Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Union Terrace Gardens lawn could finally be laid within weeks – six months after reopening

Work to finish the Union Terrace Gardens lawn could be completed this month - "weather permitting" - council chiefs say.

The sight of the bare mud in Union Terrace could soon be a thing of the past. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson.
The sight of the bare mud in Union Terrace could soon be a thing of the past. Image: Ben Hendry/DC Thomson.

Fingers are crossed for May sunshine as city chiefs hope the Union Terrace Gardens lawn could be turfed by the month’s end.

The council is still looking for a company to lay the grass in the much-loved Aberdeen park.

It reopened after a £30 million facelift in late December.

But top brass decided the bleak winter weather was no time to put down turf.

With thousands traipsing through the new-look gardens during the Spectra lights festival in February, they said they would wait until spring.

Project managers have been eager to blame the weatherman for the ongoing bareness of the Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) lawn.

Light at the end of tunnel for Union Terrace Gardens turfing

But there is now hope that late May sunshine could provide them with the opportunity to take another step towards the multi-million-pound revamp looking finished.

Resources director Steve Whyte revealed the "intention" is to have turf laid on the Union Terrace Gardens lawn by the end of May. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.
Resources director Steve Whyte revealed the “intention” is to have turf laid on the Union Terrace Gardens lawn by the end of May. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

Resources director Steve Whyte told councillors: “We are just concluding the procurement exercise, which I think concludes at the end of the week.

“And the intention is – weather permitting – to have the turf in Union Terrace Gardens down by the end of the month.”

Town House sources were relaxed about the looming procurement deadline, saying it’s usual practice for jobs to begin soon after an agreement is reached.

And while forecasters would recommend a kagoul on three of five working days next week, the tail end of May could well provide that opportunity.

BBC Weather predicts Sunday May 28 onwards will sunny and dry.

Before work began in 2019, the UTG lawn was a favourite for city centre sunseekers.

Update demanded on potential UTG tenants

Meanwhile, more information is to be made public on the leasing of the two unlet commercial properties built as part of the refurbishment.

Last week we reported that the council was still only in talks to find a tenant for the Burns Pavilion.

More than 400 days have passed since the deadline for notes of interest.

The Burns pavilion in Union Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen, remains empty. More than 400 days have passed since the deadline for notes of interest from would-be tenants. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.
The Burns pavilion in Union Terrace Gardens, Aberdeen, remains empty. More than 400 days have passed since the deadline for notes of interest from would-be tenants. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

And Bob Keiller previously revealed his Union Street taskforce was offering the city a “modest” rent to take on the largest premises.

The Granite Mile pavilion, next to the Edward VII statue, was envisaged as a restaurant.

But Mr Keiller has said the coalition working to revive the city’s high street would act as a placeholder in the meantime, moving out if a permanent tenant is found.

A third pavilion on Rosemount Viaduct is home to the Common Sense Coffee House and Bar, which opened in September.

Information needed due to ‘a lot of interest’ in Union Terrace Gardens refurb

Demand for more detail on the leasing talks is expected to be met in July.

George Street and Harbour councillor Sandra Macdonald said: “There has been a lot of interest on Union Terrace Gardens as we know, so getting into the public realm would be useful.”

The view down into Union Terrace Gardens from Rosemount Viaduct. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson.
The view down into Union Terrace Gardens from Rosemount Viaduct. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson.

Local authority chiefs have long said the pavilions are not to be relied upon to cover the £30m cost of the refurb.

But their use is hoped to better populate the gardens longer into the night, boosting safety.

Council chiefs are also to share information the opening times for the public toilets in the gardens, reinstated as part of the overhaul.

Conversation