What started as a plea for compromise seems poised to result in an ugly courtroom showdown as Aberdeen traders drag the council before a judge over the bus gates that have hammered their takings.
The council could have to defend the traffic bans in the Court of Session later this year.
Traders have pleaded for change since they were rolled out in 2023, saying people have simply stopped coming to the city centre for fear of being hit with a fine.
And over last summer, about 12,000 people backed the P&J’s Common Sense Compromise campaign for some of the bus gates to be removed.
But after local authority leaders vowed to keep them in place, determined traders instead began looking into legal options.
Spearheaded by veteran clothes shop owner Norman Esslemont, they secured nearly £40,000 from fed-up residents to fund a potential courtroom fight.
There had been hopes the threat of being dragged to court could prompt the council to convene fresh talks over the bus gates.
But it has now emerged that paperwork to make them official was signed off on January 17. And now there is only one option left.
Who is taking Aberdeen City Council to court over bus gates?
The local businesses have enlisted Alasdair Sutherland of Burness Paull to help in their legal fight, who has had past success taking on council bigwigs.
He previously torpedoed Highland Council’s plans to ban traffic on Inverness’s Academy Street.
Now, he will represent local traders in their courtroom battle.
What happens now that appeal has been lodged with Court of Session?
Mr Esslemont has been locked in talks with his legal team for several weeks.
The clothes shop owner explained that there will be a few steps to go through yet before a climactic legal showdown in the Scottish capital.
He said: “We have now launched our appeal in court. We expect to receive the first orders next week, after which we will serve the appeal on the council.
“We will then provide a further update on the ground of the appeal once these initial steps have taken place.
“While we are disappointed that we have had to take this course of action, we remain hopeful that it will lead to discussions with the council and their representatives and ultimately a positive resolution.”
So is he confident?
Norman told us he had “looked at the appeal in detail” and praised the “industrious amount of work” his lawyers had put into detailing the “sad scenario of the bus gates”.
He added: “Hopefully, now that the council see we are prepared to go to court to fulfil the wishes of the Aberdeen public and what is in the best interests of the city centre’s development, they will pause and reflect and discuss the matter in a sensible manner.
“Nobody wants to go to court, it’s the last resort.”
Are politicians to blame?
The leader of Aberdeen’s Labour opposition group, M Tauqeer Malik, blasted the council’s SNP leaders for persevering with the traffic measures despite the looming legal threat.
Nationalist group leader Christian Allard previously stood by the bus gates – saying the public would have their say at the polls in due course.
Mr Malik said: “Councillor Allard, it is not to late to swallow your pride and do the right thing by abandoning bus gates thus stopping the legal action by the people against the council.”
Last night, Mr Allard hit back by pointing out that Labour and Tory politicians had previously backed bus gates.
He said: “I would ask how they planned to have Union Street pedestrianised without any bus priority measures.”
‘It is a sad day…’
The chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, Adrian Watson, said the latest twist in the saga represented a “sad day” for the city.
And he issued one last plea for the council to reconsider things before it becomes too late.
He said: “It is a sad day indeed to see local traders’ desperate campaign against bus gates reach the point where court papers have been lodged.
“It is in no one’s interest to see this played out in legal proceedings, especially when it could have been easily avoided – and still can.
“Even at this 11th hour, I repeat my plea to the council to pause and get back round the table with businesses fearing for their future to find a Common Sense Compromise that will work for everyone involved and for our city centre.”
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