A Peterhead councillor has taken aim at locals “putting the town down” as she claimed a major museum project is following the regeneration example set by Dundee.
Anne Simpson lashed out amid recent discussions over the town’s Arbuthnot House plans.
The council is forging ahead with a £20 million makeover of the B-listed building on Broad Street.
They say it will become a “unique landmark” showcasing the history of all of Aberdeenshire.
However, the Central Buchan councillor expressed some frustration at the local response to the project…
What did councillor say about Peterhead museum moaners?
During a council meeting where the major project was discussed, Mrs Simpson called for more to be done to present its positives to certain unimpressed locals.
She said: “Social media is totally negative about our new Aberdeenshire Museum.
“The people in Peterhead, I’m afraid, are doing their usual about the town – putting it down.
“Nobody, I think, actually gets it.”
The Liberal Democrat councillor called for more engagement to be carried out with people.
“There’s a bigger task in terms of getting across that this is about economic development,” she said.
Could museum project turn the town around?
Under the scheme, Arbuthnot House will become a museum with a new five-storey extension and community garden.
The extension would house the town’s library, as well as a top-floor restaurant with a balcony offering “incredible” views of Peterhead Harbour.
Mrs Simpson told the meeting that it is about “creating a visitor attraction”.
And she likened the project to how Dundee “transformed itself” with the V&A Museum as the centrepiece of its own regeneration plan.
‘This is what we are trying to do in Peterhead’
She explained: “[Dundee] transformed itself with the cultural offer, and that’s what we are trying to do in Peterhead.
“I think there is a much bigger job to do in terms of communication…”
She later singled out the “Positive Peterhead” page on Facebook as the source of her displeasure.
The council’s Buchan area manager, Amanda Roe, said she had sometimes noticed supporters arguing back to defend the plans on social media.
She added: “I hope some of those voices are getting louder.”
Watch the discussion here:
‘Should we BLOCK Peterhead museum moaners?’
Tory councillor Hannah Powell said Aberdeenshire Council should “turn the comments off” on social media posts to prevent people expressing a negative opinion.
“I just wish we would turn the comments off,” she told her colleagues.
Our comment section is open… Let us know what you think of the Peterhead museum plans below
The SNP’s Stephen Smith countered that blocking people from having their say might not be the best way to win over any Peterhead museum opponents.
He interjected: “I would be the first to agree that social media is a social menace of the highest order…
“Even I would balk at not allowing people to comment. The message that would send would not be good.”
Could the money be used to keep libraries open instead?
Central Buchan member Geoff Crowson said the council should make it more clear that the museum scheme is being funded by a £20m Levelling Up grant from the UK Government – and could not instead be used to keep open libraries.
And Mr Crowson admitted that Peterhead museum moaners had curbed his enthusiasm.
He sighed: “I was all excited about this project, I wanted to be excited…
“But every time there seems to be some communication, something comes up that puts the dampener on being able to be positive about it.”
The Arbuthnot House plans are available to view in full on the council’s website.
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