Exasperated traders fear years-long road closures and construction works at Aberdeen’s Green might be the last straw to break the camel’s back.
And they have accused council bosses of “completely disregarding” the concerns of businesses that have kept the historic area alive for decades.
In a shock snub, one top official even told the owners of Cheerz Bar and The Market Arms that their demise would be “of no detriment to the community”.
Traffic restrictions are in place on The Green to allow access for the construction of the new food and drink market.
The council-owned £40 million attraction, which will link the cobbled square with Union Street, is hoped to be a saving grace for Aberdeen’s struggling high street.
Workers began the first phase of work this week, erecting scaffolding at the former BHS building which will become one of the venue’s entrances.
The footpath out front, as well as the street behind the old department store, was also shut.
And now another sign has been put up on Hadden Street, informing traders that their main thoroughfare will also be closed for at least a year.
This has spread fear and frustration among business owners at The Green, who feel they have been left “neglected” and “backed to a corner”.
Cheerz Bar boss ‘blindsided’ by imminent Hadden Street closure
Having borne the brunt of the Aberdeen market demolition, George Mackenzie initiated a discussion with council officials months before the traffic restrictions were enforced.
The operations manager at Cheerz Bar had to pay extra charges for deliveries, as well as deal with “loads of dust and mess”, during roadworks in 2022.
And he wanted to get ahead of the game and work with the local authority to put a contingency plan in place ahead of any future road closures at The Green.
However, all of his repeated pleas for information about possible dates and remedies to lessen their impact ended up “falling on deaf ears”.
Instead, Mr Mackenzie found out about the imminent closure of Hadden Street – which will potentially last until 2027 – from the sign outside Cheerz, with only 20 days’ notice.
He adds: “All we wanted was to have more information in advance so we can prepare – and I did tell them that the sooner I know, the sooner I can work to make adjustments.
“The closure of Hadden Street will cost us more money and labour to get deliveries in – the same as last time – so we wanted to try avoid it.
“We knew this would be a give and take situation as this is a massive project, and we were happy to have some kind of compromise.
“But the way it’s looking now it seems to be that we are the only one doing the compromising, and they don’t want to do anything to really help.”
Council says ‘business closures are of no detriment to the community’
Mr Mackenzie has attended several meetings with council officers and Morrison Construction, who will build the market, to highlight potential issues.
These include restricted access for emergency services and deliveries, construction noise causing disruption and drop of customer numbers amid rising costs.
He also raised concerns over Hadden Street becoming a “bottleneck of people” passing through during peak hours to reach Union Square or the train station.
But in response to his worry that this could cause issues for fire and police vehicles trying to get to Cheerz, he claims council officials said: “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
And when he asked for some financial help to keep them going during the years-long disruption, his plea was brushed off with an “offensive” email in reply.
Mr Mackenzie was told that he was not eligible for any “hardship relief” as “it cannot be argued that the loss of the business would be of detriment of the community”.
‘We might need to cut opening hours to stay afloat’
The hospitality boss now fears that the only way to make ends meet would be to eventually reduce Cheerz Bar’s opening hours.
The independent company currently employs 30 people.
Mr Mackenzie stresses their efforts to keep Aberdeen’s only LGBT+ venue open and safeguard jobs.
However, he says this is becoming more and more difficult with their monthly costs tripling in recent years due to rise in business rates and energy bills.
And unlike their Union Street counterparts, they feel like little is done to promote businesses on the Green amid the construction chaos.
“We have been thrown into the unknown right now,” Mr Mackenzie adds.
“With the downturn in the city centre and late-night industries, we already don’t make profit most days of the week – but we still open every day for the sake of our team.
“But if we keep getting increased cost and a reduction of customers, staff and opening hours might need to be cut to keep the business afloat.”
Do you agree that businesses on The Green should be given support? Let us know in our comments section below.
Fears construction chaos could destroy Christmas trade
Just across from Cheerz, owners of The Market Arms have already made the tough decision to cut their opening hours by around a third.
The pub has been a staple at The Green since 1843, serving up refreshments in a traditional setting seven days a week.
However, owner John Wemyss says that would be no longer viable.
He adds: “Morrison Construction told us that they will be on site from 7am until 7pm, and to expect a lot of dust, noise and vibration while they’re digging.
“Well, that’s not good for our business – no customer is going to battle through roadworks, trying to get along a sidewalk with no room even for a buggie, to get to us.
“This entire development is a disaster as I can’t see how on Earth they can justify having two hospitality businesses closed off from street access for potentially three years.
“And all of this is happening in the run up to Christmas, which should technically be the busiest time for pub trade in Aberdeen.”
‘Established businesses need as much support as newcomers’
Mr Wemyss echoed Mr Mackenzie’s worries, slamming the council for abandoning well-established businesses while offering “loads of grants” to newcomers.
He says: “They are openly trying to develop Union Street – which I understand and I’m all supportive of.
“But they are offering grants to people who have never ran a business to open a dilapidated shop, while we have never been offered rate relief, grants or any support.
“Hospitality is on its knees as it is, and [the closure of Hadden Street] just feels like the final blow from the council.
“They need to be held accountable for what they are putting local businesses through.”
What is the council saying?
We asked Aberdeen City Council to clarify for us what support is available for traders, and comment on their reply to Mr Mackenzie – which he considers “inappropriate”.
However, none of our queries were answered.
Instead, a spokesman said: “We appreciate there will be disruption for all users of The Green and Union Street while the works are ongoing.
“The traders in the area are very much open for business and a marketing and advertising campaign is currently ongoing to inform the public about this.
“We cannot comment further on the Hadden Street signage as this is subject to an ongoing legal case.”
Continuation from Cafe 52 saga?
The latest quarrel for The Green comes after fellow business owner Steve Bothwell was forced to remove Cafe 52’s outdoor seating to make space for construction traffic.
Mr Bothwell had to clear out his popular pavilion last month after he lost a legal battle with Aberdeen City Council to keep it in place.
He was told the area was needed to allow machinery in to build the city’s new £40 million indoor market yards away – and the pavilion was eventually demolished.
Read more:
- ‘We’re losing thousands and thousands’: Attic owner laments Aberdeen market construction disruption
- Scaffolding erected at BHS building as Aberdeen market work starts
- Council vows to avoid ‘another Resident X situation’ with new Aberdeen market
- Exclusive: Resident X boss lifts lid on why million-pound food market failed
- Aberdeen beach: Last-minute plea to ditch amphitheatre for new £80m leisure centre
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