Revellers visiting Aberdeen’s only LGBTQ+ nightspot will have to brave a “dark, dingy alley” to get there as the council closes off Hadden Street.
Construction hoarding will be pushed up against the pavement as work on the city’s £40 million food and drink market ramps up in the days ahead.
This is expected to happen within the next week.
However, council top brass have now pledged to look into delaying the start of the project until they clarify issues raised by businesses around The Green.
Traders have already slashed their opening hours as they prepare for takings to plummet.
And during a tense summit today, they warned many of them might not make it to the other side…
What happened at summit over the Hadden Street closure?
Dozens of business owners on the Green and the surrounding area met today with top council officials to raise their concerns during showdown talks in Cheerz.
Organiser and operations manager at the bar, George Mackenzie, started the gathering with a plea for calm amid raised tempers over the situation.
And while most parties managed to adhere to his wishes, some fraught traders found it difficult to control their emotions.
Alisha Bhatti, who runs the Best One 24-hour shop on Market Street was the first to lament the dire predicament.
She is concerned about how her deliveries will be affected, with lorries struggling to instead park at the front of her store once Exchange Lane is closed.
An impassioned Alisha said: “Market Street is really busy – you’ve got buses, people waiting to get on buses, and pedestrians.
“And now, every Thursday I’ll have nine to 10 palettes dropped off on the pavements for me to carry in.
“That’s £10,000 – £12,000 worth of products sitting outside on a street full of people.
“I’ve got to think about these people not getting injured, and also, of my stock not getting damaged.
“To me, the only thing that the council has thought of is just to get that building up and running, and nothing else.”
‘It’s just asking for trouble’
However, the biggest concern raised was regarding the safety of people who will now be forced to squeeze through a narrow footpath to reach Cheerz when Hadden Street is taken over by construction work.
Laying out several recent examples of customers having to receive First Aid, as well as dealing with anti-social behaviour, George fears the footpath will become “a scary place” – with little room to avoid an attacker.
He adds: “We get 200 to 300 people on a busy night.
“Now can you imagine having to squeeze through all of these people on this path – especially if you are on your own or vulnerable? It’s just asking for trouble.
“And it takes a lot of courage to get to the building, it’s a dodgy looking area anyway.
“What I want is to make it clear to everyone that we are open during this construction but, more so , that this is a safe place to come to.”
‘Would it discourage people from coming here?’
SNP MP Kirsty Blackman echoed those concerns, fearing that people could be put off going to Cheerz.
She adds: “When we are talking about the clientele that comes here, there is already an increase in hate crimes towards LGBTQ+ people.
“And I don’t know if having that scary area as a passage to get down to here would help.
“Or more so, would it discourage people from coming here as a whole out of fear they might be abused, or end up in a confrontational situation in this dark alley?”
Meanwhile, this possible drop in trade is something that George is already deeply worried about.
‘Hadden Street closure chaos will cost us tens of thousands’
And he came to this meeting armed with proof.
The hospitality boss has estimated they will need to plug an extra £31,536 into additional security and changes to the building.
On top of that, he says there will be an extra £2,379 per year in labour to accommodate deliveries arriving at a different spot.
And all of this extra cost will be as the recently launched Cheerz apartments is predicted to lose about £4,000 per month with construction noise ruining guests’ sleep.
‘What happens when staff lose their jobs?’
He told those behind the plans: “I can show you 100% what money we are losing. And if we suffer these losses, I’ll have to let go of staff and change our whole business.
“So what happens when 50 of my staff members lose their jobs because of this construction?
“In the very worst case scenario, Cheerz isn’t here and our company folds – at the expense of this construction site.
“So if that happens, would the council turn around and say – ‘Well, the market is a bigger project’.
“I think this attitude needs to change, and this needs to be discussed with whoever can help us.”
So what did the council say in response to concerns?
Council masterplan manager Sandy Beattie offered a shy smile as he answered the barrage of questions.
He gave reassurances that there will be further discussions about additional lighting and CCTV being installed in the alley, as well as talks about potential rates relief.
He did, however, stress that none of these matters are up to him but rather to the local authority and Police Scotland.
And he was brutally honest about one thing.
“There will be pain,” he warned the traders pleading for support.
‘We need to be realistic’
“It will depend on construction how long the closure will be in place for…
“But if there’s any chance to reduce that we will. We need to be realistic, it’s a massive project in the centre of Aberdeen so of course there will be issues.
“There is going to be a lot of pain and it will be difficult to manage it all, but I can reassure all of you that we will always do our best to answer your queries.”
The council chief said a legal tussle with nearby Cafe 52 had “tied his hands” when it came to communicating with other businesses in advance of the Hadden Street closure.
And, when asked whether the authority could leave more space on the street, he replied: “The answer is short and simple. We can’t.”
Construction bosses said this was for the sake of pedestrian safety, due to the size of the machinery involved in the project.
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