Aberdeen city centre traders have joined forces in one last display of people power as the hours tick down on a major decision that could make or break their futures.
On Wednesday, councillors will vote on making the Aberdeen city centre bus gates installed on Guild Street, Market Street and Bridge Street permanent.
Traders claim that, in the 10 months they have been in place, shoppers have shunned the area for fear of being fined.
A perception has spread that the city is “closed for business” and many cherished outlets have been left fighting to survive.
Even shops in the west end, and on George Street, have reported a decline – and all link it to the traffic changes.
Amid increasing complaints about the impact, the Press and Journal sat down with local leaders and business owners to hammer out an alternate set of proposals.
Our Common Sense Compromise asks the council to instead:
- Keep the Guild Street bus gates, along with restrictions on Schoolhill and Upperkirkgate
- Remove the bus gates at the Adelphi and Market Street, allowing access in both directions through Market Street
- Remove the bus gates on Bridge Street, allowing full access in both directions
- Remove the right turn ban on Union Terrace
- Issue a warning rather than a fine to first offenders
- Use fines to help city-centre businesses via transport initiatives
These proposals have been backed by around 8,000 people within less than a week.
Gathering for one final push, we heard from the boss of the Ibis Hotel about trade dropping off a cliff since the changes were made.
The owner of Gamola Golf, on Market Street, revealed similar concerns.
Meanwhile, an SNP MSP who is married to one of the councillors charged with voting on making them permanent has urged her Nationalist colleagues at a local level to “engage with the campaigners and deliver a solution that we can all get behind”.
Who is behind the final push for Common Sense Compromise on Aberdeen bus gates?
The owner of Schoolhill’s Style For Your Shape clothes shop Victoria Mutch helped come up with the Common Sense Compromise.
Victoria was among those who gathered for a show of solidarity on Monday evening.
She said the turnout, representing about 30 city centre traders, showed “the power behind this message”.
“It’s actually been really overwhelming to see the support”, she added.
Who attended to issue 11th hour Aberdeen bus gate plea?
Well-known Union Street stores like Michies Pharmacy, Poundland and HMV turned out to show their support.
Traders from the west end like Copper and Grey and Hamish Munro joined too, alongside representatives from Shiprow Village, the Craftsman and various Trinity Centre shops.
Dominique Dawson from Finnie’s the Jeweller is another leading light in the campaign for change.
She says the thousands of people backing the petition show that “it’s not just businesses, it’s also the public getting involved”.
Dominique added: “I think the last week has raised so much awareness. So many people thought they couldn’t speak out before.
“I think it has pulled everyone together, realising they do have a voice.”
‘Let’s lift the stigma surrounding the city centre’
Meanwhile, the owner of Market Street’s Gamola Golf says his 12-year-old business has “definitely seen a fall in footfall”.
Graeme Masteron, 39, said: “It’s ludicrous that that they have something like this that is driving people away from the city centre, and they are not doing anything about it.
“As a business at the heart of the city, we are directly affected by it.
“And we are routinely asked by customers about how to navigate the roads around our shop.
“We’ve definitely seen in footfall, because people are hesitant to come into the city centre as a whole.
“What I want and hope for is for the area to be made more accessible – that’s the end goal so we can finally lift that stigma surrounding the city centre.”
Ibis Hotel owner reveals dismay at bus gates in Aberdeen
Franklin Martins, 37, has been the general manager of Ibis Hotel since August last year – just when the bus gates were introduced.
He told us numbers from last year have dropped significantly, as well as daily rates – in 2023, these stood at £70 per day, and now they have dropped to £39 per day.
While all of their other UK hotels are doing well, it’s just the Aberdeen one that is falling behind – and he reckons it’s due to the trouble in accessing it by car.
‘We have seen the real impact’
Franklin told us: “I knew it [the bus gates] was going to impact us, but at the start I was trying to be positive about it.
“But now we’ve seen the real impact of the bus gates all across our business – from the gym in the hotels, to numbers of customers, daily rates, and reviews of our hotel as a whole.
“The most frustrating thing is the negativity that has come to surround our hotel for no fault of our own – with so many people leaving comments online about how difficult it is to get to us, or how they’ve got a fine coming here, etc.”
‘We have come to struggle, coming to scrambling for little profit…’
He added: “All of this, if anything, ruins our reputation, and top of that discourages people from booking with us.”
“We have come to struggle now, scrambling for the little profit we could get each day.
“The ultimate goal is for them to realise that this is a city that is already struggling, and the bus gates are just making it worse.
“Let’s take everything bit by bit, and strike a good balance with all these big projects. The voice of the people should be heard, they need to listen.”
Esteemed jeweller weighs in
As dozens of shopworkers, owners and business leaders gathered for a show of strength on Bridge Street, one passerby was moved to back our online petition.
Hitham Hamada added his name to thousands already on board.
Some of the city’s best-known brands have also backed the initiative.
Christopher Carry, a partner at Union Street institution Jamieson and Carry, has also backed our campaign.
He said: “The bus gates have had a significant impact on footfall affecting so many businesses in what are already challenging times.
“We feel the current measures go too far, and need to change to protect our city centre businesses.
“We believe the proposed changes as part of the Common Sense Compromise will help to improve confidence in travelling to the city centre.”
Aberdeen bus gates ‘cut off routes to Trinity Centre’
And Kenny Bruce, the centre unit manager at the adjacent Trinity Centre lamented the “additional burden” placed on firms – about a year after a new owner turned the struggling mall around.
He said: “About 65% of access routes have been cut off from various directions to the centre and we are feeling the effects of that, especially when our car parks are only accessible from certain areas without having to add journey time on.
“Where there is a trial period we have to listen to the businesses in the community and the customers who want to live, shop and use the city centre.
“We want to work collaboratively. We all want to have a better city centre for everybody, but we have to work together.”
SNP politician calls on council stablemates to listen to campaigners
Away from the gathering in the city centre, Aberdeen South and North Kincardine MSP Audrey Nicoll entered the debate.
Her words could give campaigners some cause for optimism.
The SNP politician, whose husband Alex is a senior figure in the council’s SNP group, asked for local authority leaders to “openly engage” with businesses to “find acceptable options that work for the benefit of everyone”.
She added: “The issues raised by the campaign group Common Sense Compromise are a welcome starting point.
“I would call on council leaders to engage with the campaigners and deliver a solution that we can all get behind.”
‘The message is quite clear’ on Aberdeen bus gates
Aberdeen Inspired chief executive Adrian Watson also had a message for the SNP and Lib Dem councillors in charge of the decision.
Looking out at the gathering, taking place just days before the vote, he addressed elected members…
He said: “The message is quite clear. Businesses are quite resolute.
“There’s a real challenge around the current situation.
“The businesses don’t feel listened to, and there’s a real opportunity on Wednesday for the council to make the right decision and give us some further thought and listen to the cries of our business.
“It’s resounding. It’s been clear from the start that we’ve had businesses-a-plenty genuinely concerned around the issue of the bus gates and the restrictions.”
Are you backing the Common Sense Compromise? Let us know in our comments section below
And Our Union Street chairman Bob Keiller added: “I think it’s an opportunity to show that we’ve got some common sense, and to recognise we’ve got a compromise.
“We’ve got to send a signal to people outside Aberdeen that genuinely we’re open
“Everybody wants to see some change, some compromise, and I’m hoping on Wednesday the councillors have the courage to say yes, we’ll do this.”
A Common Sense Compromise on the Aberdeen bus gates and Etro
The Press and Journal is standing side by side with Aberdeen businesses and business organisations in an appeal to reach a Common Sense Compromise.
But we can’t do it alone – we need your help.
If you would like to back our Aberdeen bus gate campaign, add your name to the petition launched by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
Other ways to show your support and have your voice heard can be found HERE.
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