“They didn’t read the small print, and now they’re wriggling.”
These were the words of Aberdeen’s veteran Lib Dem councillor Ian Yuill as he condemned his rivals during one of many debates around city centre transport measures this year.
They have this week come back to haunt Mr Yuill and his SNP colleagues, a ghost of council meetings past materialising to spark some chaos just before Christmas.
It was during this same speech in October that the Lib Dem leader put forward the plan to make Aberdeen’s controversial bus gate system permanent.
With one caveat: In a concession to scores of long-suffering businesses and the thousands of people supporting them, Mr Yuill and his SNP colleagues scrapped the ban on turning right from Union Terrace.
It seems the ruling administration did not know that they were potentially shooting themselves in the foot by doing this. Whose fault this was remained a mystery until a high-stakes crisis meeting.
Two months later, the vote has been sensationally UNDONE amid a descent into “chaotic calamity” for the beleaguered local authority.
We explain how the seemingly simple vote has since taken more twists and turns than a confused driver trying to avoid a bus gate fine…
What started all this?
The ban on right turns at Union Terrace was one part of the “Experimental Traffic Regulation Order” (Etro) rolled out across the city centre in 2023.
It was put in place at the same time as the bus gates blamed for scaring so many away from even coming to Aberdeen and pummeling traders’ takings.
By the summer of 2024, businesses were at breaking point and The Press and Journal teamed up with various firms and local leaders to push for change.
Having paid attention to the struggling businesses in the depleted Schoolhill area, and factoring in the awkward detour it causes, we asked for the Union Terrace measure to be axed in our Common Sense Compromise suggestions.
In the end, only the Union Terrace request was acted on.
Or was it?
Why remove only the Union Terrace right turn ban?
The vote was made on October 11 to do away with it, while the more contentious traffic bans were rubber-stamped.
It allowed council co-leader Christian Allard to theatrically announce that he had “TICKED” one item on the list of Common Sense Compromise proposals.
That tick would soon become a cross.
About a month after the vote, we began wondering why the ban was still there.
Cagey council officials would only tell us that they were working to lift it as soon as possible.
But we weren’t the only ones asking questions, as Aberdeen Inspired began demanding answers too in a letter that landed with the authority on November 13.
What was wrong with the council’s vote?
A month after it was sent, beetroot-faced officials came clean and confessed to the nightmare red tape wrangle they had caused.
To put it simply, the decision made by SNP and Lib Dem leaders in October was not “legally competent”.
That means the change they wanted to add can not legally be put in place, and may have left the council open to a challenge in court.
A shock report was published out of the blue on Monday, December 16, night ahead of a crisis meeting that Wednesday.
It explained that, under the rare road rules used to roll out the changes, you’re not allowed to chop and change parts of an Etro.
Councillors have been told they should have voted to make ALL of the measures permanent – and then launched a separate process to undo the Union Terrace measure.
What happened at the meeting?
Following crunch talks behind the scenes, a select group of councillors were hauled back to the chambers days after they thought they had their final meeting of 2024.
They voted again on the issue. The SNP and Lib Dems effectively took back the decision they made two months ago.
One rival told us it was the “most cynical move in recent Aberdeen City Council history”.
A fortnight before Hogmanay, there was a fireworks display to rival that of Edinburgh Castle in the chambers as members sparred for hours.
What might have happened if councillors didn’t undo their Union Terrace vote?
Aberdeen Inspired argued that the council would have to carry out a whole new period of consultation on the amended system.
This would mean conducting a “full and relevant economic impact assessment”, and potentially giving despairing traders another chance to fight against the bus gates.
The council has now attempted to perform a “check mate” in the ongoing game of chess over the bus gates, with the belief this new vote will torpedo any chance of a legal threat.
However, without giving away the nature of the next move, the leader of Aberdeen’s Labour group warned that a legal challenge was nevertheless looking “highly likely” as the meeting concluded.
Why the urgency?
The Etro needs to be made permanent by the end of January, 18 months from when it was rolled out in 2023.
Again, this is a stipulation of the system.
This means an “urgent decision” was needed to vote on making the whole shebang permanent.
What do you think of the latest council shambles? Let us know in our comments section below
The papers stated: “An urgent decision is required on this matter to allow officers time to ensure this statutory deadline can be met.”
This, they argue, will “mitigates the risk of future challenge” at a time when angry traders are consulting lawyers.
It also means that any legal challenge could need to be made sooner rather than later.
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