I near went skite – and suspect many other locals did as well – when I read in Monday’s EE one of the options finance officials have highlighted to save cash this year – sell or transfer the Beach Ballroom or put it into mothballs indefinitely.
Compensating savings for the loss of this beloved building, coming up for its 100th anniversary? A mere £150,000 towards the reported £18million black hole. Someone really is having a laugh at our expense.
To add injury to insult, there are fears the council’s decision to waylay future spending on its multi-million beach scheme could leave the ballroom “marooned” next to the doomed leisure centre.
Well, whose fault is that? Whoever came up with that ostentatious masterplan we can’t afford and nobody wants.
We did want an upgraded leisure centre, but nobody listened. On Tuesday, the first bit of common sense we’ve had from the SNP/Lib Dem since they took their disastrous control.
Surely that’s not beyond the wit of some visionary soul in the north-east. And why wasn’t it done before?
Aberdeen’s beach ballroom among the best venues in Scotland
It used to be one of the best entertainment venues in Scotland and could be again. For decades it was a magnet for music and dance lovers, the place many thousands of couples met their future spouses.
From the big bands of the 40s and 50s to the Beatles and the groups of the Swingin’ Sixties. It’s the perfect place to gather around the stage to watch an act or dance along.
We no longer have The Capitol for medium-sized concerts and shows. With the right marketing and inspiration, the Beach could once again be THE place to go every weekend.
Moreen Simpson is a former assistant editor of the Evening Express and The Press and Journal and started her journalism career in 1970.
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