Cafe 52’s outdoor terrace on Aberdeen’s Green will be gone within weeks – one way or another.
Aberdeen City Council and owner Steve Bothwell have been locked in a high-profile tussle over the dining space for months.
The wrangle finally came to a head last week, when hearings at both the Court of Session in Edinburgh and Aberdeen Civil Court went against the restaurateur.
After the final judgment on Wednesday, the local authority gave Mr Bothwell until Friday night to explore further legal options.
It has now emerged that a behind-closed-doors meeting between he and council top brass took place on Friday.
In a Facebook post hours later, the businessman said he was selling the premises.
What happened at crunch meeting – and what’s next for Cafe 52 pavilion?
On Saturday morning, engineers arrived to cut off the power and water supply to the structure so that it can be safely dismantled.
It’s understood that the council had originally planned to remove it early this week.
This comes after a lawyer for the authority claimed the legal battle had delayed work on the new Aberdeen Market yards away.
The council says the terrace needs to be removed from The Green to allow space for construction vehicles.
However, Mr Bothwell disputes this – and argues they would still have room to pass by.
‘It would not have been wrecked’
A project insider told The Press and Journal that the pavilion “wouldn’t have been wrecked” under the council’s plans to remove it.
It would have been carefully taken apart, piece by piece, over a period of days.
These parts would then have been stored safely and returned to Mr Bothwell at a later date.
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However, Mr Bothwell asked that he be the one to take it down.
And this appeal was agreed by local authority chiefs.
What if Mr Bothwell does not remove Cafe 52 terrace from Aberdeen spot?
It’s understood that the proprietor has been given three weeks to arrange for the hut to be taken down.
Mr Bothwell today told us that it “would not be coming down this week” but did not divulge more on his plans for the space.
He added: “Everyone knows this has been a concerted effort to get rid of a place people love.
“It’s tragic what Aberdeen City Council has done.”
Should there be no progress within the three weeks, the council will send workers in to fence it off and carry out the job themselves.
Supporters had raised more than £11,700 towards saving the Cafe 52 terrace.
Read more:
Cafe 52 owner says business is ‘for sale’ after sheriff rules outdoor terrace can be demolished
Sheriff rules council can knock down Cafe 52 terrace after owner’s bid to save it fails
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