to get their own space, and just lie down in the grass and picnic in the summer.

“It’s amazing how busy it is in the summer, but I would say you’re taking a risk because the grass is normally six to eight inches long.

“It just seems a shame, it wouldn’t take much to make the park look a lot nicer – just basic maintenance of grass and leaves.

“Why is this park not being looked after to the same standard almost every other park is in Aberdeen considering it’s in the heart of the city in a very residential area?”

Council still finishing winter work

However, Aberdeen City Council has stressed that a “full spring clean” of Bon Accord Terrace Gardens is still to take place after the winter.

The council team also takes regular walks to check the grounds.

The garden is popular with walkers and joggers and is used as a thoroughfare. Image: Darrell Benns/DC Thomson

A spokeswoman said: “We are still finishing off our winter work in our parks and green spaces so a full spring clean of the gardens is still to be completed.

“Our grass-cutting programme had not started for the season yet.

“Our grounds team also have regular walks round the park as an additional check.”