A glimmer of hope has emerged in the campaign to protect an Aberdeen park from industrial development.
St Fittick’s Park has been earmarked for the city’s energy transition zone, at the mouth of the new £400 million south harbour.
But The Press and Journal can exclusively reveal Labour will take an 11th-hour run at halting the lease of Torry’s cherished green space.
They also want to place stringent conditions on any terms for the Doonies Rare Breeds Farm site so it can’t be leased out below market rates.
ETZ Ltd, the non-profit pushing development, claims millions of pounds in investment would be at risk if the rug were pulled from underneath them.
Talks with a number of companies are already at an “advanced stage”, they have revealed – even before planning permission has been granted.
Claims: ‘St Fittick’s Park might be the most profitable site… but it’s not the only one’
Labour was running the council when the much-protested proposals were included in the draft local development plan in March 2020.
Despite fierce local opposition, warnings of the impact on health, a council election and a change of political leadership since, the site was confirmed in the final local development plan last December.
Now, the SNP – led by Torry and Ferryhill councillor Christian Allard – and the Liberal Democrats are in joint administration.
And, it’s Labour who are leading the last-dash charge to save St Fittick’s from development.
The party’s Torry and Ferryhill councillor Simon Watson told The P&J: “Labour supports the principle of an ETZ.
“When we voted through the local development plan we did so on the knowledge that planning and policy are two separate matters.
“We don’t just need a transition to a green economy, we need it to be a just transition for the people of Torry.
“It might be the most profitable site but it is not the only one. We have never been told any credible information on potential investment.”
Mr Watson highlighted land near the harbour, at Doonies, on the Altens industrial estate and specifically at the former Shell headquarters off Wellington Road as alternatives.
We recently visited Doonies ahead of its closure – you can read that here.
St Fittick’s Park marked for ETZ development – Labour claims that doesn’t matter
His group, the largest in opposition, will argue the council should not lease ETZ Ltd – the brainchild of oil and gas industry veteran Sir Ian Wood – the land at St Fittick’s.
Its future is set to be debated at a council meeting on September 11.
Labour argues the industrial zone can still go ahead without developing St Fittick’s.
And they say recent precedent has been set at Newhills – where the SNP declared there would be no housebuilding, despite Greenferns Landward being earmarked for homes.
They will call on councillors to begin formal dialogue with ETZ Ltd and Port of Aberdeen on the future of an energy transition zone without St Fittick’s at its centre.
And it looks like they will have the support of at least one Conservative councillor too.
Tory Torry and Ferryhill member Michael Kusznir said: “While the ETZ is good for our city, building on the largest park in Torry is unwanted and unwarranted.
“Locals need to be listened to and the St Fittick’s Park site removed from the ETZ.
“Any community benefit package must run parallel with the ETZ and will never make up for such a substantial loss of green space.”
Quayside access for the Aberdeen ETZ is key, bosses say
But, with designs on a third of the park for quayside access, bosses at ETZ Ltd say otherwise.
Its location near the new harbour is vital to securing work in offshore wind, they claim.
There are hopes thousands of north-east jobs will be secured by establishing the ETZ as the Aberdeen economy moves past reliance on oil and gas.
Industry chiefs and government figures alike promise new work in burgeoning industries like floating wind and hydrogen if it goes ahead.
Chief executive of ETZ Ltd Maggie McGinlay told The P&J: “While we fully appreciate concerns about utilising any of the land at St Fittick’s, the ability to connect land with port assets, and transport large components to and from quayside, is a fundamental requirement so we can catalyse the further investment required to ensure Aberdeen is positioned to capitalise on the vast opportunities provided by green energies, particularly offshore wind.
“Indeed, we are in advanced discussions with a number of companies keen, subject to planning, to locate on the site for these very reasons.
“We urge councillors, who have previously backed the local development plan of which the council allocated land at St Fittick’s was included, to consider carefully the loss of millions of pounds of investment and hundreds of jobs that not developing this land would entail.”
Aberdeen Labour’s late St Fittick’s Park promise… a ‘cheap political stunt’?
Ms McGinlay highlighted the “extensive” community engagement on the plans, adding she “recognises the strength of sentiment”.
ETZ Ltd has promised to expand the East Tullos Burn, to invest in the celebrated wetlands and build a boardwalk there.
Ms McGinlay also told us of “extensive dialogue” with councillors, it is understood including Watson and Kusznir, that has been ongoing since plans emerged.
One Torry and Ferryhill councillor who seems unlikely to back up his Labour and Conservative colleagues is SNP council co-leader Christian Allard.
He said: “In March 2020, Labour and Conservative councillors made the decision to earmark this land for the development of the energy transition zone.
“The people of Aberdeen will see this announcement for what it is – a cheap political stunt.”
