“If I have a headache I don’t get a foot massage,”
Edgar Gonzalez, Brisac Gonzalez Architects
Thursday night saw a long-overdue fully open and public debate on the future of Union Terrace Gardens with representatives from ACSEF, Peacock Visual Arts as well as independent representatives with specialisms in Architecture and Town Planning. The event was organised by North East Labour MPs and MSP Frank Doran, Lewis MacDonald and Anne Begg "Our concern was that the debate had become polarised, and seemed to be turning into a debate by press release. Both of these projects have the potential to make too big an impact for the city to be handled in that way, and we felt it was time to bring people together to try to get some facts out.” Despite ACSEF's Chair Tom Smith's statement that “We strongly refute Mr Doran’s claims that city-centre residents have not been given the opportunity to make their views known," he and Sir Ian were in attendance to defend, rather than promote the City Square Project.
Also on the panel were Elly Rothnie and Edgar Gonzalez representing Peacock Visual Arts, David McClean, Head of the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment and Allan Garvie, former head of planning, policy and environment at Aberdeenshire Council.
ACSEF's resistance to commit to attendance was apparently due to a fear that it would be "hi-jacked by vociferous objectors". How objectors to a scheme which the public debate is focused on can "hijack" the meeting is a little confusing, surely only groups with issues which do not relate to the future of Union Terrace Gardens could effectively hi-jack the meeting to divert from the agenda. Sir Ian was quick to point this out in the meeting by describing the audience as "one of the most hostile" that he had faced, presumably as it was his first open contact with residents of Aberdeen rather than the closed-door invite only presentations which has formed the backbone of the supposed "public" consultation.
As the debate passed from the presentations to the Question and Answer Session, "there was vocal opposition to the City Square Project from many in the audience," in fact, most of the audience were making statements against or asking serious questions of The City Square Project, the consultation and the motivations behind it. Only three members of the audience spoke out, Charles Skene "who first proposed the idea of raising the gardens in the early 1980s", John Michie who has made his views very clear, even before Sir Ian brought his £50m to the table, and Colin Crosby who, bafflingly, was quick to stress that Peacock had a "significant funding gap" and the project is still uncertain. It should be noted that both Colin Crosby and John Michie are members of the ACSEF board.
Countering Colin Crosbie's ascertions that the £3m funding gap would be a struggle for Peacock
to gain (without making mention of the £90m+ required for the City Square), the aftermath of the public debate saw Peacock recieve another pledge to further their funding gap. Local Musician and Council Worker, Alasdair Johnston, made a donation of £10,000, which was part of inheritance left to him by his late mother, towards the Peacock-led project. While a drop in the ocean compared to Sir Ian's pledge, Mr Johnston commented "This £10,000 is probably a bigger part of my disposable income than all Sir Ian’s millions, so it’s just as meaningful to me." This is the second confirmation of an interest in investing in Peacock's scheme which has emerged during the course of the consultation, Jim Milne of the Balmoral group had previously stated that "he would consider investing in" the Centre.
The only support ACSEF have garnered of any significant note are an engineering firm expressing an interest in being paid to build the structure, not even any high powered business leaders from ACSEF have offered to stump up for the project, not even Stewart Milne, who this week joined the group of ACSEF interests emailing their staff encouraging them to get involved in the consultation and sign a "Support the City Square Project" petiton, and believes "If we blow that this time, it will be disastrous for the city and region" and who owns property as-yet undeveloped on the corner of the proposed site which may benefit from foundation improvements which would be brought about as a result of the Square.
After the debate, Sir Ian stated "I don’t think it moved the debate ahead because a lot of the people here – there was no changing their position, it was enshrined" continuing his habit of accusing others of actions which can easily be attributed to himself. Throughout the debate many questions were asked of the stringent parameters of the Wood Group chairman's "gift" and it was clear that he would not back down on his narrow view of regeneration options for the Denburn Valley or indeed the entire City Centre. To calls for him to invest in the proposed and passed plans for a civic square at the site of St Nicholas House he simply said he would not be interested in that proposal, even though it's place as part of the Bon Accord Masterplan, was accepted unanimously through consultation with the Aberdeen public. Amidst the usual scaremongering about "in 20 years’ time we will be having this gathering again but the agenda will be about what we intend to do to tackle unemployment,” Wood dismissed please for a true compromise along the lines which Edgar Gonzalez had suggested of extending the gardens due to his personal opinion that a sunken valley would be "ugly", reiterating his belief that "It is a real architectural blight."
Wood's views expressed as part of his newfound status as an architecture critic aren't exactly shared by experts, academics and professional architects. During the presentation, Dr David McClean described the Denburn Valley as "perhaps the most important feature of the city" The Aberdeen Architects Network stated that they "think that the design is fundamentally flawed," Jonathan Meades described the concept as "irreparably damaging to the cityscape", former head of The Lighthouse, Stuart MacDonald suggested that "Aberdeen could benefit from its own Bilbao effect by scrapping the proposed city square and instead supporting the bid by Peacock Visual Arts to build a £13million contemporary arts centre in Union Terrace Gardens," and last week the Architecture and Design Scotland published a report which states "While the deep level changes in this area present design issues, they are also defining characteristics of the topography and are part of the fabric of Aberdeen, and we believe that such features can enrich places if embedded within city development."
As we enter the penultimate week of the consultation process ACSEF are no closer to answering
any of the questions posed, or providing case study, proof or president for how the Square can single handedly secure jobs and economic prosperity in the future, or secure Aberdeen as an International Energy City. As opposition grows towards the project, from the rising signatures on the petition to Save the Gardens, and from experts in urban realm planning time will only tell if Sir Ian will relent on the strict conditions of his "gift" and the project can move forward in a more constructive, realistic way. As Elly Rothnie, Campaign Director for PVA, pointed out during the debate “Our aims are so aligned that we have to find some way of making sure the city benefits and both projects can be achieved.”
ACSEF's resistance to commit to attendance was apparently due to a fear that it would be "hi-jacked by vociferous objectors". How objectors to a scheme which the public debate is focused on can "hijack" the meeting is a little confusing, surely only groups with issues which do not relate to the future of Union Terrace Gardens could effectively hi-jack the meeting to divert from the agenda. Sir Ian was quick to point this out in the meeting by describing the audience as "one of the most hostile" that he had faced, presumably as it was his first open contact with residents of Aberdeen rather than the closed-door invite only presentations which has formed the backbone of the supposed "public" consultation.
As the debate passed from the presentations to the Question and Answer Session, "there was vocal opposition to the City Square Project from many in the audience," in fact, most of the audience were making statements against or asking serious questions of The City Square Project, the consultation and the motivations behind it. Only three members of the audience spoke out, Charles Skene "who first proposed the idea of raising the gardens in the early 1980s", John Michie who has made his views very clear, even before Sir Ian brought his £50m to the table, and Colin Crosby who, bafflingly, was quick to stress that Peacock had a "significant funding gap" and the project is still uncertain. It should be noted that both Colin Crosby and John Michie are members of the ACSEF board.
Countering Colin Crosbie's ascertions that the £3m funding gap would be a struggle for Peacock
to gain (without making mention of the £90m+ required for the City Square), the aftermath of the public debate saw Peacock recieve another pledge to further their funding gap. Local Musician and Council Worker, Alasdair Johnston, made a donation of £10,000, which was part of inheritance left to him by his late mother, towards the Peacock-led project. While a drop in the ocean compared to Sir Ian's pledge, Mr Johnston commented "This £10,000 is probably a bigger part of my disposable income than all Sir Ian’s millions, so it’s just as meaningful to me." This is the second confirmation of an interest in investing in Peacock's scheme which has emerged during the course of the consultation, Jim Milne of the Balmoral group had previously stated that "he would consider investing in" the Centre.The only support ACSEF have garnered of any significant note are an engineering firm expressing an interest in being paid to build the structure, not even any high powered business leaders from ACSEF have offered to stump up for the project, not even Stewart Milne, who this week joined the group of ACSEF interests emailing their staff encouraging them to get involved in the consultation and sign a "Support the City Square Project" petiton, and believes "If we blow that this time, it will be disastrous for the city and region" and who owns property as-yet undeveloped on the corner of the proposed site which may benefit from foundation improvements which would be brought about as a result of the Square.
After the debate, Sir Ian stated "I don’t think it moved the debate ahead because a lot of the people here – there was no changing their position, it was enshrined" continuing his habit of accusing others of actions which can easily be attributed to himself. Throughout the debate many questions were asked of the stringent parameters of the Wood Group chairman's "gift" and it was clear that he would not back down on his narrow view of regeneration options for the Denburn Valley or indeed the entire City Centre. To calls for him to invest in the proposed and passed plans for a civic square at the site of St Nicholas House he simply said he would not be interested in that proposal, even though it's place as part of the Bon Accord Masterplan, was accepted unanimously through consultation with the Aberdeen public. Amidst the usual scaremongering about "in 20 years’ time we will be having this gathering again but the agenda will be about what we intend to do to tackle unemployment,” Wood dismissed please for a true compromise along the lines which Edgar Gonzalez had suggested of extending the gardens due to his personal opinion that a sunken valley would be "ugly", reiterating his belief that "It is a real architectural blight."
Wood's views expressed as part of his newfound status as an architecture critic aren't exactly shared by experts, academics and professional architects. During the presentation, Dr David McClean described the Denburn Valley as "perhaps the most important feature of the city" The Aberdeen Architects Network stated that they "think that the design is fundamentally flawed," Jonathan Meades described the concept as "irreparably damaging to the cityscape", former head of The Lighthouse, Stuart MacDonald suggested that "Aberdeen could benefit from its own Bilbao effect by scrapping the proposed city square and instead supporting the bid by Peacock Visual Arts to build a £13million contemporary arts centre in Union Terrace Gardens," and last week the Architecture and Design Scotland published a report which states "While the deep level changes in this area present design issues, they are also defining characteristics of the topography and are part of the fabric of Aberdeen, and we believe that such features can enrich places if embedded within city development."ADS are Scotland's Statutory body for Architecture and Urban Design tasked "to inspire better quality in design and architecture in the public and private sectors so that Scotland's built environment contributes in a positive way to our quality of life and our built heritage." Their report spells out a number of concerns with both the City Square concept and the current consultation process, expressing "some concerns about the way in which the project is currently progressing, and suggest that there are a number of issues which should be addressed as the plans for improvements to the gardens and the rest of the city centre are developed."
The outcome of the public meeting only highlighted the extreme flaws and uncertainty surrounding the City Square Project, providing no evidence of how the square is "essential for future prosperity", in fact Tom Smith described the project as both "a leap of faith" and comparative to "The Dons signing Ronaldo" rather than provide any tangible proof. ACSEF and Sir Ian's reluctance to demonstrate any of this evidence other than to continue making absurd statements and employing scare tactics about the end of North-Sea Oil in the three hours of the debate led to his closing statements to be interrupted by a chorus of "How?" from a large portion of the audience, backed up by his marginalising the entire audience as being from the "arts and heritage communities." Paradoxically, given the supposed nature of the project as a "civic" space where "the cultural component has to be large" then surely the arts and heritage communities would have to be the ones who the project would need to win over.As we enter the penultimate week of the consultation process ACSEF are no closer to answering
any of the questions posed, or providing case study, proof or president for how the Square can single handedly secure jobs and economic prosperity in the future, or secure Aberdeen as an International Energy City. As opposition grows towards the project, from the rising signatures on the petition to Save the Gardens, and from experts in urban realm planning time will only tell if Sir Ian will relent on the strict conditions of his "gift" and the project can move forward in a more constructive, realistic way. As Elly Rothnie, Campaign Director for PVA, pointed out during the debate “Our aims are so aligned that we have to find some way of making sure the city benefits and both projects can be achieved.”
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