Abandoned Aberdeen sites have been catalogued by the Scottish Government in a huge list of 65 “vacant and derelict” pieces of land.
They include well-known landmarks left to rot like Broadford Works, forgotten eyesores blighting communities and industrial sites vacated during the downturn.
Across the city, more than 250 acres of land are highlighted – which is more than 150 football pitches.
You might think all hope is lost for these forlorn spots.
But the idea is that, by making the information more available, potential developers might see the perfect canvas for their vision – and bring it back into use.
We look at each site listed by Holyrood planning bigwigs – and reveal where rejuvenation plans are already in the works…
What old school sites could be ripe for redevelopment?
Former school sites left behind to decay when replaced with more modern facilities made up the highest proportion of these sites.
The old Greenfern Infant School on Maidencraig Place was knocked down 20 years ago and the land is still vacant.
Meanwhile Carden School at Dyce was closed in 2003, and razed in 2010.
Also in Dyce, the Cordyce Residential School on Riverview Drive was destroyed in a fire in 2017 – but plans for dozens of homes there have been approved.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen University’s Dunbar Halls site next to St Machar Cathedral is down as lying empty for about 20 years – in a rather exclusive part of the city.
Homes on The Chanonry can often go for between £500,000 and £1 million.
The Gordon Centre site at Bridge of Don has lain empty just off Corunna Road since Nescol closed it in 2011, opting to instead focus on the Gallowgate building as its finances came under pressure.
The college also closed the Balgownie Centre in Bridge of Don more than a decade ago, and knocked it down shortly thereafter.
Nearby, the old Bucksburn Primary School was demolished in 2021, eight years after it shut.
The Inverurie Road site has been offered for sale for about £850,000.
Affordable homes plan for one flattened Aberdeen school site
Out on the road to Deeside, the old Milltimber Primary School has been left empty since a £16m replacement opened in 2022.
The Woodlands School site on Regent Walk and Stoneywood School on Prospect Terrace are also on the list.
However, plans are in place for some of these sites…
The former Braeside School was knocked down in 2021, seven years after it closed.
But the land in Aberdeen’s west end has been snapped up by developers, and will be used for 30 affordable homes.
And is there hope for old education sites in Torry?
The flattened site of the former Torry Nursery on Oscar Road could become 18 homes, many years after the dilapidated building was torn down.
There have been long-running efforts to turn Torry’s old Victoria Road School into a community asset, though these have now been plunged into doubt amid a cash crisis.
The St Peters Nursery site on The Spital was one of a few long-abandoned Aberdeen sites sent to auction in a pioneering council scheme last summer.
It has been closed for more than 20 years. The local authority has tried to offload it on a number of occasions before this.
What industrial buildings are on abandoned Aberdeen list?
Notably, Broadford Works continues to lie empty, a prominent eyesore a stone’s throw from the city centre.
Its future remains uncertain, after developers ran out of time to commence a multi-million-pound housing scheme last October.
Another of the city’s most famous vacant former industrial sites is Rubislaw Quarry.
The huge water-filled hole remains on the market, more than a year after it was put up for sale.
One year on, owners still say they are awaiting the right offer…
By the time it was torn down in 2017, Balgownie Machine Centre, opposite the Northern Hotel, was not a pretty sight.
The spot left behind at the foot of Great Northern Road is still listed as vacant.
A former plumbing site nearby at 4-38 Canal Road is on the list too, as are the Persley Farm buildings on the Ellon road.
Meanwhile, the former Hydrasun facility at the foot of Pittodrie Lane has become a graffitied wasteland scattered with shabby furniture and other assorted detritus.
A former factory on Granitehill Road in Northfield is also listed.
Slice of historic industry falling into decay
The historic fishworks at Palmerston Road remain a ruined reminder of the city’s past – just a short distance from the very 21st century Union Square.
This site has long been associated with fish landings and processing, and old smokehouses there were used well into the 1990s.
But by the millennium, kiln smoking was all but gone and the buildings have deteriorated.
The three category C-listed smoke houses were added to the Buildings at Risk register in 2019 and are deemed to be in a poor condition.
Landfill, old petrol stations and more fester away as derelict Aberdeen land
Nearby, empty land at Annan House has become increasingly overgrown since business units there were demolished.
It’s next to an eight-storey office block built by EnQuest about 10 years ago.
And the chunk of empty land next to the Aberdeen Health Village at Frederick Street East is also listed as having potential.
The Hill of Tramaud landfill, just off the road between Bridge of Don and Potterton, has been vacant since the council stopped using it about 15 years ago.
Cults Pumping Station is noted too, as a significant chunk of empty land just off North Deeside Road.
It is one of few sites in the suburbs heading out towards Deeside.
And the former Morgan Fuels petrol station at 5 South Esplanade West in Torry is on the map.
A former oil storage depot at Abbey Road in Torry is currently being marketed by CBRE, while an old quarry at Newton Terrace in Bucksburn makes the list.
What industrial sites are there plans in place for?
The flattened site of the former garage at 870 Great Northern Road is listed as having been vacant for about 20 years.
However, there is construction work taking place on a new bathroom shop at the moment. It had been one of the oldest abandoned sites in Aberdeen.
The Persley Farm Buildings site has been vacant for some time. But plans to build a battery storage site there have now been approved.
And Woodend Farm at Peterculter has recently been earmarked for a housing development.
What old pubs and shops are deemed derelict and vacant?
The old Logie Stores building at Northfield has been a cause for concern for some time.
Aberdeen City Council was previously urged to use compulsory purchase orders to buy the arcade – which has been frequently targeted by vandals – and demolish it.
The 0.12 hectare site as described as “suitable for housing” in the council’s own development guide..
An old Matalan on Constitution Street has lain empty for years, the car park becoming increasingly overgrown. Plans to turn it into student flats never materialised.
Over in Bucksburn, the former Chalmers Bakery has been demolished and the site fenced off ahead of plans to form flats there.
On John Street, the site of a former snooker hall is primed for a new lease of life already.
Developers have been given permission to build a huge student flats block there.
And the Broadhill Bar across from Pittodrie, a favourite among Dons fans for generations, was torn down last year with only rubble remaining.
Meanwhile, Lauries Motel on Hareness Road closed many years ago, and the flattened site has been vacant for about a decade.
And the St Margaret of Scotland chapel, with a former convent, has been left empty on The Spital for about 20 years.
It is one of several vacant and derelict spots recorded on the Buildings at Risk Register.
Could there finally be hope for abandoned Aberdeen sports hub?
The derelict Hilton Outdoor Sports Centre, at Stewart Park, has been closed since being damaged in a fire more than a decade ago.
Alongside the pavilion, there is a fenced-off putting green and some disused tennis courts.
There has been little sign of anything happening there, despite local schoolchildren urging the council to do something about it in 2019.
What is happening at Haudagain triangle years after roundabout work?
The Haudagain Triangle site was revamped as a new link road was created to bust congestion at the notorious roundabout.
Amid the delayed roads project, plans were drawn up to build 280 homes, various shops, offices and restaurants on the land – but these have never materialised.
The land lies undeveloped.
Greyfriars House site caught up in planning wrangle
The former Greyfriars House site on the Gallowgate has been left vacant while major housing plans struggle to make it off the drawing board.
Plans for 140 flats at the old home of the Department For Work And Pensions have been delayed while owners Telereal Trillium strive to market them.
In 2022, negotiations with one contractor fell apart as the construction market battled rocketing inflation.
Eyesore left abandoned for years in Tillydrone area of Aberdeen
A boarded-up house just next to the Tillydrone underpass was demolished about 15 years ago, with plans to build 22 flats there following.
However, these proposals for 1 Western Road have never got off the ground and the ruined site has crumbled further into decay.
The latest plans for it were approved in October 2022, but there is no sign of development yet.
This area now lies strewn with rubbish and empty drinks cans.
Is the downturn to blame for abandoned Aberdeen sites?
Various sites listed in the abandoned Aberdeen catalogue were once thriving workplaces during the oil and gas boom.
But many were torn down by owners wary of paying huge rates for empty buildings once the downturn hit.
One of these is the former Baker Hughes complex on Woodside Road in Bridge of Don.
Silverburn House, on Claymore Drive, was knocked down too – but new housing plans are finally gathering pace.
Yards away, Silverburn Park is listed too.
Loirston House is also on the list, years after energy workers vacated the Wellington Road building.
There are now plans to demolish it.
The former Tyseal Base, on Craigshaw Crescent, is one of those listed though it has since been revived as a car showroom.
Some industrial areas host acres of derelict Aberdeen land
Many of these spots are in Dyce.
The demolished Fintry House land on Pitmedden Road, a former office complex on Wellheads Place and the old Schlumberger product centre at Woodlands Drive feature too.
Craigievar House, on Howe Moss Terrace, has been torn down with developers working on plans for a modern office complex there.
The former Oceaneering House and Davidson House on Pitmedden Road add to the area’s volume of vacant space, along with the old Kirkhill Business Park on Howe Moss Drive.
Land at Farburn Terrace is available too, along with the Mains of Dyce Steading on Oldmeldrum Road (which the council has listed for sale for £200,000).
The council-owned Heath Farm on Whitestripes Road is listed as well.
How is Energy Transition Zone reviving derelict land in Aberdeen?
Several of the buildings on the government’s list are in the midst of redevelopment as part of Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone (ETZ).
The investment zone is taking shape at Altens, which has been Aberdeen’s forgotten industrial estate for some time.
So it may be that some of the sites on the government’s list have already been earmarked for a fresh lease of life.
There is some work at the Aberdeen One Logistics Park on Crawpeel Road, with Ross Safety and Survival moving in after ETZ provided cash to spruce up the building.
While its owners demolished unwanted Trafalgar House on Hareness Road, the transition gurus are now planning to build their “incubator hub” on the land.
What other sites in south of Aberdeen are abandoned?
Nearby, the former Nigg Caravan Park on Altens Farm Road is listed as a development option – along with the Citypark office building on the same road.
The Petrofac training site on Blackness Avenue, and the old Oil States building on Blackness Road are both said to have potential too.
It was knocked down at a £150,000 cost when the firm relocated to an Aberdeen Gateway site.
Units 1-4 at the Wood International Centre on Craigshaw Drive are also highlighted in the new map.
Finally, the former Muller dairy on Craigshaw Drive could become “Scotland’s biggest EV charging site”.
In a shining example of how abandoned Aberdeen sites could play a role as the city adapts to a changing world, want to change it into a site for powering lorries.
Our data specialists have looked back over a decade’s worth of figures to learn how the amount of derelict and vacant land in Aberdeen has grown.
And the investigation reveals the quantity of derelict land owned by Aberdeen City Council.
You can see the Aberdeen map here.
Our weekly Planning Ahead round-up regularly provides updates on various proposals across the north-east:
Conversation