tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079907835080692332024-03-14T11:00:49.602+00:00Blerr De Blerr BlerrFraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-40124169139251126382012-01-26T20:54:00.000+00:002012-01-26T23:16:38.751+00:00Mega sweet plans for Aberdeen’s City Garden Project<br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px;"><a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/2612769">Design would see 14 brands of sweets inserted</a></span></h1>
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Published: 26/01/2012</div>
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PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: How Union Terrace Gardens could look.</div>
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The centre of Aberdeen could be filled with sweets as part of the City Garden Project, designers revealed today.</div>
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The raising of Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen would see over fourteen brands of confectionary dispersed throughout the Granite Web.</div>
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The sweets – including Smarties, Bassets Allsorts, Quality Street, Love Hearts, – would replace the 86 trees currently in Union Terrace Gardens, to help create the new City Garden in Aberdeen.</div>
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Designers have said there is also option to construct the elevated walkways out of Twix. Wham bars were initially considered, however they ruled out after they were found to soften in the <span style="line-height: 19px;">Mediterranean climates predicted be brought by the creation of the <strike>Square</strike> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Garden.</span></div>
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A spokesperson for ACSEF tonight said initial projections suggest that the City Garden Project's 5 acres of sweets would create around 6,500 long and medium term employment opportunities "What this development had highlighted is the periphery industries which could benefit directly from the project. We believe this would allow Aberdeen to become a centre for excellence in Dentistry."<br />
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Frank Furter from the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust Steering Monitoring Project Gardens Strategic Partnership Collective said "Whatever you want in it, you can have it."<br />
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A source close to the city council, who yesterday agreed on a range of measures to pave the way for the City Garden Project, subject to a “yes” vote when the result of the ballot is announced on March 2, claimed that elected members were very interested in this new proposal "especially if there was an option to include butteries."<br />
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Sir Ian Wood, who has underpinned the City Gardens Project with a generous donation of £50 Million from his personal fortune today said "Yummy."</div>
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</div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com164tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-68497078802222080502011-10-18T21:09:00.000+01:002011-10-18T21:51:04.602+01:00The FUTURE is here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, it has been a while since I last posted. While I was going to let sleeping dogs lie and use my current geographical shift to depart from the debate surrounding Union Terrace Gardens, the dogs have woken up, and in a fit have turned around and bit the good people of Aberdeen, and indeed anyone with any aesthetic or cultural sense firmly in the ankles.<br />
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Yes, dear reader, the <b>Future is here! </b>After much speculation ACSEF's shortlisted designs have been announced and revealed and (while us poor proles are not allowed to view the public exhibition at the former Pier building on Belmont street until tomorrow) released online. Regular visitors to this blog will have been used to serious hyperlinkage and cross referencing and a little bit of expose into the machinations surrounding the project, this special edition blog post will be a little different. I'm just going to take a little time to publicize the designs and let everyone have a look.<br />
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Six architectural teams have been assembled to provide designs for Sir Ian Wood's City Square Garden Project - but the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Up until now noone, let along the scheme's backer's have been sure what the project is all about. It started out life as a "Cross between Central Park, and a Grand Italian Piazza" it turned into "five acres of Garden, if thats what you want."<br />
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All images borrowed from<a href="http://news.stv.tv/galleries/city-gardens-project/"> STV Local</a>. <br />
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Team One have taken their inspiration directly from a spider's web - or from a doodle idly drawn on the corner of a notepad while on the phone to someone they didn't really want to talk to (ACSEF?).<br />
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On closer inspection the web-designs seem to constitute a series of raised walkways so you, too, can experience life in the pleasure domes from <i>Logan's Run</i>, or the Futuristic world from sci-fi documentary, <i>The Jetsons</i>.<br />
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Complete with travelators for traveling from the Denburn Car Park to the Trinty Centre Car park nestled helpfully underneath this meadow:<br />
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So if you see plumes of smoke - dont worry its not a brush fire! Its simply exhaust fumes, what more would you need from an inner-city-future-space-meadow. To top off the futuristic theme, the cherry on top of team one's design is this teleporation hub/gateway between dimensions:<br />
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In Team Two's aerial view they appear to have done nothing at all, however a giant transparent worm is in the middle of devouring the denburn dual carraigeway. (And there was much rejoicing)<br />
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Not even the cold weather of Aberdeen can deter this giant Glass beast as it ambles up to devour the unsuspecting Aberdonians milling around. Which they can do now that the worm has eaten the road and the railway.<br />
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Ok, its not that bad. The worm doesn't <i>actually </i>devour the humans, It appears to simply wine and dine them. Like a giant larval bad date. </div>
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Or it could be fattening them up - who's to say? These are only visualisations. The main problem I have with Team Two's designs are the inability to shake this comparison out of my head:</div>
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Team Three are most likely to be Sir Ian Wood's favourites. In that their designs are practically identical to those vomited onto paper by Haliday Fraser Munro for the <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=10&MSID=14">2009 Technical Appraisal</a>:</div>
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Although it fails to bother cover up the road and the railway. But that will be forgiven given that the architects of Team Three prescribe to the same school of fantasy aboroculture as Sir Ian. The cross sections provided below show:<br />
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Can you see it?<br />
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How about now?<br />
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Team Four have provided designs for the UTG Commerative Plate.<br />
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<br />
Although viewed from serf-height, and not from the vantage point of the Hubble Telescope, it appears to be a Paddy Field, being worked by future children.
Obviously the current financial climate and Economic situation has seen
a reversal of lifestyles and fashions to a post-war situation:<br />
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You
will notice in the mid-ground that there appears to be a family
erecting a shanty-home. Obviously these are just renderings, as it is
doubtful that a Hooverville would be permitted in the centre of town.<br />
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They havent even bothered to finish that building.<br />
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Team 5's effort appears as though it is sponsored by a popular angular crisp brand. Although I dont wish to name the actual brand for fear they may sue for defamation at the remotest posibilty of being linked with the unpopular scheme:<br />
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"Is that really a flat, green triangle?" An online correspondent of mine asked upon viewing the above image. While obviously ACSEF will not have anyone mention the word "flat" anywhere near the project, (Use of the word "Flat" in beyond Holburn Street or south of King Street is rumoured to be prohibited in a local by-law) we have to give it local Guardians of Economic Future here, as this other image clarifies:<br />
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<br />
Yes. It is in fact an image of Nuclear Winter circa 2150 AD, as rendered by a re-animated J.M. Turner. Note the elderly couple from Raymond Brigg's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Wind_Blows_%28graphic_novel%29"><i>When The Wind Blows</i></a>, cowering in the foreground, and in the mid ground people in various stages of being vapourized.<br />
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Last and, by no certain means lest, Team Six appear to have done nothing at all to the gardens:<br />
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But have rather spent all their money on.....</div>
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wait for it....</div>
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THE MONOLITH!</div>
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You can imagine it now, projecting the eeiry high pitched whine, underpinned by a rough bass hum as it fires groups of birds at the Trinity Centre. It dwarfs Union Street, standing twice the size of Jamieson and Carry. Already it is rugged and moss-covered as though it has always been there, <i>As it Should Have</i>.<i> </i>On closer inspection it is giant sized <i>Jenga</i>, as scale of which only the Guardians of Economic Future themselves can play. In its rightful as the biggest <i>thing</i> in Aberdeen, nay The North East, nay Scotland it dwarfs even <i>The King</i> as he stands proud with his scepter and guilded Royal Football.<br />
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There you have it, the designs everyone has been waiting for. If you have to pick, I urge you to VOTE MONOLITH. However this is really because I didnt think there was a more rediculous concept than to pave over UTG and replace them with a car park/undergound arcade/street level piazza - and Team Six have completely proved me wrong.<br />
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Out of all of them the <strike>Fosters</strike> Team Two design is probably the best out of the lot, despite looking not unlike these fellas, from 1973 Doctor Who episode <i>The Green Death</i>: (which is pretty apt...)<br />
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But the passable designs dont fullful the perameters of Sir Ian Wood, the minority stakeholder (Who's silence since the announcement has been deafening) and the real tragedy may already have happened: the loss of the most beautiful design for Union Terrace Gardens.<br />
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<br />Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-33537432651700437462011-02-26T16:31:00.005+00:002011-03-03T15:20:21.071+00:00Use It Or Lose It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theskinny.co.uk/media/images/4692/4692_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="http://www.theskinny.co.uk/media/images/4692/4692_medium.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Following the demise of the Northern Light Contemporary Art Centre Scheme, spearheaded by <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.co.uk/">Peacock Visual Arts</a>, following the <a href="http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/178376-union-terrace-gardens-plan-approved/">decision by Aberdeen City Council on May 19th</a> to accept <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CouncilNews/ci_cns/pr_gardens_200510.asp">"in principle"</a> an alternative scheme for Union Terrace Gardens there was a surplus of unused and somewhat unusable £9.5 Million. This at direct contrast with the scheme which had been amber-lighted, oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood's 'vision' for a five-acre, three story plaza to replace the Denburn Valley, which is short by at least £90 Million, ten times the money which had already been raised by the Peacock scheme.<br /><br />In the months following the fateful council meeting the £9.5 Million which had been pledged to Peacock inevitably began to filter away. The £4.3 Million Scottish Arts Council grant was returned to new cultural body Creative Scotland and redistributed to other projects throughout Scotland. Aberdeen City Council held onto the £3 Million they had pledged, <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1582921?UserKey=">minus a small amount released</a> to keep Peacock's campaign team running in the lead up to the Council Decision. However in the past week doubt has been shed on the future of the £2 Million pledged from Scottish Enterprise.<br /><br />In January this year, the Press and Journal reported that Gordon McIntosh, director of enterprise, planning and infrastructure, claimed that the Scottish Enterprise grant had been prematurely withdrawn <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2097148#ixzz1F44CWJvb">“The information that I was provided with last week was that the £1.6million was handed back last April,”</a> adding that “The council was working under the assumption that the money was there when it wasn’t."<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clenspace/samurai/images/gmcipres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clenspace/samurai/images/gmcipres.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordon McIntosh: "£1.6 Million handed back last April"</td></tr></tbody></table>However, Scottish Enterprise strongly refute these claims stating that "at no point did SE withdraw funding for the Contemporary Arts Centre in Aberdeen. Had the project gone ahead as planned and outlined in the legal agreement then SE would have honoured the funding agreement." This stance is backed up by documents provided by Scottish Enterprise detailing how the organisation had contacted Council Officers on three separate occasions towards the end of last year: September 15th, October 19th and November 19th in order to discuss options for alternative proposals to receive the remaining £1.6 Million of Scottish Enterprise money.<br /><br />Two of the three documents provided by Scottish Enterprise clearly mention a March 2011 deadline for the re-allocation of the monies, while the third refers to identifying "alternative eligible projects which may meet SE's strategic objectives and conditions." The eligibility and strategic objectives and conditions relating to the grant were spelled out in a legal agreement between Scottish Enterprise and Aberdeen City Council dated 18th March 2009, which had been signed off by the city solicitor on 23rd March 2009, which also mentions a final deadline for allocation of monies by 31st March 2011.<br /><br />The information provided clearly indicates that should the grant not be re-allocated then it would be returned to the <a href="http://www.cosla.gov.uk/index.asp?leftId=10001D0EF-10766726">Convention of Scottish Local Authorities</a> in April this year, not <i>last</i> year as Mr McIntosh suggested in January. While at face value, looking at the numerous documents it could appear that mr McIntosh's claims were the result of a simple mistake, that the council officer had simply gotten his dates wrong. It remains to be seen how a council executive with such a large responsibility to the city could make announcements based on a seemingly minor oversight - especially when receiving monthly correspondence from Scottish Enterprise regarding Aberdeen City Council's responsibility to spend the remaining money. It is reckless at best for a local authority with such major and widespread financial problems to simply lose over a million pounds of public funding.<br /><br />Another interesting note is the apparent discrepancy between the £2 Million awarded from Scottish Enterprise to Aberdeen City Council and the £1.6 Million mentioned in the documents from Scottish Enterprise which was required to be re-allocated or returned. The original legal agreement between SE and ACC "envisaged that £300, 000 of the Contribution was to be advanced by 31st March 2009" in order to "contribute an equitable share towards the advanced design stage of the [Peacock] Project." To this end £226, 000 was awarded to Peacock for "Architect, Design and Project Management fees", but a further £190, 000 was taken from the £2 Million in order to fund the <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=10&MSID=14">Haliday Fraser Munro technical appraisal</a> into Sir Ian's "vision" on behalf of <a href="http://www.acsef.com/">ACSEF</a>.<br /><br />While SE ensures that "had the Contemporary Arts Centre project gone ahead SE would have honoured the £2Million grant in line with the legal grant offer", their money was being used to back two conflicting proposals, and the money for both came from a grant offer made to one project which was already in advanced design stages and had received full planning permission. In addition to the £190, 000 used to fund the technical appraisal, the Press and Journal revealed this week that the council had <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2153115#ixzz1F4gBKEM4">"secured permission to use £375,000 of the grant funding for Sir Ian Wood’s city square scheme" </a>meaning that, in total, <b>£565, 000 of the Scottish Enterprise grant awarded for the Northern Light Centre has been spent on the scheme which caused its collapse.</b> That's over a quarter of the original grant.<br /><br />The technical appraisal brief states that "the commission must deliver a technical appraisal which will inform an outline cost appraisal for three main options to develop Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley." The appraisal was to be carried out under a particular framework:<br /><br /><blockquote><i>The framework for the options appraisal will fall under the following 3 headings:</i></blockquote><blockquote><i>1. Full street level decking</i></blockquote><blockquote><i>2. Partial street level decking</i></blockquote><blockquote><i>3. Re-design of the existing site without any street level decking</i></blockquote><blockquote><i>The appraisal must take into account a currently proposed project, with planning consent, to and create a £13.5M Contemporary Arts Centre (3,000 m²) on the West Side of Union Terrace Gardens.</i></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGRh1snxNY5E39aJd9xvJg5TL2Z5v7C9RLWLNVGklXKGR2PQCDvvAZyHHUKeetUJPb43qTBX3rz00t6gAroHeqMtbprQ3sKpJXJ5Jtv2bnDHgrr82zd7V0SC7J0zc7J89D4o4lAaY5cA/s1600/22+Millenium+Square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGRh1snxNY5E39aJd9xvJg5TL2Z5v7C9RLWLNVGklXKGR2PQCDvvAZyHHUKeetUJPb43qTBX3rz00t6gAroHeqMtbprQ3sKpJXJ5Jtv2bnDHgrr82zd7V0SC7J0zc7J89D4o4lAaY5cA/s320/22+Millenium+Square.jpg" width="114" /></a></div>However the actual results of the technical appraisal pay lip service to the framework but adhere closely to Sir Ian Wood's personal vision for the space. While the Contemporary Art Centre is included as a <b>must</b>, it is only included on the West Side of Union Terrace Gardens in <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%206.0%20Option%203%20Enhancement%20Scheme.pdf">option 3</a>, which is quickly and unceremoniously dismissed as it only "would create minor benefits for Aberdeen City and Shire." <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%205.0%20Option%202%20Partial%20Raised%20Level.pdf">Option 2</a>, while having the brief to look at partial decking, it is almost indiscernible from <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%204.0%20Option%201%20Full%20Raised%20Level.pdf">Option 1</a>, and bypasses the instruction from the project brief of "incorporating elements from previously appraised/designed schemes where appropriate" and ignoring the <i>Millennium Square</i> scheme (pictured, right)which would fulfill most people's desire to cover the dual carraigeway and railway, leaving the gardens mostly intact. Option 2 inexplicably replicates the first option but only doesn't meet with Belmont Street on the western side.<br /><br />The technical appraisal, while bringing the costs of the project in embarrassingly light, pushes for the first option - directly facilitating the abandonment of the designed and planned Contemporary Arts Centre for which the grant which paid for it was intended. An odd and consciously contradictory machination which is not wholly unexpected.<br /><br />In the ten months since The City Square project gained approval in principle, other than a change of name to <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1052327738">The City </a><i><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1052327738">Garden </a></i><a href="http://www.thecitygardenproject.com/">Project</a>, it has made very little progress. The project has as-yet <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2047577?UserKey=">failed to gain Sir Ian's promised £50 Million investment</a>, even though he claims it is <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2052432?UserKey=">now written into his will</a>, a<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2111196?UserKey="> project board has been set up</a> but inexplicably excluding any architects, and the <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Civic-square-timing-query.6566829.jp">timetable for the scheme is already slipping further back</a>.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2360932&refRef=img&style=full" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2360932&refRef=img&style=full" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Stewart: "Surprise." Photo: Evening Express</td></tr></tbody></table>Speaking in Saturday's Press and Journal, ACC Depute Leader, Kevin Stewart, in the face of losing the remaining £1.2 Million defended the council's actions by claiming <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1052327758">“The city council made strenuous efforts to retain the Scottish Enterprise money for cultural projects. In fact, we drew up seven separate proposals — each of them costed and each presented to Scottish Enterprise for consideration.</a><br /><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1052327758"><br /></a><br /><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2154909#ixzz1F56rwNdj">“We had every faith that the proposals we put forward were worthy of funding from Scottish Enterprise, met the appropriate criteria, and would have contributed to the cultural life of the city.”</a><br /><br />However it is difficult to quantify exactly how "strenuous" these efforts were to draw up proposals for spending the remaining money when just over a month ago SNP Councillor Stewart, who is also convener of the council's finance committee expressed that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2097148#ixzz1F57wIoiZ">"It comes as a surprise to me that this money was withdrawn long before we made decisions about Union Terrace Gardens."</a> How could Aberdeen City Council be making strenuous efforts to retain money that apparently wasn't there?<br /><br />The attempts made to steamroller through this mega-proposal are spreading their debris throughout the city council. It seems that in the haste to chase Sir Ian Wood's yet-to-be guaranteed money for a project which will see him as the shot-calling minority shareholder, due process is being cast aside and Aberdeen City Council are tying themselves up in knots over it. As the Union Terrace Gardens saga continues with breakneck twists and turns, game changing revelations and scant regard for what the general public want to see with this public development, even those who support and champion the development are becoming unsure of what stage the development is actually at. Only once the City Square has succeeded in its inevitable self-inflicted downfall will the true costs of the vainglorious project be apparent to the city of Aberdeen. We can only hope that by that point it is not too late to give Aberdeen the regeneration it deserves.Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-62461652107720258672011-01-15T15:58:00.003+00:002011-01-16T12:56:46.476+00:00When The Levee Breaks<blockquote><b>“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”</b></blockquote><blockquote style="text-align: right;">George Orwell</blockquote><br /><a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2010/12/16/Britain_WikiLeaks_Assang45_s640x466.jpg?4180073ee5adc95ed997f421cfad488a40196023" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2010/12/16/Britain_WikiLeaks_Assang45_s640x466.jpg?4180073ee5adc95ed997f421cfad488a40196023" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2010/12/16/Britain_WikiLeaks_Assang45_s640x466.jpg?4180073ee5adc95ed997f421cfad488a40196023" width="400" /></a><br />Late last year, Julian Assange, Internet activist and editor-in-chief of online whistle-blowing site <a href="http://wikileaks.ch/">Wikileaks</a>, was released on bail from the <a href="http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/rcj/history.htm">Royal Courts of Justice</a>, albeit two days later than planned and with a number of restrictions which include <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12005930">"wearing an electronic tag, reporting to police every day, observing a curfew and residing at Mr [Vaughn] Smith's home." </a>Assange has been effectively placed under house arrest at the home of <a href="http://frontlineclub.com/">Frontline Club</a> founder Vaughn Smith in East Anglia under the conditions of his bail, which relate to his fight against extradition to Sweden where he faces <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/08/AR2010090803240.html">sexual assault charges.</a> The plot thickens and the overriding smell of mackerel rises as you take into consideration that in late August the arrest warrant served to Assange had been withdrawn and a statement from the Swedish Prosecutor's office saying that "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11049316">It's not a serious enough crime"</a> and the country's chief prosecutor Eva Finne stating <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/22/wikileaks-julian-assange-denies-rape-allegations">"I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape." </a>Of the two separate accusations against Assange, the rape case had been dropped but Swedish authorities would <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/25/julian-assange-wikileaks-sweden-investigation">continue to investigate accusations of Molestation</a>, which is not a sex crime but apparently relates to Assange's reluctance to wear a condom during sex.<br /><br />In September however, another Swedish prosecutor <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1307960/Rape-investigation-WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-reopened-prosecutors.html">reopened the rape investigation</a> and decided that the molestation charge <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11151277">"should be reclassified and investigated as a case of sexual coercion and sexual molestation."</a> A wanted notice was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/30/interpol-wanted-notice-julian-assange">served by Interpol,</a> a warrant reached the UK by early December and Assange handed himself over to the police. To date he has been in courts in London three times since the warrant arrived on our shores, the first hearing saw him refused bail <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11937110">"because of the risk of the 39-year-old fleeing"</a> and detained in solitary confinement in Wandsworth Prison, in the second bail was granted however it was reported that Assange will <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11989216">"will remain in prison pending an appeal against the bail decision lodged by Swedish prosecutors"</a>, the third hearing - held yesterday - Assange was released and granted bail pending a hearing in the new year with Judge Mr Justice Ousely stating that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/16/julian-assange-wikileaks">"The history of the way it [the case] has been dealt with by the Swedish prosecutors would give Mr Assange some basis that he might be acquitted following a trial."</a> Following Assange's release the Guardian published the full <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/17/julian-assange-sweden">allegations for which he was facing extradition</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2010/12/237px-Wikileaks_logo.svg_.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2010/12/237px-Wikileaks_logo.svg_.png" width="171" /></a></div>The timing and confused handling of the accusations against Assange have raised numerous questions about their legitimacy. In July this year, a month before the sexual misconduct accusations, Wikileaks, released <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/25/afghanistan-war-logs-guardian-editorial?intcmp=239">92, 000 US logs from the War in Afghanistan</a>, much to the chagrin of the American authorities with the White House quick to condemn the leak as they <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/26/wikileaks-condemned-by-white-house?intcmp=239">"could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security"</a> and the Pentagon demanding <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10888993">"to have a conversation about how to get these perilous documents off the website as soon as possible, return them to their rightful owners and expunge them from their records."</a> The current court proceedings and extradition attempts come contemporously with a new leak, that of over a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11858895">quarter of a million classfied US diplomatic cables</a>. Wikileaks, in alignment with newspapers including The Guardian, La Monde and The New York Times has begun publishing the documents which reveal sensitive and embarrassing insights into US foreign policy.<br /><br />As with the Afghan releases, US government was quick to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11859198">"condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information"</a>, however this time condemnation was brought down with added zeal. Congressman Peter King had asked <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1333879/WikiLeaks-terrorists-says-leading-US-congressman-Peter-King.html#ixzz18Prt24wU">"if the group could be classed as a terrorist organisation"</a>, Tom Flanegan, former advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister suggested that Barack Obama <a href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=19707&Cat=9">“put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something”</a> on Assange, with Jeffrey Kuhner echoing this sentiment in a<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/2/assassinate-assange/"> Washington Times Editorial</a>, Mitch McConnel, Minority Leader in the Senate describing him as <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40517039/ns/politics/40516927">"a high-tech terrorist. He has done enormous damage to our country"</a> being backed up by comments from Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich claiming <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/132037-gingrich-blames-obama-on-wikileaks-labels-assange-a-terrorist">"he should be treated as an enemy combatant."</a> There have also been <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7925646/US-congressman-says-Bradley-Manning-should-be-executed.html">calls for the death penalty</a> to be brought on Bradley Manning, the US Intelligence Analyst suspected of leaking the documents who is being held without charge in solitary confinement with <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/16/bradley-manning-health-deteriorating">reports of his mental and physical health declining in the process</a>.<br /><br />As Wikileaks continued to publish the cables, discontent continued to grow and attacks on the organisation also rose. Wikileaks domain name server at <a href="http://mgx.com/blogs/2010/12/02/wikileaks-domain-name-server-everydns-net-terminates-due-to-ddos/">EveryDNS cancelled it's account</a>, Amazon <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8175108/WikiLeaks-Amazon-stops-hosting-website-publishing-leaked-US-diplomatic-documents.html">stopped hosting the wikileaks site on it's servers</a>, Mastercard<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8200473/WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-says-Visa-and-MasterCard-are-instruments-of-US-foreign-policy.html"> and Visa and Paypal</a> cancelled transactions of funds donated to the organisation, with PayPal admitting that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/technology-11935539">"On November 27th, the state department, the US government basically, wrote a letter saying that the WikiLeaks' activities were deemed illegal in the United States and as a result our policy group had to make the decision of suspending the account,"</a> and Swiss bank PostFinance <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11929034">"shut the accounts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange." </a><br /><br />A significant portion of the online community, represented by internet activists Anonymous, began fighting back launching DDOS (Distributed denial of service attacks) towards those inhibiting Wikileaks work, even going so far as to bring down the Mastercard<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/08/operation-payback-mastercard-website-wikileaks"> Website as part of what they describe as Operation Payback.</a> Outwith the digital realm the Icelandic Parliament have reacted to the actions of Visa and Mastercard and <a href="http://grapevine.is/Home/ReadArticle/Parliament-Committee-Calls-Ban-on-Wikileaks-Harsh-Operation-on-Freedom-of-Expression">"have raised the possibility of taking away their operating licences",</a> Moscow's Kremlin have suggested <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/09/julian-assange-nobel-peace-prize">"nominating Assange as a Nobel Prize laureate" </a>while Austrialia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard's <a href="http://www.news.com.au/features/wikileaks/party-revolt-at-pms-wiki-stance/story-fn79cf6x-1225970594165#ixzz18U7tfTp4">leadership of her Labour Party was threatened</a> by her comments regarding Assange.<br /><br />In January this year, Hillary Clinton wrote in The Guardian <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jan/22/hillary-clinton-online-freedom">"defending online freedoms." </a>In her article she discussed the apparent merits in the free and instant access to information that the internet provided, even describing how "During his visit to China in November, President Obama defended the right of people to freely access information, and said that the more freely information flows, the stronger societies become. He spoke about how access to information helps citizens hold their own governments accountable" going further to warn of the dangers of stifling that information, saying "technologies with the potential to open up access to government and promote transparency can also be hijacked by governments to crush dissent and deny human rights."<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jan/22/hillary-clinton-online-freedom">"As in the dictatorships of the past, governments are targeting independent thinkers who use these tools. We've seen reports that when Iranians living overseas posted online criticism of their nation's leaders, their family members in Iran were singled out for retribution. And despite an intense campaign of government intimidation, brave citizen journalists in Iran continue using technology to show the world and their fellow citizens what is happening inside their country."</a></blockquote>When it emerged however that brave citizen journalists had used technology to show the world and their fellow citizens what was happening inside her country, Mrs Clinton was quick to join in the US' intense campaign of government intimidation. The Secretary of State described the disclosures as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11868838">"not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests, it is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity"</a> and described how the American Government is <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8169040/WikiLeaks-Hillary-Clinton-states-WikiLeaks-release-is-an-attack.html">"taking aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this information."</a><br /><br />In the digital age, information is the most powerful weapon anyone can wield. Rather than the Christian adage of ignorance being bliss, knowledge is power, and the pen is mightier than the sword - or rather the <i>keyboard</i> is mightier than the <i>A-Bomb</i>. Information is the weapon with the power to destroy entire governments but leave people and buildings intact.<br /><br />Not that the notion of the power of information is anything new, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/part1.html">disclosures and investigation of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein</a> for <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/"><i>The Washington Post</i></a> into the Watergate Scandal was instrumental in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/8/newsid_2492000/2492685.stm">bringing down the Nixon administration</a>. The main difference is the ease and methods of dissemination of that information. Now you don't need to pass bulky documents around, photocopying or transcribing the contents, information can be passed from one person to hundreds of recipients at the click of a mouse, it can be posted as a status on Facebook or Twitter and be all the way around the world and back in an instant.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5rXPrfnU3G0?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5rXPrfnU3G0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The above video was released by Wikileaks under the title <a href="http://www.collateralmurder.com/">"Collateral Murder"</a> in April 2010. The video, leaked from within the US Military, <a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/leak/">allegedly from Bradley Manning</a>, and shows footage from a US Apache helicopter engaging alleged 'insurgents' in a Baghdad street on 12th July 2007. The engagement left twelve people, including two Reuter's journalists, dead. The official line from the US Military described how <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html">"American troops were conducting a raid when they were hit by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The American troops called in reinforcements and attack helicopters. In the ensuing fight, the statement said, the two Reuters employees and nine insurgents were killed."</a> While <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1617459520070716?src=071607_1043_TOPSTORY_scores_killed_in_iraq&pageNumber=1">Reuters requested more detailed information on the attack</a>, and requested access to the in-flight video through the Freedom of Information Act, the requests were <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/05/wikileaks-us-army-iraq-attack">blocked by the Pentagon</a> and it looked as though, as <i>The Washington Post</i> reported, it would remain <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202357.html">"unclear whether the journalists had been killed by U.S. fire or by shooting from the Iraqis targeted by the Apache." </a><br /><br />With the release of the leaked video, so too came the clarity. The journalists were not killed by Iraqi insurgents, in fact the video clearly shows that there was no fire in the area they were in, there was no small arms fire and although some of those gathered in the area were armed <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/apr/14/julian-assange/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-tells-colbert-per/">"the permission to engage was given before the word RPG was ever used,"</a> and not content with opening fire on the suspected insurgents, the helicopter returns to the scene and re-engages a wounded, unarmed journalist and the occupants of a van trying to help him.<br /><br />As well as highlighting the true trigger-happy nature of US combat in Iraq, displaying the disturbing reality of warfare and the dangers for Journalists trying to report on the conflict, it also reveals that those perpetrating the crimes are well aware of what it is they are doing and do not want the general public to know. As Winston Churchill pointed out, "History is written by the victors," had the video not been leaked then the 'victors' of this particular skirmish would have been content to leave it <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202357.html">"unclear whether the journalists had been killed by U.S. fire or by shooting from the Iraqis targeted by the Apache"</a> and eventually the whole event would have been forgotten and the people killed simply added to the tally of Iraqi's killed during the conflict and the actions of the helicopter crew, clearly working against their own <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2010/04/the-wikileaks-video-and-the-rules-of-engagement.html">rules of engagement</a>, would never be known.<br /><br />The value of organisations like Wikileaks, investigative journalism in general, and the basic democratic right to freedom of speech are what keeps the world open, exposes those truths and information which governments do not trust their citizens with. The act of covering up war crimes, and writing and re-writing history pushes the 'civilised' nations of the West further into Orwellian dystopia. Wikileak's publishing of the Iraq and Afghan War Logs turned the spotlight on the two current <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_war">perpetual wars</a>, and the diplomatic cables that followed highlight a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/02/AR2010120207030.html?sid=ST2010120303086">"sense of futility"</a> regarding the Afghan war and the apparent <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/181930">ineffectiveness of the British military efforts.</a> The US Defence Department responded to the leak of the logs with the claim that the release <a href="http://zeroanthropology.net/2010/10/29/wikileaks-iraq-war-logs-pentagon-response-to-publication-of-logs/">"could very well get our troops and those they are fighting with killed”</a> however (in the video below), Republican Senator, Ron Paul asks the reasoned, legitimate question: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/ron-paul-wikileaks-defense_n_795014.html">"Which has resulted in the greatest number of deaths: lying us into war or Wikileaks revelations."</a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GDp1izlMQT0?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GDp1izlMQT0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>Despite this, the US powers that be, such as Attorney General Eric Holder, rather than making a dignified apology and reassessing their foreign policy in the wake of the leaks, have stated that <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/assange-lawyers-prepare-us-espionage-indictment/story?id=12362315">"We have a very serious, active, ongoing investigation that is criminal in nature. I authorized just last week a number of things to be done so that we can hopefully get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable, as they -- as they should be."</a> Further to this as the Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives following the recent Mid Term elections, they reveal that they have <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/03/republicans-wikileaks-investigation">"included WikiLeaks in a list of priorities for investigation."</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Indeed the first move of this investigation was revealed when Twitter, having managed to <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-01/11/twitter-subpoena-reaction">overturn a gag order</a> notified several users of the microblogging site, including Manning, Assange, US programmer Jacob Appelbaum, Dutch Hacker Rop Gonggrijp and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/08/us-twitter-hand-icelandic-wikileaks-messages?INTCMP=SRCH">Icelandic MP Brigitta Jonsdottir</a>, t<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12141530">hat "the US government has subpoenaed the social networking site Twitter for personal details of people connected to Wikileaks,"</a> and "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12141530">The US District Court in Virginia said it wanted information including user names, addresses, connection records, telephone numbers and payment details."</a> While twitter was able to challenge the gag order placed on the legal action, it has been <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/08/wikileaks-calls-google-facebook-us-subpoenas?INTCMP=SRCH">suggested that Google and Facebook may have been issued similar subpoenas</a> but not challenged the gag order. Wikileaks lawyer, Mark Stephens has claimed that the court order not only covers the five specific accounts but also "<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/us-subpoenas-wikileaks-tweets-and-why-this-could-affect-you/7610">600,000 odd followers that Wikileaks has on Twitter".</a> Should this claim be true, and if Facebook is indeed facing a similar subpoena then one could assume that the court order extends to those accounts who have "liked" Wikileaks. At time of writing, Wikileaks has 1, 529, 442 fans on their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wikileaks">Facebook page</a> which <i>could</i> mean that the court order will obtain the usernames, passwords, IP Addresses, postal addresses telephone numbers and credit card details of around two million people.<br /><br />America loves a witchhunt, be it looking for actual "witches", "communists", "terrorists", Taliban, Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Fidel Castro - now they have Julian Assange. In their haste to pin a conspiracy charge stick in order to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8195120/WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-could-face-spying-charges.html">prosecute him under the 1917 Espionage Act</a>, US Senators, pundits, judges and lawyers are already running rough-shod over the supposedly sacred First Amendment and international human rights and privacy laws. The reality of the situation is that the curtain has already been pulled back, the truth is out in the open and no amount of denial is going to change that. Rather than chasing and punishing anyone related to the leak, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/05/columbia-students-wikileaks-cables">threatening the future job prospects of University students</a>, or forcing companies to strangle organisations dedicated to revealing war crimes or injustice perhaps it is time to look into the core values of democracy: transparency and openness. It is time to investigate what has gone so horribly wrong and the damage that this culture of secrecy and lies has done and will continue to do if left unchecked.<br /><br />Should accountability and punishment lie with Wikileaks, Julian Assange, News Organisations or internet activists for making this information public, and not the system which has allowed thousands of civilian deaths to be covered up, forged war under false pretence and systematically mislead and lied to the people of the world then we will be heading down a very dark and precarious path.</div></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-62562968457252400022010-12-14T20:09:00.004+00:002010-12-14T20:16:00.077+00:00Apathy in the UK<blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">Robert M. Hutchins, 1899-1977</div><br />
A recent comment response to a post on this humble blog came with a call to "live with the result and don't whine about it" as "What's been done is not illegal, it may be slightly shady but that's life." While loath to get into the specifics of the nature of the call, or indeed the blog post in question, this response, rather than anger or irk, saddened me as it is symptomatic of widespread attitudes towards activism or, to put it more generally, <span style="font-style: italic;">caring</span> within today's world.<br />
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Not long after the comment appeared, around about six weeks ago I began writing this post. It was primarily influenced by this, but also to a general sense of impotence which seemed to be arising around certain issues: for instance the lack of reaction to a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166401210043730&ref=ts">student protest</a> petition against <a href="http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2010/10/grays-anatomy_08.html">proposed redundancies at Grays School of Art</a>, with <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/">The Robert Gordon University</a>'s acting principal John Harper's response nothing more rather dismissive rhetoric and an empty statement to the effect that <i>"I’m confident that the recommendations will ensure that the University continues to produce a steady stream of talented graduates who will drive the regional creative and cultural economy."</i> The assurance that <i>"Further consultation sessions with students will be arranged at the appropriate times"</i> seemed enough to dissuade a number of students from taking the matter any further feeling it was outwith their control.<br />
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I was, at the time, poised to write a post discussing this, and also the binds of non-disclosure agreements which restrict academics disclosing their opinions of the growing corporation of Universities and education and the general levels of apathy which have dominated the British Public. However, I focused on another <a href="http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2010/11/art-for-few-education-for-few-and.html">set of topics</a> I believed more pressing at the time before returning to this post in an attempt to get it down, when this happened:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pixies/2010/11/10/1289425001264/Protester-outside-Millban-006.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pixies/2010/11/10/1289425001264/Protester-outside-Millban-006.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Millbank Tower Protests - Photograph: Ray Tang/Jonathan Hordle/Rex Features</td></tr>
</tbody></table> On the 10th of November the first in a series of marches opposing the <a href="http://itn.co.uk/694926d174dca2f99d542c9be5e5589a.html">proposed rises in student tuition fees</a> and they're oft-overlooked stablemate - <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/four-out-of-five-education-authorities-will-shed-staff-2109411.html">an 80% Reduction in teaching budgets</a> - deviated from their proposed route and resulted in the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822">occupation of Conservative Party Headquarters at Millbank Tower.</a> The bulk of the media coverage concentrated on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822">"violence at Tory HQ [that] overshadow[ed] student fees protest" </a>with reports of the broken window as pictured above and case of a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/protester-admits-throwing-fire-extinguisher-from-millbank-tower-roof-2142423.html">fire extinguisher thrown from the roof of the tower</a>. While the action was quick to be condemned: by Aaron Porter of the NUS as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822">"despicable"</a>; David Cameron as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11732264">"unacceptable"</a>; while Boris Johnson accusing those in occupation as having <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/">"abused their right to protest"</a> the condemnation mostly tars the occupation and the violence which occurred at Millbank Tower with the same brush.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/">The Guardian</a>'s John Harris argues that while indeed it was a small minority who brought the violence with them, it was not a small minority who had marched on Millbank Tower: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/12/spending-cuts-fightback-begins?INTCMP=SRCH">"You had only to look at the crowd to know that the vast majority of them were not anarchists, but reasonably regular twentysomethings. As if to illustrate the point, when one of the people on the roof made the stupid decision to hurl down a fire extinguisher, they were met with an outraged chant of "Don't throw shit! Don't throw shit!""</a> Going on, Harris quotes an exchange from a colleague who had spent the day at Millbank <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/12/spending-cuts-fightback-begins?INTCMP=SRCH">"talk of cynical provocateurs, he said, was "nonsense": the crowd was made up of "ordinary students who were viscerally angry", but also mindful of what was ill-advised, or plain daft. When one of their number had prised up a cobblestone and moved to lob it at the police, he had been roundly told to "stop being an idiot.""</a><br />
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While I am certainly not going to condone or advocate violence on this blog, whether be towards a protester, innocent or police officer who is merely doing their job, I will say that it is something I can <i>understand, </i>and something which was justified in a statement from lecturers at Goldsmith's College <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/12/no-10-lecturers-praised-student-protests-at-tory-hq">"The real violence in this situation relates not to a smashed window but to the destructive impact of the cuts."</a> Anger and discontent is widespread and rising amid the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8421092.stm">lies</a> and <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/12350">hypocrisy</a> being espoused by those in government and the rapid and alarming breakdown of the basic principals of democracy. It seems the democratic process only comes into force once every four or five years (depending on jurisdiction) when an election approaches and the general population is required to see one party (or two as is currently the case) into power. Even then this year's UK elections have seen even the polling booth to be a hollow gesture where the thoughts and opinions of the voters mean nothing, given the Liberal Democrats finding themselves in a position to turn the tide of political governance mostly based on a pledge which they apparently <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/senior-lib-dems-planned-to-drop-fees-pledge">planned to drop regardless of the outcome</a>. It is unseen how a Lib Dem pre-election pledge which did get through, the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7731101/Voters-to-get-powers-to-sack-corrupt-MPs-under-new-Great-Reform-Act.html">"powers of recall"</a> will effect the Liberal Democrat mandate to govern, but it is very clear that the student occupation of Millbank tower was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/nov/10/student-fees-protest-conservative-hq">"just the beginning."</a><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/11/4/1288901107631/vodafone-protests-004.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/11/4/1288901107631/vodafone-protests-004.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UK Uncut protest in Brighton. Photograph: Howard Davies/www.reportdigital</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In late October, after <a href="http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back&issue=1270">Private Eye revealed</a> that the HM Treasury had allegedly <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1725879618">"agreed a deal to let Vodafone off a £6bn tax bill</a><a href="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=514832&in_page_id=2#ixzz1812qvblB">"</a> people took to the streets in protest. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11658950">"Four shops in central London were forced to close on Saturday because of the demonstrations, sparked by a campaign on Twitter and Facebook"</a> with other branches being targeted across the UK. The campaign quicky gained weight becoming <a href="http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/">"UK Uncut"</a> as their protest gained momentum and demonstrations continued with growing regularity despite HM Treasury dismissing the allegations saying <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11658950">"There is no question of Vodafone having a tax liability of £6bn. That number is an urban myth"</a> and Vodafone themselves claiming that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11658950">"We pay our taxes in the UK and all of the other countries in which we operate"</a> , even though recently <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11606192">"Indian tax authorities have given Vodafone 30 days to pay a 112bn rupee ($2.5bn, £1.6bn) tax bill."</a><br />
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As the demonstrations have grown in numbers and frequency, UK Uncut have widened their targets, moving on to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11918873">tackle high-street chain, Topshop,</a> and in particular its founder Philip Green who is also accused of Tax Avoidance. UK Uncut claim that "<a href="http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/targets">In 2005 Philip Green awarded himself £1.2bn, the biggest paycheck in British corporate history. But this dividend payout was channeled through a network of offshore accounts, via tax havens in Jersey and eventually to Green’s wife’s Monaco bank account. The dodge saved Green, and cost the tax payer, close to £300m." </a>Green in particular has been targeted as he was in august appointed to "<a href="http://www.publicpropertyuk.com/2010/08/13/sir-philip-green-appointed-government-propertyadviser/">lead an efficiency review of government spending" </a>while <a href="http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/67453,business,lib-dems-call-for-probe-into-philip-greens-tax-affairs-nick-clegg">Liberal Democrat MPs called for an investigation into his tax dealings</a>.<br />
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As the commons vote on the tuition fees on 9th December approached two more protests occurred on the 24th and 30th in the capital with many more emerging across the country. Following from the Goldsmith's College Occupation last month, students across the country<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11847616"> began to occupy their University buildings </a>and for the first time<a href="http://www.teachers.tv/news/82991"> pupils occupied their schools</a> in protest as the biggest demonstration march approached to coincide with the crucial vote. Despite <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11740282">Downing Street's condemnation</a> of lecturers who had supported the protests at Millbank, lecturers, trade unionists and schoolchildren joined the students in the protests last week. Following <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11735955">criticism of the policing of the protests a month</a> earlier, the Metropolitain Police were infinitely more prepared for the trouble which emerged when the protest again deviated off course and saw thousands of protesters enter Parliament Square.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/blog/2010/dec/09/student-protests-live-coverage?INTCMP=SRCH">The Guardian's live blog</a> of the day can fill in most details as they happened. As the protesters broke into Parliament Square the Police switched to riot gear and began employing the controversial "kettling" technique to contain the protesters in one area. In practice, however, it appears to have exacerbated the situation, creating a bottleneck and effectively trapping people - including teenage schoolchildren - within the Square. Student groups came out <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11976751">accusing the police tactics</a> of provoking violent reaction, with the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/blog/2010/dec/10/tuition-fees-protests-charles-camilla-attack-aftermath-live?INTCMP=SRCH">Guardian's live reaction blog </a>highlighting cases of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/blog/2010/dec/10/tuition-fees-protests-charles-camilla-attack-aftermath-live?INTCMP=SRCH">apparent contempt from Police</a> towards protesters, reports of police dragging a cerebral palsy sufferer from his wheelchair (video, below), and student Alfie Meadows, a 20 year old protester <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11967098">"suffered bleeding to the brain when he was struck by a police truncheon during the tuition fees protest."</a> A few days after the protest a video emerged showing an officer policing the protest <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/12/student-protests-met-police-chief">without displaying her shoulder ID</a>, following the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests in 2009 Metropolitan Police Commissioner had condemned the action: <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23678440-sir-paul-officers-were-wrong-to-hide-their-id-badges.do">“I have made it absolutely clear that it is absolutely unacceptable for any officer who should have identification numbers on not to have those identification numbers on.</a>”<br />
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Following last week's protests, Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers stated that the repeated clashes with protesters and demonstrators would begin to threaten the reputation of the police <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/10/police-tuition-fees-protests-orde">"if it is allowed to be played as the cops acting as an arm of the state, delivering the elected government's will, rather than protecting the rights of the citizen."</a> While the policing of these events is part of the Job description, the increasing conflicts, questionable tactics and growing discontent are bound to erode the relationship between the police and the general public, it wont be long before discontent spreads into the police ranks. Police Forces throughout the country are not immune to the same round of cuts which are angering students, with warnings that <a href="http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Spending-Review-Police-Cuts-Public-Safety-Compromised-Thousands-Of-Officers-Jobs-Will-Be-Cut/Article/201010315762838?f=rss">"40,000 officers would lose their jobs if the police budget was slashed by 25%"</a> and Home Secretary Theresa May telling Met Commissioner Paul Stephenson to <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_1725879734" style="color: #003399;">"</a><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/46405afa-06f0-11e0-8c29-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz182e5Q9uF">brace for an 11 per cent cut in government funding over the next two years."</a><br />
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As the police <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11973657">launch an investigation into the events of 9th December</a>, with students blaming police tactics for the violence, and the police and government condemning a <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jOPxK1PsBaXHw-WZZe22xF82S1QA?docId=N0085311292007705543A">"significant number [who] came intent on violence"</a>, however will the investigation pinpoint who is really provoked and caused the violence and protests: the Coalition Government? <br />
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When you look beyond the media emphasis on violence which undermines the voices of campaigners and masks the real issues, that of a systematic dismantling of the education system and the UK Government's unflinching bias towards big business.The Government continues to hand over policy-making roles to representatives from business such as Philip Green and ignore the wishes of the voters, including inviting fast food giant MacDonalds to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/12/mcdonalds-pepsico-help-health-policy">inform public health policy</a>. Education is not simply a tool to be used by commerce or business in order to train workers into functional obedience. A day after the Government voted through the rise in fees a statement from <a href="http://www.cbi.org.uk/">CBI</a> Director General Richard Lambert states <a href="http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/press.nsf/0363c1f07c6ca12a8025671c00381cc7/4a70cc5c75d27e1a802577f3005498d2?OpenDocument">"business will have to play a much more active role than it has in the past in informing students about its likely future needs"</a> even going further to suggest that business should be influencing which courses Universities offer and steering the choices which students have to make much earlier. Society as a whole benefits from an educated populous, it is a right and not a privilege, which drives forward innovation and invention and should be free and accessible to all.Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-54979362630655450972010-11-23T14:05:00.003+00:002010-11-23T14:11:08.774+00:00Tracing Place<i>For several months now I have been following the magnificent <a href="http://otheraberdeen.blogspot.com/">Other Aberdeen</a> blog. The blog is a psychogeographical insight into the fabric of The Granite City, which explores areas off the beaten track, at right angles to the usual and those elements of the city which most people in the course of their lives in the city either miss out or ignore.</i><br /><br /><i>Recently as part of a project I am <a href="http://www.browseaberdeen.com/wp-content/uploads/agent/aberdeen_city1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" src="http://www.browseaberdeen.com/wp-content/uploads/agent/aberdeen_city1.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 308px; width: 400px;" border="0" /></a>currently working on I had the pleasure to meet and have a chat with Alan Gatt, who with his wife runs the blog. We discussed a number of topics relating to Aberdeen, and I asked him about the concept of psychogeograpy - which I believed I was unfamiliar with. However just this morning while mulling over our chat I realised that I had indeed come across the concept before, and had actually written about it.</i><br /><br /><i>Earlier this year I was asked to write an introduction to a catalogue of a public art project carried out by third year Sculpture students at Grays School of Art. The project was pure psychogeography, with the students working with the concept to create artworks which highlighted the city around them and those areas which had become forgotten or overlooked.</i><br /><br /><br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/01/53/015339_c50b71cf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/01/53/015339_c50b71cf.jpg" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from College Street Car Park - Aberdeen</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Tracing Place </b></div><br />The notion of place is one of the universal concerns intrinsic to the development of our species since long before we crawled out of the oceans and grew legs. Our immediate and extended context has dictated how society has developed, we have always reacted to the space around us: celebrated it, took inspiration from it, amended it, created new spaces or simply destroyed it.<br /><br />For an artist, the contemporary concerns about space are often as important to a practice than the materials used or sometimes the final artistic output. While pre-Duchamp, the interest in place was mostly representational - afterwards the focus shifted from representation to an overriding analysis of context that the conceptual concerns with our surroundings came to the fore.<br /><br />At the dawn of a new century, we seem on the brink of a critical point in perspective and thinking. Two hundred years of industrialization have irreparably changed the face of the world we live in and it is our generation that has to confront the consequences of this “progress.” Within contemporary practice, the approaches to making, creating and concept often involve working in the public realm, whether large scale site-specific commissions or more subtle interventions or subversive, in-your-face street art, the artist is no longer confined to the studio and artwork no longer to the gallery.<br /><br />Widespread industrialization and population migration from rural to urban spaces caused the rapid, unplanned, transformation of cities. Tenements, factories, mills, foundries, stores and roads emerged as societal perspective and priorities changed and our surroundings became less important. The human race had abandoned its former fascination with synergy and natural order with the emergence of the hedonistic pursuit of Capitalism.<br /><br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://naturalfrequency.com/files/nf/articles/thermalelements/concrete-zones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://naturalfrequency.com/files/nf/articles/thermalelements/concrete-zones.jpg" border="0" height="225" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel Whiteread - House (1994)</td></tr></tbody></table>In the inevitable decline of heavy industry, forgotten spaces became ubiquitous in the urban landscape, monuments to short sightedness of our forefathers and reminders of the effect of progress on our planet. The transitional period we find ourselves is an area of certain fascination for artists. Gormley’s <i>Angel of The North</i>, built through the processes and materials common to Newcastle’s manufacturing heritage, looks over the city symbolizing the cultural awakening of the city; Rachel Whiteread’s <i>House</i> represented the living space of a street which no longer stood, erased from reality and from our memories.<br /><br />Tracing Place seeks to highlight those forgotten spaces throughout Aberdeen. Simple interventions, such as Amy Flint’s outline footprints, encouraging the viewer to see the cityscape as artwork, or Hannah Malone’s Castlegate, a series of sandcastles crumble across Aberdeen’s Civic Square emphasizing the fragility of the space around it: an underutilized, yet historically significant part of the city.<br /><br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/nescotland/images2/adr1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/nescotland/images2/adr1.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallace Tower - Netherkirkgate, Aberdeen</td></tr></tbody></table>Aberdeen differs greatly from the post-industrial centres discussed. As heavy industry declined across the UK, North Sea Oil gave Aberdeen its own Industrial Revolution. A great many unique features were swept away: historic buildings on Broad Street replaced by St Nicholas House; Old Torry by an oil refinery; the Wallace tower, making way for Mark’s and Spencer.<br /><br />Even today, with a global shift in priority, Aberdeen, still in the grips of the billion-dollar oil boom, seems destined not to take heed. A project for culture-led rejuvenation of Union Terrace Gardens, a gift to the people of the City, is under threat from a boorish scheme reeking of sixties modernism brought forward by those who have personally benefited from industrial exploitation would see these Gardens ripped out, covered over and wiped from existence.<br /><br />Projects such as Tracing Place are vital at this particular juncture. The role of the artist is to celebrate our context, remind us of what we have and what we have lost. We must be able to stand back and embrace the beauty around us or we will be forever destined to repeat the mistakes of our past at the expense of our future.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Commissioned for Stage 3 Sculpture Catalogue of the same name, </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Grays School of Art: April 2010</span></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-16834828671448224702010-11-05T13:39:00.001+00:002011-02-04T15:57:14.165+00:00Art for a Few, Education for a Few and Freedom for a Few<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Money is a magical phenomenon. Because there's nothing there. You didn't burn, for example, food. Most of the governments of the world destroy food every day so as not to bring down the market price. You didn't burn Art (the pictures on the notes are okay, but you wouldn't want them on your wall); you didn't burn Literature -both of these things are burnt every day; you didn't burn people. What you burnt was paper that is a symbol of value."</span></blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">Alan Moore, on the K Foundation's burning of £1 Million<br />
from <span style="font-style: italic;">The K Foundation Burn a Million Quid</span>, 1995</div>A conflicting <span style="font-style: italic;">argument</span> to Moore's assessment of money can be found in the musical <span style="font-style: italic;">Cabaret</span> which debuted on Broadway in 1966, that of the song lyric <span style="font-style: italic;">Money Makes The World Go Round</span>, which has become somewhat of a motto for those occupying the board rooms of the huge corporations around the world, as well as those gambling every day in The City and on Wall Street. Far from being billions of years worth of cosmic dust barrage from even before the formation of the planet, money plays no part in the rotation of the Earth. In fact, if anything, Money may be the one thing that will cause the world to stop rotating, burst into flames and fall out of the sky.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsRVWn6iDHCnDfxWnO3yDGmLWL_kve6ZEHwFsUGLN7b7GOXwUiRyg9SdybCg1jq24lWOmXvdxSSW1JbYs-nn9v5smm3OT_IjqmEommJuS6wC16YPhUl8ZwxvcuBGFPhu49tRxarHOwr4/s1600/william-morris-5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531746752786954226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsRVWn6iDHCnDfxWnO3yDGmLWL_kve6ZEHwFsUGLN7b7GOXwUiRyg9SdybCg1jq24lWOmXvdxSSW1JbYs-nn9v5smm3OT_IjqmEommJuS6wC16YPhUl8ZwxvcuBGFPhu49tRxarHOwr4/s400/william-morris-5.jpg" style="float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 283px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Wallinger: Save The Arts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Last week's <a href="http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spend_sr2010_speech.htm">Comprehensive Spending Review</a> as announced by our new leaders in the coalition government, aiming to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11540524">"terminate the budget deficit"</a> in full over the next four years. The main event has been the announcement of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11595551">£81 billion worth of cuts to Government spending</a> in order to combat the £115 billion deficit, with the remaining balance to be met by raising taxes, such as the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10371590">impending VAT increase from 17.5% to 20%</a> in January. The spending cuts include (in no particular order): <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11570923">50% in social housing</a>; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11570593">8% in Defence</a>; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11581935">State pension age to rise to 66 for both men and women</a>; <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/24/police-budget-cuts-hit-poorest">"funding for police will be cut by 20%"</a>; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11584239">"60% cut in capital spending and Educational Maintenance Allowances</a>"; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11584239">"Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BiS) is to be cut by 7.1%."</a>; <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/9111865.stm">"Sport England ... funding cut by 33%"</a>; A freeze in the Science budget which works out as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11579949">"a cut of less than 10% over four years"</a> in real terms; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11586371">"3,000 fewer criminals in prison"</a>; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11538534">Abolition of 192 quangos</a>; "<a href="http://www.blogger.com/7.5%%20real%20terms%20reduction%20in%20revenue%20and%20another%2041%%20reduction%20in%20capital%20funds">7.5% real terms reduction in revenue and another 41% reduction in capital funds"</a> for Wales; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11585961">"£4bn cuts in the budget"</a> for Northern Ireland; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11576631">"7% cut in resource spending and 38% cut in capital spending"</a> for Scotland; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11582070">30% to the Arts Council of England</a>; and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/20/spending-review-university-teaching-cuts">40% to Universities</a>. Of the few departments to have been "spared" in the spending review, the NHS budget <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11582619">"will rise by £10bn."</a><br />
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Despite the Conservative's pseudo-socialist rallying cries that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8292680.stm">"we're all in this together"</a> it appears the banking community are getting away quite lightly in terms of cuts in comparison to every other aspect of society. With the spending review came a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11593370">"new bank levy [that] will raise about £2.5bn a year from 2012"</a>, to allow the banks whose pivital role in 2008's Credit Crunch sparked the global financial meltdown, and the price tag for the UK bailing out it's banks, which came to around<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/163850bn-official-cost-of-the-bank-bailout-1833830.html"> £850 Billion</a> led to the country having such a massive budget deficit. Financial Secretary Mark Hoban said rightfully that banks should <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/city-shrugs-its-shoulders-as-bank-levy-is-unveiled-2113300.html">"make a fair contribution in respect of the potential risks they pose to the UK"</a>, however early indications are that the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11593370">"levy would be set at 0.04% in the first year and would then rise to 0.07%"</a>, nowhere near as as huge a drop or as big a saving as being faced throughout the rest of society. Leading government think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has already <a href="http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/sr2010/opening_remarks.pdf">hit out at the spending review</a>, with claims that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/21/ifs-spending-review-cuts-poor-hit-hardest?intcmp=239">"poor people would be hit harder than the rich"</a>, but in the meantime leading banks such as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/19/goldman-cuts-bankers-payouts">Goldman-Sachs</a> are willing to continue to pay out massive bonuses, with their vice-chairman, Conservative peer Lord Griffith calling on the taxpayers to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/oct/21/executive-pay-bonuses-goldmansachs">"tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity for all"</a>. Other banks are hitting out at the supposed "severity" of the rates levy, despite <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/21/bank-levy-to-raise-two-billion-pounds">"The Treasury spent the summer consulting"</a> the banking industry, something it failed to do for the rest of the population.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lord Browne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The restructuring of the finances in Higher Education were not put out to consultation, or in fact given <span id="goog_679689645"></span><span id="goog_679689646"></span>over to one of the hundreds of qualified specialists in this sort of thing who are already working for the Government through Universities, this particular pleasure was allocated to Lord Browne, former head of BP and House of Lords crossbencher, whose <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/tuition-fees-lord-browne-universities">only apparent insight</a> into Universities was that he <i>had been to one. </i>Browne's report, which was used as much of the basis for George Osborne's radical reshaping of the finances of Universities, outlined that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/08/tuition-fee-rise-browne-review">"tuition fees which are capped at £3,290 a year, should be raised to as much as £7,000"</a> sparking fears that we could end up in a situation where <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/12/cameron-higher-education-salary">"that students are essentially consumers who should pay for services they receive – the more upmarket, the higher the price."</a> However following the spending review, Lib-Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable and Deputy Prime Minister have made assurances that the cuts would be capped, with Mr Cable telling BBC News <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11615212">"I don't think there's any prospect of having unlimited fees - that simply isn't going to arise."</a><br />
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However during the election campaign, the Liberal Democrats made a firm pledge dedicate to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7165001/liberal-democrat-manifesto.html">"Scrapping university tuition fees during first degrees"</a> entirely, and have since faced <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/12/tuition-fees-vince-cable-liberal-democrat-revolt">"the first serious revolt within the Liberal Democrat party since the formation of the coalition"</a> with Lib Dem MP Greg Mulholland stating that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/12/tuition-fees-vince-cable-lib-dem-rebellion">"It is certainly my belief that this is not a done deal and the strength of feeling among Lib Dem MPs could derail any attempts to see fees rising substantially and I will certainly be doing everything I can to make that happen" </a>and former party leader, Sir Menzies Campbell adding that <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/7835300/Sir-Menzies-Campbell-Lib-Dems-could-mutiny-on-tuition-fees.html">"It would drive a horse and cart through my credibility in my capacity both as chancellor and as an MP if I were to renege on that pledge – and I don't intend to."</a> With an uncertain track record on the issue and, according to the Guardian, Conservative sources disagreeing with Clegg and Cable <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/12/tuition-fees-vince-cable-liberal-democrat-revolt">"that elite universities should have the freedom to charge what they like"</a>, which led Aaron Porter, of the National Students to warn that <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/university-tuition-fees-set-for-huge-rise">"A market in course prices between universities would increasingly put pressure on students to make decisions based on cost rather than academic ability or ambition."</a><br />
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As well as the proposals for tuition fee increasing, the review, or <a href="http://hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview/"><i>Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education</i></a>, outlined in section 6.2 PUBLIC INVESTMENT WILL BE TARGETED ON THE TEACHING OF PRIORITY SUBJECTS, outlining that public investment in teaching budgets would be reserved for subjects which a perceived "prority" defined as <a href="http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/docs/s/10-1208-securing-sustainable-higher-education-browne-report.pdf">"Typically the courses that may fall into this category are courses in science and technology subjects, clinical medicine, nursing and other healthcare degrees, as well as strategically important language courses."</a> An <i>Observer</i> Editorial surmised that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/tuition-fees-higher-education-universities">"The big problem with Lord Browne's report is not in the mechanism it uses to develop new funding streams, but in the fact that it uses that mechanism as a pretext to slash teaching grants"</a>, indeed the realities of the suggestions outlined by Lord Browne were brought through in Osborne's spending review by cutting the Higher education budget <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/oct/20/spending-review-university-teaching-cuts">"from £7.1bn to £4.2bn by 2014."</a> Before the report was published, The University and Colleges Union warned <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8066406/Universities-face-closure-over-4.2bn-cuts.html">“Cuts of this magnitude will leave many cities and towns without a local university and our students paying the highest public fees in the world."</a> with Aaron Porter surmising that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11550619">"The true agenda of the coalition government this week is to strip away all public support for arts, humanities and social science provision in universities and to pass on the costs directly to students' bank accounts."</a><br />
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Backing up the fears of the NUS, University Minister David Willetts, while announcing the £9000 cap on fees told the <i>Daily Mail</i> of his desire to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1326071/Ministers-declare-war-university-fees-set-hit-9-000-year.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz14GE5DeqH">"rate degrees by the employment rates and salaries of graduates, ... the best degrees to be given ‘kite marks’ by professional associations as an indication that they are rated highly by employers.</a> which the Mail, in its usual non-sensationalist style described as a "war on pointless degrees." It seems that Universities, once places of education, morality and thinking are, since their transferral to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are simply another tool for "economic prosperity" and wealth generation.<br />
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With the Spending Review came announcement of the Arts Council of England facing a "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11582070">29.6% cut [which] will see ACE's current government grant of £449m drop to £349m by 2014"</a> which included a condition that cuts of 15% would be required to be made from regularly funded organisations which could mean that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/20/arts-cuts-spending-review-council">"at least 100 arts organisations will lose their funding."</a> As alarming as the thirty percent cuts are in themselves, the condition placed on the arts council in how to administer almost half of these cuts has been criticised for eroding the "arms-length" policy by which the Arts Council does its business, in a move akin to washing his hands of the affair, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey stated <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/oct/21/spending-review-arts-funding">"We've made it clear that it's a condition of their settlement that ACE limits cuts to the overall RFO budget to 15%; but if they choose not to fund certain organisations that is their decision."</a> going on to say should the ACE not comply with the condition that "Life would get very interesting."<br />
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As the dust settles, ACE has already begun outlining how its cuts would be made, which would include <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11627452">"7% first-year reduction for regularly funded organisations."</a> and <a href="http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-council-england-implements-cuts-201011-budget/">"£6 million from savings due to the postponement of a major public engagement project, cuts to our audience development plans, and to funds for partnership working with local authorities and the private sector."</a> Aside from the ACE, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/oct/21/spending-review-bfi-budget-cut">"The British Film Institute will see its budget cut by 15%"</a> while a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/20/bbc-cuts-spending-review">"budget cut by 16%"</a> by a six-year freeze in the licence fee and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/19/bbc-tv-licence-world-service">covering the costs of the World Service</a> would see the BBC loosing a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/19/bbc-licence-fee-frozen-six-years?intcmp=239">"total of £340m of extra money annually"</a> and being described as the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/19/bbc-licence-fee-frozen-six-years?intcmp=239">"moment when the BBC sacrificed its fiercely defended independence for a role akin to another government department."</a><br />
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North of the Border we will have to wait until the end of this month to hear John Swinney's Proposed Budget for the next fiscal year outlining how Scotland will deal with the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11576631">"£900m reduction"</a>, although at the moment unknown, some suggest that there is <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/the-cuts-what-they-mean-for-scotland-1.1063447">very little left to cut</a>. The two issues discussed above, that of Education and Culture are devolved issues, dealt with and administered by our SNP Government, who's future is in the balance given the upcoming Scottish Elections in May. However Scotland faces its <a href="http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2010/08/arts-over-elbow.html">own cultural confusion</a> around the emergence of the Creative Scotland, and already our education establishments are preparing to weather the storm, while others are beginning to crack under pressure.<br />
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As previously mentioned, the <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/">Robert Gordon University</a>, an institution which has long held the principles outlined by David Willetts and the <i>Daily Mail</i> at the core of its educational ethos, a University which proudly boasts that "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx">business and entrepreneurship lie at the heart of much of the university’s academic offering," </a>and its <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/rgunews/headlines/page.cfm?pge=37673">"best rates of employment in graduate-level jobs"</a> have announced that <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/files/Monday%2018%20October%202010%2Edocx">"Given the current public spending environment it is important that the University addresses resource issues now to avoid greater challenges in the future."</a> To this end, using the impending public spending cuts for Scotland as a handy excuse, the University intends to deal with a budget deficit of £370, 000 at Grays School of Art, one of Scotland's Four Art Schools, by informing staff that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1956102?UserKey=#ixzz14GlMfIut">"a voluntary severance scheme would be available for those wishing to be considered."</a> The poetic irony of the move is that the results of a consultation, and the announcement of the redundancies and reprofiling of the School is to be made on November 15th, the <b>day before</b> the <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/files/ACF56D.pdf">125 Anniversary of the School's founding</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edinburgh College of Art: Crisis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Meanwhile, at Edinburgh College of Art news of a merger with Edinburgh University was mooted with reports that <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/Art-college-backs-merger-with.6548223.jp">"ECA principal Professor Ian Howard sent a letter to staff explaining that the move was being examined in the light of the current economic situation."</a> the letter outlined how the merger brought "very exciting possibilities for enhanced teaching, research and creative endeavour" with <i>The Scotsman </i>describing how <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/Art-college-backs-merger-with.6548223.jp">"As a joint institution, the two could make substantial savings by sharing facilities and services, such as human resources, libraries and student accommodation. Buildings made redundant could be sold off."</a> <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/letters/Letter-College-merger.6546051.jp">"It [University of Edinburgh] will work with the college [ECA] in securing a financially sustainable future"</a> described Melvyn Cornish, Edinburgh University Secretary, however, the news did not bode well for ECA alumni. Dr Barbara Rae, Chair of the Alumni Association stated that <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/Art-college-backs-merger-with.6548223.jp">"We believe it imperative to safeguard the Edinburgh College of Art in the same way the Glasgow School of Art is respected and revered, both founded long ago to explore and promote originality in the arts"</a> and within days of the announcement it emerged that four governors of the College had resigned over the matter, with Lady Mathewson declaring that <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/education/Four-art-college-governors-resign.6582377.jp">"I and my fellow governors who have resigned no longer have confidence in the Chairman or Principal who have driven through an incomplete merger proposal that has now been put out to public consultation, excluding key financial information." </a><br />
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Attempting to quell the furore, an ECA spokeswoman refuted Lady Mathewson's allegations <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/education/Four-art-college-governors-resign.6582377.jp">"the suggestion that there has been a failure to explore the options or to ensure transparency in the process is entirely untrue."</a> This was before the real nature for the merger plans emerged. The <i>Sunday Herald</i> revealed that <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/revealed-the-cash-crisis-that-could-destroy-college-of-art-1.1061964">"The University of Edinburgh and ECA are asking the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the body that funds higher education in Scotland, for £13.8m to enable the merger. The majority of this, £9m, is to bail out ECA’s bad debts"</a> also detailing a building maintenance bill of £44.1 Million to the College's estates which are reported to be only worth 37.3 Million - were Edinburgh College of Art a car it would be a write off.<br />
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Much of the College's cash woes centres around the redevelopment of <a href="http://www.urbanrealm.co.uk/buildings/359/Evolution_House_for_Edinburgh_College_of_Art.html">Evolution House</a> in the City's Westport. The Sunday Herald article points out that "The college has spent £21m on Evolution House but it is now worth only £10.6m" and "that Lloyds Bank could in theory at any time require repayment of the whole £11.5m loan, because the college’s financial performance has meant covenants with the bank have been breached." Among other shady dealings, ECA has been granted a £1.6m advance from the Scottish Funding Council, and borrowed almost half of its Andrew Grant Scholarship fund, a move which the report claims <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/revealed-the-cash-crisis-that-could-destroy-college-of-art-1.1061964">"the university’s own legal advice suggests that it is not clear that the trustees were working within the law in making this loan.”</a> All in all, the leaked document paints a disturbingly glum picture of the College's financial situation, which also states that "“ECA would not now be trading if it had not received advances of grant from the SFC.”<br />
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These two cases provide a horrifying hammer blow to half of Scotland's Higher Education Art Provision, before the cuts outlined in the Spending Review have even taken effect in Scotland. The uncertainties surrounding the provision of arts and humanities education was spelled out by Natalie Fenton, Deputy Head of Media and Communications at Goldsmith University, where students yesterday <a href="http://savegoldsmiths.tumblr.com/">began an occupation</a> in protest to the education cuts and tuition fee rises: <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_814493981">"This is a massive cut to higher education and a slashing of the public subsidy for teaching, which will hit the arts, humanities and social sciences particularly hard if the science budget is going to be protected.</a><br />
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<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/goog_814493981">"Some institutions will close, and it's inevitable there will be mass redundancies across the sector. Goldsmiths will be forced to take on an enormous number of international students who pay higher fees to make up for the cuts. Class sizes will rise, they'll be humongous; the staff-student ratio will rocket and nobody will be satisfied.</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/oct/21/spending-review-cuts-affect-me">"Some institutions will close, and it's inevitable there will be mass redundancies across the sector. Goldsmiths will be forced to take on an enormous number of international students who pay higher fees to make up for the cuts. Class sizes will rise, they'll be humongous; the staff-student ratio will rocket and nobody will be satisfied. "By only protecting science, they're signalling that arts, humanities and social sciences are worthless. But these are the disciplines that engender civility, and teach empathy and tolerance."</a> <br />
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The next four years look set to be grim, with some claiming these are the <a href="http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/8464456.George_Osborne_unveils_biggest_spending_cuts_since_1945/">"biggest spending cuts since 1945"</a> but what is the outcome of the cuts, what exactly are they for? While David Cameron and his <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/25/charlie-brooker-nick-clegg">LibDem human shield</a>, Nick Clegg, are quick to defend the cuts in terms of fairness: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11592700">"Fairness is actually about asking how much people give as well as how much people get and I think that we have done it in a way so we can genuinely say it is difficult, it is tough but it is fair"</a> and senior Tories such as Lord Ashcroft urging everyone to see the <a href="http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2010/11/lord-ashcroft-on-cuts-voters-can-see-the-bigger-picture.html">"bigger picture."</a> However no one in Government is looking at the "bigger picture", the picture they are looking at is 156mm x 85mm and has the queen's face on it and a bunch of numbers.<br />
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The motivation behind the Comprehensive Spending Review is by no means far-sighted, in no way looks towards any notion of a "bigger picture", it is simply an exercise in backpedaling, with the way of life of everyone in the country paying for the mistakes and reckless gambling of the few. The spending review is based on the idea that<a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191696.pdf"> "reducing the deficit is a necessary precondition for sustained economic growth"</a>, but essentially it is about reducing how much debt the county is in so we can start over again, return to the status quo and let the cycle run its course once more. <a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191696.pdf"> "The Spending Review is underpinned by a radical programme of public service reform, changing the way services are delivered by redistributing power away from central government and enabling sustainable, long term improvements in services"</a>, but it in no way examines how we got in this mess in the first place, it no way intends to reform the fiscal system to which we are all unwitting prisoners. Love it or loath it, the capitalist system by which our wold prescribes has failed, not just in the last two years since the nightmare of the Credit Crunch, but it has always failed, it is <i>destined</i> to fail. Every ten to twenty years we find ourselves in the same situation, it happened in the mid seventies, the early eighties, the early nineties and now the late 2000s, and what always happens is a "tightening of the belt", cuts to frontline public services until economies begin to grow again and then we just get back to the way things were.<br />
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The difference with the current round of recession-beating belt-tightening is the severity of the cuts we are facing, estimates of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11671009">"1.6 million job losses across the public and private sectors"</a>, the erosion of the welfare state, closure of Universities and Arts Organisations, small business crippled by an increase in VAT. Once you cut these vital services, "reform" education, close business it will be very difficult to get them back, it has taken sixty years to build the UK to the powerhouse of creative and cultural initiatives, and that could be completely reversed in less than four. And even then the nature of the focus of the cuts, with emphasis placed in the wrong place: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/17/observer-editorial-economy-globalisation">"The coalition is now poised to take billions out of the economy, all in the hope of unleashing a private sector recovery based on manufacturing and exports. But to whom? The strategy relies on wide-open borders and eager consumers with money in their pockets. That is not how the global economy looks right now."</a><br />
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A reform of the ecomonic system, perhaps a movement away from a monetary based system (given that, according to Moore, it is based on something that doesn't exist in the first place) would require a sort of global joined-up-thinking which our politicians and managers seem unable to engage in. It would require putting aside petty differences, it would require putting aside nationalism, imperialism and one-upmanship. It would require the global communities to sit down and think about a solution which is better for the world, one which not only takes into consideration economies, but other global concerns, overpopulation, depletion of natural resources, climate change etc. However to think on this scale would require looking at what is best for the many, rather for the few, and what is best for all of society and the planet, not just the west.<br />
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It would require the relinquishing of the the very thing that money represents: power. And with power comes control, and inequality, as former US president said in 1826 <i>"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt."</i>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-66055354962130339542010-10-24T13:23:00.011+01:002010-10-25T00:20:36.084+01:00A Storm In a Teacup<span style="font-style: italic;">As a bit of a departure and a break </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9QlVRk8-sgdZXkKSFfoUxbk5Z-t2E5GhAk_tT-U2mRDpMwpd1wJCtiK-sZTVBerU3dbrkenlPe2tCJoxL3A6W6bWoSXzzyW37JuQ3Gru-nn8f-lQ1zvbC9jJbBoY5bA10JwsaYch3Xw/s1600/IMG_0450.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9QlVRk8-sgdZXkKSFfoUxbk5Z-t2E5GhAk_tT-U2mRDpMwpd1wJCtiK-sZTVBerU3dbrkenlPe2tCJoxL3A6W6bWoSXzzyW37JuQ3Gru-nn8f-lQ1zvbC9jJbBoY5bA10JwsaYch3Xw/s400/IMG_0450.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531598082571739090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">from my usual blog fare, this is a review I wrote a while back but apparently forgot about. I've just rediscovered it while investigating the hard drive of my other laptop which I've recently had returned after it was stolen a few months ago. It was written shortly after a trip to London to visit a friend, when a Sunday-morning jaunt alongside the river near Westminster took us down to Battersea where I took this photo which conveniently reminded me of a news article, posted on Facebook a few days earlier discussing the exhibition which had just opened.<br /><br />The iconic image of the Battersea Power Station achieved much of its fame through its appearance on the cover of Pink Floyd's </span><span>Animals</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, featuring a giant inflatable pig hovering overhead. Legend has it that during the production of the image, an actual inflatable pig was floated next to the station with a marksman on hand to shoot it down should it come away from its tether. Unfortunately the marksman had not been contracted for a second day which was required due to adverse weather conditions and the giant helium-filled pig indeed broke away from its teather and floated off across the London skyline where it eventually landed in a field in Kent scaring a herd of cows. For one day in December 1977, thanks to Pink Floyd, Pigs did indeed fly.<br /><br />(Exhibition photos courtesy of <a href="http://www.iammartin.co.uk/">Martin Senyszak</a>)<br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mehHZSyj5rQVacJzs0d6TOMyjyrYMeYxjhv42GoXJ4CsCWnhVmdyVR5vj7RcmQzOISddWABszNniyHUo-iwqRp06QXOEKQ_A84nj-RpBnjxCcKj672wtc9xDhhTlkkXgINrPELlCEjc/s1600/P1000620.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mehHZSyj5rQVacJzs0d6TOMyjyrYMeYxjhv42GoXJ4CsCWnhVmdyVR5vj7RcmQzOISddWABszNniyHUo-iwqRp06QXOEKQ_A84nj-RpBnjxCcKj672wtc9xDhhTlkkXgINrPELlCEjc/s400/P1000620.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531593324688124626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Right But Wrong, The Extended Art Work of Hipgnosis and StormStudios: Storm Thorgerson,</span><br />Idea Generation Gallery, London.<br />2 April – 2May 2010<br /><br />A few years back, long before I even knew I wanted to become an artist, in the mandatory Art Class in First Year at secondary school was where I got my first taste of the world of Art and Design. Our classroom was home to a number of interesting objects, books and most interestingly, impossibly large album posters. The single image that stuck out in that classroom, which really captured my imagination, was <a href="http://www.pinkfloyd.co.uk/">Pink </a><a href="http://www.pinkfloyd.co.uk/">Floyd</a>’s <span style="font-style: italic;">The Division Bell</span>.<br /><br />This was long before I had even heard a Pink Floyd song and could recognise it as such. The poster, a large landscape photo of an almost-anonymous field, the only identifier in the form of Ely Cathedral in the background, framed by the mouths of two giant heads. Seemingly impossible sculptures, pop-riveted industrial fascias, sleek curves and modernist angles jar with the serene, quiet dusk countryside, questioning the legitimacy of the image itself. This surreal juxtaposition is a signature of the work of Photographer and Designer <a href="http://www.stormthorgerson.com/">Storm Thorgerson</a>, a long time Floyd collaborator, and one of the most sought after Album cover artists.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Right But Wrong</span>, Thorgerson’s current exhibition at <a href="http://gallery.ideageneration.co.uk/pages/434/view">Idea Generation</a>, a retrospective of album artwork produced for acts such as <a href="http://www.cranberries.com/">The Cranberries</a>, <a href="http://muse.mu/">Muse</a>, <a href="http://www.themarsvolta.com/">The Mars Volta</a> among many more, shows the fantastic breadth of work from his time at design studios <a href="http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com/">Hipgnosis</a> and <a href="http://stormsight.co.uk/">StormStudios</a>. His works, like those of all great album designers, are as much individual Artworks than designs, surreal, organic images heavily attuned to Rene Magritte’s distortions of context, and Salvador Dali’s penchant for expansive, barren landscapes littered with odd artifacts, unreal realizations and hidden images within the composition.<br /><br />The exhibition is not as expected from retrospective shows of Album art, the space has become a semi-installation, allowing the viewer to become immersed within, as well as view, the Album covers. The floor and wall are adorned with the wide-armed shadows from Muse’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Absolution</span>, mirrored spheres from Floyd’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Interstellar</span> exhibition poster sit in the corner, their reflective surface capturing the viewer and the rest of the exhibition drawing you into another of his images, light bulbs are embedded in plant pots and piled up in the nooks and crannies of the space and elements of three of his designs, hung high on the gallery wall, break through beneath into the “reality” of the space.<br /><br />Countering the surreal, the exhibition also highlights the background design stages. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Dark </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb79uNh66XkVDwuR4UV_ZRvB2-s2OnM8yx0Sa45syPp_34nTFnRGAZ_Fe-inVB3iI90jhfLdgdmLENwYcC66sob8nrWRc5bnU2UO3v_eHH689hAzEclboqYi2xk4BxDQoBDpuKktomNI/s1600/thorgerson_by_Martin_Senyszak.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzb79uNh66XkVDwuR4UV_ZRvB2-s2OnM8yx0Sa45syPp_34nTFnRGAZ_Fe-inVB3iI90jhfLdgdmLENwYcC66sob8nrWRc5bnU2UO3v_eHH689hAzEclboqYi2xk4BxDQoBDpuKktomNI/s400/thorgerson_by_Martin_Senyszak.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531592661433645554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Side of The Room</span> exhibits many different versions of the famous album sleeve, including a Lichtenstein influenced pop-art rendering and a stained glass version perched in the window, shining through to the street outside. Other glimpses behind the sleeve are a number of images proposed and rejected for several bands, lining a staircase which lead to a section showing 12” cover proofs, CD inlays, sketches and merchandise.<br /><br />In retrospectives of album artwork, there is always the obvious form for which the hang can take, however, standing in Idea Generation you can simultaneously be in a recreation of the designs, look left to see those framed images, and up to see how they are made. For the viewer, being in the exhibition is almost like being part of Thorgerson’s cover to Pink Floyd’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Echoes</span> compilation. For a designer whose work deals with fractured realities, this exhibition gives the viewer the most unique place to view Storm Thorgerson’s work: from inside the work itself.Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-65949377989282698662010-10-08T23:06:00.009+01:002011-02-04T16:01:50.644+00:00Grays Anatomy<a href="http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/images/rgu_a.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/images/rgu_a.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 120px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 145px;" /></a>In a <a href="http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2010/10/blow-your-own-trump-et.html">post</a> I published last week I made several links between the increasingly dubious business machinations of Aberdeen's <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/">Robert Gordon University</a> in relation to its <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8574401.stm">£170 Million campus masterplan</a>, its <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11493040">honoring of Donald Trump with a Doctorate</a> (seemingly as a means simply for University Chairman, Sir Ian Wood to <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1954836">promote his City Square Project) </a>and the slipping education standards and lack of respect for staff and students especially in relation to Grays School of Art.<br />
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I made passing reference to a letter sent last week to all staff, inviting them to a meeting, from <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/news/award-winning-arts-luminary-appointed-head-of-gray-s-school-of-art">newly appointed Head of School, Paul Harris</a> which outlined that:<br />
<blockquote>"The School is facing significant financial challenges, including a projected budgetary deficit for 2010-11 of some £300k, which would be circa £370k if left unchecked by the end of this academic session.<br />
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Therefore it is intended that a re-profiling of Gray’s is undertaken in order to meet future market demands and operational constraints, thereby creating a fit-for-purpose Art School that will be viable over the next 15 years, and which will support evolution in the regional and national Creative Industry sectors."</blockquote>The meeting took place last Wednesday at 4pm and far from being the usual bi-yearly all school meeting complete with lecture from less-than-sympathetic Faculty Dean, John Watson, about the School bucking up it's ideas, some very serious consequences were spelled out for the Staff about the future of the School, which necessitated the presence of HR and Trade Union Representatives. The outcome of the meeting was quickly reported by both <a href="http://www.northsound1.com/article.asp?id=236048">Northsound Radio</a> and the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1956102?UserKey=">Press and Journal</a>, impeccably timed as the media broke the news on the very day in which RGU had arranged a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1954295?UserKey=">"special ceremony at its Garthdee campus"</a> to honour the 433rd richest man in the world. (Honorary Degrees usually being handed out in line with the actual student Graduation Ceremonies.)<br />
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It was announced that to combat the £370,000 virtual deficit (an amount owed by the School to the University itself, due to the School budgets provided by the University being inadequate to run) the school would be required to make a saving of £500,000 to cover the deficit and also to allow for some money to be channeled into "Strategic Deployment" of the results of the "re-profiling" mentioned in the letter. In order to make the £500,000 savings the University is offering <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CCEQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww4.rgu.ac.uk%2Ffiles%2FRedundancy%2520Compensation%2520Scheme%2520Final%2520Version%2520-%2520April%25202010.doc&ei=OBCtTI7yL8Wk4Qbx9YynCA&usg=AFQjCNGM0UPSGA747RkKPyxSuiGScV1pwQ&sig2=hbNJbVQrjD9BlNntxTJ1Kg">Voluntary Severance</a> to <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">all</span> Grays' employees.<br />
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When pushed on how many jobs would equate to the £500,000 worth of savings it was suggested from the Dean that this would be in the region of 8 - 12 Full Time Equivalent posts. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Grays School of Art employs approximately 60 members of staff, with the majority of academic staff being on part time contracts from 0.8 to 0.2 FTE. Given that the School has around six hundred students, cutting 8 - 12 FTE posts would have devastating results for the staff/student ratio, the quality of teaching and the quality of experience offered to students who are already struggling for staff time. Paridoxically, the Dean stated that the University would "re-profile" the School in a way that wouldn't effect the quality of education in the school, how this could be achieved with such a significant loss of teaching staff was left unexplained.<br />
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Should the Voluntary Severance scheme not achieve the appropriate cuts towards the £500,000 then a further wave of compulsory redundancies will be made, of course with poorer packages. Those who would be in line for forced redundancy would be taken from "weak" areas within the School which would be identified by an external consultancy agency who's other task would be to advise on the aforementioned "reprofiling" to fit around the roles which would no longer exist, and to provide insider information on "future trends within the sector and region" which obviously the existing staff, experts and professionals within their sectors are not qualified to identify. The costs of this consultation excercise is undisclosed but no doubt more valuable than the 8-12 Staff members it may be their responsibility to remove, the criteria for "weaknesses" would be negotiated with RGU HR and Trade Unions but it was made very clear that RGU's future lies with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Income Generation</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Industry Links</span>.<br />
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During the meeting alternative ideas for addressing the deficit were floated, including the sale of a number of items from the <a href="http://collections.rgu.ac.uk/main.php?module=objects">University's Art Collection</a>. Each year at Degree Show, the University purchases a number of works from students, and continues to purchase work from Alumni and Staff who have gone on to have success in their careers. Some of these works are <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/library/collections/page.cfm?pge=47111">distributed throughout the University campus, sometimes exhibited</a> in rotating exhibitions organised by the <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/library/collections/page.cfm?pge=47287">University Art and Heritage Collections service,</a> however most of the collection, which contains works from the full 125 year history of Grays School of Art, including significant works by the likes of Joyce Cairns and former Turner Prize nominee, Callum Innes, spends its time in storage. This plan was shunned as obviously the items in the University Collection are more valuable than the human input and quality of education.<br />
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All the while the RGU website still proudly states that they <a href="http://iws.rgu.ac.uk/hr/staffdev/page.cfm">"recognise how important it is to develop our staff - ultimately we depend on skilled employees at all levels for our continual growth and innovation"</a> and celebrates how the University had retained it's coveted <a href="http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx">"Investors in People"</a> status, stating that <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/We%20continue%20to%20value%20it%20as%20a%20measure%20of%20our%20commitment%20to%20employee%20development.">"We continue to value it as a measure of our commitment to employee development."</a> A task which is getting increasingly easier for the University to aspire to given that there will be less and less staff for them to develop.<br />
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It seems that the suggestions which I made last week, of RGU being more of a business than a <a href="http://www.e-architect.co.uk/images/jpgs/aberdeen/aberdeen_grays_school_art_02.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.e-architect.co.uk/images/jpgs/aberdeen/aberdeen_grays_school_art_02.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 174px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 372px;" /></a>University are being proven by it's continuing actions. What is more important to an Higher Education Institution, should be in education and providing students with the best possible support and academic experience, or should it be having a big shiny £170 Million campus with nobody to staff it?<br />
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To most this would seem a no-brainer, however RGU seems intent in removing those from employment who have any actual intelligence worth imparting.<br />
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Current students at the School, rightfully concerned about the future of their studies, their community and their education, have already set up a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166401210043730&ref=ts">Facebook Group</a> to spread the word about the cuts and their consequences and intend to present Faculty of Design and Technology Dean, John Watson with a petition against the redundancies on Thursday. Those with Facebook accounts can join the group to keep updated with the students campaign and how you can help them save their educations and the reputation of one of the world's leading Art Schools, and befreind the groups creator: an enigmatic digital representation of the School's founder, Victorian Philanthropist <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001681596216">John Gray</a>.Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-50719933388982402312010-10-03T19:00:00.012+01:002011-02-04T16:07:26.818+00:00Blow Your Own Trump-etA few days ago, while filling in a job application form, I got to the section which asked about my education. For the first time when writing down the awarding body for my degree I was genuinely embarrassed. Over the years I have joked and been somewhat light-hearted about my degree from <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/">The Robert Gordon University</a>, but on this recent occasion I was actually unsure whether declaring it would do me more harm than good, given the recent news that <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/news/donald-trump-honoured-by-robert-gordon-university">the University is to confer an honorary Doctorate on Donald Trump.</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/lib/img_draw.php?image=/sites/173/single/6564/Aerial-shot---campus.jpg&width=250&height=375" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/lib/img_draw.php?image=/sites/173/single/6564/Aerial-shot---campus.jpg&width=250&height=375" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 375px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 250px;" /></a>My studies actually took place in Grays School of Art, which has long sat uncomfortably with its parent institution from the perspective of both staff and students, and until August this year I was in the employ of RGU working as a technician out of Grays. While I am extremelly proud to both have studied and worked at Grays alongside some of the most committed, hard-working and talented professionals in the arts field whose compassion, integrety and moral fibre are second-to-none, my association with RGU is leaving an increasingly bitter taste in my mouth, given the institution's lack of regard for it's external perception and lowering moral code. It appears that The Robert Gordon University, like Aberdeen City and AberdeenShire Councils, is very much for sale.<br />
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RGU this year introduced a <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/hr/staffinfo/page.cfm?pge=82768">"Conflict of Interest Policy"</a> for staff. The timing for this particular piece of legislation was extremelly odd, as it came in at a time when the university's figurehead: its Chancellor, Sir Ian Wood was driving forward a plan for a <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/">"Civic Square"</a> (Or garden, depending on which particular demographic is being lectured) on the site of Union Terrace Gardens, which regular readers of this blog will be very much aware. On 19th May this year Aberdeen City Council<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1744945?UserKey="> voted to progress Wood's scheme</a>, backed by economic body ACSEF which meant <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/listing/2010/5">abandoning a 75% Funded, Fully Planned and previously approved scheme for a Contemporary Arts Centre</a> within the Gardens being brought forward by <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/">Peacock Visual Arts</a>.<br />
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Peacock was <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/about-us/history-of-peacock-visual-arts/">"established in 1974 by a group of artists, led by Arthur Watson"</a> who were all recent graduates from Grays School of Art, similarly the majority of arts initiatives in the North East: <a href="http://www.limousinebull.org.uk/">Limousine Bull</a>, <a href="http://www.projectslogan.com/">Project Slogan</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.creativeculturescotland.co.uk/">Creative Cultures Scotland</a>, <a href="http://www.wearesmartconsultants.co.uk/">SMart Consultants</a>, <a href="http://www.libbyday.com/blog/libby-day-studio/vernier-studios/vernier-studio/">Vernier Studios</a> and, more recently, the <a href="http://26aberdeen.wordpress.com/about/">26 Artists Collective</a> have been set up by Grays Graduates within the city. Most of these are run voluntarily, and are committed to improving the cultural landscape and exterior cultural perception of Aberdeen while providing space and opportunties to Artists to encourage them that it is possible to live, work and maintain a practice in Aberdeen. They attempt to counterbalance and stem the yearly pilgrimage of Grays Grads to Glasgow, Edinburgh, London or the many other cities in the country which have invested in their cultural infrastructures. Each of these organisations, as was Grays School of Art, were intrinsic to the development of Peacock's "Northern Light Centre", and the development of the centre was intrinsic to the future ambitions of these grassroots initiatives. If Peacock, as a business, could develop to the stage it was so close to being, then so could any one of them, and the opportunities and exposure which would come with having a visionary Cultural Centre would only feed into the aspirations of the smaller initiative, encourage others to be established and allow a healthy growth in Aberdeen's Cultural Sector similar to those shown elsewhere.<br />
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The conflict, however, comes into play when we consider Sir Ian Wood's aforementioned position as Chancellor of The Robert Gordon University. Wood's initial announcement of his £50 Million investment into a possible Civic Square came mere weeks after Peacock were granted planning permission and a £3 Million grant from Aberdeen City Council, and meant that in its current form, with Scottish Arts Council Funding being specific to the development in the Gardens that the two schemes were incompatible. Part of Sir Ian's roles as chancellor is to be <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/about/strategies/governance/the-chancellor">"titular head of the University and confers degrees, diplomas and other awards"</a>, this particular role almost led to a direct conflict when this year's graduating group from Grays began to arrange a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=121831631183708&ref=ts">"Call to request Sir Ian Wood's absence from RGU graduation."</a> Part of this call outlined how the students felt that "After his successful bid to ruin union terrace gardens, and very possibly our futures, showing his face at our graduation would be a very bad idea."<br />
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Returning to the upcoming Doctorate being presented to The Donald, a statement from <a href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47309000/jpg/_47309233_trump_masterplan_466282.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47309000/jpg/_47309233_trump_masterplan_466282.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 282px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 466px;" /></a><a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2228183&refRef=img&style=full" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="hhttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47309000/jpg/_47309233_trump_masterplan_466282.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" /></a>Professor John Harper, Acting Principal of RGU justified the move saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx">"Given that business and entrepreneurship lie at the heart of much of the university’s academic offering, it is only fitting to award Mr Trump with an honorary degree. He is recognised as one of the world’s top businessmen, and our students – the entrepreneurs of tomorrow – can learn much from his business acumen, drive and focus."</a> To put this statement in perspective, it would only be just to have a closer look at Mr Trump's "business acumen, drive and focus" and see exactly what it is that RGU deems important for its students to learn.<br />
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Donald Trump is listed in the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump">Forbes 400 Rich list as the 153rd Richest Man in America</a> (488th <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHFS7wRal1jlfEBUV3aEMn9QbiiWG70uqsB2JlAdAsgIG06wu07w-eb0tOXown6SfzdBi7yOfabUB33qrQd8dTvf5Nkm90_lfuHLxU_nE9kQaOm1PM0YjWptSN_kbaW8N1U4IbTTSgoI/s320/Balmedie+Two.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHFS7wRal1jlfEBUV3aEMn9QbiiWG70uqsB2JlAdAsgIG06wu07w-eb0tOXown6SfzdBi7yOfabUB33qrQd8dTvf5Nkm90_lfuHLxU_nE9kQaOm1PM0YjWptSN_kbaW8N1U4IbTTSgoI/s320/Balmedie+Two.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 226px;" /></a>in the world) worth $2.4 Bn, having inherited his father's real estate business and managed to steer it to generate further wealth, but the road has not been smooth for The Donald and The Trump Organisation. Trumps business interests hit the skids during the last global recession in the late eighties and by May 1991, found himself <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972889,00.html#ixzz11Vf8BUUu">"more than $3.8 billion in the hole and sliding perilously close to a mammoth personal bankruptcy"</a> which cost him <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972889,00.html#ixzz11VhVWXra">" his beloved Trump Princess yacht, the Trump Shuttle, the Regency, his half- interest in the Hyatt and his 27% interest in the Alexander's store chain, he will retain the Manhattan trophies he values most: the Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue's Trump Tower and a valuable tract of undeveloped Hudson River waterfront."</a> Although Trump <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972889,00.html#ixzz11Vi6JIlG">"eluded the specter of personal bankruptcy by whittling his debt down to more manageable proportions. The amount of debt that Trump guaranteed personally -- several hundred million dollars -- is breathtaking even by the standards of the '80s."</a> While Trump escaped personal bankrupcy, it was his <a href="http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/560/Donald-Trump-Bankruptcy.html">"Banks and bondholders who had lost millions of dollars due to his liquidation"</a> and The Donald was off to do it all again - a year later.<br />
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In 1992 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/12/business/company-news-trump-s-plaza-hotel-bankruptcy-plan-approved.html">"A Federal bankruptcy judge ... approved a prepackaged bankruptcy plan for Donald J. Trump's Plaza Hotel, giving a 49 percent stake in the luxury hotel to Citibank and five other lenders"</a> allowing Trump to again escape personal bankruptcy and remain in place as CEO at the Trump Organisation. The hotel was unable to make its debt repayments of a mammoth $550 Million Dollars <a href="http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-12114271.html">"We're really pleased with the deal," Trump said. "It's 51/49 split with a major reduction in debt.</a> Once again Mr Trump's debt was picked up by others and he was free to continue trading, until 2004 when <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4032207.stm">Trump Hotels filed for Bankruptcy</a>. Perhaps Professor Harper's reference to The Donald's business acumen can refer to the amount of time's hes run a business into nine-figure debt and managed to escape unscathed?<br />
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In relation to his "drive and focus" we need to look no further than the Menie Sands and the way the Trump Organisation have dealt with the task at hand, the Trump International Golf Links. Since Trump <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4862982.stm">announced his plans in March 2006</a>, the development has been riddled with controversy. His announcement came with the statement that he had <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4862982.stm">"never seen such an unspoilt and dramatic sea side landscape"</a>, which he obviously felt he had to do something about and make sure it was spoilt post haste, despite the area being a recognised Site of Scientific Interest. He put a halt to a<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4871564.stm"> planned offshore wind farm</a> as <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6046286.stm">"I am not thrilled - I want to see the ocean, I do not want to see windmills"</a>; He has publicly described a resident as a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8375537.stm">"loser who is seriously damaging the image of both Aberdeenshire and his great country"</a> and a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8375537.stm">"village idiot"</a>; His organisation have <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Rider-tells-of--.6331386.jp">intimidated Horse riders using the dunes</a>; allegedly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/world/europe/05scotland.html?_r=1">Harrassed neighbours</a>; Had two respected <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/12/film-makers-arrested-donald-trump-scottish-golf-resort">Video Journalists arrested</a>, despite granting them permission to film; Intimidated and detained an opponent Councillor, with right-hand man George Sorial saying <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Trump-ups-ante-against-critic.5179535.jp">"Our complaint is that she broke the law – she is a trespasser" </a>(Despite there being no tresspass law in Scotland); Told Local home owners to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8562386.stm">"clear off"</a> during public exhibitions of the Course plans. Trump's practices have been criticised by Aberdeenshire MSP Mike Rumbles <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Trump-plans---branded.5544726.jp">"While this is all procedurally correct, this behaviour by the Trump Organisation is morally unacceptable. Compulsory purchase powers were never designed to aid commercial companies in their pursuit of business advantage."</a> Putting this together, does this sound like a man who should be a role model for students and held as an example to RGU's "entrepreneurs of <a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49280000/jpg/_49280526_dr_david_kennedy_bbc.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49280000/jpg/_49280526_dr_david_kennedy_bbc.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 299px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 224px;" /></a>the future?"<br />
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Former RGU Principal, who oversaw the upgrading of the University from a technical college, Dr David Kennedy was one of many who do not think so, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11421376">having returned his own Honorary Degree</a> in protest. Dr Kennedy was principal of the university from 1987-1997 and was awarded a honourary Doctorate in 1999 for his services to the University now feels that he <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11421376">"would not want to hold the award after Mr Trump has received his"</a> as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11421376">"he should not be held up as an example of how to conduct business."</a> Dr Kennedy then went on to question the motives behind the conference of the Degree, saying <a href="http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/education/39I-don39t-want-degree-after.6555918.jp">"I think the degree has been given in the hope of receiving some money back in return.”</a><br />
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Robert Gordon University have been courting Trump for several months, with Fashion Students at Grays being commissioned to <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Design-a-tartan-for-Trump.6157480.jp">Design a a new Tartan</a> for the tycoon, as his mother's MacLeod tartan is obviously not exclusive enough. Obviously this may be seen as a "sweetener" in a similar style to <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/donaldtrump/Trump-handed-secret-5m-.4234499.jp">Aberdeenshire Council's £5 Million worth of land "gifted"</a> to The Donald as RGU <a href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47495000/jpg/_47495171_robert_gordon_plans_466282.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47495000/jpg/_47495171_robert_gordon_plans_466282.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 282px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 466px;" /></a>are indeed looking for some ready cash, in a time of widespread recession when most <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8585951.stm">Universities are feeling the pinch</a>, only in March were <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8574401.stm">"Plans for a £170m development of Robert Gordon University's campus at Garthdee in Aberdeen ... approved"</a>, which are not to be confused with a previous masterplan which was supposed to be brought forward in 2006 <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4785198.stm">"in the pursuit of improved teaching and research facilities by 2015."</a> RGU makes it clear that <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/campusdev/masterplan/">"The University’s Masterplan has undergone significant change since the original was submitted for approval in 2006."</a><br />
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In fact, this new development Masterplan is so radical a departure from the previous one that it facilitated the rebuilding of <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/news/disp_NewsPreview.cfm?PGE_ID=81367&vmenu=2">RGU's treehouse nursery</a>, relocated to the site of the Grays School of Art car park on the very western edge of the campus, mere six years after the opening of the <a href="https://iws.rgu.ac.uk/rgunews/headlines/page.cfm?pge=9737">previous RGU Nursery</a> which was located at the opposite end of the campus, where the new, new building is now expected to go. Ironically, the day the builders moved in to Grays, RGU's Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment launched a series of lectures about <a href="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/images/dmImage/SourceImage/garthdee-2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.rgu.ac.uk/images/dmImage/SourceImage/garthdee-2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 358px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 550px;" /></a><a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/news/disp_NewsPreview.cfm?PGE_ID=81367&vmenu=2">"sustainability."</a> Odd from a University who's commitment to sustainability sees a building constructed, discarded and rebuilt within a six-year period. The construction of the new Treehouse Nursery, being situated on the previous Grays School of Art facilitated the construction of a new car park, taking up a vast majority of the lawn in front of the school, a much loved and much used asset to the campus is now a car park. Originally described as temporary is now a permanent tarmaced compound for staff already taxed £16 a month for the priviledge of getting to work. Spoiling the aspirations of Aberdeen's Artists by building a car park on a garden, RGU's chancellor would be proud.<br />
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Grays School of Art, despite its prestige, reputation and 125 year history as one of the worlds leading Arts Institutes (over a hundred years older than RGU itself), regularly gets a bum deal from it's parent institution. Frequent space audits are carried out through the School, and the staff-student ratio is embarrassingly low. Gray's eleven courses are staffed by around 40 members of Academic Staff, most of which work part time, meaning that, in some cases, there can be two or three days of a week when there are no academic staff available for students to visit, the rest of the time these staff members are so stretched with commitments for tutorials, seminars, crits and meetings that often students can go for weeks without having any contact with academic staff. Which is hardly a valuable system of support.<br />
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Despite this, and due to the School's mounting deficit a letter was sent to all staff last week inviting them to a meeting to discuss a "restructuring" of the School to combat the "significant financial challenges, including a projected budgetary deficit for 2010-11of some £300k, which would be circa £370k if left unchecked by the end of this academic session.", with members of the University HR Department and Trade Union representatives also in attendance. While the School's budgets each year are given back from RGU from Student fees, the University retains a 46% top slice and should the School oversubscribe, 100% of the fees from the number of students above the "cap" is retained by the University. This money which is retained by the University is for spend on support department, such as HR, Student Services, Marketing, Branding and Estates, who are bringing forward the £170 new campus "masterplan." One would think that in these current financial times the University's focus would be on education, however it seems hell bent on making cuts to frontline education services while making lavish spend elsewhere.<br />
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There are so many layers of management within The Robert Gordon University that those at the top are completely unaware of how the University operates at its core, and the priorities are skewed far from that of education and the student experience. As a recent article in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Times Higher Education</span> points out, in reference to the pay of University Vice-Chancellors being similar to company CEOs:<br />
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<blockquote><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=411032">"For those rises in salaries have been accompanied, and facilitated, by the gradual accretion of authority by managers over the institutions for which they work.<br />
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This has now reached the point where it threatens academic freedom, damages Britain's reputation and risks impairing the ability of universities to undertake effective teaching and research."<br />
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"As this has happened, many vice-chancellors have indulged themselves with all the glories of corporate managerialism, and cutting back on these first of all, rather than on teaching and research, seems to be a low priority."</a></blockquote>Indeed, as the title of the article points out "Universities are not Businesses", however as John Harper pointed out in relation to Trump's degree "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx"> business and entrepreneurship lie at the heart of much of the university’s academic offering" </a>obviously some of that has rubbed off on the institution, like big businesses, RGU is obsessed with development, and statistics, being bigger and better than other universities, the very fact that the University's Chancellor has been chosen because of his own "business acumen", as have several members of the <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/academicaffairs/committees/page.cfm?pge=1342">board of Governors,</a> could suggest that the University wishes to operate like a business, and that this operational method is what should be transferred to its students for the best operational practice.<br />
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Indeed Sir Ian's opinion of Universities and the way they are run was demonstrated in a 1994, ten years before his appointment as RGU Chancellor, article in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Independent</span>. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/profile-in-the-school-of-hard-knox-sir-ian-wood-britains-northernmost-tycoon-looks-beyond-oil-david-bowen-reports-1405720.html">"He is delighted he did not become an academic. 'I would have been disastrous,' he says. 'Universities are very political, working by a strange form of democracy. I like straightforward lines of control.'"</a> An odd sentiment, but nonetheless fitting for the University he heads, one could see the implimentation of RGU's <a href="http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/hr/staffinfo/page.cfm?pge=82768">"Conflict of Interest Policy"</a> as a way of strengthening these straightforward lines of control throughout the university, as a way to silence opposition and criticism from those Academics for whom it is their job to think criticially, hold opinions, make independent decisions and hopefully transfer that to the student body. This policy introduction could be a way of ensuring obedience from Academics within an Academic Institution which wishes to be a business, but it works both ways, there could be seen a direct conflict of interest between the machinations and intentions of the University's heads, managers and governors and the remits of the Schools to teach and support learning and encourage critical thinking within its students, and of course RGU's coveted "Investors in People" accolade.<br />
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<a href="http://aberdeenvoice.com/">Aberdeen Voice</a> has announced that the Ceremony to confer on Donald Trump his honourary Doctorate in Business Administration will happen this Friday (8th) 10a.m. at the Faculty of Health and Social Care, at RGU's Garthdee Campus. Tripping Up Trump will be presenting a <a href="http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/trump-honorary-degree#petition">petition</a> this afternoon to John Harper asking for the University not to Honour Trump, there is still time to sign.<br />
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In order to counter the possible use of Compulsary Purchase Order, the campaign group have bought a piece of Michael Forbes land, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bunker</span>, which is apparently "required" for the development and are asking people to add their names to the deeds, you can sign up to <a href="http://www.trippinguptrump.com/enter-the-bunker">The Bunker Here.</a>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-18591510464143170412010-08-15T20:10:00.018+01:002011-02-04T16:09:27.169+00:00Arts Over ElbowLess than a week after Aberdeen City Council decided to back Sir Ian Wood's plan's for a street-level piazza and ironic Garden on the site of Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley, necessitating the council to abandon a plan which had assured their backing, for a Contemporary Arts Centre spearheaded by Peacock Visual Arts, Andrew Dixon, newly appointed CEO of Creative Scotland stopped by Aberdeen on his grand tour of his new turf. After a number of positive and sympatheric meetings with cultural practicioners and organisations throughout the city, The Press and Journal and Evening Express triumphantly heralded his arrival, pulling him right into the debate over the future of Union Terrace Gardens, proclaiming :<span style="font-weight: bold;">"Arts Centre should back world-class Garden's Bid: Culture Boss In Call to Peacock."</span><br />
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The Press and Journal, the less <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_FSe-ikeNDBCIEZgNWqprfXEVH2dXl_7xmoOe5B8rWBGysqVcu7ZF5WuhIvMDGIT65u7v2C3wBa1VAImJQZ7HRybhWtZR6e9WfqgLrEDqHvdJWIgZ3oSIl0mcwEAPeO6jGXdV33uu6k/s1600/31693_418903586406_677196406_5229578_1844031_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505718414235610898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_FSe-ikeNDBCIEZgNWqprfXEVH2dXl_7xmoOe5B8rWBGysqVcu7ZF5WuhIvMDGIT65u7v2C3wBa1VAImJQZ7HRybhWtZR6e9WfqgLrEDqHvdJWIgZ3oSIl0mcwEAPeO6jGXdV33uu6k/s400/31693_418903586406_677196406_5229578_1844031_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 283px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a>sensationalist of Aberdeen Journal's twins diabolique, claimed <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1752022?UserKey=#ixzz0whiae3JL">"Sir Ian Wood’s plans for Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen received a surprise boost last night after the incoming boss of Scotland’s new arts and culture body praised the project."</a> Rightfully, given the years of trepidation and suspicion around the motives and realities of the new body, the reports caused a ripple through the damaged cultural community of Aberdeen, still licking those fresh wounds since the approval of the City Square which spread quickly throughout the wider Scottish Art Community, those confused and shocked by what had transpired in Aberdeen, and those anxiously waiting for indications of the working practices of Creative Scotland.<br />
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While Dixon was quick to cry "misquote" in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Herald</span> podcast saying <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/more-arts-entertainment-news/arts-chief-urges-co-operation-over-aberdeen-development-1.1031032">"I never said I am a supporter of the gardens project as such. What we are interested in is getting the right cultural facilities for Aberdeen"</a> and giving the official advice to those involved that <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/more-arts-entertainment-news/arts-chief-urges-co-operation-over-aberdeen-development-1.1031032">"They ought to take a little time now to see how we can harness the energy that’s there, the public interest there and get something that makes Aberdeen a better place to live.”</a> Despite his apology, Dixon had already stepped on a cultural landmine by making any comment on the fiasco, something which the Scottish Arts Council had refrained from doing over the course of the previous eighteen months. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Times </span>accused Mr Dixon of <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7136625.ece">"lauding the “ambition and vision” shown by plans for the project, which has been promoted by Sir Ian Wood, the oil tycoon"</a>, indeed describing the City Square as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1752022?UserKey=#ixzz10RxITgI6">"a real opportunity to do something interesting for the future of Aberdeen."</a> This provides an interesting view on a project which has been described as <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7136625.ece">"a mad idea underpinned by the offer of big money which is an illusion"</a> by the <a href="http://www.rias.org.uk/content/">RIAS</a>, and criticized, ridiculed and debunked by a long line of cultural practitioners, architects and critics.<br />
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Andrew Dixon's apparent lack of knowledge concerning the perspective of the cultural practitioners his organisation is supposed to support and represent is not suprising given the emergence of a email to an artist which suggests that he harbours <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/warning-of-chaos-for-the-arts-amid-confusion-about-funding-1.1054637">"confusion over the role and responsibilities of the new national funding body Creative Scotland."</a> Kenneth Roy of Scottish Review's analysis of the aforementioned email finds him <a href="http://www.scottishreview.net/KRoy18.shtml">"still no clearer what the chief executive of Creative Scotland is trying to say about his own organisation."</a> Said email, directly from Dixon to an unnamed artist, writing to CS with frustration surrounding a funding refusal is as follows:<br />
<a href="http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/creative_scotland_rev_02.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/creative_scotland_rev_02.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 323px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 574px;" /></a><br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.scottishreview.net/KRoy18.shtml">'I am sorry that you didn't find my answer convincing but perhaps you misunderstand that <span style="font-weight: bold;">we will not be a funding body in the old sense of the Arts Council </span>but a strategic body,. There will no no point in making multiple applications to us as we will be working more strategically with others agencies.'</a></blockquote>In his editorial, Roy rightfully points out that the statement is in direct contradiction to a statement on Creative Scotland's own website to the effect that <a href="http://www.creativescotland.com/#/about/our-plans">"Creative Scotland inherits the investment commitment of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen."</a> The sense of confusion coming from the very head of this new organisation is indeed alarming. In an attempt to belay concerns expressed by artist groups, journalists and the individual artist (who may or may not be able to secure funding from the organisation to support their practice), Mr Dixon has been writing to those expressing concern. One such correspondence, sent to The Guardian's Charlotte Higgins:<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/sep/14/arts-funding-arts-policy">"As a new organisation it is inevitable that there will be changes in both the way Creative Scotland operate and what we support from both predecessor organisations. That is what the organisation was created to do and I intend to put that into practice to the benefit of Scotland and its artistic and creative community."</a></blockquote>going on to say:<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://http//www.guardian.co.uk/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/sep/14/arts-funding-arts-policy">"Creative Scotland launched on 1st July and the board met for the first time on 12th August and is beginning to develop the first corporate plan for the new organisation for 2011/12 in line with an agreed timetable with the Scottish Government by the end of the year."</a></blockquote>This ties in with a reported comment from CS chair Sir Sandy Crosby, in relation to the role of the organisation that <a href="http://www.scottishreview.net/KRoy18.shtml">"he wasn't sure since there hadn't been a board meeting yet."</a> Fair enough, one might think considering the relative infancy of the organisation, however the concept, and even the name "Creative Scotland" is not that new, having been on the Scottish Government's agenda <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/programme-for-government/legislative-programme/Smarter/culture-creative-bill">since 2006</a> when introduced by the previous Labour/Lib Dem administration.<br />
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While the original Creative Scotland Bill failed to pass the finance committee in June 2008 with Labour MSP Ken MacIntosh stating <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article4167804.ece">"In her [Linda Fabiana, then-Culture Minister] opening statement, she led members to believe that the budget for the creative industries would be transferred from Scottish Enterprise to Creative Scotland. In her summing-up she then clarified that no such budget would be transferred. This is a total shambles and gross incompetence.”</a><br />
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However, the minority SNP administration were not to be perturbed with Ms Fabiani stating that <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/09/03115220">"I am 100 per cent committed to establishing Creative Scotland to bring benefit to our arts and cultural sector as soon as possible. The Scottish Parliament has unanimously endorsed the principles of Creative Scotland, even though that bill did not pass in June." </a>going on to describe how the Government <a href="http://www.holyrood.com/index.php?option=com_holyrood&func=article&artid=284">"are ensuring this happens through the Public Services Reform Bill"</a>, which passed in March this year, with current Culture Minister, Fiona Hislop, describing how Creative Scotland <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/03/25173351">"will build on the successes of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, putting artists and creative practitioners at the heart of all its activities, enhancing Scotland's international reputation for cultural excellence, and enabling more people in Scotland to enjoy and take part in cultural activities."</a><br />
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Swiftly, Creative Scotland, and its <a href="http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/Critics-hit-out-at-39wretched39.6475702.jp">£35,000 Logo</a> were launched in the following months, with the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen as swifly making way for the new organisation. Given the long and difficult process in establishing the new quango, you would suspect that over this time Ministers would have some ideas of certainty over the roles and responsibilities of the new organisation, and that perhaps its newly appointed board could have met and decided on its activities going forward, possibly <span style="font-style: italic;">before<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>the dissolution of its predecessor bodies to inspire confidence in the agency, especially given the<a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/440-artists-and-writers-call-on-msps-to-kill-off-creative-scotland-1.898986"> growing mass of critics throughout Scotland's Cultural community</a>, which <span style="font-style: italic;">The Times</span> described as a <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7007113.ece">"state of near-mutiny and rebellion among the cultural establishment."</a><br />
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The confusion and uncertainty surrounding the newly-founded organisation has not just caused concern for those it is designed to support. Green MSP Robin Harper who tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament setting out <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/businessBulletin/bb-10/bb-09-13f.htm">"That the Parliament notes that the full board of Creative Scotland has yet to meet and believes that this has led to a remarkable degree of uncertainty about that organisation’s function;"</a> and asked that <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/businessBulletin/bb-10/bb-09-13f.htm">"Scottish Government to meet representatives of Creative Scotland as soon as possible and demand sight of its strategic plan and mission statement within a reasonable timescale and for Creative Scotland to undertake minimum expenditure on offices, staff and equipment until such time as its function can be fully defined."</a> Creative Scotland's current expendature, in addition to the £60 Million budget it has been granted to fulfil obligations already allocated through the Scottish Arts Council, has included an the alarming aforementioned £35,000 paid to the Leith Agency for a logo described as <a href="http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/Critics-hit-out-at-39wretched39.6475702.jp">"absolutely awful, uninspiring, doomy. A symbol for the times maybe but surely not what is wanted"</a> among other, harsher, insults, a "launch" ceremony in WASP's new Briggait Initiative costing £17,ooo and £3.3 Million in administrative fees to cover the merger. All is not lost, however as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jul/23/scotland-arts-edinburgh-funding-cuts">"the merger of the arts council and Scottish Screen had led to a 20% reduction in staff numbers"</a>, not a sign of remorse or mention of the human aspect of this 20% reduction being people's jobs and livlihoods, people who were often artists, filmmakers or other creatives or professionals actively involved in the cultural sector.<br />
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One of the few things that is certain is that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jul/23/scotland-arts-edinburgh-funding-cuts">"The agency is to review its £18m core funding for 52 "foundation" arts and drama companies, theatres, cinemas and festivals from Shetland to Glasgow as the public sector braces itself for heavy and long-term cuts in government spending."</a> which has caused a ripple of uncertainty through cultural professionals and organisations across Scotland unsure of what the future holds. One almost certainty with possible devastating implications, is <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jul/23/scotland-arts-edinburgh-funding-cuts">"that direct funding to help make new Scottish films would end"</a>, given that <a href="http://www.blogger.com/18,000%20people%20are%20employed%20in%20Scotland%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99s%20screen%20industries">"18,000 people are employed in Scotland’s screen industries"</a> this certainly raises alarm bells.<br />
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<a href="http://lifesizepictures.co.uk/files/81501259063062scots.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://lifesizepictures.co.uk/files/81501259063062scots.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 260px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 315px;" /></a>Scottish Screen was established in 1997 as a merger of the Scottish Film Council, Scottish Screen Locations, Scottish Broadcast and Film Training and distributors of the Scottish Film Production Fund. Said Production Fund <a href="http://quazen.com/arts/visual-arts/the-differences-and-similarities-between-the-scottish-and-new-zealand-film-industries/#ixzz117EKRcEi">"initially set up in 1982 by the Scottish Film Council and the Scottish Arts Council"</a> has been responsible for directly funding of countless feature and short films which otherwise would probably never get off the ground in Scotland. The support provided: <a href="http://www.scottishscreen.com/content/sub_page.php?sub_id=130&page_id=19">"</a><i><span class="contentText"><a href="http://www.scottishscreen.com/content/sub_page.php?sub_id=130&page_id=19">Maximum Investment - £300,000 - Feature Films (budgets over £500,000); £100,000 - Feature Films (budgets under £500,000); £250,000 - TV Series; £50,000 - Short Films" </a></span></i><span class="contentText">is integral</span><i><span class="contentText"> </span></i><span class="contentText">to ensuring films are made, that filmmakers whose films may not be able to get funding in a conventional manner are supported and developed and ensures that the screen industry in Scotland is healthy</span><span class="contentText"> and allows a huge portion of those 18,000 people working in the screen industries to remain in employment.</span><i><span class="contentText"> </span></i><span class="contentText">If this direct funding for the production of Scottish films is to end, then it leaves one wondering what has become of the Scottish Film Production Fund and what will become of the Scottish Film Industry, the many short films schemes, such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Tartan Shorts</span>, which have over the years allowed internationally acclaimed and award-winning Scottish filmmakers such as Peter Mullan, David MacKenzie, Kevin MacDonald et all have their films made.<br />
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Unfortunately Creative Scotland's apparent direction is leading by example brought forwards by our new Conservative Overlords in Government. Jeremy Hunt, the new Culture Minister announced in July the Government intent to scrap the UK Film Council, a move motivated through <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jul/26/uk-film-council">"our drive to increase openness and efficiency across Whitehall, it is the right time to look again at the role, size and scope of these organisations." </a></span><span class="contentText">The move was quickly condemned by Tim Bevan, the body's chair claiming that the move</span><i><span class="contentText"> </span></i><a href="http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/government-scraps-uk-film-council/"><span class="contentText">"has been imposed with no notice and no consultation... I think we can all agree that this is short-sighted and potentially very damaging, especially as there is at present no roadmap setting out where the UK Film Council’s responsibilities and funding will be placed in the future.”</span></a><i><span class="contentText"> </span></i><span class="contentText">While assurances have been made that committments to the financing of new British Films will not be cut, and that the UK Film Tax Credits will remain in place, there has been no indication as to who will now administer and distribute the cash and under what criteria future applications will be judged under.<br />
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Further alarm bells begin ringing with the abolition of the Film Council, as it came alongside assurances from Mr Hunt that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10761225">"16 public bodies, including the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) would lose their funding as the government committed to "increasing the transparency and accountability of its public bodies, while at the same time reducing their number and cost."</a><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><i><span class="contentText"> </span></i><span class="contentText">This move spells out categorically that the country's cultural industries and communities are in for a huge hit as part of the cuts planned by the new Government in an attempt to ride out the recession<span style="font-style: italic;">,</span> amid a <a href="http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7280.aspx">review of arms-length organisations</a> which could threaten the integrity and critical autonomy the arts represent within society.</span><span class="contentText"></span><i><span class="contentText"><br />
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</span></i><span class="contentText">Andrew Dixon's response in the face of possible funding cuts and a "tough" immediate future is to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jul/23/scotland-arts-edinburgh-funding-cuts">"try to increase private funding and sponsorship, form alliances and share resources"</a>, which could be seen as essentially privitising the arts. Private funding and backing is an uneasy bedfellow with creative and expressive arts, which could challenge the aforementioned integrity and critical autonomy, the age of decent philanthropy is long dead and these days companies and individuals who invest wish to see a return in their investments, to see what's in it for <span style="font-style: italic;">them</span>, and not simply for an artist. Keen sensible business sense means that a company would require to invest in a well established "brand", an internationally successful and acclaimed Artist, or Filmmaker, or play, one that will definately bring them a return. However these success stories are already made, they don't necessarily need </span><span class="contentText">investment in a way in which the unknown, struggling "emerging" artist does.</span><br />
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In the face of the 25% cuts which have been proposed across all public bodies, a survey carried out by The Threadneedle Prize emerged that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11162816">"And a fifth of the 2,022 British adults questioned said visual arts should not be given any government funding"</a> while a blog by Jonathon Jones claims <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/sep/13/art-commerce-cuts">"it's no use the art community complaining about this image when it has spent the last few years extravagantly vaunting connections with big money."</a> However, Samuel West, of the London Evening Standard spells it out perfectly:<br />
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<blockquote><a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23858969-the-arts-cannot-survive-on-rich-backers-alone.do">"The arts cost only 0.07 per cent of total public spending — 7p in every £100. The Arts Council theatre budget for 2008 was £54 million; in return, the theatre paid back £76 million in VAT in London alone. That's a 40 per cent dividend.<br />
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Why doesn't the Chancellor want to fund that level of return? £54 million is one 30,000th of the sum used to bail out the banks."</a></blockquote>As does Glasgow-based Artist David Shrigley:<br />
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Shrigley's film was used to launch an artist led campaign to <a href="http://savethearts-uk.blogspot.com/">Save The Arts</a> amid the cuts, and has a <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-arts.html">petition which you MUST SIGN</a>. A further group <a href="http://www.ivaluethearts.org.uk/">I Value The Arts</a> is also giving information and putting pressure on the Government to go easy on the cuts to culture to ensure that the vibrant, diverse and unrivaled strength we have in terms of culture within the UK which has built up over the last fifty years is not sacrificed by short-sighted beurocrats and politicians in a party-political blame game and a vain attempt to save face.<br />
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Petty squabbles over who is to blame for the current economic situation, or indeed simply returning to the greed-based globalist society which lead us to the situation we find ourselves in is not the way forward. Culture, the arts, free expression and creativity, something that is built not from capital gain or commercial worth, something universally inclusive, something which comes from the soul and enriches life without asking for anything in return should not be a victim of a system which sets out to exclude and create divisions.Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-20171415282555125642010-05-13T16:59:00.003+01:002011-02-04T16:12:10.034+00:00An International Design Competition?A letter to Scottish Enterprise from the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland:<br />
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12th May 2010<br />
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<br />
Dear Ms McGinlay,<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Proposed Union Terrace Gardens Competition</span><br />
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I am writing further to a worrying telephone call from one of your colleagues, Nicola Moore, which was taken by the RIAS Depute Secretary, Sharon McCord, late in the day on 29th April. The call concerned a proposed competition for Union Terrace Gardens to effectively fill the existing valley and create a new public square on its roof, on a level with the surrounding streetscape.<br />
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Our concerns arise not because this proposal is relatively prosaic and therefore would offer very limited opportunities for architectural inventiveness. Rather we are concerned at a number of specifics of the call and in what we view as an inadequate consultative and feasibility process, prior to the launch of a major and costly competition. We are profoundly concerned that a premature or inappropriate competition would simply abuse participants who inevitably will put significantly greater resources into any competitive process than would be covered by any competition fee on offer.<br />
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Your officer suggested that you had been advised to approach a London based consultancy to manage the competition. That is a concern. She further suggested that there was a shared desire that the competition should be won by an “international” architect. On being pressed on this latter issue and advised that this seemed an inappropriate aspiration for a government funded Scottish organisation, she made it clear that what was being sought was a winner, certainly from out-with Scotland, with a known name.<br />
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Sharon made the point that such an aspiration runs quite counter to European procurement legislation as well as being offensive to indigenous talent. Your officer was assured that there are many practices in Scotland more than capable of undertaking very substantial architectural projects and that these should be given an opportunity equal to that of any potential international entrant.<br />
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A further significant concern is the much publicised budget for this proposal. You will be well aware that the highest profile architectural competition in Scotland in recent years was that for the Scottish Parliament and the lengthy and difficult process which ensued from the risible budget initially set for that endeavour. Considering that, in recent years, buildings of comparable scale in Aberdeen and elsewhere in Scotland on straightforward urban sites have cost easily twice the quoted budget figure for this particularly problematic and challenging site we would be very concerned about launching a competition based upon such a questionable budget.<br />
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Our final concern is that the public consultation for this proposal failed to take into account alternative proposals for the site and therefore did not give the people of Aberdeen the opportunity to comment on a breadth of proposals as would normally be the case in such a process. Our local Chapter, the Aberdeen Society of Architects, has written to the leader of the Council and others, indicating their significant concerns on the matter. At the RIAS Council meeting of 17th March 2010, it was agreed that our President would put in writing to the leader of the Council, the Incorporation’s extreme reservations about the efficacy and fairness of this process.<br />
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It is our view that pursuing a competition against a background of such significant doubt and unease, particularly a competition with the objectives stated by your colleague, would be counter to best procurement practice. This seems a thoroughly premature endeavour with so many questions remaining unanswered.<br />
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Yours sincerely,<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Neil Baxter</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Secretary & Treasurer</span>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-72611237460412877172010-04-20T10:35:00.008+01:002011-02-04T16:14:23.319+00:00Give It Up<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689619#ixzz0ldKWGJjB">"Back my vision for the city or lose £50m, Sir Ian warns"</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>read the headline from March 14th Press and Journal announcing the results of the Public Consultation into his own plan, majority funded by us, the taxpayer, <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.co.uk/">The City Square Project</a>. Despite the results of the consultation coming back with an astounding 55% against, a majority of 11%, Sir Ian still sees this as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689619#ixzz0ldVMoIAO">“marginally negative” </a>and not enough for him to take to the outcome of the Public Consultation, which has been payrolled to the tune of around £300,000 by the same Public. Adding to the pressure, ACSEF Chair Tom Smith warned that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689619#ixzz0ldcP6xq8">“Rejection of this £140million investment will damage Aberdeen city’s reputation.”</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
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</span></span>Speaking to the BBC, Wood claimed that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8631615.stm">"I will be disappointed if Aberdeen City Council decide in their wisdom not to proceed with the transformational scheme" </a>going on to explain his scheme as <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8631615.stm">"The vision is to maximise the attractiveness of our city to win the new energy opportunities and become a world energy city. My offer of funds was to help achieve that, not to spruce up our city centre."</a> Wood's statement, while consciously contradicting itself, again lacks any evidence which would show how or why capping off the Denburn Valley would secure long-term "jobs and prosperity" or how not building the square would lead us to certain doom.<br />
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Everyone's favourite benevolent Knight even goes so far as to try and suggest that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8631615.stm">"What is referred to as 'my vision' is in fact the vision, aspiration and hopes of many, many Aberdonians for the future economic and civic wellbeing of our city and region as North Sea oil winds down,"</a> a statement which inspired boos and jeering when he made the same claims at the Labour-organised public debate, and one that certainly does not wash in the face of many, many Aberdonians voting against the scheme in the consultation.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://annebonnar.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/46833968_union_terrace_gardens_466282.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://annebonnar.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/46833968_union_terrace_gardens_466282.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 282px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 466px;" /></a>Sir Ian uses the article to backtrack on his previous promises, stating <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8631615.stm">"My funds offer, spelt out in November 2008, was clearly conditional on achieving transformational change, and on Aberdeen City Council and the people of Aberdeen supporting the vision,"</a> however, tracing back to November 2008, Sir Ian said <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/933616?UserKey=#ixzz0leUWzd4i">"I am only prepared to provide up to £50 million if it has strong support from the people of Aberdeen and the North-east of Scotland,"</a> no mention whatsoever of the Aberdeen City Council. An ACSEF spokeswoman reiterated this during the consultation period <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982?UserKey=#ixzz0legn9v2E">"If the public does not support this project then he will withdraw his offer of £50million and it will not go ahead," </a>and Wood, going as far as to goad the public by saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976?UserKey=#ixzz0lei8K9PS">"If the citizens of Aberdeen decide they don’t want this city square then I’ll just finish up a miserable old Aberdonian who’s £50million better off." </a>and reiterated the point himself at the beginning of the consultation by saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307?UserKey=#ixzz0fNGgsKiz">"I have always said that if the public does not support this vision then my offer of funding will be withdrawn."</a><br />
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Of course, now that the public has not backed his Scheme, Uncle Ian has decided that the decision must now be down to ACC as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689619#ixzz0lekaQx8J">"This is clearly the most valid exercise of the democratic process.”</a> It seems that Wood is now invalidating ACSEF's <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"robust and comprehensive"</a> Consultation, and indeed the views of the people of Aberdeen and the fundemental keystone of democracy: Majority rule.<br />
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<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307?UserKey=#ixzz0fNGgsKiz"></a><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307?UserKey=#ixzz0leiwufQs"></a><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Quick in their attempt to influence this "valid excercise," fifty members of Aberdeen's business community put their signatures to a letter ACC Chief Executive, Sue Bruce, asking for <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/news/Reject-city-square-at-your.6275672.jp">"some reassurance from our city council that this opportunity will not be denied simply due to misunderstanding of the project among the public and an inability to appreciate the very real impact that high quality civic amenities and an excellent city centre can have on the regional economy.<br />
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"It is absolutely essential that the council supports this project to enable it to progress to the next stage – an international design competition."</a> However, Labour secretary Willie Young was quick to hit back by stating <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1723655#ixzz0oGmh3dc0">“What strikes me as remarkable about the letters from Oil and Gas UK and the 50 business people in Aberdeen is that each and every one of them is happy to write to the chief executive pleading for the city square development yet it seems that not one of them is prepared to put their money where their pen is."</a><br />
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However despite none of the fifty signatories making any financial contribution to the project, a report released by the Chief Executive and Corporate Management Team recommended <a href="http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Published/C00000122/M00000371/AI00005499/AberdeenCityCentre.pdf">"that members approve Sir Ian Wood’s offer of £50m based on ACSEF proposals, to got to the next steps in the process"</a> (page 18), aligning with ACSEF and the "business community" rather than the wishes of the majority citizens who took part in the Public Consultation. The recommendation is on the condition that "That the costs of an international design competition be met up to 50% by Sir Ian Wood up to a maximum of £400,000, with the balance of the resource required to be met by the private sector through ACSEF."<br />
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A phonecall from Scottish Enterprise investigating the options for an "International Design <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/buildingsideways500pix.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/buildingsideways500pix.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 267px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 500px;" /></a>Competition" raised serious issues from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, with their secretary, Neil Baxter stating that <a href="http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2010/05/international-design-competition.html">"We are profoundly concerned that a premature or inappropriate competition would simply abuse participants who inevitably will put significantly greater resources into any competitive process than would be covered by any competition fee on offer."</a> The letter also expresses the RIAS's reservations about the focus of the supposed competion on securing an "international" architect with Mr Baxter, speaking on BBC Scotland's Newsdrive describing this as "using public relations of the most crass kind to steamroller through a mega-proposal."<br />
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Furthering concerns over the competition, the RIAS also expressed siginificant reservations concerning the much-quoted £140 Million cost: "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1736233#ixzz0oH6sqmXT">“Considering that, in recent years, buildings of comparable scale in Aberdeen and elsewhere i on straightforward urban sites have cost twice the quoted budget figure for this particularly problematic and challenging site, we would be concerned about launching a competition based on such a questionable budget.”</a> Further fears were raised about the actual costs of the project, stemming from an appraisal into Tax Increment Financing compiled by economic assessors, <a href="http://www.pwc.co.uk/">PriceWaterhouseCooper</a> in which it is estimated that <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/aberdeen-revamp-plan-will-cost-city-150m-in-loans-warns-finance-expert-1.1027986">"at an interest rate of 3%, the common rate local authorities borrow at, the £70m loan would cost £150m over 25 years."</a><br />
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The report also states that <a href="http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Published/C00000122/M00000371/AI00005499/AberdeenCityCentre.pdf">"under each of the four Scenarios there is an early years interest gap where the project revenues are insufficient to meet the interest payments due. For the purposes of our modelling exercise we have assumed that this interest is ‘rolled up’ into the existing debt and paid off over time. In reality the prudential borrowing framework does not allow for interest to be rolled up in this way and future consideration will therefore have to be given to how this early years interest gap is covered."</a> (Page 88) This means that even the TIF funding will be unable to actually pay back the early interest required to pay for the square. Even the very concept of Tax Increment Financing, which is a pilot scheme yet to be trialed in the UK has uncertainty surrounding it, in November 2009 Edinburgh submitted a bid for a TIF area to the Scottish Government for the development of the Forth Ports in Leith, is also uncertain as even if the bid is approved by Scottish Government there is a chance that the proposals <a href="http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-regional/13486666-1.html">could be blocked by the Treasury. </a> Considering that similar funding strategies for financing the new Forth Road crossing had been rejected by westminster <a href="http://www.journal-online.co.uk/article/5242-snp-lose-battle-with-westminster-over-forth-bridge-funding">"We will work with the Scottish Government, but their particular scheme where they were asking to borrow money from budgets which are yet to be allocated over an extremely long period – that’s something that we simply don’t do"</a> there is a high chance that the TIF system, which ACSEF have provided as the backbone for securing the £70 Million shortfall (after Sir Ian and an entirely speculative private investment figure of £20 Million), may not float.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile Peacock Visual Arts and the Scottish Arts Council have spoken out about apparent ommissions from the Chief Executive's report. Peacock Director, Lindsay Gordon claimed that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1734596#ixzz0oHlDI53R">“It appears that all of Sir Ian's parameters for the city square remain intact and that the council is being asked to vote in favour of a concept that the people clearly rejected in the public consultation,” </a>going on to say that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1734596#ixzz0oHlRf4fN">“The paper takes no account of Peacock's board’s position, taken after long and careful consideration, that we cannot be part of the city square project.”</a> while SAC Co-director has written to Sue Bruce clarifying that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1741062#ixzz0oHlsYPPy">“If I am interpreting your recommendations correctly, your first suggests that any consortium progressing the city square project would have access to the Scottish Arts Council’s investment. I’m afraid that’s incorrect.”</a> going further <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/paulinemclean/">"It would be unrealistic to expect our current financial commitment to be held indefinitely and transferred to an as yet undetermined project. Unless of course it is the intention that Peacock's current plans become an initial phase of redevelopment and can be delivered quickly."</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2130378&refRef=img&style=full" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2130378&refRef=img&style=full" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a>As this will by my last post before the crucial decision tomorrow, it wouldn't be fair not to pass comment on our old friend ACSEF chair, Tom Smith, who was asked a series of questions in the Sunday Herald. His replies further the convoluted and contradictory messages he has provided to the media for the past four months, even going as far to say <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/the-final-push-1.1027990">"we [ACSEF] can take pride in our integrity and professionalism in the face of a vociferous and not always factual opposition, unjust criticism and unfortunately, on occasions, personal attacks" </a> despite the fact that the majority of "not always factual" information came from the self-same documents ACSEF have produced and are using for a basis for the supposed feasibility of their project. Further to the previously mentioned letter from the 50 business leaders, signed by Tom Smith, he also states in the interview that<a href="http://www.blogger.com/It%20would%20damage%20our%20reputation%20to%20be%20seen%20to%20reject%20a%20%C3%82%C2%A3140%20million%20investment%20in%20our%20city"> "It would damage our reputation to be seen to reject a £140 million investment in our city."</a> This comment is alarming, as the head of an Economic Forum with a remit <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4">"for advising on national, regional and local economic development from a regional perspective"</a> who is unable to tell the difference between a £50 Million investment and a £140 Million investment. For there is not £140 million on the table, only Wood's £50m and a new <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1738912#ixzz0oIROg938">"anonymous city businessman reportedly offered £5million towards the cost of the city square."</a> Add this to Tom's sound economic arguments for the City Square, which amount to comparing it to Aberdeen FC signing Ronaldo (even though for The Dons to achieve such an accolade would surely bankrupt them) and admitting that the project was a "Leap of Faith", would you let this man champion supposed economic development of the region?<br />
<br />
Aberdeen City Council's elected members will meet at 10:30 tomorrow, 19th May at Aberdeen Town House. While the Council's Labour Group of 10 Councillors have declared that "unless there is some tremendous financial thing happens between now and Wednesday, we feel it would be wrong to kill off the Peacock proposal at this time when there is so little real meat in the Union Square development" and voting against the City Square, the 31 remaining Councillors have a free vote. Only time can tell exactly what way it will go, but what began as a little case of A Garden, an Art Centre and a Civic Plaza has now become an overriding question of the validity of democracy in the North East.<br />
<br />
We can only hope that our elected councilors will do the right thing and stand by the wishes of their constituent rather than a vociferous minority of business leaders.<br />
<br />
</div><br />
</div></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-22591641974946520042010-03-11T11:16:00.008+00:002011-02-04T16:19:22.473+00:00Watch This Space<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoVIppoF4yHryKPhC07eX0vyUST7nbsXA4U86erMZSEjK23y23a-ga00V1FMRcIsJ2lz-L6OZi-dxtXKkCA32Ego5aJ7oA9jD0UqnUItHro9nOVe8P-nG4vfIKCCLe0D_ZJlLT32eBps/s1600/eeno.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460286959884800066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoVIppoF4yHryKPhC07eX0vyUST7nbsXA4U86erMZSEjK23y23a-ga00V1FMRcIsJ2lz-L6OZi-dxtXKkCA32Ego5aJ7oA9jD0UqnUItHro9nOVe8P-nG4vfIKCCLe0D_ZJlLT32eBps/s400/eeno.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 356px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 259px;" /></a>Aberdeen has spoken.<br />
<br />
The results of the £309, 676 Public Consultation into Sir Ian Wood's City Square Project have been <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/consultation/">published</a>. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8615070.stm">"The majority of people who took part in a consultation on plans to create a civic square in the heart of Aberdeen opposed the plan"</a> with the overall totals for the response to Question Three <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Do you Support the City Square Project"</span> coming in with <span style="font-weight: bold;">44%(5242) in favour</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">55%(6512) against </span>the City Square Proposal (Also, inexplicably 2% against, making the Consultation inexplicably widespread in it's uptake of 101%) which means that there is not the majority support Sir Ian and his cronies at ACSEF desired to push through the project.<br />
<br />
The quantative results, which contributed to what king of contradiction, Tom Smith, described as the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1641503#ixzz0hxceYgZT">"sheer weight of feedback meant it would be unable to announce the outcome until April 13"</a>,(two weeks after the initial March deadline for Peacock Visual Art's SAC funding for the Northern Light Contemporary Arts Centre) spelled out how most respondents (17%) to the questionaire desired Formal Gardens while <a href="http://cdn.activecommerce.net/content/csp/CSP_Consultation_Report_FINAL.pdf">"The second and third most important facilities were a contemporary arts centre and a cultural centre for the performing and visual arts."</a><br />
<br />
Already ACSEF's policy is to skew the results and not take the majority of opposition to heart, as Smith claimed <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport-environment/results-of-aberdeen-city-centre-consultation-delayed-1.1016619">"This was never intended to be a referendum type consultation."</a> in response to demands by North East MP Lewis MacDonald for results being released before the April 13th date, saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1665716#ixzz0kzPT4GuK">“Given the importance attached by Sir Ian Wood to support for his proposals, the key question would appear to be whether or not these proposals commanded clear support from the majority of respondents."</a> Now, ACSEF are, predictably using the quantative data which apparently points to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8615070.stm">"the public have said they want change. They believe the gardens are underused and inaccessible. Significant new green space and a cultural centre must be part of this change that would give us a more attractive and safer city centre and kick-start the wider regeneration of the city centre."</a><br />
<br />
However, also unsurprisingly, Tom's blinkers don't notice the proposal the City Square Project could almost have been designed to scupper, the proposed <a href="http://www.ads.org.uk/what_we_do/design_review/reports/224_peacock-visual-arts-centre-aberdeen">Contemporary Arts Centre</a>. Given that the results themselves show that 55% of people are against the proposals, but there is a desire for some sort of change, with favour leaning towards Gardens, a Contemporary Arts Centre and a Cultural Space, then <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.co.uk/">Brisac Gonzalez</a>'s designs are the obvious choice. Everything that the people want to do with the Union Terrace Gardens can be achieved through the Peacock plan and the retention of the existing Gardens, for a tenth of the cost of the City Square, which the majority of respondents did <span style="font-weight: bold;">not</span> want.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ais4architecture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/UnionTerraceGardens.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ais4architecture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/UnionTerraceGardens.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 350px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 550px;" /></a>However, even before the results were announced, Tom Smith giving the voice to ACSEF's finger which appears to have been placed on a slab of concrete rather than anywhere near the pulse was already denouncing the results of the consultation saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1687953/#ixzz0kznKhrgq">“It should not fail because we do not have the necessary vision and ambition.”</a> Although ACSEF had said <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Garden-space--plan-revealed.5954953.jp?CommentPage=1&CommentPageLength=1000">"we do not want to pre-empt the consultation, we want to make it clear to people that our plans are not about replacing gardens with a concrete square but about using the natural sloping topography of the location to create a civic space with gardens which everyone can enjoy"</a> their line now the consultation results are in, and not in their favour is remarkably similar <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1687953/#ixzz0l3tDwOwe">"This project is about so much more than the gardens, it is about a radical transformation of our city that will help deliver the jobs and prosperity we need for the future success of the region"</a> despite being unable to demonstrate exactly how the Square will deliver "jobs and prosperity" or how, as Sir Ian described, it would be <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793?UserKey=#ixzz0grTmOBuV">"essential to safeguard the future prosperity of the city."<br />
</a><br />
In fact, adding to the £100 million shortfall in the City Square Scheme, discussions such as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1633749?UserKey=">Tax Increment Financing</a> and the establishment of a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121">Business Improval District</a> in the city centre requiring a business rate hike which <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0l4KESzXT">"would be ring-fenced and used to fund ACSEF priorities"</a>, would actually make the area around the square less desirable. Businesses find it hard to move into Union Street because of the high rates, then raising them will hardly do what ACSEF believes the Square will do and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8615070.stm">"kick-start the wider regeneration of the city centre." </a><br />
<br />
After the conclusion of the process on March 5th, a statement on <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.co.uk/">The City Square Project</a> website, PR consultants, Weber Shandwick, announced that <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/media-centre/consultation-report-date-announced/">"The process will begin with each single response being logged, checked and duplicates removed. The figures will then be analysed along with a vast amount of qualitative data, which will be studied for common trends. ACSEF will then announce the result of the consultation on Tuesday 13 April."</a> Tom Smith, of ACSEF, defending this date as the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1641503#ixzz0hxceYgZT">"sheer weight of feedback meant it would be unable to announce the outcome until April 13" </a>going on to describe how <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1641503#ixzz0hxdeB28g">"the consultation report on Edinburgh trams took 12 weeks to compile based on feedback from 3,500 people. There has been three times that amount of input from the public for the city square project."</a><br />
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Continuing Tom Smith's trend of not checking previous comments made this unsurprisingly <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoVmsjjhNdbMwbKtI5ylb5JOusTqqa0FkXWZ6telupzw3Rg_C2OSzJuUsEZChZooQntwxLn-vynVNVba8LgSh_wLo_8R-_fyle7Z8TyawgHnxWpZo7xNZRF7XDMtnu-p5CdkvQHAijXo/s1600/Private+Eye.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460019955329395282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoVmsjjhNdbMwbKtI5ylb5JOusTqqa0FkXWZ6telupzw3Rg_C2OSzJuUsEZChZooQntwxLn-vynVNVba8LgSh_wLo_8R-_fyle7Z8TyawgHnxWpZo7xNZRF7XDMtnu-p5CdkvQHAijXo/s400/Private+Eye.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 283px;" /></a>contradict ACSEF's statements the week before blasting the consultation process saying <a href="http://www.blogger.com/public%20participation%20was%20so%20low%20that%20there%20was%20a%20danger%20that%20Sir%20Ian%20would%20withdraw%20the%20%C3%82%C2%A350million%20he%20has%20pledged%20%20Read%20more:%20http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1633749#ixzz0hyNWxQ0S">"public participation was so low that there was a danger that Sir Ian would withdraw the £50million he has pledged"</a> and Tom Smith's own fears that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1633749#ixzz0hyPDVyyP">"the damage to our reputation should we reject it would be significant.” </a> However, the City Square project has been the subject of a high-level of criticism, in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxW1iHNhZdk">BBC Documentary</a> by Jonathan Meades, been slammed by <a href="http://www.ads.org.uk/what_we_do/design_review/reports/682_city-square-aberdeen">Architecture and Design Scotland</a>, ridiculed in Private Eye, and the situation inspiring laughter in a crowd listening to Edgar Gonzalez give a presentation on the Northern Light Centre, which proves the idea of destroying a garden and leveling off one of Aberdeen's unique selling points has already damaged the reputation of the city, and will be likely to do more so should public opinion be ignored and the project proceed.<br />
<br />
While the consultation process was originally scheduled to begin in July, directly after the publication of Haliday Fraser Munro's <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=10&MSID=14">technical fable</a>, however an alleged dispute and then the administration of original consultants Glasgow's <a href="http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/ta_lighthouse.html">Lighthouse</a> meant the process was delayed. From then it took almost six months for ACSEF to announce a date for consultation which was then due to begin in November and to be carried out by PR consultations <a href="http://www.webershandwick.co.uk/">Weber Shandwick</a>, supposedly to be completed in time for the expiry of the original extension of Peacock's £4.3 million grant from the Scottish Arts Council.<br />
<br />
However when November came along, ACSEF reacted to a three month extension from the Scottish Arts Council to investigate compromised approaches to the development of the Denburn Valley and to allow time for consultation results to be collated by announcing <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704?UserKey=#ixzz0l9vDHks6">"it was postponing its consultation on the square – due to have started earlier this month – until the new year." </a>ACSEF's criteria for the "compromise" was still to strongly adhere to Sir Ian's personal perameters for the project, which would in no way allow for the original Gardens to be retained. Despite knowing full well that the Scottish Art's Council's uncertain future after April 2010, ACSEF chose to ignore the funding deadline of late March and the understanding that results would be published in time for that deadline, and decided that results would not be released until two weeks later.<br />
<br />
Fortunately the SAC, in reaction to ACSEF's games and with their own future still unknown, extended the deadline for another two months. Ian Munro co-director of SAC stated <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1669971#ixzz0l9xLNarH">"'“The outcome of the recently concluded public consultation, led by Acsef, will have a significant influence on the continued development of the existing Peacock scheme. The initial timetable given by Acsef to announce the outcome of its consultation on City Square was scheduled for March. However, this has now been delayed until April 13. As a consequence, the Scottish Arts Council will now review its position in June 2010 at the next scheduled meeting of our lottery committee.”</a><br />
<br />
During a Youth Consultation session last June Sir Ian was adamant that we live in a democracy and and therefor only had a single vote, and has sade throughout the process that <scottish 000="" 676="" a="" and="" appraisal="" arts="" as="" at="" awarded="" back="" be="" claimed="" consultation="" could="" council="" depending="" eaten="" enterprise="" european="" had="" has="" he="" his="" ian="" in="" into="" june="" last="" lived="" money="" numerous="" of="" on="" one="" or="" point="" publication="" quick="" scottish="" seen="" sir="" sixteen="" statement="" stress="" technical="" that="" the="" threat="" throughout="" to="" up="" vision="" was="" we="" well="" which="" whose="" worth="" your="" youth=""><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0fNGgsKiz">"If the public does not support this vision then my offer of funding will be withdrawn."</a> Although now that the public has expressed that they indeed do not support his vision, Wood is showing no signs of backing down. Choosing not to pay any heed to the negative reaction to the consultation into his plans, Sir Ian is now leaving his money on the table until a full council vote on the matter, scheduled for May 19th saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689619#ixzz0l4yd77nd">"This is clearly the most valid exercise of the democratic process and I am prepared to leave my financial offer on the table until these deliberations.”<br />
</a></scottish><br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689619#ixzz0l4yd77nd"><br />
“However, unless Aberdeen City Council at that meeting decide that the project should proceed with their backing, and that they will step in and take a key leadership role along with Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef), my financial offer will be withdrawn.”</a></blockquote><a href="http://www.e-pics.ethz.ch/index/ETHBIB.Bildarchiv/images/ETHBIB.Bildarchiv_Fel_019165-AL-RE_130872.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.e-pics.ethz.ch/index/ETHBIB.Bildarchiv/images/ETHBIB.Bildarchiv_Fel_019165-AL-RE_130872.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 433px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 578px;" /></a><scottish 000="" 676="" a="" and="" appraisal="" arts="" as="" at="" awarded="" back="" be="" claimed="" consultation="" could="" council="" depending="" eaten="" enterprise="" european="" had="" has="" he="" his="" ian="" in="" into="" june="" last="" lived="" money="" numerous="" of="" on="" one="" or="" point="" publication="" quick="" scottish="" seen="" sir="" sixteen="" statement="" stress="" technical="" that="" the="" threat="" throughout="" to="" up="" vision="" was="" we="" well="" which="" whose="" worth="" your="" youth="">Putting extreme pressure on the council now with his threat of taking away his £50 million being left down to ACC, with them taking direct blame for its refusal. However ACC Labour group leader Willy Young stating that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689774#ixzz0l56JPDbC">"the people of Aberdeen would not be “bullied” into accepting his plan"</a> going further to say <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689774#ixzz0l56nIPZH">"If Sir Ian Wood wants to continue with his project he needs to start listening to the people of Aberdeen and stop lecturing them. It is obvious they have said no.”</a><br />
<br />
However, Liberal Democrat Council Leader John Stewart claimed that he was <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689774#ixzz0l58KQjl0">"concerned about ... people taking this decision for the right reasons – and that is for the long-term future of Aberdeen.”</a> with SNP depute leader Kevin Stewart saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1689774#ixzz0l57o5Djm">“We can no longer deal with the city centre in terms of a piecemeal solution." </a>While giving nothing away, the council seem to be making noises echoing the thoughts of ACSEF and Sir Ian, in particular Tom Smith's emphasis that <a href="http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/169880-public-reject-oil-tycoons-garden-vision/">"This money is not available for other projects or piece-meal developments."</a> It seems the pressure ACSEF, as Aberdeen Council's Economic think-tank are going to continue pushing the city square as the only way Aberdeen could ever achieve external investment while continuing to forecast doom if it is not taken on board: <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/People-power-puts-140m-Aberdeen.6224186.jp">"If we let this window close on us, the clear message will be that we do not have the ambition or the foresight to prevent a downward spiral that will see a serious decline in our economy, the gradual loss of businesses and consequently jobs and quality of life." </a><br />
Without displaying in demonstrable proof of why the Denburn Valley remaining generally as-is is a ticking time bomb to the destruction, and against statments made by the Scottish Council for Development and Innovation who stated that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1626593#ixzz0h3QPiOiF">"should the Union Terrace Gardens/Denburn Valley project not be supported, SCDI believes that the north-east economy can still be successful in the long-term.”</a><br />
<br />
Amid the "bullying", feet stamping, hypocrisy it cannot be denied that the results of the consultation are a victory for those seeking to Save Union Terrace Gardens, an eleven percent majority of those who filled out the formal questionaire opposed the city square. While both the I Heart UTG Petition and "Support the City Square" petition were included in the report, their numbers were not included in the statistics of the results. There was even a disclaimer after the mention of the I Heart UTG Petition which pointed out <a href="http://cdn.activecommerce.net/content/csp/CSP_Consultation_Report_FINAL.pdf">"It should be noted that this petition was running for six months prior to the start of the public consultation." </a>Although, just to be clear, while the petition did indeed start six months before the consultation, this graph put together by a supporter shows a comparison of the day-to-day uptake of both petitions, with there being a very obvious trend throughout the consultation period.<br />
</scottish><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbvlwHUfsXDTgq_nPCs-9ywBXGDAAd6JguaaDbLTYfD5AOQRDnBA_TD9P6SfNyqgo48CviKiEmg1aS-9LA0ure_cS1Z8ukLoFD1AVL5_CDvJpfiYKCs2Ddwe2klmr2LfLVpyrEW4Yh3w/s1600/petitiongraph.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460309109155194498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbvlwHUfsXDTgq_nPCs-9ywBXGDAAd6JguaaDbLTYfD5AOQRDnBA_TD9P6SfNyqgo48CviKiEmg1aS-9LA0ure_cS1Z8ukLoFD1AVL5_CDvJpfiYKCs2Ddwe2klmr2LfLVpyrEW4Yh3w/s400/petitiongraph.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 201px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>While ACSEF have shifted the decision making powers onto Aberdeen City Council, the results of the consultation are very clear. 55% of respondents said <span style="font-weight: bold;">NO</span>, and what the people said they want: accessibility, Green Space, Contemporary Arts and Cultural Centre, are cornerstones of the Peacock Visual Arts development. Tom Smith has claimed that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8615070.stm">"The public have said they want change. They believe the gardens are underused and inaccessible. Significant new green space and a cultural centre must be part of this change"</a> while this is his attempt to justify the City Square as <a href="http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/People-power-puts-140m-Aberdeen.6224186.jp">"absolutely not dead in the water"</a><scottish 000="" 676="" a="" and="" appraisal="" arts="" as="" at="" awarded="" back="" be="" claimed="" consultation="" could="" council="" depending="" eaten="" enterprise="" european="" had="" has="" he="" his="" ian="" in="" into="" june="" last="" lived="" money="" numerous="" of="" on="" one="" or="" point="" publication="" quick="" scottish="" seen="" sir="" sixteen="" statement="" stress="" technical="" that="" the="" threat="" throughout="" to="" up="" vision="" was="" we="" well="" which="" whose="" worth="" your="" youth=""> it highlights the sheer lunacy of their plans to destroy a Garden to build a garden, and to stymie a ten-year plan for a Contemporary Arts Centre put together by experts in their field, to start from scratch developing another one.<br />
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Going forward, the people of Aberdeen must continue to appeal to their councillors, those we have elected to represent us to do the right thing. An individual with Money must not be more important than the majority of citizens in the city who are rightly concerned about cost, locatation, timescale and environment. Please keep contacting your councillor, you can find out who they are at <a href="http://www.writetothem.com/">www.writetothem.com</a>, and urge them (politely) to do what the people have wanted and ensure democracy is played out in Aberdeen. Also, the <a href="http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens.html">I Heart UTG petition</a> is still active and we will be encouraging people to continue to sign it and pass it on until the full council meeting on May 19th.<br />
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The people of Aberdeen have not voted for the City Square, and the things they expressed they have wanted is already planned, funded and will cost a tenth of the approximate price for the City Square while saving the face of Aberdeen both internally and externally. Please let your councillors know this.<br />
</scottish>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-41745010439682939962010-03-02T15:49:00.009+00:002011-02-04T16:20:35.460+00:00An Inevitable Victim of DevelopmentWith less than five days to go on the public consultation into The City Square Project, the results of the process are beginning to roll in, ACSEF appear to be looking for a getout clause from their <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"robust and comprehensive"</a> exercise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgbRualatnOvxgbX7fq8UFw3xC8V48DJtVlx0lYvD6r3kbElSzFHwRew6Fjg1tfGBn4Rr8Z4Y_q2eFO8sbNgu0IV3bL7R76xb15krXDcUMNXVgUCKhhz3Pfkl7dUndfv7OQPxv5G7tHs/s1600-h/UTG+-+02.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444151583069620434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgbRualatnOvxgbX7fq8UFw3xC8V48DJtVlx0lYvD6r3kbElSzFHwRew6Fjg1tfGBn4Rr8Z4Y_q2eFO8sbNgu0IV3bL7R76xb15krXDcUMNXVgUCKhhz3Pfkl7dUndfv7OQPxv5G7tHs/s400/UTG+-+02.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 278px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a>On Monday the <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/">Evening Excess</a> published the results of an independent opinion poll they themselves had commissioned <a href="http://www.ideasinpartnership.co.uk/main/about.htm">Ideas in Partnership</a>, yet another PR company, to carry out relating to the City Square. The article highlighted that <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1626277?UserKey=#ixzz0h1nhfSX1">"the survey of 500 people found just 38 had made the effort to provide feedback on the £140 million scheme put forward for Aberdeen’s Denburn Valley"</a> and that the straw poll of the 500 asked brought results in as <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1626277?UserKey=#ixzz0h1pHTzt8">"266 (53%) against and 230 (46%) in favour of the proposals to raise the area to street level. Four people (1%) did not have an opinion on the proposal." </a>While there is a tight margin between for and against votes, the apparent low turn out appears to have instilled a fear in Sir Ian Wood: <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1626277?UserKey=#ixzz0h1q3kSgT">"Unless the majority express their views formally through the public consultation in the remaining few days, there is a real risk this project will not go ahead"</a> going on to say "We have always recognised that the strong negative opinion will make up a large part of such a low participation."<br />
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As usual the statements made by ACSEF and those by Weber Shandwick regarding the same subject are not quite in alignment. On the City Square Project site a press release from the 23rd February claims that <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/media-centre/participation-in-city-square-consultation-set-to-beat-other-major-scottish-projects/">"official participation is higher than consultation on the Forth Crossing, GARL and Edinburgh Trams."</a> and that "Participation in the City Square Consultation looks set to be one of the highest in Scotland," describing participation as "unprecedented" and a "huge response." As expected the responses to date from Weber Shandwick have been by the book in comparison to the downright unprofessional conduct from <a href="http://www.bigpartnership.co.uk/">The Big Partnership</a> and ACSEF as Weber Shandwick have been tasked with carrying out the consultation while ACSEF have a vested interest in making sure the scheme goes ahead.<br />
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The brief for the process outlines how Scottish Enterprise would be informed of progress daily <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rIzhtPameDhXArsonLFSdO02bMcgmEpH_zJjAwyvcTgzEJ6KmU4HIsvr8Od3vSvIJE5ma3EkE7c8eW6wcGwQ5xkkGsrU0XREPsP7Nr7YfKtzknHeE_9zuWS3xUX7slGdQNt7vPbG3N0/s1600-h/UTG+-+13.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444151948191071458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rIzhtPameDhXArsonLFSdO02bMcgmEpH_zJjAwyvcTgzEJ6KmU4HIsvr8Od3vSvIJE5ma3EkE7c8eW6wcGwQ5xkkGsrU0XREPsP7Nr7YfKtzknHeE_9zuWS3xUX7slGdQNt7vPbG3N0/s400/UTG+-+13.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 268px;" /></a>by the consultant with further regular engagement between the consultant to "liaise with a small Working Group representing the larger Client Stakeholder Group." The working group includes Dave Blackwood from ACSEF, Jennifer Craw representing Sir Ian Wood, Fraser Innes representing Aberdeen City Council, and Derick Murray from NESTRANS. This means that throughout the duration of the consultation these stakeholders are being informed of how the results are going which has presumably dictated the PR output from ACSEF over the last two months. While stating initially that they <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Garden-space--plan-revealed.5954953.jp?CommentPage=1&CommentPageLength=1000">"do not want to pre-empt the consultation"</a>, it seems now that the results are coming in that they are looking to distance themselves from it.<br />
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Throughout the process, Sir Ian has been insistant that the Civic Square is <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793?UserKey=#ixzz0grTmOBuV">"essential to safeguard the future prosperity of the city"</a> and that <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1576065?UserKey=#ixzz0h31tDyY8">"Aberdeen faced a bleak future and serious decline"</a> attempting to forcast certain doom if the Square is not accepted by the Aberdeen population, obviously without explainging how the creation of a five-acre expanse of non-commercial, non-retail civic space is so "essential." This week the north-east committee of the <a href="http://www.scdi.org.uk/">Scottish Council for Development and Industry</a> (SCDI) spoke out in favour of the City Square Project, however were quick to stress that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1626593#ixzz0h3QPiOiF">"should the Union Terrace Gardens/Denburn Valley project not be supported, SCDI believes that the north-east economy can still be successful in the long-term” </a>dispelling once and for all the scaremongering tactics touted by Sir Ian and ACSEF as attempts to use fear to encourage the North-East public to support Wood's personal vision for a five acre space which belongs to the public of Aberdeen.<br />
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Also emerging in support of the plans this week was Stewart Spence, using more of the negative rhetoric used by supporters of the Square damning the city centre. Mr Spence declared that <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1627722#ixzz0h3TA6JLb">"he warns guests to wear blindfolds if they visit the city centre." </a>Hardly the most inspiring way to market his exclusive hotel as belonging to a city which isn't worth looking at, however of course he can see a solution, claiming that <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1627722#ixzz0h3U5dS7A">"only way to restore civic pride was to back Sir Ian Wood’s proposal for a new civic square."</a> Surprising how that suddenly destroying Union Terrace Gardens and decking over the Denburn Valley has suddenly become the only way to turn around Aberdeen's unfortunate decline, especially as it was never considered as such until Sir Ian decided it was worth £50 million of his personal fortune. Unsurprisingly Stewart Spence sits on the <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1627722#ixzz0h3U5dS7A">ACSEF board</a>, making him the fifth of the ten business representatives on the board to speak out in favour of the project that they themselves are promoting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1-zVGDydlORNoXW7cRbTNqViQFvFbv4zQ3FsETYd-ddKC6WhZ-NKWFQ-T_jZKdIaQvuN7k_mHectDoeF-sKZg6-PANwCAXZXU9wXvRkmWBJ9JedUpQzPMqmEcU4NMurse6TBZPLir0M/s1600-h/UTG+-+04.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444152392020979730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1-zVGDydlORNoXW7cRbTNqViQFvFbv4zQ3FsETYd-ddKC6WhZ-NKWFQ-T_jZKdIaQvuN7k_mHectDoeF-sKZg6-PANwCAXZXU9wXvRkmWBJ9JedUpQzPMqmEcU4NMurse6TBZPLir0M/s400/UTG+-+04.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 277px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a>Also this week (and it's only Tuesday at time of writing) Tom Smith, ACSEF chair, has jumped on an unsubstantiated claim by Alex Salmond at the ACSEF Youth Summit that "the funding [for Peacock] would be available whether the arts centre was in the gardens or as part of the new square." As usual, a press release was put out without ACSEF checking the facts with Peacock themselves, or even funding body Scottish Arts Council who have stated the funding would have to be earmarked by the end of the month. Smith claimed that "We can have it all," again ignoring the huge proportion of non-Peacock supporters who wish to retain Union Terrace Gardens. Unable to deny that the Gardens will be excavated to make way for the concrete and steel structure ACSEF choose to ignore the concerns of the thousands of citizens who simply do not want to see the Gardens removed, or even want to see the great expense involved with removing those Gardens to create a superficial street-level ornamental garden.<br />
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As friday draws ever closer only time and press release will tell how many more transparent tactics ACSEF will employ in order to put their own ignorant and environmentally unsound stamp on the face of a City which does not belong to them. Aberdeen City Centre belongs to the people of Aberdeen, and to anyone who cares about the city and the shape and future of the City Centre should be decided by them, and not a single man with a narrow, twenty-year old vision.<br />
<object align="center" height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9852492&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9852492&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/9852492">Support UTG</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user546625">Adam Proctor</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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</div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-21138701768286760152010-02-26T10:54:00.002+00:002011-02-04T16:22:01.783+00:00The Sound of One Hand Clapping<span style="font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0gYERw7fk"></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0gYERw7fk"><blockquote>“There is however always a danger when one individual claims to speak for others." </blockquote></a></span><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;">Sir Ian Wood 12th February 2010<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Despite Frank Doran's reasoning for the public debate into the future of Union Terrace Gardens as a way to counter a situation which <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0gYhAg9xj">"seemed to be turning into a debate by press release."</a> ACSEF's PR at <a href="http://www.bigpartnership.co.uk/">The Big Partnership</a> have been back at it this week churning out more press releases in defense of the much maligned <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.thecitysquareproject.com/">City Square Project </a>proposal. Obviously Sir Ian Wood's beliefs that the meeting didn't <a href="http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/158451-heated-meeting-held-over-aberdeen-gardens-future/">"move the debate ahead" </a>has meant there is no need to change the course of the PR onslaught.<br />
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<a href="http://www.topnews.in/sports/files/Sir-Alex-Ferguson3365.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.topnews.in/sports/files/Sir-Alex-Ferguson3365.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 550px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 468px;" /></a>First on the agenda was an attempt to spin something positive out of last Thursday's public debate, the Evening Express honed in on a throwaway comment by Tom Smith, that "The City Square would be like the Dons Signing Ronaldo." Now, not that I know anything about football, but I'm sure that if Aberdeen FC was to sign Ronaldo, that would mean that it's budgets would be so stretched it would have to cut other players or be forced to employ cheaper ones, and wouldn't the investment in Mr Ronaldo be a bit of a waste if it has a knock on effects on the rest of the team? Not only that but it implies a direct relationship between cost and quality and that money is the only benchmark by which a City is measured.<br />
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Continuing the Footballing theme, Evening Express broke the "story" confirming support for the City Square Project from none other than Football legend, Sir Alex Ferguson saying <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1614234?UserKey=">"The Manchester United manager and former Aberdeen FC boss said the new heart could put the city in the “premier” league."</a> Littering the article with half-baked football puns such as how the City Square would allow Aberdeen to <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1614234?UserKey=#ixzz0gee1XrUN">"enter the premiership of European cities,”</a> there is a significant failure to quantify what Sir Alex's statement actually brings to the debate other than to simply reiterate the ACSEF's tired rhetoric. Tom Smith is quick to pipe up in support of the statement saying <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1614234?UserKey=#ixzz0gefHyBna">"Sir Alex knows what it takes to win and Aberdeen City and Shire’s future depends on the prize that can be won by radically transforming our city centre"</a>, yes Alex Ferguson does know what it takes to win a game of football, or a trophy or a league, but he isn't exactly versed on the ins and outs of Architecture, of Civic or Urban Design. But of course, the opinions of those who are experts in Urban Realm Planning, Architecture or Civic design do not count to those in ACSEF.<br />
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The reaction to Sir Alex's announcement, which was pushed in the press through a release from ACSEF, highlights the side-switching double standards of the Economic Forum, who two weeks before had blasted Annie Lennox for <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=163272345&blogId=528691490">speaking out</a> in favour of saving Union Terrace Gardens saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597883?UserKey=#ixzz0gfQRqlx5">"Ms Lennox’s near 40-year absence from the city made her views somewhat irrelevant"</a> punctuating this with a comparison to Sir Ian who <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7026326.ece">"is an Aberdonian who lives here."</a> How these statements still stand with Fergie's support when he was born in Govan and has lived and worked in Manchester since 1986. However Sir Alex did in fact helm Aberdeen FC between 1978 and 1986 and was granted Freedom of the City in 1999 this gives him as much say as anyone else with an interest in the future of Aberdeen, including Aberdeen-born Lennox. Shame ACSEF do not believe this, with Wood quick to "hit out" at Lennox as her views were not to his liking, even though her opinion had seemed important enough to <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/Register.aspx?ReturnURL=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.scotsman.com%2Fnews%2FAre-they-taking-the-Eurythmick.6078147.jp">include her image in the booklet</a> advertising the project. Of course that is before they knew what her opinions are.<br />
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On Wednesday ACSEF played it's supposed trump card, continuing the debate by press release, the Press and Journal led with the pre-emptively triumphiant "Now 5000 firms Unite behind Sir Ian's vision" stating that<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1620504#ixzz0gqpWcklv"> "Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Oil and Gas UK and the CBI declared their support for proposals to raise Union Terrace Gardens to street level."</a> The article outlines what appears to be resounding support for the City Square from the Aberdeen Business community with Bob Collier, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce stating <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1620504#ixzz0gqsLf9tZ">"We believe this project is as important to the economic success of this region as the AWPR and Trump International Golf Links" </a>and Andy Willox, Scotland's Policy Convener for the <a href="http://www.fsb.org.uk/default.aspx?loc=021">Federation of Small Businesses</a> claiming <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1620504#ixzz0gqsodTTj">"This project is one of the most vital for our region." </a>The statement was pride of place among the Press and Journal's pro-square voice and also made it to the BBC's online section, until it was taken down when it turned out the "5,000 firms unite behind Sir Ian's Vision" statement turned out to be not entirely true.<br />
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The comments on the online article on the Press and Journal article were the first indication of <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2148073&refRef=img&style=full" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2148073&refRef=img&style=full" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 250px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 300px;" /></a>unrest from members of the organisations cited, interestingly enough Peacock Visual Arts is a member of both the FSB and Chamber of Commerce. The following day, the Press and Journal reported that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1622139#ixzz0gqxeFclX">"Angry bosses have said they will quit the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) because they weren’t consulted before the organisation gave its public backing to Sir Ian Wood’s city square scheme in Aberdeen."</a> This appeared to not just be the case for the FSB, but all four of the organisations who had put their apparent backing behind Sir Ian's City Square. <a href="http://www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/">Oil and Gas UK</a>, which represents 104 businesses, with 63 of those in Aberdeen, represents both Sir Ian's <a href="http://portal.woodgroup.com/portal/page?_pageid=0,17510&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30">Wood Group plc</a> and the <a href="http://www.balmoral-group.com/grp/index.aspx">Balmoral Group</a>, which has been vocal in it's opposition to the City Square with it's chairman, Jim Milne, having released a statement saying <a href="http://www.balmoral-group.com/grp/grp-news-11-02-10.aspx">"many individuals, especially within the business sector, that feel pressurised into supporting the ACSEF project."</a><br />
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</div></div>Falling under the heaviest criticism, including calls for his resignation from the comments page of the Press and Journal is Andy Willox from the Federation of Small Businesses, who admitted that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1622139#ixzz0gr1O0Eh7">"members had not been polled but insisted he spoke for the majority of firms in Aberdeen."</a><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">going on to say <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1622139#ixzz0gr1jdpj7">"I have been speaking a lot about this issue to people in the federation ... and at times we have to take a stand on behalf of our business members in general."</a> This stance may be forgivable were it not for the fact that Mr Willox is also a <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4">board member of ACSEF</a>, and it would appear that he is using is influence on one organisation to sway the outcome of a project being championed by another. Without balloting members of the FSB, Willox could be seen as misrepresenting his members in order to further a vested interest.<br />
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FSB have yet to ballot their members or indeed inform them officially of this stance, at least the Chamber of Commerce, also represented on the ACSEF board by the Aberdeen and Grampian President, Colin Crosby sent out an email to their members informing them of their position. Albiet the statement was sent out the same day as the original article appeared in the press and stated "We recognise that some members will have a different view, and urge you to also express your opinion" yet only after "we would urge you to express your view in support of the City Square Project, which your Chamber endorses." The email also included a reworking of the Chamber of Commerce header which now includes an image of the City Square project.(pictured)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lz4eEZ7lPfW9hlp_99GvTHrCtUqfbmrL4Fv8LvCDXwZQNlUbACEdzafIML1_zdvDZG6b1Q3ySt-p1Bxye07FgEdpFhq1EwrlhkCUzRrrV1ZRfiony0YfxiOy8gb3M5OrLPCpptPK0xY/s1600-h/banner_complete_900_city_sqaure.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443358497615963026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3lz4eEZ7lPfW9hlp_99GvTHrCtUqfbmrL4Fv8LvCDXwZQNlUbACEdzafIML1_zdvDZG6b1Q3ySt-p1Bxye07FgEdpFhq1EwrlhkCUzRrrV1ZRfiony0YfxiOy8gb3M5OrLPCpptPK0xY/s400/banner_complete_900_city_sqaure.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 131px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 579px;" /></a><br />
ACSEF's final release of the week told of three Architecture graduates from the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture who have produced eight new possible images of the City Square. While the ingenuity and vision of young professionals is not to be sullied, the three graduates seem to have only been given Sir Ian's personal perameters to work with and not the Haliday Fraser Munro technical appraisal or indeed Aberdeen City Council stipulations on the site.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/files/2010/02/07-Tower-Formal-copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/files/2010/02/07-Tower-Formal-copy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 351px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 568px;" /></a>All eight of the designs feature permanent structures through the middle of the space, although conditions set out by Network Rail in the stakeholder consultations of the technical appraisal state that they must <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/2009%2006%2012%20-%20Final%20Report%20Appendices.pdf">"ensure the new structure is designed for sensible dismantling. They discussed that due to the changing economic and commercial climate there may be need during the structures life time for it to be dismantled."</a> (page 156) Many of the drawings feature significant building above street level, which is against Aberdeen City Council's criteria for retaining the view of His Majesty's Theatre, and St Mark's Church from Union Street, and none of the eight drawings take into consideration Sir Ian's remarks that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0grRXPpWW">"Acsef and I have repeatedly stated that this will not be a flat, concrete square" </a>as each and every image omits any level changes required to accommodate the level and a half difference between Union Terrace and Belmont Street.<br />
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Amid all this publicity there still has been no demonstrable evidence of how the creation of the Square is <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793?UserKey=#ixzz0grTmOBuV">"essential to safeguard the future prosperity of the city"</a>, even though this has been a major question posed to ACSEF and Sir Ian. As we enter into the final week of Consultation, with representatives from ACSEF, Sir Ian, Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Youth Council receiving frequent reports from consultation body Weber-Shandwick as to how the process is progressing, time will only tell what fantastical promises await before the consultation closes this Friday 5th March.<br />
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If you have yet to do so, please register your opinion to the consultation:<br />
Website: <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/">www.thecitysquareproject.com</a><br />
Freephone: 0800 111 4881<br />
Text: Sending your thoughts by texting 60777 followed by the word ‘square’<br />
Email<a href="mailto:consultation@thecitysquareproposal.co.uk"><br />
consultation@thecitysquareproject.co.uk</a><br />
<br />
And if you do not agree with Sir Ian's vision and wish to support the <a href="http://www.iheartutg.com/">I Heart UTG</a> campaign please, if you have not already done so, sign our <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens/signatures.html">petition</a> and pass it on, join our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107882847735&ref=ts">Facebook</a><a href="mailto:consultation@thecitysquareproject.com"> </a>or email us at iheartutg@gmail.com.<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0grRXPpWW"></a></div></div></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-70928908615460635002010-02-21T13:01:00.003+00:002011-02-04T16:27:15.555+00:00A Real Architectural Blight<a href="http://ais4architecture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/UTG_Final_0000_No-Tree_RGB.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ais4architecture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/UTG_Final_0000_No-Tree_RGB.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 800px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><blockquote><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0g6QAKexK">“If I have a headache I don’t get a foot massage,”</a></blockquote></span><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;">Edgar Gonzalez, <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/">Brisac Gonzalez Architects<br />
</a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Thursday night saw a long-overdue fully open and public debate on the future of Union Terrace Gardens with representatives from <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/">ACSEF</a>, <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.co.uk/">Peacock Visual Arts</a> 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 "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0g6TKqWtS">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.” </a> Despite ACSEF's Chair Tom Smith's statement that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1596253#ixzz0g6WDgYHG">“We strongly refute Mr Doran’s claims that city-centre residents have not been given the opportunity to make their views known,"</a> he and Sir Ian were in attendance to defend, rather than promote the City Square Project.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2216738&refRef=img&style=full" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2216738&refRef=img&style=full" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a>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.<br />
<br />
ACSEF's resistance to commit to attendance was apparently due to a fear that it would be <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8520235.stm">"hi-jacked by vociferous objectors"</a>. 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.<br />
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As the debate passed from the presentations to the Question and Answer Session, <a href="http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/158451-heated-meeting-held-over-aberdeen-gardens-future/">"there was vocal opposition to the City Square Project from many in the audience,"</a> 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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1194763#ixzz0gCHvcqvg">"who first proposed the idea of raising the gardens in the early 1980s"</a>, John Michie who has made his <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/834081">views very clear</a>, 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 <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4">ACSEF board</a>.<br />
<br />
Countering Colin Crosbie's ascertions that the £3m funding gap would be a struggle for Peacock<a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/interior-view500pix.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/interior-view500pix.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 267px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 500px;" /></a> 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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1614764#ixzz0gD6IuHzv">"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." </a>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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982">"he would consider investing in"</a> the Centre.<br />
<br />
The only support ACSEF have garnered of any significant note are an <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1606456">engineering firm</a> 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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1595978#ixzz0gDBmLyUN">"If we blow that this time, it will be disastrous for the city and region"</a> and who owns <a href="http://www.stewartmilne.com/solution-for-Triple-Kirks.aspx">property as-yet undeveloped</a> on the corner of the proposed site which may benefit from foundation improvements which would be brought about as a result of the Square.<br />
<br />
After the debate, Sir Ian stated <a href="http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/158451-heated-meeting-held-over-aberdeen-gardens-future/">"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"</a> continuing his habit of <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0gDHtb9gh">accusing others of actions</a> 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 <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Consultations/cst_BonAccord.asp">Bon Accord Masterplan</a>, was accepted unanimously through consultation with the Aberdeen public. Amidst the usual scaremongering about <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0gDMBgzDu">"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,” </a>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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1608058">"It is a real architectural blight."</a><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-Ov0KRZc2VcO0N1V_i1bTWJg-PIwp-5put3IM3XEJ-0wG9mT4NXbkkHQeaq2jXxSr16vkhXaveVSZipUwKdYMEjwt1EXq6DdZTwqwSjbBJIAzK2bkCzewvKgkSXdffiYXdhqtj5VQCw/s1600-h/The-site.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440848188453012578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-Ov0KRZc2VcO0N1V_i1bTWJg-PIwp-5put3IM3XEJ-0wG9mT4NXbkkHQeaq2jXxSr16vkhXaveVSZipUwKdYMEjwt1EXq6DdZTwqwSjbBJIAzK2bkCzewvKgkSXdffiYXdhqtj5VQCw/s400/The-site.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 233px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a>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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0gDP4Isxn">"perhaps the most important feature of the city"</a> The Aberdeen Architects Network stated that they <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1521733#ixzz0gDPvHLPa">"think that the design is fundamentally flawed,"</a> Jonathan Meades described the concept as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxW1iHNhZdk">"irreparably damaging to the cityscape"</a>, former head of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lighthouse_%28Glasgow%29">The Lighthouse</a>, Stuart MacDonald suggested that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593417#ixzz0gDTPCrF9">"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,"</a> and last week the <a href="http://www.ads.org.uk/">Architecture and Design Scotland</a> published a report which states <a href="http://www.ads.org.uk/what_we_do/design_review/reports/682_city-square-aberdeen">"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."</a><br />
<br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">ADS are Scotland's Statutory body for Architecture and Urban Design tasked <a href="http://www.ads.org.uk/about">"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."</a> Their <a href="http://www.ads.org.uk/what_we_do/design_review/reports/682_city-square-aberdeen">report</a> spells out a number of concerns with both the City Square concept and the current consultation process, expressing <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Watchdog-joins-Annie-Lennox-in.6086832.jp">"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."</a><br />
<br />
</div>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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1575763">scare tactics about the end of North-Sea Oil</a> 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 <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/art-student-versus-millionaire-in-a-battle-for-a-city-s-heart-1.929558">"the cultural component has to be large"</a> then surely the arts and heritage communities would have to be the ones who the project would need to win over.<br />
<br />
As we enter the penultimate week of the consultation process ACSEF are no closer to answering <a href="http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/web/u/k/e/brisacgonzalez_Ab_ready.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/web/u/k/e/brisacgonzalez_Ab_ready.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 342px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 468px;" /></a>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 <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0gDmViHaq">“Our aims are so aligned that we have to find some way of making sure the city benefits and both projects can be achieved.”</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1613793#ixzz0g6TKqWtS"></a><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><br />
</div></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-71498216355063897672010-02-17T19:17:00.006+00:002011-02-04T16:29:16.546+00:00What A Tangled Web We Weave...<blockquote style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 130%;">"Negative and mis-information provided by groups opposed to the project will be monitored so that their actions, which may have negative impact on the project, can be anticipated and the presentation of clear facts and informed opinion made public"</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">ACSEF City Square Project Communications Strategy</div><br />
The reactionary policy of ACSEF and Sir Ian Wood to criticism of The City Square Project has been a series of half-hearted ill-informed statements which seek to deny everything or appease everyone, while contradicting previous statements and generally confusing the situation. Rather than counteracting "mis-information" ACSEF are actively producing more and more confusing and contradictory statements about the nature and aims of the project. While dismissing those who oppose the plan as <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Aberdeen39s--sweet-dreams-aren39t.6053517.jp">"based on a wholly inaccurate description"</a> or "not fully understanding the plans"and Sir Ian expressing that his <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0fjhcbdwH">"real disappointment is over the confusion and misinformation in the public domain,”</a> ACSEF's statements shed little light on what the plans are, or even that they know them themselves.<br />
<br />
Adding to last week's Guggenheim comparison, ACSEF have now put out a release that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1606456#ixzz0fiNNZvgS">"the firm </a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/archilogy/R8UcLzmpSpI/AAAAAAAAATw/dQNX_60oCkc/s800/LouvrePyramid.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/archilogy/R8UcLzmpSpI/AAAAAAAAATw/dQNX_60oCkc/s800/LouvrePyramid.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 324px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 432px;" /></a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1606456#ixzz0fiNNZvgS">behind one of the world’s most famous buildings has shown an interest in contributing to the proposed civic square project in Aberdeen."</a> Not architects <a href="http://www.pcfandp.com/"><span class="mw-redirect">Pei</span>, Cobb, Freed and Partners</a>, who designed the series of pyramids but <a href="http://www.rfr.fr/index.php?Menu1=Presentation&Menu2=Introduction&Menu3=&lang=en">RFR Engineering</a> who executed the design to I. M. Pei's specifications. Given ACSEF and Sir Ian's current penchant for culture and arts it is hardly surprising that they concentrate on the large Pyramid outside the Louvre Gallery, and shy away from the equally impressive <a href="http://www.davidphenry.com/Paris/paris153.htm">Pyramide Inversee</a> which is suspended as a skylight into the <a href="http://www.carrouseldulouvre.com/W/do/centre/accueil">Carrousel du Lourve</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">underground shopping mall</span>.<br />
<br />
Sealing the announcement, ACSEF claimed <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1606456#ixzz0fjdh0XaN">"that creating a Scottish Guggenheim or securing a major national gallery or museum was one of its main aspirations for the project"</a>, not explaining how this would sit with assurances that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976">"the door is always open to Peacock"</a> exactly. What ACSEF fail to understand is the difference between a "national gallery or museum" and a Contemporary Cultural Space. Aberdeen already has a national gallery in the form of <a href="http://www.aagm.co.uk/">Aberdeen Art Gallery</a> which houses one of the most impressive museum collections in Scotland, and it has been said many times that the <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/new-building/">Northern Light Contemporary Arts Centre</a> will not just exhibit art, but host a wide range of activities and provide a counterbalance to the traditional Gallery Museum of the Art Gallery and the small grassroots arts initiatives emerging in the city.<br />
<br />
ACSEF's board is made up largely of business interests, with a couple of token representatives from the public sector to legitimise their status, as they have no actual funds or legal status. There is no cultural or arts reprentation on the group, which is understandble as ACSEF are the local <span style="font-style: italic;">Economic</span> Forum, tasked with realising <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4">"the ambition for the future of the Region and to shape delivery of economic development in Aberdeen City and Shire."</a> Since there have been no examples of any strong economic case for the development, and is aimed squarely at culture and civic use then why is it being steered by the Economic Forum, and not, say, the <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Arts/culture/art_vibrant_aberdeen.asp"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cultural</span> </a>or <a href="http://www.communityplanningaberdeen.org.uk/Internet/AberdeenCivicForum/ACFIntroduction.asp">Civic Forums</a>? In<br />
<br />
However as former head of Grays School of Art, Stuart MacDonald, points out <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593417#ixzz0fo4sqNWj">"We already have plans for an iconic building by world-class architects Brisac Gonzalez, who have come up with a fantastic design for the new Peacock Arts Centre, which respects the landscape of Union Terrace Gardens and is capable of providing, at a reasonable price, an accessible, inclusive venue with the potential to become one of the best public buildings in the whole of Britain.</a> <br />
<div class="Body"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593417#ixzz0fo4sqNWj">“If people want a world-class arts centre in Aberdeen, they should vote for the one that’s already on the table,"</a></div>As well as acting completely outwith their remit for economic development, ACSEF are attempting to ride roughshod over the ten years of work Peacock have put in to developing plans for a world-class contemporary art centre for Aberdeen, and the international competition already won by Edgar Gonzalez of <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/">Brisac Gonzalez Architects</a>.<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877?UserKey=#ixzz0fk6WmaSd"><br />
</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877?UserKey=#ixzz0fk6WmaSd"><blockquote>"The project is very real and properly thought through with foresight at every level."</blockquote></a></span><br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;">Tom Smith, ACSEF Chairman</div><br />
Accenting the unorthadox web-based campaign against the City Square, a post on <a href="http://twitter.com/ryanroberts/statuses/9072532956">twitter</a> highlighted the unfortunate use of a live photograph of Annie <a href="http://ryanr.eu/dump/03.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ryanr.eu/dump/03.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 500px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 500px;" /></a>Lennox used in the <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/files/2010/01/City-Square_Consultation-Brochure_web.pdf">City Square Project Brochure</a> advertising a possible use of the square for "celebrations both big and small." The Irony is not lost on Ms Lennox herself who revealed her strong opposition to the scheme in a post on her <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=163272345&blogId=528691490">myspace blog</a> last week. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/notes/annie-lennox/new-blog-110210/486651515054">"They clearly “assumed” it would be fine by me.. as it makes it look as if I’m endorsing their vision..when I wasn’t even asked..they just went ahead in any case. Which is precisely what will happen if people don’t become pro active on the issue</a><a href="" onclick="'CSS.addClass($(">"</a><span class="text_exposed_show"> was the response posted on her Facebook page and not long after the revelations, the Press and Journal reported that the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1608058#ixzz0fkO12Ylz">"</a></span><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1608058#ixzz0fkO12Ylz">glossy brochure for Sir Ian Wood’s City Square plan in Aberdeen which features pop star Annie Lennox is to be scrapped."</a><br />
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Nicola Moore of Weber-Shandwick who are handling the Public Consultation said <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1608058#ixzz0fkRwFqTy">“As it happens we are naturally phasing out this brochure. It has been replaced with a new, more concise leaflet which addresses some of the questions that have been raised during the consultation.”</a> Of the £309,676 of public funds being spent on the consultation process a portion of this would have been spent on the design and extensive print run of the brochures, which have already been handed out at the shopping centre exhibitions, the focus groups, at presentations and a mass-mail out to Aberdeen homes, which would seem like an awful waste of taxpayer's money to simply be "phased out" just over halfway through the eight-week process. The phasing out, or scrapping of this document, which has been an integral part of the consultation, in favour of a "more concise leaflet which addresses some of the questions" hardly sounds like the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"very real and properly thought through"</a> project Tom Smith describes. As to how you can produce something "more concise" than the content-free original brochure will presumably remain one of life's mysteries.<br />
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An ACSEF spokeswoman, defending the brochure in The Scotsman said that <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Are-they-taking-the-Eurythmick.6078147.jp">"To show the fact that the new civic space and gardens could attract major outdoor and indoor concerts, we used a photo of Ms Lennox rather than another artist, as she is Aberdonian." </a>Unsurprisingly, the purpose behind the inclusion of Ms Lennox is at odds with the bewildering statements of Tom Smith who dismisses the comments due to the fact that <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7026326.ece">"Ms Lennox has been based in London since 1971"</a> opposed to <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7026326.ece">"Sir Ian is an Aberdonian who lives here."</a> It seems her status as an Aberdonian is only justified if she supports the destruction of Aberdeen's only City Centre Garden.<br />
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With the heat of the national spotlight provided by Annie Lennox's statements now firmly on his scheme, Sir Ian has begun to sweat. Rather than accept her opinion, he critisized her remarks, saying <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/tycoon-criticises-lennox-1.1006368">"Comments focused on destruction by bulldozers and concrete are misguided. It’s ludicrous for her (Lennox) to talk about a concrete square"</a> adding that he was <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7026326.ece">"disappointed she’s been so negative without coming and having a look or understanding what’s happening."</a> Lennox's original comment was "Aberdeen is your home town. Are you going to sit back, and do nothing while it’s beautiful historic center gets ripped out and concreted over”??!!" As the only information is <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/proposal/">"The proposal will create over 5 acres of ground at street level and a further 2.5 acres of all-weather, covered space with significant daylight below"</a> and the only certainty is that the existing gardens will be removed then her comments hardly seem "ludicrous."<br />
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If the project is indeed "very real and properly thought through with foresight at every level" then why is the consultation process aimed at asking people what they want in it? In fact ACSEF's arguments against criticism are entirely contrary to Chairman Smith's statements and <a href="http://ryanr.eu/dump/22280_313009516699_210201126699_4070619_6652614_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ryanr.eu/dump/22280_313009516699_210201126699_4070619_6652614_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 384px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 512px;" /></a>rely on the fact that the project is yet undefined to constantly deflect any concerns arising about the project, extending to giving "rows" to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/paulinemclean/">BBC reporters</a> for mentioning the word concrete as "they do not know if it will be concrete yet." However neither the consultation survey or the focus groups are asking people what building materials they would like to use in the square and the HFM appraisal lays out that <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%204.0%20Option%201%20Full%20Raised%20Level.pdf">"The largest impacts would be from the<span style="font-weight: bold;"> significant amount of concrete</span>, steel and other materials that would need to go into the substructure."</a> (page 65)<br />
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With ACSEF and Sir Ian's increasinhly desperate attempts to bodyswerve criticism, they are now presenting the project as creating <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0foTknQH0">"a new civic space and gardens with a contemporary arts centre at its heart"</a> which would be great for if it not for the project would have to destroy existing civic garden space and proposals for a contemporary arts centre. With the constant attempts to appease or pre-empt the supposed "arts community" and thin promises as the same "allocation" of green space with Sir Ian desperate offers on Brian Taylor's Big Debate that "You can have four acres of garden on top, if that's what you want."<br />
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Why spend £140 Million to build this at street level when there is already an actual "very real and properly thought through" plan on the table which would retain 2.5 Acres of existing, landscaped Gardens and have a contemporary arts centre at its heart for a tenth of the price?<br />
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What is so important about those three levels of underground real estate?<br />
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</div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-13809709424283448192010-02-12T11:59:00.018+00:002011-02-04T22:03:58.364+00:00Art vs Business?The nature of the parties involved and the interests concerning the debate around the future of the much-loved historic Union Terrace Gardens seems to have led the issue to be seen by some as<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pFNSnzfAkeZ_6I2I9mij2RQZMWuUSOQoefaZdDnrmHIHdDe-NG0oMaMu8QF4jBo1xSgbfRYrikR4RxWk1nkb49VYYMjxcXsB9p86BmBFyKpOyGmxjqsTTHM-WgvIPH2A7FAiUALLDEo/s1600-h/utg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437559693083983442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pFNSnzfAkeZ_6I2I9mij2RQZMWuUSOQoefaZdDnrmHIHdDe-NG0oMaMu8QF4jBo1xSgbfRYrikR4RxWk1nkb49VYYMjxcXsB9p86BmBFyKpOyGmxjqsTTHM-WgvIPH2A7FAiUALLDEo/s400/utg.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 542px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 274px;" /></a> an "Arts vs Business" scenario. Not necessarily a stance which has been put forward by either camp, but a conclusion easily reached when you consider the <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4">Business-led partnership</a> ACSEF and the opposing plans for <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.peacockvisualarts.co.uk">Peacock Visual Art</a>'s new Centre for Contemporary Art and the Artist-led <a href="http://www.iheartutg.com/">I Heart UTG </a>campaign to save the Gardens. However nothing is ever clean cut or black and white, most Artists are in fact businesses and not all businessmen see sunken gardens as a "chasm."<br />
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The balance was struck on Tuesday when Jim Milne, Chairman and Managing Director of the Balmoral Group spoke out against the <a href="http://www.citysquareproject.co.uk/">City Square Project</a> claiming that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKhQKMTe">“As far as I can tell, the people of Aberdeen do not want Union Terrace Gardens desecrated. People </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKhQKMTe">don’t necessarily go into the gardens every time </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKhQKMTe">they are in the town, but they often look down and admire it. To put a concrete jungle there would be a mistake.”</a> He also felt that the Peacock Plan had been "blown of of the Water" by Sir Ian's last minute "plans", and admitted he "he would consider investing in" the Centre, which so far no <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1463727">pub and club owners</a>, <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1595978">property developers</a>, <a href="http://www.afc.premiumtv.co.uk/articles/dons-legend-and-south-african-open-winner-20091223_2212158_1913635">Football legends</a>, <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1551519">hoteliers</a> or<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601117"> garden centre managers</a> speaking out in support have offered to do with the City Square. More telling, Mr Milne went onto say that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKgQq168">“with regard to the city square plan, I personally know many individuals, especially within the business sector, that feel pressurised into supporting the Acsef project by their peers." </a>Mr Milne's full statement can be read <a href="http://www.balmoral-group.com/grp/grp-news-11-02-10.aspx">here</a>.<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKgQq168"><br />
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An ACSEF spokeswoman responded to Mr Milne's comments saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKpnotoh">"It is nonsense to suggest </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fKpnotoh">people are being pressurised to support the city square project."</a> This statement does not really tie up in respect to the <a href="http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2010/02/thorn-in-my-side.html">emails</a> being sent by Zoe Corsi of The Big Partnership and an email from the Chief Executive of the Wood Group to all staff about the consultation, and the Pro-Square petition. Sir Ian himself rebutted Mr Milne's opinions by saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0fL2IpMCW">"Everyone involved in the project takes great </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0fL2IpMCW">exception to any insinuation about people being pressurised to support the City Square"</a> and dismissing the statement entirely by saying <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0fMN6q48c">“there is however always a danger when one individual claims to speak for others"</a> despite the entire debate being because of one individual's vision for what is best for an entire city.<br />
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</div></div>Opposition to the plan this week also came from a former depute director of leisure and recreation at Aberdeen City Council, Jim Morrison said <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149#ixzz0fMYoi2JP">"Union Terrace Gardens have been around for hundreds of years and, although occasionally occupied by a few “undesirables”, have </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149#ixzz0fMYoi2JP">never posed </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149#ixzz0fMYoi2JP">a serious threat to the inhabitants"</a> and that he was <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149#ixzz0fMeRpRwk">"not convinced that a full elevation to street level can be </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149#ixzz0fMeRpRwk">justified, either economically or environmentally."</a> Adding himself to the growing list of professional expert opinions opposing the nature of the development.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149#ixzz0fMoN2WsC"></a><br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149">"It is also not so long ago that </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149">Glasgow City Council decided to “modernise” George </a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1601149">Square, sweeping away its previous leafy oasis used by many office workers to enjoy their lunch-time snacks and replacing it with an expanse of pink-coloured tarmac. For most of the time, it is ignored by the average Glaswegian." </a></blockquote><div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eh_FJbSdQR_nEhq_Ay-T1JEzgPM3HzX8Juyu9ssuxA0pGswEHZ8PjEYSHkl8ZsArRKroB3ui8L7dEWIjlDeFlKGCiwq0h3WtTgx4Bxbwzwsybn8V1OgbCdnDiuqzvKvE97nALfn271g/s1600-h/georgesq.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437559846847443554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eh_FJbSdQR_nEhq_Ay-T1JEzgPM3HzX8Juyu9ssuxA0pGswEHZ8PjEYSHkl8ZsArRKroB3ui8L7dEWIjlDeFlKGCiwq0h3WtTgx4Bxbwzwsybn8V1OgbCdnDiuqzvKvE97nALfn271g/s400/georgesq.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 636px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 286px;" /></a>Despite growing high-profile opposition to the plans ACSEF have have been dismissing statements with a speed and monotony that General deGaulle would have been proud of. To the Aberdeen Architects Network claiming the conditions on Sir Ian's gift makes a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1521073#ixzz0fMtreGy8">"mockery of the much-publicised “feasibility study”"</a>: <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1521733#ixzz0fMtR1kjY">"The technical feasibility study is a world-class, comprehensive piece of work produced by a team of internationally renowned experts."</a>; After Anne Begg criticised the<span style="font-weight: bold;"> £309,676</span> consultation process: <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1573874#ixzz0fNMmGu3G">"This consultation is on ACSEF’s scheme and we can’t consult on someone else’s scheme."</a> In response to Frank Doran's call for an open public debate on all plans: <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1596253#ixzz0fMxlXuvi">"We strongly refute Mr Doran’s claims that city-centre residents have not been given the opportunity to make their views known"</a>; To calls that business were pressured into supporting the project: <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fMzPDLFA">"It is nonsense to suggest people are being pressurised to support the city square project. Acsef has overwhelming support for this from the Acsef board and the thousands of businesses with whom it actively engages."</a> ; And to Annie Lennox's comments on her <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=163272345&blogId=528691490">myspace blog</a>: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8504483.stm">"Given that Ms Lennox appears to have made her comments based on a wholly inaccurate description of the project on Myspace, we are hardly surprised by them."</a> even going as far as to suggest that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597883#ixzz0fN5JNAFj">"Ms Lennox’s near 40-year absence from the city made her views somewhat irrelevant."</a> Hardly surprising given Tom Smith's track history with contradictory statements, excluding the views of an Aberdonian ex-pat is hardly the way to go about <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-6ORVhzVv3Ndv1efQ_hzRUZRokLnFtJAFaBjQA8rO1YRxIEx5fZYDtqj1l5QyFYhDIK1sPSxDIVFDEqmHHHf0Qr6u55juNYgSquM1LzjPtfMA_vzCI6erYw2vtLNXnhKRsnE2SruKWg/s400/jobs.jpg">"attracting and retaining people and businesses."</a> Rather than attacking Annie Lennox for not living in the area, perhaps it best to consider <span style="font-style: italic;">why</span> she has not stayed in Aberdeen.<br />
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And as more and more people are speaking out against the City Square, the threat of losing Sir Ian's investment is making more and more appearaces. The Press and Journal's editorial described <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1596930#ixzz0fNEGtRmq">"It appears, however, that his offer is one that the majority of Aberdonians feel they can refuse"</a>, Stuart Milne warned <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1595978#ixzz0fNEvKO97">"It would be almost criminal if we don’t grasp Sir Ian Wood’s offer of a £50million gift" </a>, an ACSEF spokeswoman stated <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1597982#ixzz0fNHKrBzA">"If the public does not support this project then he will withdraw his offer of £50million and it will not go ahead"</a> and Sir Ian himself has said that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976#ixzz0fNFt5jN0">"If the citizens of Aberdeen decide they don’t want this city square then I’ll just finish up a miserable old Aberdonian who’s £50million better off."</a> and <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1603307#ixzz0fNGgsKiz">"I have always said that if the public does not support this vision then my offer of funding will be withdrawn."</a> Significant to note that Aberdeen City Council's reported deficit also amounts to £50 Million, these comments highlight the difficult situation Sir Ian's offer has placed ACC in. How could a Council £50 Million down refuse a "gift" of £50 Million? Although the nature of the gift requires a further investment of at least twice that with Sir Ian's offer matched pound for pound from the public purse and with the establishment of 8 Acres of "civic" space which must be maintained by Aberdeen City Council's revenue budgets.<br />
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The public consultation runs until 5th March and has it's last public exhibition in Aberdeen City Centre in the Bon Accord Shopping Centre (A development not about retail is mostly being promoted within retail centres) so please if you have not done so, please visit the <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/consultation/survey/">Consultation Survey</a> and if you DO NOT want the City Square project then make sure to vote NO to the third question.(Also try to avoid selecting choices in the first two questions as we do not yet know how the information will be collated and whether requesting a feature will register as "support") If you have any questions you wish to pose to the consultation, contact them by email at <a href="mailto:consultation@thecitysquareproject.com">consultation@thecitysquareproject.com, </a>raise a question in the discussions section of their <a href="http://www.facebook.com/citysquareproject?ref=ts">Facebook</a> Page or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/thecitysquare">Twitter</a> (remember to use the <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23citysquare">#citysquare</a> tag.)<br />
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If you wish to support the <a href="http://www.iheartutg.com/">I Heart UTG</a> campaign please, if you have not already done so, sign our <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens/signatures.html">petition</a> and pass it on, join our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107882847735&ref=ts">Facebook</a><a href="mailto:consultation@thecitysquareproject.com"> </a>or email us at iheartutg@gmail.com. Together we can save the unique heritage of Aberdeen City Centre and begin to move toward a better, brighter future for our city.<a href="mailto:consultation@thecitysquareproject.com"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoglt6ghQJJdmJ-IazOBFLQK3ODT_Nk1h7MRQPXW06Ki3gw5YmempGijil2xYZjPpCFs5-SOOJyX05F_3Rk9iYhPm6q8miL4NT0v9DV5MpuRKGJ5nEbGB65zbGEitlKxq7WR8gqvLGKk/s1600-h/peacock.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437558595975188274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoglt6ghQJJdmJ-IazOBFLQK3ODT_Nk1h7MRQPXW06Ki3gw5YmempGijil2xYZjPpCFs5-SOOJyX05F_3Rk9iYhPm6q8miL4NT0v9DV5MpuRKGJ5nEbGB65zbGEitlKxq7WR8gqvLGKk/s400/peacock.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 163px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 542px;" /></a></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
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</div></div></div></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-80164906252638181632010-02-08T23:40:00.001+00:002011-02-04T22:06:17.208+00:00Thorn In My Side<a href="http://www.nybits.com/images/photo/guggenheim.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.nybits.com/images/photo/guggenheim.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 360px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 480px;" /></a>Manhatten's <a href="http://www.guggenheim.org/">Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum</a> was opened in 1959 to house the extensive collection of "nonobjective" artworks belonging to the aforementioned Solomon Guggenheim by a foundation established in his name. The building (pictured) was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and has become one of the most iconic buildings of the 20th Century, as well as one of the most popular destinations for Modern and Contemporary Art. The Guggenheim Foundation has a number of museums throughout the world: Berlin, Venice and Bilbao as well as three more due to open in 2010/11 in Vilinius Bucharest, Abu Dhabi, and Guadalajara Mexico. Of these, the Guggenheim Bilbao is of significant note.<br />
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Opened in 1997 and designed by Frank Gehry this particular offshoot has been described as <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/travel/23bilbao.html?em&ex=1190606400&en=898bb5be11939f56&ei=5087%0A">"the greatest building of our time"</a> and is responsible for the so-called "Guggenheim Effect." The Museum and Gallery was part of a larger rejuvination project for Bilbao and the Basque Country, and as soon as the facility opened it became a massive tourist attraction drawing over a million visitors per year and contributing greatly to the international profile of Bilbao itself.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature1506/">The Guggenheim Effect</a> is a term which describes the case for arts-led urban regeneration in the<a href="http://www.ehu.es/bicos/images/Guggenheim-bilbao-jan05.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.ehu.es/bicos/images/Guggenheim-bilbao-jan05.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 230px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 455px;" /></a> wake of the Bilbao development. Following from this there was a demand from cities across the world and attempts were made at further franchising of the Guggenheim brand to other cities across the Globe. The attempt at simple replication of the concept failed, as Stuart MacDonald described on BBC Scotland's Radio Cafe on Wendesday "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/paulinemclean/2010/02/squaring_the_cultural_circle.html">cultural centres are important, but that they need to be rooted into the creative industries community and education infrastructure, and integrated into broader regeneration strategies."</a> However following the model of Culture-led regeneration, building on broader strategies rather than replicating Guggenheim Bilbao led to a number of successful projects such as <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/">Tate Modern</a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.dca.org.uk">Dundee Contemporary Arts</a>, Gateshead's <a href="http://www.balticmill.com/">Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art</a>, and more recently Glasgow's <a href="http://www.trongate103.com/">Trongate 103</a>. What unites these four examples is their differences, unlike the Guggenheim Bilbao, these centres have mostly occupied and adapted existing landmarks and integrated themselves within the landscape of the cities they occupy. Not even all of these centres do exactly the same things, not only are their buildings site-specific, their purpose and remits are too.<br />
<br />
Despite Sir Ian Wood's opinion that <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/art-student-versus-millionaire-in-a-battle-for-a-city-s-heart-1.929558">"Eighty per cent of the people who spend time in the square will have no interest in the arts”,</a> public-private sector partnership ACSEF, backer of <a href="http://www.thecityquareproject.com/">The City Square Project</a> now <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8497946.stm">"says it wants to attract a major international gallery such as a Guggenheim to the site.</a>" Dave Blackwood has stated <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593417#ixzz0eeMkIzll">"There is no reason why Aberdeen cannot aspire to securing a major arts brand and establishing our own Guggenheim, a gallery and museum which has led the transformation of Bilbao.” </a>Apparently this is as well as a Contemporary Arts Centre as Sir Ian claims <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976#ixzz0eb2QnT1j">"The door is always open to Peacock and I’m still hopeful that we can work together"</a> which means that even though they would only interest twenty percent of the square's users, there could be two Arts facilities housed there. Never mind the issue of Sir Ian's <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/935798?UserKey=#ixzz0eb4AtloP">"vision certainly doesn’t see significant building above ground" </a>making it difficult for the successors of Mssrs Gehry and<a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/935798?UserKey=#ixzz0eb4AtloP"> </a>Lloyd Wright to design the an iconic building, with which Guggenheim are famous, undergound.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs277.ash1/20480_249323126699_210201126699_3839965_7093471_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs277.ash1/20480_249323126699_210201126699_3839965_7093471_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 217px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 604px;" /></a>Of course, looking back to the HFM appraisal the purposes of the heavy, and contradictory, emphasis on arts and culture. Section 8.4, point 7.4 "Issues with developing in Parkland" states <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/2009%2006%2012%20-%20Final%20Report%20Appendices.pdf">"Public acceptance of loss of open space unless replaced with similar type of space. Response will depend on the type of development brought forward. A scheme that appears to be multi-storey car park and retail space led, with a contemporary arts centre put into a corner may be less acceptable to the public/planners than one which leads with the arts centre."</a> going onto say in the actions "Solution will depend on how the scheme is developed and the emphasis on the type of development. There may be significant issues if the scheme appears to be a case of replacing one of the few green spaces in the centre of Aberdeen with mainly retail and parking development."<br />
<br />
The problem is, as everyone is aware, that there is already a scheme on the table which fulfils <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/images/700-532/pva-06.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/images/700-532/pva-06.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 267px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 500px;" /></a>those cultural and civic criteria. The Peacock-led <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/projects/pva/pva01.html">"Northern Light" Centre for Contemporary Arts</a> is Aberdeen's first realistic stab at having an up-to-date world class Cultural centre, which also houses Aberdeen City Council's CityMoves Dancespace and Arts Education and Development teams. In terms of cultural buildings, Brisac Gonzalez' Centre falls somewhere between the Guggenheim Bilbao and those centres closer to home. Like the Bilbao Gallery, the centre is a newbuild of iconic design but like Trongate, Baltic, DCA and the Tate Modern, it finds itself seemlessly integrated into the surrounding environment. Unlike the four centre mentioned, however, this does not reside within a relic of the city's industrial past, but rather lives within the slopes of a unique and much-loved Victorian Garden, one of the last remnants of pre-industrial Aberdeen.<br />
<br />
Incorporated within it's remit and at the core of the centre is the regeneration of Union Terrace Gardens themselves. For years Union Terrace Gardens were a vibrant space, with concerts, bandstands, ice rinks, large scale draughts boards and quite possibly the most exquisite <a href="http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=28076">Victorian conveniences</a> in Scotland, however in recent years Aberdeen City Council has cut these provisions, closed the toilet facilities, locked away the draughts boards in the arches and thanks to the Evening Express' high profile campaign against the placing of "needle bins" in the Gardens has gotten a reputation as dangerous and home to Junkies, although I can't seem to recall the last time I read of crime happening within the Gardens outside of an Ian Rankin novel.<br />
<br />
There is direct correlation between those activities that used to happen in the Gardens and those activities which ACSEF suggest <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> happen on the CitySquare. Again, this brings us back to the well-trodden issue of funds and funding and the fact I, and others, have been over, that despite ACSEF's assurances that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMiFolDWK_RDQKGBN_qSEQ65kjwN18BNev3NscJaLGq1c_fJoIxqsveyqh92mcS75FC-5Aho27i9_mEyOu5yg5uJORrKK2eCYvQV1VFq_-i_ji6XGCaXIwIE2M6KjN_Di7COLz3FEpBc/s1600-h/funds.jpg">"the City Square cannot take money away from the council's annual revenue budgets"</a> yet it is selling itself as a cultural and civic project made up mostly of the sort of amenities which ACC cannot afford to keep running currently because of the huge deficit in it's revenue budget. If the space which is being created is primarily civic, and it has been pointed out that to move the project forward on the basis of shopping and car parking would not be advisable, then it will belong to and be maintained by the city. As the Square has been recognised as <a href="http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Data/Resources%20Management%20Committee/20090616/Agenda/Union%20Terrace%20Gardens%20and%20Denburn%20Valley%20Feasibility%20Study%20and%20Next%20Steps%20Subject%20to%20the%20decision%20of%20the%20Policy%20and%20Strategy%20Committee%20on%209%20June%202009.pdf">" currently unlikely to create substantial new office/technology space targeted at industry sector growth"</a>, then, by its nature the Square will not generate wealth, but instead be a huge drain on already stretched resources.<br />
<br />
Last week the Press and Journal, posed a number of importing and quite scathing questions to <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/union-terrace-gardens-1.929559%21image/2513911447.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/2513911447.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/union-terrace-gardens-1.929559%21image/2513911447.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/2513911447.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 345px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 519px;" /></a>Sir Ian, reflecting the questions being asked by opponents of the Square or people who are rightfully confused by many of the plans contradictory points. Not-so skillfully avoiding answering any of the questions with anything tangible, Wood described Union Terrace and Princess Street Gardens as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976">"totally different"</a> because "Princes Street itself hasn’t <a href="http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/pictures/princes_street_gardens_edinburgh_scotland_3664.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/pictures/princes_street_gardens_edinburgh_scotland_3664.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 350px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 518px;" /></a>lost its former glory", " The Denburn dual carriageway and the rail line make up about half" and that "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976#ixzz0ewFQfAYU">They're 45ft down and they get very little sunlight."</a> indeed the Waverly to Haymarket line cuts through the middle of Princes' Street Gardens, they are 65 ft down and the suggestion that the only reason why no one had decked over Princes' Street Gardens was because Princes' Street itself hasn't gone the way of Union Street is simply laughable. Anyone would think that Union Terrace Gardens were soley responsible for the decline of Union Street, and again there is absolutely no way of proving exactly how the Square will combar Union Street's decline. The placing of an outdated grandiose plaza is directly opposite the Trinity Centre and Travel Lodge and can only serve as the real architectural chasm splitting Union Street in two and making a mockery of the engineering ingenuity and architectural vision which defines Union Street.<br />
<br />
The answers to the questions speak for themselves, and fail to actually address any of the issues. Wood claims that the balustrades and arches can be retained, and it <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976#ixzz0ewUgneOQ">"may even be possible to engineer the square so that some of the other existing trees can grow through"</a> despite reports of Weber-Shandwick's "consultants" claiming that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593827#ixzz0ewVsY39Y">"most of them are elms with Dutch elm disease and would be destroyed."</a> The claim of disease within the trees also appears in the <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/faq/">consultation FAQ</a> however is refuted by members of the planning department who state that "Any consultant who says the Elm trees in Union Terrace Gardens are infected with Dutch Elm Disease, without having evidence to back up their claims, does not know what they are talking about." Any consultant wishing to work the trees would need to apply to the council for permission under the terms of the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/web/files/Conservation/tree_info_leaflet.pdf">Tree Protection Orders </a>on the them.<br />
<br />
Sir Ian also uses the point that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976#ixzz0ezFfHQkK">"schools in Aberdeen have even banned their pupils from going </a><a href="http://www.yourlocalweb.co.uk/images/pictures/10/89/union-terrace-gardens-in-spring-106879.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.yourlocalweb.co.uk/images/pictures/10/89/union-terrace-gardens-in-spring-106879.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 640px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 430px;" /></a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1586976#ixzz0ezFfHQkK">into Union Terrace Gardens"</a> but again representatives from the council have confirmed that there are no standing orders in any of the city-centre schools advising pupils to avoid the Gardens, with the exception of Robert Gordon's College.<br />
<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div>The fear of losing Sir Ian's "generous gift" was expressed in a letter in Saturday's P&J <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1593827#ixzz0ewZqzsYi">"I find it hard to imagine that any other city in Scotland – or, indeed, the UK – would risk throwing away £50million of private money like we seem about to do."</a> Yes, indeed turning away £50 Million investment does seem like a rather silly idea, but that is not what is happening here. Personally, I find it hard to imagine that any other city in Scotland would be entertaining this "gift" given the numerous conditions placed on it. Far from being a saving grace to Aberdeen, it requires twice that to complete the bare bones of the project, it stymies another project which has gone through due process and has been granted full planning permission, and destroys a historic and Category B-listed garden. The concern expressed from Rupert Lumsden would certainly have more gravitas if it not for the fact that he had his own plans for <a href="http://www.banchoryleggart.co.uk/news_full.asp?id=654">"100 acres of much needed land for business use and 500 acres of land for mixed housing alongside a new 900 acre country park"</a> on land which "is currently farmland and would need to be re-zoned in the local plan", which are currently being backed by ACSEF. Mr Lumsden's company Banchory & Leggart Estates, is even represented by the <a href="http://www.bigpartnership.co.uk/">same PR Company</a> as ACSEF.<br />
<br />
Even though ACSEF <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Garden-space--plan-revealed.5954953.jp?CommentPage=1&CommentPageLength=1000">"do not want to pre-empt the consultation"</a> Zoe Corsi of The Big Partnership, working on their behalf has been attempting to engineer vocal support for the plan as an email passed to the I heart UTG group shows:<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-size: 85%;">From: Zoe Corsi <zoe.corsi@bigpartnership.co.uk><br />
Date: 6 February 2010 09:35<br />
To:<br />
<br />
<br />
Dear all,<br />
<br />
Gary Atkinson has passed me your details as he reckons you may be prepared to write to the P&J In support of the project. As you will probably be aware the objectors are writing to the P&J with increasing frequency and we need to counter-balance the negativity. I am looking for people to write letters to pj.editor@ajl.co.uk<br />
<br />
This is obviously quite sensitive as <span style="font-weight: bold;">I cannot be seen to be encouraging people to do so</span> but if you are willing I am happy to provide you with the key messages about the project....<br />
<br />
Gary has written in along with some others but I am trying to maximise our chances of getting letters printed...<br />
<br />
I look forward to hearing from you.<br />
<br />
Zoe</zoe.corsi@bigpartnership.co.uk></span></blockquote>And contrary to Scottish Enterprise assertions that it is "not a numbers game" and the refusal of ACSEF to comment on the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens/signatures.html">I Heart UTG Petition</a>, this does not stop the PR manager from urging her contacts to sign the Pro-Square petition:<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-size: 85%;">To: All at Aberdeen<br />
Subject: FW: City Square Project - THIS IS IMPORTANT!<br />
<br />
Dear all,<br />
<br />
If you want to see the City Square Project in Aberdeen come to fruition, you need to sign this and pass it on to all your contacts for signing. This only takes two minutes and is very important. </span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-weight: bold;">We need to demonstrate that the opposition is the minority.</span> <span style="font-size: 85%; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br />
The City Square project aims to create a better connected, more attractive, greener, safer city centre with a civic space and gardens that have something for everyone by raising Union Terrace Gardens and covering over the Denburn dual carriageway and adjacent railway line. For images and information on the project log on to www.thecitysquareproject.com<br />
<br />
To sign the petition, click on link below…<br />
<br />
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-the-city-square-project.html<br />
<br />
Zoe Corsi<br />
Director<br />
The Big Partnership</span></blockquote>Similar emails encouraging people to sign have been sent out to all staff at the Wood Group, directly from management. Staff at Talisman Energy and Shell have reported similar emails being received within their organisations.<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br />
From: CURRAN, Alan (WGENS)<br />
Sent: 19 January 2010 15:19<br />
To: WGENS Staff; WGENS Contractors<br />
Subject:<br />
<br />
You are probably aware Sir Ian has offered £50m of his own funds to help create a civic heart for the City of Aberdeen with the transformation of Union Terrace Gardens and covering over the railway and dual carriageway that runs through the heart of Aberdeen. It is believed that this project will act as a catalyst for the much needed regeneration of the City Centre. The attached one page article from the P&J outlines the key benefits of the project for Aberdeen's future<br />
<br />
There is significant opposition from Peacock Arts who would prefer to proceed with their own development of a contemporary arts centre in Union Terrace Gardens although the bigger City Square project includes a good facility for them at lower cost and with better chance of viability. The arts community are very focused on their own plans as opposed to the more ambitious City Square which would provide a wider range of facilities, both cultural and recreational, for Aberdeen citizens.<br />
<br />
Some of the larger companies in Aberdeen are encouraging their employees to participate in the public consultation exercise and make their views known on this very important project. For images and information on the project log on to http://www.thecitysquareproject.com and complete the online survey which forms part of the public consultation. <span style="font-weight: bold;">There is also a petition in support of the project which you can sign</span> by clicking on to http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-the-city-square-project.html. All of us need to reach our own conclusion but it would be good if the outcome of the public consultation genuinely reflects the views of as many of Aberdeen's citizens as possible and I would encourage you to participate and express your opinion, whatever it is, through the survey and the petitions.<br />
<br />
Thanks<br />
<br />
Alan Curran<br />
<br />
Chief Executive<br />
<br />
Wood Group Engineering (North Sea) Ltd<br />
John Wood House<br />
Greenwell Road<br />
Aberdeen<br />
Scotland, UK<br />
AB12 3AX</span></blockquote><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2322194674_9442f82445.jpg?v=0" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2322194674_9442f82445.jpg?v=0" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 500px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 375px;" /></a>Support for the square appears to be mostly coming from sources close to ACSEF themselves. A number of <a href="http://eoinsmith.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/city-square/">Pro-Square</a> of <a href="http://teuchterblog.tumblr.com/">anti-Peacock</a> single post blogs mostly come from members of the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aberdeen-City-Youth-Council/79283106243?ref=search&sid=726926494.586205326..1">Aberdeen City Youth Council</a> who are led by Paul Robertson, a member of the City Square steering group. On Monday another ACSEF board member property magnate Stewart Milne backed up up <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/934147">previous statements</a> by claiming that a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1595978#ixzz0ezdjSTlv">"vital part of the strategy had to be the proposed City Square"</a> when discussing "steps ... taken to improve road, rail and air links", directly at odds with claims made by Sir Moir Lockhead, chief executive of FirstGroup that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1531510#ixzz0eziQit7v">"Other developments, such as a major revamp of Union Terrace Gardens, were being considered with little or no thought for the traffic implications."</a> Were Mr Milne a member of the Council, and not ACSEF, he would be not be able to comment on the project due to his <a href="http://www.stewartmilne.com/solution-for-Triple-Kirks.aspx">personal professional interest</a> in the Denburn Valley area.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile support for saving Union Terrace Gardens is <a href="http://www.archi-ninja.com/architecture-and-conflict-at-the-union-terrace-gardens-aberdeen/">widespread</a> and not, as ACSEF would have you believe, simply restricted to the "arts community" or "supporters of Peacock Visual Arts" but to a great number of Aberdeen residents and ex-pats who have a deep emotional attachment to Union Terrace Gardens, which is so much more than a simple "allocation" of green space. The six thousand and ninety first signature on the petition to save the gardens was from Eurythmics vocalist and one of Aberdeen's most famous daughters, <a href="http://www.annielennox.com/">Annie Lennox</a>. In a <a href="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=163272345&blogId=528691490">blog post</a> on her myspace page, Ms Lennox described the City Square plans as "idiocy and madness." and making a plea to the people of aberdeen "“Aberdeen is your home town. Are you going to sit back, and do nothing while it’s beautiful historic center gets ripped out and concreted over”??!! It’s down to you to stop this happening."<br />
<br />
ACSEF's response to this high-profile opposition was that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8504483.stm">"Ms Lennox appears to have made her comments based on a wholly inaccurate description of the project "</a> affirming their opinion that anyone who opposes the project does not understand it. However the plans are so vague that not many people could claim to fully understand it, let alone ACSEF themselves. There are many mixed messages being put out there by ACSEF concerning the content, and purpose of the square as they attempt to appeal to every possible demographic no matter how contradictory their messages are between one group and another. While the only certainty of the project requires the full excavation of the current Union Terrace Gardens, ACSEF can use the undefined nature of their scheme to avoid any criticism. Pauline MacLean, arts correspondent for BBC Scotland revealed on the BBC Scotland Radio Cafe programme that when she "reported on this for news purposes I got a row from ACSEF saying 'we don't know for sure it's going to be concrete yet' although they're obviously going to need something tough and grey in order to build up what is essentially this piazza area."<br />
<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1596253#ixzz0ezuD5JHp"><br />
"Politicians have now invited representatives of the two bids, along with nearby residents, a town planning expert, councillors and members of architecture, heritage and civil amenity groups to a meeting at Aberdeen Citadel, in Castle Street, on February 18 at 6.30pm." </a>Labour MPs and MSPs Anne Begg, Lewis MacDonald, Frank Doran and Richard Baker have arranged a full public debate in order to combat what they call a “polarised and far too narrow” debate. Unsurprisingly Tom Smith of ACSEF was quick to <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1596253#ixzz0ezvB4tJz">"strongly refute Mr Doran’s claims that city-centre residents have not been given the opportunity to make their views known"</a> against the tide of criticism of the consultation process. The event will be a rare opportunity for both the City Square and the Peacock Scheme to be presented together fairly and the public given the opportunity to hear independent expert opinions and discuss options for the site within the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1596253#ixzz0ezwD4TxZ">"context of what the city needs and how these developments would meet that need."</a> A much welcome and overdue event will give the public of Aberdeen the ability to question those behind the proposals directly.<br />
<br />
<http: com=""><br />
</http:>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-24230393622412509972010-01-24T19:13:00.006+00:002011-02-04T22:06:59.966+00:00Just Plain Wrong, OK?<a href="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20480_256536221699_210201126699_3868264_6028304_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20480_256536221699_210201126699_3868264_6028304_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 453px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 604px;" /></a>As the debate over the future of Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley rages on, and as passions and tension rises, cracks are beginning to form in the <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/">City Square Project</a>'s branded veneer. Three weeks into the eight-week process the strategy is becoming clearer, as all facets of the "robust and comprehensive" exercise have now been deployed. This has done nothing for public opinion of the project or the consultation process, which is widely regarded as disengenuous due to the leading questions on the survey and the reluctance to mention any other possible scheme which fulfills the objectives ACSEF and Sir Ian are claiming central to the reasoning for building it.<br />
<br />
Last Monday, a week into the consultation, <a href="http://www.webershandwick.co.uk/">Weber-Shandwick</a> carried out the first of their mysterious "focus groups." This get together at Aberdeen Grammar School was being billed as a meeting for Community Groups and local residents which led to a number of crossed wires as many people thought it was an open meeting to ascertain the views of city-centre residents and members of the Aberdeen public. However this was not the case and the event turned out to be invite-only and members of the great unwashed, without possession of a Golden Ticket were turned away at the door by stern-faced PR staff.<br />
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Although eventually a number of uninvited who were congregating outside were finally invited in, we were informed that we could come in for the presentation but were not permitted to take part in the focus group discussions, and any questions during the feedback session would be <a href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20480_267836136699_210201126699_3912747_7246814_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20480_267836136699_210201126699_3912747_7246814_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 337px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 450px;" /></a>biased towards those who were invited. Fair enough, one would think as the reason given on their Facebook page was <a href="http://www.facebook.com/citysquareproject?ref=mf">"By the nature of the workshops these have to be relatively small events and require a good cross-section of stakeholders and interest groups to be involved. For each of the focus groups we have drawn up a wide-ranging list of invitees. We cannot open these meetings up to all otherwise we will lose the benefit of gaining detailed insight and feedback."</a> However, of 32 invitees, there were only 16 in attendance and 15 ininvited members which would have made up original quota for the groups. Regardless, when the Question and Answer session came around (delayed by an hour, according to the Agenda displayed at the beginning of the presentation the Q&A was originally supposed to take place right after the initial presentation) opinion was not stacked in the favour of the Civic Lid and Dave Blackwood from ACSEF and Maggie McGinley of Scottish Enterprise were left to field many questions, which related to the specific-yet-vague plans and their shallow promises, the consultation process, the destruction of the Gardens, and of course the debate surrounding the <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/projects/pva/pva01.html">existing Peacock Plans.</a> In response to questions asked about the collation of the results from the survey, Ms McGinley claimed that it "was not a numbers game" and that the purpose was to "identify a groundswell of opinion", however what this actually means in relation to the outcome of the consultation is another one of those mysteries.<br />
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In a <a href="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f274/Underflow/lewismaclett.jpg">letter to a constituent</a>, Lewis MacDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, expressed his concerns "at the extent to which the public will be engaged" and that "despite repeated requests following correspondence from constituents, ACSEF have failed to take forward open public meetings." There are nine focus group meetings throughout the eight week period each one pickpocketing a different demographic (which we were assured by Dave Blackwood wouldn't be the case), and only six days of public exhibition within the City of Aberdeen (excluding the two set up in Aberdeen's two Universities which wont be available to the general public, and two more occurring outwith the city), this is hardly the "full and robust" consultation we were promised, and those behind the process are much more interested in their ad-bikes and presentation screens than any of the credible, intellectual or technical issues around the City Square project itself.<br />
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The reach and insight provided at the touring exhibition leaves a lot to be desired, as confused staff have seemed unable to provide any decent answers to the public's questioning and arent doing a particularly good job of selling it. I was told at one such exhibition in the Trinity Centre that "there's nowhere at the moment to hold music event and concerts", my reply of the Castlegate and it's track record of hosting the New Year festivities <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1414995">when the City can afford it.</a> This inspired a blank look and the admission that the PR gentleman couldn't say anything about the Castlegate. Other visitors have reported confused and conflicting accounts of the "information" expressed by these civic design experts from Weber-Shandwick, some say Peacock is 100% involved in the scheme, others say they have no funds, no planning permission or that the Brisac Gonzalez project had already failed.<br />
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By contrast, on Tuesday, there was a very open launch of "What If" an exhibition of Edgar Gonzalez's sketches and concepts for compromised and phased approach to development in<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkoaQP3Y6D5cEZytHXaAS-Ngd3Gqr0lhvNan1I5GNq5EGg6gJeW6tAXQ5nr7GMCK6pbNY0Uo-42zkmv_4N7Vkdf4qUWSF-fCMjRM1yVl6XpWaGXVnW1XxD3HfUZn2VLgvmc7hKPVKMIQ/s1600-h/whatif.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431871003147534434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkoaQP3Y6D5cEZytHXaAS-Ngd3Gqr0lhvNan1I5GNq5EGg6gJeW6tAXQ5nr7GMCK6pbNY0Uo-42zkmv_4N7Vkdf4qUWSF-fCMjRM1yVl6XpWaGXVnW1XxD3HfUZn2VLgvmc7hKPVKMIQ/s400/whatif.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 267px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a> Denburn Valley. Far from being simply <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsOU-GyJdWkVbaIj_00C8eadg8I1RMrHjVT_OCZrtdLwXQRaxeVUMdvV6dTcjLcCda5wRNShxIHDPzm70s5WbQyWwLTqtx4KWVqLB5FnTVmEEqRenNhAI7KY5tkWftZIKbRXXBP4BQVw/s1600-h/24950110-CITYSQUARE-PLOPAGANDA.jpg">exclusive</a> to the <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Public-get-their-say-on.5973128.jp">"arts community"</a>, the opening night at <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/">Peacock Visual Arts</a> current home off Castlegate was attended by politicians, architects, city planners, businesspeople, accountants, teachers, lecturers, people who work in shops, people who work in resteraunts, people who don't work, people who live in Aberdeen who care about the future of the city. The exhibition shows outcomes of talks held late last year, arranged by Scottish Enterprise, between <a href="http://www.hfm.co.uk/">Halliday Fraser Munro</a> and Brisac Gonzalez Architects in an attempt to find a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704?UserKey=">"sensible"</a> way to <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1569456">"end the stalemate between ACSEF and Peacock"</a>, which were<a href="http://www.urbanrealm.co.uk/news/2066/Gonzalez_hits_back_as_Wood_blocks_Aberdeen_peace_initiative.html"> rejected</a> as they did not meet the <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/sir-ian-wood-pledges-pound-50m-gift-to-set-the-heart-of-aberdeen-beating-1.894533">unflinching terms</a> of Sir Ian's investment.<br />
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Gonzalez's designs look into possibilities of retaining Union Terrace Gardens and responding to the desires ACSEF had identified to be fulfilled by the City Square: Connectivity through bridges and pedestrian walkways between Union Terrace and Belmont Street; Opening the back of Belmont Street with a series of peir like structures; Covering the railway and dual carraigeway with a lawn covered tunnel; Increasing accessibilty and use of the gardens through the Peacock Contemporary Arts Centre which will also provide light to the darker areas of the Gardens at night and shelter from the elements. The proposals also looked at the wider issue of the full footprint of Aberdeen City Centre, not just ACSEF's favourite <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"chasm",</a> as the <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/251/what-if">accompanying publication</a> states: "A village has a town square. Cosmopolitan cities have many centres."<br />
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At the end of last week, Sir Ian himself had the opportunity to answer the concerns, issues and questions in public, broadcast live on Radio Scotland as part of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mk70p">Brian Taylor's Big Debate</a>. Almost half of the programme was taken up with the Union Terrace Gardens debate, Wood's response to the initial question about the controversy surrounding the City Square Project by repeating the now tired lines of rhetoric and shallow promises that have defined their PR effort in the past year. Challenged by the issues of how the City Square would create Jobs; The destruction of the Historic Gardens; Better uses for the public money required for the project; the nature of the underground real estate; the misleading nature of the consultation; the only rebuttal Wood could offer was by saying he was "conceared that three or four of the key points made were just plain wrong." Unable to explain exactly why these key points were "wrong", the best he could do was dispel suggestions of a Shopping Mall by explaining that it was "something like Covent Garden" before reverting back the well-prepared <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1576065?UserKey=#ixzz0dzT5Ctsa">“I don’t want to be remembered as the North Sea oil generation that enjoyed the prosperity but left a depleting economic legacy to our children and grandchildren”</a> line.<br />
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</div>However, focus was pulled in the debate by Labour MP Anne Begg. While the other MPs present on the panel remained largely on the fence, other than Aberdeen South MSP Nicol Stephen, backed Sir Ian's scheme primarily before throwing enough get out clauses in so not to alienate too many voters, Anne Begg both criticised the consultation process and put her full support behind the Peacock project. She said <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/MP-slams---39onesided.6008007.jp">"There are two visions on the table, and I have to say one doesn't make my heart sing and one does – and that is the Peacock development."</a> furthering this with the opinion that <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/MP-slams---39onesided.6008007.jp">" to put in an underground mall will kill Union Street."</a><br />
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With support for the City Square waning, seemingly being supported only by those who brought it forward (A lone clapper after Ian Wood's response to the question on the radio broadcast was none other than Andy Willox, an ACSEF board member) and opposition arising from <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/joanna-blythman/granite-city-is-in-thrall-to-the-philistines-1.1000851">National Press</a>, <a href="http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/opinion/aberdeens-city-centre-square-proposal-represents-a-loss-of-democracy/5213504.article">Architecture Journals</a>, and from <a href="http://thoughtsonartandteaching.blogspot.com/2010/01/woodcutter-and-trees.html">presentations given by Sir Ian Wood himself</a> to academics from Universities, as well as the negative response from the population of Aberdeen we are left to wonder how long they will continue pushing this dated project as the solution to all of today's issues and the shining light of tomorrow?<br />
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ACSEF however, like to ignore the public opinion, or in fact any criticism from anyone be it an average citizen with a love of the Gardens or an educated expert with an informed issue relating to the project and despite stating that they <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Garden-space--plan-revealed.5954953.jp?CommentPage=1&CommentPageLength=1000">"do not want to pre-empt the consultation"</a> they seem to be under the impression that it is a done deal. A 24-page supplement in the <a href="http://www.easternairways.com/">Eastern Airways </a>in-flight magazine is already using the Square as an attempt to promote Aberdeen. Pre-empting the outcome by omitting the idea that the people of Aberdeen may not actually want the project to go ahead, the advertorial sets out that <a href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/a85ae13d#/a85ae13d/66">"The next stage will be a major public consultation exercise with the people of Aberdeen to see what features they would like such an iconic new public space to have."</a><br />
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Meanwhile the City Square Project is already taking its financial toll on the city, The Press and Journal reported last week that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1574244#ixzz0e1YwVjLO">"Aberdeen City Council officials have urged finance committee members to keep supporting [Peacock Visual Arts] with £3,040 a month until the end of May." </a>The article points out that the financing <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1574244#ixzz0e1YwVjLO">"would come from the £3million contribution to the scheme which it had already approved but capped, and would pay the wages of one full-time member of Peacock’s fundraising team, and one part-time staff member"</a> outlining that the money required is to keep two staff members in employment and involves further chipping away at the money allocated for the Art Centre project. Fortunately a week later it was reported that Aberdeen City Coucil <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1582921#ixzz0e1fDmLaX">"handed a financial lifeline to Peacock Visual Arts to keep alive its vision of building a £13million centre in Union Terrace Gardens"</a> however with a warning that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1582921#ixzz0e1grPvNN">"Any public money should not be used in any way to go towards the current propaganda war between Peacock and the City Square." </a>This stipulation is odd on a number of counts, it has already been explicit that the funds released are to allow Peacock to pay their Art Centre Campaign Director so it is unclear where the worry that the money would be spent on "propaganda" would come from. As far as I am aware Peacock have not even released any <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda#Techniques">propaganda</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxTGAupNlWF91nZrYU3RsCBASzfn7yZc1JR6MiPzEKyiwmnCGCw2hLcpmZ87OojUIDalkHFyY3cmodVxHGPs7NWTnl2Iq3XvOyhZ1tIMLjhCA8ajG8XIiQ_X6-9ge10bPi-yiNYm7P7Q/s1600-h/citysquare.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432308699582282642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxTGAupNlWF91nZrYU3RsCBASzfn7yZc1JR6MiPzEKyiwmnCGCw2hLcpmZ87OojUIDalkHFyY3cmodVxHGPs7NWTnl2Iq3XvOyhZ1tIMLjhCA8ajG8XIiQ_X6-9ge10bPi-yiNYm7P7Q/s320/citysquare.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a>Although the definition of "propaganda" can certainly be applied to ACSEF's output surrounding their side of the supposed "war." In previous posts I have mentioned the tactics, slogans and tenious reasoning forming the backbone of their arguments and PR supporting the vague proposal. Full page newspaper adverts; Shop front Adverts; supplements in in-flight magazines; eco-bicycle placards, enough promotional booklets to provide every Household in the city and to hand out willy-nilly; exhibition material including Advertising boards, plasma screens, desks and personnel; Website and Social Media presence; Manned hotline and text service; Invite-only focus groups all focused on one man's vision are being unleashed on the people of Aberdeen. These are all pushing an idea of believing in a Vibrant Aberdeen using emotive language, unsubstantiated claims, vague promises that this is the only way to achieve these things. The Evening Express even published an image of Sir Ian which imitated the Kitchener's famous recruitment poster.<br />
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Sir Ian has attempted to answer the numerous points of contention but warning that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1575763#ixzz0e29CIgMU">"Aberdeen faces serious economic decline and more social problems unless the city centre and its transport links are brought up to a higher standard"</a> and that the City Square Project will be the answer to this. But there is no evidence to link the City Square Project to prosperty or wealth generation, the same report which recommended £40,000 pounds be allocated for Phase 2 of ACSEF's project states that the <a href="http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Data/Resources%20Management%20Committee/20090616/Agenda/Union%20Terrace%20Gardens%20and%20Denburn%20Valley%20Feasibility%20Study%20and%20Next%20Steps%20Subject%20to%20the%20decision%20of%20the%20Policy%20and%20Strategy%20Committee%20on%209%20June%202009.pdf">"UTG project is currently unlikely to create substantial new office/technology space targeted at industry sector growth"</a>, and the HFM technical appraisal, a document ACSEF believes to be <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1521733#ixzz0e2Q6Sqmt">"a world-class, comprehensive piece of work produced by a team of internationally renowned experts"</a> also states that <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%204.0%20Option%201%20Full%20Raised%20Level.pdf">"the difficulty in quantifying the economic gain is considerable.</a>"<br />
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Most would agree that Aberdeen city centre needs some TLC and investment, there are several <a href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs146.snc3/17360_1332358514106_1385317779_30947987_1308944_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs146.snc3/17360_1332358514106_1385317779_30947987_1308944_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 604px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 404px;" /></a>"dead" sites throughout the City Centre but Union Terrace Gardens is not one of them. None of documents produced within the last five years have pointed to ACSEF's sudden belief that the Denburn Valley is <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1463727?UserKey=#ixzz0VqVqlHBu">"the city’s single most strategically important location"</a>, there is no mention of this in the <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3961&sID=2030">Bon Accord Masterplan</a>, <a href="http://www.communityplanningaberdeen.org.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3181&sID=422">Strategic Framework</a> documents, <a href="http://www.aberdeencityandshire-sdpa.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=344&sID=78">Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan</a> and surely this fact would have been highlighted during the two year period of development into Peacock's plans. ACSEF's Tom Smith, when discussing the allure of the city centre mentions <a href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/a85ae13d#/a85ae13d/66">"Edinburgh has Princes Street and the Castle"</a> with the obvious glaring omission of Princes Street Gardens, which Union Terrace Gardens have often been compared to. The Denburn Valley could be the jewel in the crown of a healthy vibrant city centre if the level of donation Sir Ian wishes to invest was spread in a number of smaller projects to regenerate Union Street and the City Centre on the whole.<br />
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Sir Ian and ACSEF wish to turn a beautiful Urban Park into a structure with Covent Garden underneath, Red Square/Mini Central Park on top to turn the city into a "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259519">“Houston for the eastern hemisphere”</a>, but why can't we just be Aberdeen?Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-21725603322939117182010-01-19T14:20:00.003+00:002011-02-04T22:07:25.880+00:00The Facts and the Furious<a href="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 1px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 1px;" /></a><a href="http://square.simplyignite.com/files/2010/01/UTG_Final_0070_RGB.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://square.simplyignite.com/files/2010/01/UTG_Final_0070_RGB.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 800px;" /></a>On Friday 8th January, two days before launch of the consultation into it's current pet project, the vainglorious <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.om/">City Square Project</a>, ACSEF released a full page colour Advert in Aberdeen's Press and Journal. The advert was an attempt to lay down the concrete-tinted "Facts" about the project, however, devoid of any statistics, projections, case studies or evidence, the facts are unsurprisingly thin on the newsprint. The Halliday Fraser Munro appraisal itself lays out that <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%204.0%20Option%201%20Full%20Raised%20Level.pdf">"the difficulty in quantifying the economic gain is considerable. To describe the benefits in cultural and civic terms; and to focus on the future raison d’être of the City of Aberdeen will become the means of explaining the benefits. However it is very difficult to make these benefits seem tangible"</a>(page 55), and to this end, in June, £40,000 was released from Aberdeen City Council to ACSEF, which Peter Dennis, former Team Leader for Planning and infrastructure, explained was "assess in detail the benefits this proposal could bring." Six months down the line, at the beginning of public consultation into the project this ad shows that they are no closer to making "these benefits seem tangible."<br />
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Instead the idea has been to wade in with bombastic, sweeping, emotive statements amplifying the rhetoric of the last year and flying in the face of Aberdeen City Council's policies and ACSEF's recognised priorities from a simpler time before Sir Ian's timely benevolence. The ad leads claiming the vision was "the start of a journey to reclaim our city centre and create a safe place for relaxation and recreation for all those who live and work here" before going on to describe which miracles the structure will bring to the city.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">JOBS FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-6ORVhzVv3Ndv1efQ_hzRUZRokLnFtJAFaBjQA8rO1YRxIEx5fZYDtqj1l5QyFYhDIK1sPSxDIVFDEqmHHHf0Qr6u55juNYgSquM1LzjPtfMA_vzCI6erYw2vtLNXnhKRsnE2SruKWg/s1600-h/jobs.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428475925953958514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-6ORVhzVv3Ndv1efQ_hzRUZRokLnFtJAFaBjQA8rO1YRxIEx5fZYDtqj1l5QyFYhDIK1sPSxDIVFDEqmHHHf0Qr6u55juNYgSquM1LzjPtfMA_vzCI6erYw2vtLNXnhKRsnE2SruKWg/s400/jobs.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 334px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a>This section claims that "The City Square will help secure Aberdeen's long-term economic future, creating and safe-guarding jobs for generations to come." Without any demonstratible evidence to directly link the creation of the City Square and actual economic benefits, the ad reverts to a vague statement that "Research shows that attractive, vibrant city centres are key to competitive regions." This point ignores the fact that Aberdeen city centre extends much further than the five acre spread of the Denburn Valley and such expensive, high-risk concentration of funds, resources and planning into this one area will only be at the cost of the surrounding area.<br />
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There has been no word of how the £140 million investment in this area will impact on ACC's existing plans for city centre regeneration, such as the <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/consultations/archiveconsultations/cst_bonaccordqrt.asp">Bon Accord Masterplan</a>, <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CouncilNews/ci_cns/pr_Green_THI_180809.asp">The Green redevelopment</a> and the plans for a <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=7731&sID=2991">Civic Square at St Nicholas House</a>, which has been used as the <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CouncilDepartments/marischal/cdp_marischal_college_why_move.asp">reason behind</a> the Council's £11 Million move to Marischal College. The advert describes the city square as "a unique opportunity to put the city on "must visit" list", which is a tenuous attempt to tie the project into another of <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/misc/Action%20Plan.pdf">ACSEF's priorities</a>: Tourism. Again however there are no reasoning of how this square will attract tourist, as though people are going to take time out to come to Aberdeen to visit a featureless square if not to point and laugh. The City Square will not solve the problems of empty shop units, for sale signs or the general untidyness of Union Street, issues outlined in a <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/web/files/Conservation/appraisal_ca2_unionstreet.pdf">report into the City Centre Conservation Area</a>. The idea that a five acre windswept expanse of unused real estate surrounded by badly-cared for buildings, empty units, weeds and 'For Sale' signs will make Aberdeen the "must visit" destination of Northern Europe leaves a lot to be desired, and this is an awfully shaky peg to hang all guarantees of "jobs and economic prosperity" on.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">INCLUSIVE NOT EXCLUSIVE</span><br />
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Perhaps one of the most outrageous claims, which has <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/performing-arts/Arts-diary-Rumblings-in-.5980774.jp">already irked</a> the Scottish Arts Council is <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutLKGTpQcGlJEAq7AXPqUz0QiyKOXHopBbDJ9Pz0afU3D0LsIlm_l-2Lysa9Fg0ztO19EUv0wXAupypcAd3LDMF7cSJ6MfO66mXYDuabw-xIoLRAdMmH2nEqTMVtUt_-Kk6myNqtk-ws/s1600-h/inclusive.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428476132516722002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutLKGTpQcGlJEAq7AXPqUz0QiyKOXHopBbDJ9Pz0afU3D0LsIlm_l-2Lysa9Fg0ztO19EUv0wXAupypcAd3LDMF7cSJ6MfO66mXYDuabw-xIoLRAdMmH2nEqTMVtUt_-Kk6myNqtk-ws/s400/inclusive.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 325px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a>that "The Peacock development is exclusive - focused on contemporary arts, City Moves and Whitespace. The City Square is inclusive - providing these and much more in a larger area for cultural activities." While much of the square's reasoning is supposed cultural activities, those behind the project have shown a complete ignorance to what it is Peacock, City Moves and Whitespace actually do.<br />
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<a href="http://citymoves.wordpress.com/">City Moves</a> is the council's own contemporary dance agency, which runs a number of classes on many areas of dance from ballet to yoga and is available to everyone both in Aberdeen and beyond. <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Arts/whitespace/art_arts_development.asp">Whitespace,</a> again, is Council-run and operates a great many projects with children, community groups, the vulnerable as well as reaching out to Schools and areas outwith the city centre as part of their remit "to remove all obstacles - financial, social, health, geographical or physical to ensure all City residents can access culture in Aberdeen and contribute to the cultural life of the City." <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/">Peacock</a> themselves, far from being "focused on contemporary arts" runs a great number of inclusive community projects as part of their aims for <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/PDF/PVA%20Policy.pdf">"involving people of all ages and abilities in creative activity as a means of empowerment and to increase their understanding and enjoyment of contemporary art through collaborative projects with artists and the provision of learning opportunities." </a>They are currently running the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1524539">"Creative Identities"</a> scheme which sees the organisation <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1139322">working with children from vulnerable areas</a> to produce artworks, using the <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1537295">proceeds of crime in a positive, incusive manner</a>. This project is the latest in a long line of artists outreach projects to benefit the communities of Aberdeen, including the <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/events/84/artists">Partner's scheme</a> which saw artists working with communities in <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/65/eva-merz-first-artist-in-residence-in-partners-project">Woodside</a> and <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/95/new-book-tillydrone">Tillydrone</a> between December 2006 and April 2008.<br />
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Before Sir Ian's vague vision emerged, this "exclusive" development was listed as a the Sixth Priority project for Aberdeen, fulfilling two of ACSEF's seven aims for 2025, with "High" Strategic Impact in the <a href="http://www.communityplanningaberdeen.org.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3181&sID=422">Strategic Framework Newsletter</a> published by ACC in March 2008, a document which outlines the current status of projects which were to be delivered as part of the ACSEF vision. As well as proudly displaying one of Brisac Gonzales's images of the centre on its cover, the document fails to assess the Denburn Valley as <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1463727?UserKey=#ixzz0VqVqlHBu">"an unusable gap site"</a> or even describe the area as <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1463727?UserKey=#ixzz0VqVqlHBu">"the city’s single most strategically important location"</a> and the only hint at a "civic square" is the aforementioned St Nicholas House developments: "release of site for mixed use re-development." The document, in its closing outlines that a major gap in it's plans is that "There are few projects of scale to increase Aberdeen’s profile as a historical and cultural centre" contrary to this the City Square can only go ahead if it destroys and obscures the oldest remaining parts of the city centre.<br />
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Returning to the advert, the final paragraph of this section is quick to re-iterate Sir Ian's assurances that this is "not an either or project" as well as more unfounded claims that a Contemporary Art Centre in the City Square would have "better commercial viability as well as significantly lower development costs", even though the cost of the Square as a whole is ten-times that of the Northern Light Centre, and with a shortfall of £90 Million, is a lot more risky. Add to this the imminent dissolving of Peacock's biggest funder and the prospective loss of £4.5 million funding.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">BRIGHTER, BETTER AND BIGGER GARDENS</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqE5tspYu9L9dVNVTmv5v8LUu2SDI9Sk_QqdOal0qtcS4T-nBf7wPfxbQmg16rK0nRBFhtkuGG3JMIFN8piqC9r2dccfTlniuS8YDVEwM-yq_FrjlTcPO92SxESHt4girj4PPq25NCqEM/s1600-h/gardens.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428476489511737426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqE5tspYu9L9dVNVTmv5v8LUu2SDI9Sk_QqdOal0qtcS4T-nBf7wPfxbQmg16rK0nRBFhtkuGG3JMIFN8piqC9r2dccfTlniuS8YDVEwM-yq_FrjlTcPO92SxESHt4girj4PPq25NCqEM/s400/gardens.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 298px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a>Continuing the legacy of "could"s, "should"s, "may"s and "might"s this section outlines the possibility of "the same, or even more, green space in the heart of the city." An attempt to counter opposition to the destruction of the existing historic Gardens, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8439286.stm">claims of bigger and better gardens </a>were the <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Garden-space--plan-revealed.5954953.jp">first batch</a> of City Square PR this year. However, this has led the exact nature of these "gardens" to be questioned. The great Civic Roof has underneath it a concrete and steel structure, a road, a railway and three levels of real estate so there is very limited scope for landscaping. Yes it could have patches of grass, shrubs and potted plants but as I have said in many posts before: no trees. The images released with the city square projects, of which we are continually reminded that they are a "concept, not a design" shows dense woodland so thick it obscures much of the surrounding area, however in reality this is impossible (unless these are all recreations of the mobile phone mast near Dunblane which is cunningly disguised as a child's drawing of a tree.)<br />
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What is missing from the advert is that Union Terrace Gardens was not built on hydaulics allowing it to be "raised" and lowered as crackpot schemes see fit, the Gardens will be removed in their entirety to make way for the construction. <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=10&MSID=14"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">“approximately 3,947 dump trucks of earth and 4,605 dump trucks of granite”</span></a></span> will be removed from the site, along with 78 Mature trees, all plantlife and all features. The Gardens as they exist currently are a natural ampitheatre and have themselves been used often in the past for outdoor events such as concerts, dances, speigal tents as well as a meeting place, and site of relaxation and recreation. They are also home to a large floral version of Aberdeen's coat of arms, a feature which was partly responsible for Aberdeen winning <a href="http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/britaininbloom.php">Britain in Bloom ten times</a>, their sunken nature provides perfect shelter against Aberdeen's stong and harsh winds and shade on those rare hot days in summer. The advert claims that the square will be "built into the natural topography of the area" while in fact it will cover and hide what is left of the natural topography of Aberdeen.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">THE FUNDING WILL BE FOUND</span><br />
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ACSEF are now touting the City Square as "the top priority infrastructure project for the region" <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMiFolDWK_RDQKGBN_qSEQ65kjwN18BNev3NscJaLGq1c_fJoIxqsveyqh92mcS75FC-5Aho27i9_mEyOu5yg5uJORrKK2eCYvQV1VFq_-i_ji6XGCaXIwIE2M6KjN_Di7COLz3FEpBc/s1600-h/funds.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428476764322614194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMiFolDWK_RDQKGBN_qSEQ65kjwN18BNev3NscJaLGq1c_fJoIxqsveyqh92mcS75FC-5Aho27i9_mEyOu5yg5uJORrKK2eCYvQV1VFq_-i_ji6XGCaXIwIE2M6KjN_Di7COLz3FEpBc/s400/funds.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 392px;" /></a>which is funny as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/964354">not so long ago</a>, ACSEF's flagship project <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=31">"Energetica"</a> was the top priority for the region. Energetica is a proposed corridor of energy headquarters between Bridge of Don and Peterhead "to create a concentration of energy technology companies, housing and leisure facilities along a 30-mile corridor from Aberdeen to Peterhead." A project like Energetica is central to ACSEF's Remit which is to <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4">"realise the ambition for the future of the Region and to shape delivery of economic development in Aberdeen City and Shire" </a>and, unlike the City Square, has tangible and provable benefits to the region and can easily be equated with jobs and prosperity. However the claims that it will provide <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=31">"further diversification"</a> are negligible since the project will soley be <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=31">"building on the solid knowledge, technology and trading base developed around oil and gas."</a><br />
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Proposals for a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1492362">“Silicon Valley of the north"</a> at Bridge of Don have been launched and highly-controversial plans for the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8424142.stm">Aberdeen Bypass have been approved</a> by Scottish Ministers, linking Stonehaven and Bridge of Don skirting the Western Periphery of the city. Tom Smith, of ACSEF believes the bypass to be <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1535907#ixzz0cxQVEYXx">"“absolutely critical” to the region’s long-term economic future" </a>yet this<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1535907#ixzz0cxQVEYXx"> "most welcome"</a> infrastructure project has no funds whatsoever towards it's estimated £395 Million cost and there is <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1535907#ixzz0cxQVEYXx">no indication of where the money could come from. </a>Given the road's<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1535907#ixzz0cxQVEYXx"> "critical"</a> nature one can only wonder why ACSEF are considering plunging at least £90 million into leveling the Denburn Valley, a project which has yet to provide any reason for go ahead or proof of the benefits, rather than invest in a bypass which has been described as a "linchpin."<br />
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Further claims are made in the Ad that on the back of Sir Ian's £50 Million "further private money will be leveraged to make up the principle funds" even though the "plans" have been on the table for over a year now, and several business leaders have spoken out in favour of the Square, there hasn't been a single report of any interest, even speculative in investing in the project. As the text says: "The lack of public sector funding was one of the main factors in previous schemes for this site not going ahead."<br />
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Ploughing through on a tide of fantastical yet unsubstantiated promises, the ad goes on to state that "Other funding will come from accessing some of the public sector's long-term capital sources for major infrastructure projects", which is good because it's not the Aberdonian taxpayer who is footing the bill, but the <span style="font-style: italic;">Scottish </span>taxpayer. Funny that ACSEF should lay claim to some of that elusive national pot of money, however Scottish Government funds are pretty stretched as the moment, with a planned <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Glasgow-Airport-rail-link-falls.5658166.jp">rail extension to Glasgow Airport scrapped</a> in the face of a <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/This-Week/Speeches/Weathier-and-Fairer/budget">£500 million pound</a> cut to Scottish budgets from Westminster. No matter how often ACSEF can claim "it's our turn!", if the money isn't there there's not much that can be done about it. With Government money supposed to be financing the aforementioned AWPR, and transport links to Glasgow Airport cut, then how exactly does the City Square justify itself in the National portfolio of Infrastructure priorities?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WK4bRhyzumad21k9p9rLwam4WgPGhw0CMzxhTq_RSIX21svcyNg8QjxgXHTh5QdICPSx1QPUmv352JLO6X3xXlyY5xDTipK0AbIU1MW8zfc7gquqwuzet5Qsii7skXVykoQGzcMrA7k/s1600-h/energetica.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428477276149179426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WK4bRhyzumad21k9p9rLwam4WgPGhw0CMzxhTq_RSIX21svcyNg8QjxgXHTh5QdICPSx1QPUmv352JLO6X3xXlyY5xDTipK0AbIU1MW8zfc7gquqwuzet5Qsii7skXVykoQGzcMrA7k/s400/energetica.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 304px;" /></a>What of other possible funding sources? In the past there has been the suggestion of a <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/regeneration/regen/reg_business_improvement_district.asp">Business Improval District (BID)</a> to be introduced to Aberdeen to "develop projects and services that will benefit the trading environment within the boundary of a clearly defined commercial area", or as the ACSEF Newsletter points out: <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0cxuAkdeH">"The money would be ring-fenced and used to fund ACSEF priorities such as the Energetica project...and the £140million Aberdeen civic square at Union Terrace Gardens</a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0cxuAkdeH">"</a>, essentially increasing rates by at least 1% making the surrounding city centre businesses within the BID district to pay for the square. Another possible source of funding which has been identified is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_increment_financing">"Tax Increment Financing"</a>, which operates not unlike the BID, however the rates levy is not restricted to Businesses along, the entire population of a certain area (presumbably, in this case, Aberdeen City Centre) who's taxes will go up to account for "future gain" at the end of the project. Not only is this a worrying increase to a population already paying the<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0cxuAkdeH"> highest Council Tax Rates</a>, but this particular financing method is not legal in Scotland and it's implementation would require legislation to be changed at a National level to allow it to go ahead. Is this City Square Project really worth it?<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0cxuAkdeH"> </a><br />
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<blockquote>"The City Square cannot take money away from the council's annual revenue budgets and therefore will not impact on key services such as education, housing, social work and roads."</blockquote>This statement is perhaps the greatest diversion from "The Facts", Sir Ian was quick to point out at the fateful "consultation" evening at Tiger Tiger all those months ago that I didn't know the difference between capital or revenue funding, as an answer to questions of how Aberdeen, a City currently in <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/council-to-face-financial-inquiry-1.845761">financial dire straights</a>, can afford to undertake this project. A valid question which most people are asking when faced with a price tag of £140 Million pounds, however this patronising attempt to quell public outrage doesn't exactly ring true. The previously mentioned £40, 000 released to ACSEF came from <a href="http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Published/StdDataDocs/2/4/1/0/SD00000142/Pamphlet190809.pdf">"the Council’s current revenue budget, which would be sufficient contribution for Phase 2."</a>(page 155) which goes to prove that any of the preparatory work: technical appraisals, feasibility studies, public consultation, economic assessments, transport assessments, analysis of delivery vehicles, design, planning application and so on would be funded from revenue spending. Only the costs of building the Square would come from capital sources, and then more costs would need to be suffered from revenue such as greenskeeping, maintenance, cleaning, collecting litter, supervision, Health and Safety issues as well as day to day operations of any features the people of Aberdeen would like to see, such as an outdoor Ice Rink, cafes, concerts, Markets and 'landmark public art'.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">WHO ARE ACSEF?</span><br />
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One of the most common question I have come across in the last six months, aside from "where is the money coming from", "Why can't they build over the road and railway and leave the Gardens" and "what is the point?" has been "Who are ACSEF anyway?"<br />
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ACSEF, or <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/">Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future</a>, previously Aberdeen City and Shire <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3630/3450362706_86eca43d51_o.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3630/3450362706_86eca43d51_o.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 384px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 514px;" /></a>Economic <span style="font-style: italic;">Forum</span>, formally <span style="font-style: italic;">North East Scotland</span> Economic Forum was established in 2001 in response to a Scottish Government directive. They are a Public-Private sector Partnership, which should not be confused with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public%E2%80%93private_partnership">Public-Private Partnership (PPP)</a> which is usually an enterprise, such as a school which is built by a private firm and leased back to the Education Authorities, ACSEF is a public-private sector partnership as it includes<a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPage.cfm?pageID=4"> high profile members of the private sector </a>business community as well as the leaders of Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils and representatives from both Aberdeen and the Robert Gordon Universities.<br />
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The National Guidelines for Local Economic Forums point out that the role of forums was "tackling first the streamlining of business development services and thereafter, if they have proved successful, they will move on to consider local delivery mechanisms for lifelong learning, better local labour market co-ordination and other areas such as trade and tourism." ACSEF (NESEF) at the time to streamline economic activities and drive economic growth within the city.<br />
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On becoming ACSEF, the role of the Forum remained largely the same but their remit was expanded to an advisory capacity to inform Scottish Enterprise on routes to "maximise the contribution of the region to Scotland's economic growth." Beyond this ACSEF has no actual power or authority over any of it's partners or other forums. Only ACSEF's development manager recieves a wage, and this position is part of a three-year secondment from Aberdeen City Council, ACSEF as an organisation for the year 2009/10 received £80,000 of funding from Scottish Enterprise and £229,000 from Aberdeen City Council (Costs include the Development Manager salary) Both SE and ACC list these costs to cover Development Manager, office costs, events management, communications, and project development support.<br />
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Given this, ACSEF seem to have outgrown their all-weather footware. Nowhere within any documents, received with Freedom of Information requests to ACC and SE relating to the establishment and powers of ACSEF, does it mention spearheading huge scale construction projects. They would argue, most likely, that they drive economic development, however as the Advert above and public statements made by members of ACSEF have proven, they can demonstrate no tangible economic benefits to the region from the project. While it would attract £50 Million pounds of investment (the investment which actually started the project), it would require at least twice this amount to go ahead, not to mention the cost to the traffic infrastructure for such a big construction, the tax hikes and destruction of the last of Historic Aberdeen.<br />
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<a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/buildingsideways500pix.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/buildingsideways500pix.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 267px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 500px;" /></a>In furthering this project, ACSEF are also going against their core remit for promoting economic development, they will scupper an approved plan which will bring in £5 Million annually and expects a footfall of 200,000 as well as regenerationg Union Terrace Gardens without completelly irradicating them, and will, in turn, refuse an investment which has already been promised from central Scottish funds. The future of Peacock is up in the air as well, with this process being dragged out for fifteen months, the lease on PVA's current home gets closer and closer, there is a very real concern that ACSEF may "bleed them dry" and rather than further economic development they would kill off a progressive and internationally respected business which has been around for 35 years.<br />
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Please, keep lobbying councillors, find out who at <a href="http://www.writetothem.com/">WriteToThem</a>, they may say they are not allowed to make comment because it may come to planning application, however they are only restricted on commenting on LIVE applications and the city square project has a long way to go before it can consider putting in a planning application. Continue to urge others to Sign the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens/signatures.html">I heart UTG</a> petition to Save Union Terrace Gardens and if you are unsure of the costs, scales check out <a href="http://www.comparethesquare.com/">Compare The Square</a> which puts the project in perspective. Actually it highlights how completelly out of perspective the project is.Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com167tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-56191583946499701262010-01-14T14:36:00.008+00:002011-02-04T22:08:13.142+00:00This is a Design, Not a Concept<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2195787&refRef=img&style=full" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2195787&refRef=img&style=full" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a>It has begun. Public Consultation into Sir Ian Wood's proposed big-budget sequel to Moscow's Red Square, commissioned for ACSEF by ACSEF. The consultation is being reported as <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1550623#ixzz0cK59iXTn">"one of the largest public engagement exercises yet mounted"</a>, but rather than being in the hands of an architecture or civic design consultancy, the public consultation will be carried out by <a href="http://www.webershandwick.co.uk/">Weber-Shandwick</a>, the worlds largest PR company. With an agenda consisting of <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1550623#ixzz0cKgF3LV9">"presentations, exhibitions and displays across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and the public will be invited to have their say by text, Twitter and other social networking sites, as well as more traditional methods"</a>, you could be mistaken for thinking this was more of the Daz Doorstep challenge rather than a serious debate about future developments in the city centre. As well as "public" displays in shopping centres and in both universities over the course of the next eight weeks, the Consultation will be dropping into schools, and presiding over "focus groups," invite only representatives from the small businesses, arts and community groups. The exact details of how to get involved with these focus groups, or the formate which they will take remains a mystery.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/">The City Square Project website</a>, has shed its placeholder and contains all manner of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36YEbCP7YBfex5pCuWKtHRgrBdWL3ez-XRCjZ1hqaTPRtTUdCkLqdjS0C88uYu5mRI0pf650jlKNAJWLcxoaNmfys7i7kEhe1ldMFMs_UWy0jGXkPZJeBrkoRwgsvCdyXahtVvtiFg1E/s1600-h/consultation.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425807286961787170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36YEbCP7YBfex5pCuWKtHRgrBdWL3ez-XRCjZ1hqaTPRtTUdCkLqdjS0C88uYu5mRI0pf650jlKNAJWLcxoaNmfys7i7kEhe1ldMFMs_UWy0jGXkPZJeBrkoRwgsvCdyXahtVvtiFg1E/s400/consultation.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 276px;" /></a>"information" surrounding their proposals including a <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/consultation/survey/">consultation survey</a>. This survey asks three questions, the first asks you to rank "the most important features to you" from nine options, before going on to ask "what would you like to see in the City Square Project?" again with a ranking system to name your top five out of nine, before asking a simple yes/no question to "do you support the City Square Project?" I personally replied to the second question with "I do not support the City Square Project, therefore I do not want to see anything in it" and answered the third question with the expected "NO." However if you select that you do not support the square, yet want to see "water features", a "conference centre", "specialist retail", "outdoor ice rink" and a "contemporary arts centre" in it, then how will this effect the result. How exactly will these results be collated and reported anyway? Responses to these three questions are wide open to interpretation, and if there's anything PR companies to best that's spin. After all it was Weber Shandwick's CEO Colin Bryne who was Tony Blair's PR adviser at the 1997 and 2001 elections.<br />
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This <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">“robust and comprehensive”</a> consultation, in fact <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1557381#ixzz0cPItLDxt">"the scheme’s backers have promised will be the “most comprehensive” consultation yet seen in Aberdeen"</a>, is so comprehensive that late last year it was reported that the existing proposals with majority funding and full planning for the Northern Light <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/227/arts-centre-update">Contemporary Arts Centre would <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> be included as part of the consultation. </a>ACSEF's Tom Smith claims, paridoxically, that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1548194#ixzz0cQFpdTdi">"It would be completely inappropriate to consult on a scheme which already has planning permission"</a>, which means that this "comprehensive" consultation into the future of the Denburn Valley is leaving out the only fully realized project for the area, one that Mr Smith claims <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1443474#ixzz0cU3nY8yi">"If the public don't wish to support our proposal, the option is to go with Peacock’s design."</a> As ACSEF have no funds to speak of, the undisclosed cost of the Public Consultation (With budget enough to employ a freephone line, a text service, employing the World's leading PR agency, full page newspaper adverts, travelling exhibitions, leafleting of all homes in the City, catering at the focus groups and goodness knows what else) is again being paid for by the taxpayer, yet excludes another project which has secured £9.5 Million pounds worth public money and spent another £1 million in their own preparatory work. Prime example on the complete disregard for public funds being shown by ACSEF through the entire process, which will presumably continue along the long and costly road should the result of the consultation come back in their favour.<br />
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The track history of the outcome of ACSEF commissioned (and publicly funded) "investigations" <a href="http://square.simplyignite.com/files/2010/01/UTG_Final_0070_RGB.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://square.simplyignite.com/files/2010/01/UTG_Final_0070_RGB.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 179px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 497px;" /></a>does not suggest a fair unbiased outcome. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=10&MSID=14">Haliday Fraser Munro technical appraisal</a> into the Denburn Valley project not only failed to look into a compromise option of achieving Sir Ian's "vision" but retaining the Gardens and the existing Peacock proposals but dismisses the third option, of the Brisac Gonzalez Art Centre and landscaping of the existing Gardens <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/2009%2006%2012%20-%20Final%20Report%20Appendices.pdf">"will not create any significant economic and social impacts"</a>(Section 8.8), conflicting with the independent financial assessment and two years of groundwork which resulted in Peacock securing full planning permission, public funding from three different sources and a place as one of the ACSEF's <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/misc/Action%20Plan.pdf">strategic priorities</a> for the region. The appraisal also manages to bring the cost within Sir Ian's <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20081116/ai_n31016092/">original estimate</a>, even though the report itself outlines<a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/2009%2006%2012%20-%20Final%20Report%20Appendices.pdf"> 25 notable exclusions</a>, including the compulsary purchase of <span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">“Site acquisition fees/costs. Air rights, rights to light (or any third party compensation settlements), over sailing licences, sale or letting fees/costs”</span>,</span> which the report states could amount to £10 Million, and the question of out of hours working, Network rail has stipulate<span style="font-size: 100%;">d t<span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman';">hat they will only allow access </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 100%;">“9 hours at weekends and 5 hours during the week." Add to this that Aberdeen City Council has confirmed th</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 100%;">at the £140 Million estimate is only for the structure itself, any features which "the people of Aberdeen want", Landmark Sculpture, Conference Centre, Landscaped Gardens, Water Features etc would cost extra<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"></span></a></span> on top. The actual full costs of the square would likely end up double the estimate, assuming that the construction does not run into any disputes or encounter any other problems during </span>the project, and adding on the expense required with the actual design, planning applications, another public consultation etc which must happen before the project can even think about raising the £90 Million plus required for destroying the Gardens and building the structure.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">In the lead up to Monday's launch of the public Consultation ACSEF's PR drip fed news of high profile supporters such as ex-Aberdeen Manager <a href="http://www.afc.premiumtv.co.uk/articles/dons-legend-and-south-african-open-winner-20091223_2212158_1913635">Willy Miller</a> and Hotel Magnate <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1551519">Robert Cook</a> as well as a<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1544628"> disability group </a>voicing their concerns about access to the Gardens, an issue which is a part of the Peacock project with their introduction of a lift that can grant access from Union Terrace directly down to the bottom of the Gardens. Perhaps one of the most outrageous move was a full page advert published in Friday's Press and Journal, which has already <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/performing-arts/Arts-diary-Rumblings-in-.5980774.jp">angered funders at the Scottish Arts Council</a>, who have invested £4.5 Million pounds in Aberdeen, for claims that the Peacock-led Contemporary Arts Centre will be "exclusive", compared to the City Square which will be "inlcusive."</div><div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsOU-GyJdWkVbaIj_00C8eadg8I1RMrHjVT_OCZrtdLwXQRaxeVUMdvV6dTcjLcCda5wRNShxIHDPzm70s5WbQyWwLTqtx4KWVqLB5FnTVmEEqRenNhAI7KY5tkWftZIKbRXXBP4BQVw/s1600-h/24950110-CITYSQUARE-PLOPAGANDA.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427068779036009650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsOU-GyJdWkVbaIj_00C8eadg8I1RMrHjVT_OCZrtdLwXQRaxeVUMdvV6dTcjLcCda5wRNShxIHDPzm70s5WbQyWwLTqtx4KWVqLB5FnTVmEEqRenNhAI7KY5tkWftZIKbRXXBP4BQVw/s400/24950110-CITYSQUARE-PLOPAGANDA.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 377px;" /></a><br />
The Ad also continues to make spurious claims without any evidence, precident or logic: It claims "Jobs for Our Children and Grandchildren" going on to explain why Jobs are necessary, but fails to mention how this featurless square will provide long term employment; "Brighter Better and Bigger Gardens" which is an attempt to counter the great concearn about losing an area of Urban Green Space, reflecting statements ACSEF had already released to the <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Garden-space--plan-revealed.5954953.jp">press</a>, claiming that because there was a greater surface area to the square it <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> have more Gardens, although Gardens devoid of history, heritage, integrety or trees. Not Gardens actually: lawns and shrubbery. Another claim is "The Funding Will Be Found" making more shallow promises about bidding for Government pots, yet the most interesting sentence is the outright lie that "The City Square cannot take money away from the city's annual revenue budgets" perhaps the construction of the square can't, but care for these "brighter, Bigger and Better" Gardens will, maintenance of the Ice rink, fountains, landmark sculpture and cleaning among whatever other features "the people of Aberdeen" will. We have <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1549935">just seen</a> that Aberdeen cannot afford to grit the city, how will the afford to grit an extra five acres of street. I guess it might cut down on costs of an Ice Rink though.<br />
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A comment on a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/paulinemclean/2010/01/garden_question_time.html">BBC Blog</a> about the debate revealed that the P & J has vetoed the publication of any advertising <span style="font-style: italic;">against</span> the square which is backing up their <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1507079">editorial line</a> supporting the City Square project outright, and labeling the high volume of concern and opposition as a <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1554500">"vociferous minority"</a> who are smothering the strong opinions of the "silent majority." Now the consultation is in full swing and is being discussed throughout Aberdeen, the silent minority is remaining suprisingly silent. Comments made on online articles about the City Square are largely against the square, as is opinion on many message boards and forums, the <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23citysquare">City Square #tag</a> is hardly encouraging and the only discussion on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/citysquareproject">Facebook</a> group is from people who are establishing that they are <a href="http://www.facebook.com/citysquareproject#/citysquareproject?v=app_2373072738">"not a fan."</a><br />
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Although the week before the consultation launched, a group calling themselves <a href="http://ibelieveinaberdeen.tumblr.com/">"I believe in </a><a href="http://ibelieveinaberdeen.tumblr.com/">Aberdeen"</a> emerged with their own blog, "Support the City Square" petition and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=234099644289&ref=nf">Facebook</a> group, which advertises Aberdeen as "Empty shops and run-down buildings on Union Street. Ugly skyscrapers. An unattractive and avoid-at-all-costs city centre. A stagnant culture scene." The stance of the group continues the guilt-tripping tactics started by Sir Ian Wood in November 2008 when he made his <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5134608.ece">initial announcement.</a> The rhetoric being used here is to suggest that the only way to "believe" in Aberdeen is to tear out it's heritage and cover the it over with concrete and astro-turf. Far from being an independantly-run support group, <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3933251933_b478b86566.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3933251933_b478b86566.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 375px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 500px;" /></a>when the Facebook group was first established it listed it's creator as Paul Robertson, leader of the <a href="http://www.aberdeencityyouthcouncil.com/">Aberdeen Youth Council</a>, and coincidently a member of the <a href="http://www.agcc.co.uk/steering-group-to-lead-project-for-new-city-centre-heart/">City Square Project steering group</a>. Administration and ownership of the group then passed onto Iain Corbett, another Youth Councillor who quickly sought to legitimise the group by demanding that "<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1560790#ixzz0cboCxo9O">Peacock should issue a public apology to Tom Smith and Sir Ian Wood without delay”</a> for comments made by a former employee Adam Proctor on twitter relating to the Public Consultation.<br />
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This attempt at a smear campaign against opponents to the City Square based on a personal opinion is a tad hippocritical considering that anonymous supporters of Sir Ian's plans have labeled those in opposition as "moaning indidviduals" users of the Gardens as "drunk, drugged up, unemployed yobs" in online <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1557381">Press and Journal comments</a>. In fact, the first online presence of the "Aberdeen Silent Majority" announced themselves in a <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=707990783508069233&postID=4113432565574542591">comment</a> on a previous post. <a href="http://theaberdeensilentmajority.wordpress.com/">A blog with with two entries</a>, the first an attack on the I heart UTG campaign and the second a critique of this humble blog. The blog was removed not long after, presumably to retain the silent nature of this "majority." This is a <span style="font-style: italic;">public</span> consultaton into a controversial issue, which means that the public will be able to have their say and express their feelings, both about the proposal and the way the entire process is being run, members of ACSEF are making public statements so should be ready for the general public to react to these statements.<br />
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Despite this, local press took it upon themselves to make a mountain from a molehill, or rather a City Square from a concrete slab. The Press and Journal's editorial line read <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1560118#ixzz0cgKG70Fa">"Whatever people think of the proposal, there should be no question but that the motives of the two men are entirely genuine"</a> and that this fact <a href="http://www.blogger.com/That,%20however,%20is%20not%20good%20enough%20for%20a%20few%20people%20who%20lack%20the%20ability%20to%20express%20themselves%20without%20resorting%20to%20insults.%20%20Read%20more:%20http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1560118#ixzz0cgKdgZUH">"</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/That,%20however,%20is%20not%20good%20enough%20for%20a%20few%20people%20who%20lack%20the%20ability%20to%20express%20themselves%20without%20resorting%20to%20insults.%20%20Read%20more:%20http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1560118#ixzz0cgKdgZUH">is not good enough for a few people who lack the ability to express themselves without resorting to insults."</a> This unsurprising editorial and the "Barstoolgate" article echoes the Press and Journal's <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1522832">"exclusive" expose</a> on the Tripping Up Trump campaign group claiming that the fact that many of the groups leaders did not live in Aberdeenshire meant the group's <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1523028#ixzz0cgNatt5x">"credibility is comprehensively blown apart"</a> allowing the paper to make the editorial statement that<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1523028#ixzz0cgNatt5x"> "This newspaper has given a voice to all those who have wished to become involved in the debate about Donald Trump’s plans. That courtesy was extended to Tripping Up Trump in the belief that it was bona fide group of local environmentalists. Today, it has been withdrawn." </a>Not only have they withdrawn their support for the group but also begun to <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1525684">release articles</a> actively making tenuous links in an attempt to discredit the supporters or members of the group.<br />
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<a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2174227&refRef=img&style=full" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/thumbnail.aspx?refId=2174227&refRef=img&style=full" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 250px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a>With the Press and Journal urging us to "Treat Garden Plans With Respect", even though the plans show no respect for the Gardens, they also emphasise that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1560118#ixzz0cgo29sKS">"Sir Ian, remember, is promising to commit £50million of his own money if the project goes ahead."</a> This is a big "if" and if we look closer at Uncle Ian's motivations and the nature of his "generous" donation of £50 million. It was this generous donation which launched the hastily thrown together plans for "decking over' the Denburn Valley, just a few days after confirmation of the last of public money for the Northern Light Centre. Sir Ian has admitted that <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/sir-ian-wood-pledges-pound-50m-gift-to-set-the-heart-of-aberdeen-beating-1.894533">"From a personal perspective, I consider the failure of Grampian Enterprise to achieve the backing and financial funds to achieve this in the early 90s to be my biggest failure as its first chairman and that has always bothered me"</a> and that if the people of Aberdeen do not support the project he would walk away. His money would not be available to the city to invest in any other project, such as the <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport-environment/go-ahead-for-bypass-despite-green-protests-1.993606">newly green-lit</a> Aberdeen Western Periphery Route which <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1561020">hasn't confirmed the whereabouts</a> of any of its £300-£400 million budget.<br />
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<blockquote><a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/sir-ian-wood-pledges-pound-50m-gift-to-set-the-heart-of-aberdeen-beating-1.894533">"Sir Ian has attached<span style="font-weight: bold;"> four conditions</span> to his £50m offer. The street-level square <span style="font-weight: bold;">must have a walk-on/walk-off from Union Street, Union Terrace and Rosemount Viaduct</span>; it must cover the <span style="font-weight: bold;">whole five-acre site</span> including the Denburn railway line and adjacent roadway; it is <span style="font-weight: bold;">subject to the outcome of the feasibility study</span> which will determine the cost and scale of the project and also subject to significant public sector funding being available; and it <span style="font-weight: bold;">must have the backing of Aberdeen City Council and the people of the north-east of Scotland.</span>"</a></blockquote>Sir Ian's conditions are not exactly flexible, a compromised approach with an eye to covering the road and railway while retaining the Gardens akin to the Millennium Square project of the late-nineties will not be considered. (Peacock architects, <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/">Brisac Gonzalez</a>, have actually come up with some inventive designs for ways of integrating the existing Union Terrace Gardens and Arts Centre with ways of covering the Gardens and achieving the conceptual desires of The City Square Project which will be <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=254663228895&ref=nf">on display at Peacock Visual Arts from Tuesday 19th</a>.) A bargain is only a bargain when you need it, and these rough and vague proposals backed with the £50 million donation will cost at least twice that from public funds as well as the removal of a historic part of Aberdeen's cityscape and the loss of £4.5 million investment and a scheme to highlight and revitalise the Gardens and create an opportunity for Aberdeen to diversify its interests and widen the range of industry supported in the City.<br />
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However, Sir Ian does not seem interested in diversifying Aberdeen's interests, even in the face of the decline of North Sea Oil he wishes to <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1387951?UserKey=">plough on</a>. In an <a href="http://fraserdenholm.tumblr.com/post/336098113">interview</a> on BBC Radio Scotland's "Good Morning Scotland" programe, Wood claimed the purpose of the square was to "attract the kinds of new industry, mainly energy related which try and give us jobs for our children or grandchildren." Although there is no evidence to support the idea that the building of a Square will have any benefits, economic or otherwise, or how exactly it will attract skilled workers or industry. The effects in small-scale investment in culture have been seen to have enermous effect in transforming post industrial areas such as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/dec/11/liverpool-capital-culture">Liverpool</a>, <a href="http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content%7Econtent=a778312445&db=all">Dundee</a>, <a href="http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/AboutGlasgow/History/Cultural+Renaissance.htm">Glasgow</a>, <a href="http://www.cababstractsplus.org/Abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=20043188622">Gateshead</a>.<br />
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Aberdeen has the chance to branch out and relieve the strain on the energy industry with all of Aberdeen's eggs placed in it's basket, but that chance no matter how much Sir Ian assures us that <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Public-get-their-say-on.5973128.jp">"a contemporary arts centre, built as part of what is a transformational development in the centre of Aberdeen, will cost less. They will get exactly what they want: lower costs, better prospect for viability", </a>Peacock's funding (The largest single capital grant from the SAC), two years preparitory work, an award winning design and an already spend £1Million would be lost. Sir Ian argued on STV News on Monday that he "didn't believe" the money would be lost, even though the <a href="http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/">Scottish Arts Council</a> will cease to exist in April with the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8201281.stm">emergence of Creative Scotland</a>, and the money must be committed or spent on other projects throughout Scotland before then. <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Public-get-their-say-on.5973128.jp">no<br />
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<div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">A website has been released, "<a href="http://www.comparethesquare.com/">Compare The Square</a>" which, does exactly what it says on the tin, and helpfully provides comparison in black and white between the two schemes. The <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens/signatures.html">I heart UTG Petition</a> continues to gain signatures and people who believe strongly about Saving Union Terrace Gardens should be encouraged to sign it, if they have not done so already. People should also get actively involved in the Public Consultation to make sure their opinions are heard.<br />
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<a href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47086000/jpg/_47086092_union_terrace_gardens_bbc_466.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47086000/jpg/_47086092_union_terrace_gardens_bbc_466.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 282px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 466px;" /></a>PLEASE also participate in the consultation by:<br />
Freephone: 0800 111 4881<br />
Text: Sending your thoughts by texting 60777 followed by the word ‘square’<br />
Email<a href="mailto:consultation@thecitysquareproposal.co.uk"><br />
consultation@thecitysquareproject.co.uk</a><br />
MORE INFORMATION:<br />
If you, or anybody you know, is feeling slightly confused then please spread the word of www.comparethesquare.com which discusses the options for Union Terrace Gardens in a simple and easy to understand manner.<br />
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ADVICE ON FILLING IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE:<br />
If you want to say NO to the City Square project then we would suggest the following method of completing the consultation survey:<br />
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Question 1: go to the fill-in box marked "other" and enter either "Retaining Union Terrace Gardens as they stand" or if you prefer "The Brisac Gonzales designed contemporary arts centre" or , indicating this is your number 1 preference. Leave the rest blank.<br />
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Question 2: go to the fill-in box marked "other" and enter "I do not support the city square project", indicating this as your number 1 preference. Leave the rest blank.<br />
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Question 3: "<span style="font-weight: bold;">no</span>" (!)<br />
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The reason for answering questions 1 and 2 would be in case the results are presented on the basis of completed surveys. This is one way in which survey data can be presented, and in the case of only answering one question on the survey, it would potentially allow that data to be excluded from the final report. This may not be the case of course, but we should be aware of the possibility.</div></div><div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-44879814695380748462009-12-15T20:11:00.007+00:002011-02-04T22:08:39.195+00:00City Square Project - The "Facts"<style>
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</style><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">With ACSEF's launch of the "City Square Project" earlier this month, they also produced a breifing note which has found its way into email inboxes throughout Aberdeen over the last two weeks. This note is to fulfill part of their communications strategy which states:</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"></span></span></div><blockquote>“Negative and mis-information provided by groups opposed to the project will be monitored so that their actions, which may have a negative impact on the project, can be anticipated and the presentation of clear facts and informed opinion made public.” </blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">While this document is an attempt to disseminate these "facts" the document has so many holes it puts Swiss Cheese to shame. It continues the line of misleading PR which has been "trotted out" about the project, using the same rhetoric and continuing to avoid any of the actual issues surrounding the project or providing any tangible evidence or examples of how this project addesses the perceived "problems" and "aspirations" ACSEF have identified.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">This post is my attempt to point out the points which have been ignored, haven't been considered, or appear to be simply wrong with it.<br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Background<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">ACSEF is spearheading a transformational city centre project that will be vital to<span style="color: #cc00cc;"> </span>delivering </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyb6WAUl5Qrrcx12N1XtIUcW31gW1Qo5AvO_a4C-BPDB3NSk_PK7ChWGzyNRfkiGDtLlYl5sARJvMRX1-NRShGGCVzkDvjYfBA8SRRNz5SCb28wRigFgFUFiAIQUb7gLqRPX5K2Ajz8AQ/s1600-h/square.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415811429188547090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyb6WAUl5Qrrcx12N1XtIUcW31gW1Qo5AvO_a4C-BPDB3NSk_PK7ChWGzyNRfkiGDtLlYl5sARJvMRX1-NRShGGCVzkDvjYfBA8SRRNz5SCb28wRigFgFUFiAIQUb7gLqRPX5K2Ajz8AQ/s400/square.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 219px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">the redevelopment of our city centre - one of the strategic priorities in ACSEF’s Economic Manifesto. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">In its action plan, shaped by 1,300 businesses, ACSEF states that Aberdeen city centre needs to be the vibrant heart of the region, the hub for all those that live, work and visit it, be that for business or pleasure.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The vision is to create </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">a more attractive, greener, better-connected, safer city centre with a unique civic space for recreation, leisure, and major events. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The aim is for the development of a cultural hub to experience the visual and performing arts, an accessible and enjoyable focal point and meeting place for the whole community right in the heart of the city centre. This is about enhancing the quality of life in our city.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/interior-view500pix.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/interior-view500pix.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 267px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 500px;" /></a><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">This point is addressed by the <a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/new-building/">“Northern Light” Contemporary Arts Centre Project</a>. The Centre will bring together Peacock Visual Arts, CityMoves Dance Space, Whitespace (Arts Development) and Aberdeen City Council's Arts Education teams. The centre will contain a restaurant, bar, shop, print workshop, TV Studio, Workshop space, Dance Studies, Exhibition Space, offices and conference suite.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Gray's%20School%20of%20Art" datetime="2009-12-15T15:04"></ins></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><span class="msoIns"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The region’s centre needs a vibrant, cultural civic space and gardens in the heart of the city. ACSEF’s project is driven by the need to create the jobs, wealth, opportunities and quality of life necessary to secure our long-term future. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p>ACSEF have yet to confirm exactly what jobs, wealth and opportunities will be provided with by the square. Other than jobs provided in construction, the fact that the square is not <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1443474" style="font-family: arial;">"</a></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1443474" style="font-family: arial;">about car parking or retail"</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> does not quite suggest where the jobs or wealth in the square will come from.<br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">An investment of this scale in the infrastructure of Aberdeen at this time will act as a catalyst to attract further investment and regeneration of the city centre. It signals the confidence of the Aberdeen community in its own success – now and in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">A capital investment of £4.3 Million pounds has already been made to the city centre. Furthering this project will mean that that money will have to be rejected and will be distributed to other projects throughout Scotland. Rejecting this possible investment will hardly inspire confidence in Aberdeen from future investors. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1XJ37eF1xfPJhO7dxf7JdyKxTn-TNOZinDj28SSqPsNmIGuIOZAMm2lLGclbKFeOHE-Zayaf74zST0m9A45XQ1LCzLR0_VjIhG64OVLafM9feAZQrziLvry1oXROs7-0UMHbExswQf0/s1600-h/22+Millenium+Square.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415874378985322306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1XJ37eF1xfPJhO7dxf7JdyKxTn-TNOZinDj28SSqPsNmIGuIOZAMm2lLGclbKFeOHE-Zayaf74zST0m9A45XQ1LCzLR0_VjIhG64OVLafM9feAZQrziLvry1oXROs7-0UMHbExswQf0/s400/22+Millenium+Square.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 461px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 165px;" /></a></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">This project has been considered before – over the last 20 years the development has</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">been led, promoted and championed by Aberdeen City Council. While in the past public sector funding had been identified, sufficient private sector funding to match this could not be sourced given the civic nature of the development. This time it is different – Sir Ian Wood’s offer to revitalise the opportunity means that we start from a position of strength when it comes to fund-raising.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;">Sir Ian Wood was head of Scottish Enterprise during the original proposals for the plan, and hesites the rejection of this scheme in the past as his </span><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/934729?UserKey=" style="color: red;">"biggest failure."</a><span style="color: red;"> Sir Ian </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7715864.stm" style="color: red;">announced the resurrection of the scheme</a><span style="color: red;">, promoted by his own personal investment only a week after the </span><a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/182/over-9m-of-core-funding-now-in-place" style="color: red;">confirmation of the final piece of public funding for the contemporary arts centre</a><span style="color: red;">, a project which would mean that his vision would never be able to taken forward.</span><br />
</o:p></span><br />
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The project represents an opportunity to firmly establish our position now and in the future as a global energy hub; the energy capital of the Eastern Hemisphere and the headquarters for administration and technology of major offshore oil and gas developments over the next 100 years and a leading developer and supplier of the technology, expertise and know how that will deliver alternative energy solutions be that deep water offshore wind, wave and tidal energy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Great cities need to be attractive - they need to offer good employment prospects but they also need to offer a diverse range of activities to attract and keep people, particularly those starting out in their careers. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">What is proposed?</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The proposal is to create a new public space – a city square with gardens – by redeveloping a strategically located central area of the city cen</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">tre - Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley, the adjacent railway line and Denburn dual carriageway. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eoGrqjyjc_bNjV7Ml0OBovxDYnsepOf3NdaGZn5ZuK6WGRu8AyZe_OubXn-PsaZNAL905Uk8GkFEedv78Of0jmwrpU1pfmxgoCgk8w8mg8QDkQhWBesVE14Ibfrat3YN86pURDPpjP8/s1600-h/stnicksquare.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415766746741262450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eoGrqjyjc_bNjV7Ml0OBovxDYnsepOf3NdaGZn5ZuK6WGRu8AyZe_OubXn-PsaZNAL905Uk8GkFEedv78Of0jmwrpU1pfmxgoCgk8w8mg8QDkQhWBesVE14Ibfrat3YN86pURDPpjP8/s400/stnicksquare.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 303px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Proposals have already been mooted to create a <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=3273&sID=1705">new civic square in place of St Nicholas house</a></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">. These plans have </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">been circulated since the mid 2000s and, like many redevelopment projects for Aberdeen, have yet to see any progression into physicality. <o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">This is about transforming Aberdeen City – a city that has been neglected in terms of investment in the city fabric and infrastructure which is really evident today and is reflected by a loss of civic pride.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The regeneration of this location would reclaim over five acres of city centre space and a further two acres of all-weather, covered space. This will create a new, central, cultural destination with street level access that attracts people and connects the key parts of the city centre - north to south and east to west at street level and down through the new square to the Green, Union Square and the train and bus station. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;">There is nothing to say that these links may also be achieved through the Gardens as they are currently. Linking the Denburn area to Union Square, the train and bush stations, would still involve descent to the level of the road and railway and passage through Union Bridge itself as well as the Trinity Centre and Station Hotel. Creating a street-level square would not bring Guild Street any closer.</span><br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The cultural aspect is crucial. There is real potential to bring together organisations involved in the performing and visual arts, building on the existing arts festivals to create a hub focused on enhancing the region’s cultural offering and attracting major events and fairs, street theatre and other arts-related activities. There is a vibrant and diverse arts community in this part of the world – creating a major indoor and outdoor space arts in the heart of the city would allow it to be showcased more widely.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;">Again, these issues can be addressed through the existing Contemporary Art Centre development.</span><br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">ACSEF wants to deliver a new space of 21<sup>st</sup>-century design with inspiring landscape architecture, public art and green space that truly reflects Aberdeen City and Shire’s success, prosperity and international status. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;">The square has been described as </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1521073#ixzz0Zn9mr4RQ" style="color: red; font-family: arial;">"seriously flawed and inappropriate for this iconic site."</a></span><span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"> by the Aberdeen Architects Network, and has been publicly criticised by respected architecture critics <a href="http://www.scottisharchitecture.com/blog/read/471">Stuart MacDonald OBE</a>, <a href="http://www.urbanrealm.co.uk/news/1543/Wilson%27s_Weekly_Wrap:_Urban_design_-_on_steroids.html">Peter Wilson</a> and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxW1iHNhZdk">Jonathon Meades</a>. This does not suggest that the square will be "inspiring landscape architecture." </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqH2jr1VeSxAwKnDFtPuwbllN9bz8r2RbX0FCdWVS_xc6MSqwXVLrO42ODx6Jc3BoxjtqsgiK019GW8k_cSFZ16n_4rXxHvb8xyIgCGDw3LrQV12_tr_Ze52MNupUkBuxwvIC8FrP5vU/s1600-h/belmont.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415789862917268338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqH2jr1VeSxAwKnDFtPuwbllN9bz8r2RbX0FCdWVS_xc6MSqwXVLrO42ODx6Jc3BoxjtqsgiK019GW8k_cSFZ16n_4rXxHvb8xyIgCGDw3LrQV12_tr_Ze52MNupUkBuxwvIC8FrP5vU/s400/belmont.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 382px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 400px;" /></a></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">One of the other key attractions is bringing the city centre into the sunlight. At the moment the gardens are in a North facing chasm. The elevation and covering of the Denburn would allow the back of Belmont Street, which gets the most of the day’s sun, to be opened up, potentially creating a vibrant and cosmopolitan café culture as enjoyed by many cities in the UK and Europe.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The back of Belmont Street already received most of the day’s sunlight. The abundance of bars with busy external terraces on Union Street proves this, the appeal is also the picturesque view of the Gardens. As is shown in ACSEF’s mock ups of the City Square, the new level will cover the existing terraces and much of the buildings and architecture of Belmont Street itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Creating a new vibrant heart for Aberdeen presents a unique opportunity to put us on the “must visit” list, attracting people and businesses and future investment. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The cost of the development has been estimated at £120-140 million. It is hoped that Sir Ian’s £50 million pledge will help lever further private sector investment and up to £70 million would come from public funds. ACSEF aims to access some of the long-term capital sources being explored for major infrastructure projects, adopting innovative funding models like those already being pursued by Glasgow and Edinburgh.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> The funding should not come from the council’s annual revenue budget. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></b></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Funding for maintenance, upkeep, cleaning and providing the many “attractions” on the square: Ice Rinks, Concerts, Public Art, Water Features would come from Aberdeen City Council’s annual revenue budget. The reason we have not seen such events in recent years is because of council cuts, in fact the 2009/2010 Hogmanay Street Party has been <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8327656.stm">axed</a> in the face of cutbacks. While ACSEF ascertain that the funding for the £140 million structure could come from a capital budget or from Scottish Government investment any of the events, fittings, fixtures, buildings, shrubs, grass etc must be maintained day to day by Aberdeen City Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Outcome of the Technical Feasibility Study</span></b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The technical feasibility study, led by a team of world-class experts, revealed that the scheme is both technically and financially viable and could cost between £120 and £140 million.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/3281909809_52f4ab6464.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/3281909809_52f4ab6464.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 331px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 500px;" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The Halliday Fraser Munro appraisal brings the estimate at £140 million yet </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">this cost is based on a number of “assumptions” and “exclusions.” Section 5.0 of the Davis Langdon produced Feasibility Estimate details some of these exclusions which include: Project Insurances; Works to Existing Highway; Phasing of works beyond current assumed programme; contributions to both Highways and Network Rail for disruption; Blast proofing for tunnel for rail and road. The full list runs to 25 Exclusions which are known to have, or <b>may</b> have, a cost implication; however the report itself clarifies, “the list is intended only as a guide and cannot be relied upon to be exhaustive.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Several of the exclusions are actual costs which will arise and are flagged in the report. With respect to out of hours working, while it is excluded from the Final costings, information given by Network Rail indicates that possession would only be given to the line for “9 hours at weekends and 5 hours during the week.“<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></a> Another exclusion concerns “Site acquisition fees/costs. Air rights, rights to light (or any third party compensation settlements), over sailing licences, sale or letting fees/costs”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></a> - this is quite a shortfall considering the report’s emphasis on acquisition of property: Section 4.3.8.4 suggests “acquiring third party rights could amount to approximately £10,000,000.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftn4" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The team of consultants, led by Halliday Fraser Munro, produced detailed studies of three options; a fully raised level and covering of the existing gardens, the railway and dual carriageway that creates eight acres of civic space in the heart of Aberdeen, a partial raised level and finally the enhancement of the existing gardens.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The second option, the partial covering is mostly identical to the Full Decking option, the main difference being that the deck does not fully meet at the Belmont Street edge. There was no investigation into a full compromise between the two proposed developments, which would see Union Terrace Gardens retained and ACSEF’s intentions for “</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">a more attractive, greener, better-connected, safer city centre” achieved. It was not until November when months of deliberation allowed for an <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704">“integrated” option to be investigated</a>, which was the reason why the Scottish Arts Council extended their deadline.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Each option was appraised against three main criteria of technical deliverability, planning and environmental issues and economic impact. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The ACSEF board gave the go-ahead for the fully raised and covered option to be progressed on the basis of the substantial economic benefits to be accrued and the fact that the project would make the city centre safer, better connected and more attractive, restoring a sense of civic pride.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">There are huge challenges in taking such an ambitious project forward. It will require vision and determination by ACSEF and its partners but also the citizens of Aberdeen City and Shire.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The plans are a radical re-design and re-structure of our city centre, not seen since the construction of Union Bridge and the Denburn Viaduct over 200 years ago. It provides a tantalising prize for us socially and economically and we must work together to win it.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The construction of Union Bridge and Union Street was again the vision of one man, however it led Aberdeen into a <a href="http://www.guidebooks-scotland.com/guidebooks-aberdeen-scotland.html">ten-year period of bankruptcy.</a></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The feasibility study states that such an ambitious vision will not be achieved through consideration of the third option – to enhance what is already there incorporating the current designs for a contemporary arts centre. This confines any improvement of public space to within the boundaries of Union Terrace Gardens and does not provide better connectivity or synergies with adjacent retail, cultural, arts or historic areas of the city centre.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">This point is completely at odds with two years of development and around £1million pounds worth of public money which has gone into the Peacock-led Centre for Contemporary Art. An Independent Economic Survey into the Art Centre has estimated that the centre will attract around 200, 000 people and £5 million to the city annually. </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">A fully raised Union Terrace Gardens provides linkages with surrounding streets and areas. Union Street, Belmont Street and Rosemount Viaduct are all identified as potential beneficiaries of a new raised civic space.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLOxe6Qo1NFjgk9FCTpo58O0eLZF5ZzpysQuxzTqdsrvZvUhW_EZeAVmjw7H-ctynkNpvGBwIMILkrc5cpFgRA4QsgH7_oybKp4b_LPoTJGnc4GyU8v_IsEQSl90HRdAsDK5u41hjzCM/s1600-h/construcy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415790630770484530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLOxe6Qo1NFjgk9FCTpo58O0eLZF5ZzpysQuxzTqdsrvZvUhW_EZeAVmjw7H-ctynkNpvGBwIMILkrc5cpFgRA4QsgH7_oybKp4b_LPoTJGnc4GyU8v_IsEQSl90HRdAsDK5u41hjzCM/s400/construcy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 243px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The Gardens will not be “raised” they will be removed entirely. The technical appraisal describes this in detail as </span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=10&MSID=14" style="color: red; font-family: arial;">“approximately 3,947 dump trucks of earth and 4,605 dump trucks of granite.” </a><span style="color: red; font-family: arial;">The Gardens will be dug out and replaced with the concrete and steel framework pictured in my previous post, and then a structure will be constructed on the top which will be landscaped. There is no space on the structure for anything like what we already have in Union Terrace Gardens, 78 mature trees will be removed, which cannot be replaced with anything of the same size or magnificence due to the artificial structure underneath. "Raising" the gardens is one of the most misleading pieces of rhetoric being promoted by ACSEF.</span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The report also highlights the potential for a fully raised civic space to act as a central pedestrian hub radiating outwards from the site to various city centre attractions and locations. Other possibilities at this early stage include the potential for underground transport connections. The space created could also host major leisure, cultural or complimentary commercial activities – both indoor and outdoor – which would counterbalance the Bon-Accord shopping centre and Union Square. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Contemporary Arts Centre – what is the position?<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The objectors to the scheme comprise primarily of Peacock Visual Arts supporters who believe that this project jeopardises their plans which have already been granted planning permission. Other objectors have voiced concerns over the loss of the historic gardens.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">There is also a great deal of objection to the cost involved in the scheme. It seems odd to marginalise the majority of objections which relate to the loss of Union Terrace Gardens, which are a vitally important piece of Aberdeen's heritage and Urban Landscape. Union Terrace Gardens are a vital piece of inner city green space, the 200 year old trees help in dealing with pollution in the city and a break from the uniform grey that Aberdeen is known for. The many objectors to the scheme have a number of issues around the development which are simply not being addressed.<br />
</span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Peacock has, to date, secured a major proportion of funding for its design through public sources but there is still a significant funding gap. The funds secured from Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Enterprise have been extended to allow ACSEF and Peacock to work together on an integrated solution.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">This “significant funding gap” comes to £4 million pounds which must be raised, which equates to a further 25% of the overall funding for the project. The “City Square Project” so far has an offer of £50 Million from Sir Ian Wood, if it’s plan progresses then it needs to raise in the region of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">at least</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"> £90 million from elsewhere. In what way is this any less significant than the funding gap faced by the Peacock project?<o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">ACSEF’s vision is about a radical transformation that will ensure the jobs and prosperity we need in the future. The scheme must therefore fulfill this ambition by being bold, iconic and inclusive and within key parameters. These are:<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;">Again, ACSEF can offer no evidence, examples or presidents of how this project will "ensure the jobs and prosperity." To the contrary all evidence would suggest that this project will provide nothing but cost to the taxpayer and the people of Aberdeen. Given that the square is to have no commercial or rental value and is "purely civic" in purpose, then how could it provide an ongoing revenue stream to see the city into the future?</span><br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">A civic space built across the area of Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley with sloping, sweeping stepped areas to accommodate level changes in the adjacent street level</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-right: 72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">A minimum of 2.5 acres of green landscaped garden space</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Walk on walk off access from the four access sides to the City Square - Union Terrace, Belmont Street, Union Bridge and Rosemount Viaduct.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Concourse covered level (beneath the street level surface) providing access through to Aberdeen Rail and Bus station, the Green and Union Square with natural light wells designed into the street level surface.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Full access for wheelchairs, prams and people with limited mobility</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Open spaces for major public gatherings</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Space available for a significant Contemporary Arts Centre of iconic design forming an integral part of the street level square. The aim would be to preserve the floor space and quality of natural light provided by the existing design.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Within these parameters, we want to see a contemporary arts centre that meets the needs of Peacock and the wider arts community or some sort of centre which significantly enhances the region’s cultural offering. An iconic building within these parameters could be the same size, have the same daylight, have an off square entrance and perhaps more importantly have alongside it other complementary cultural activities and facilities.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;"> Given that ACSEF's "Contemporary Art Centre" would have to exist underneath the surface of the square then it does not create the scope of itself becoming "an iconic building." In addition to this world-renowned Architects <a href="http://www.brisacgonzalez.com/">Brisac Gonzalez,</a> who are <a href="http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3111383">well known</a> for their work on contemporary cultural spaces</span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;"> have voiced serious misgivings about the proposal due to its size, the extensive use of an underground concourse level, and most importantly, the complete eradication of the greenery in the Denburn Valley.</span><br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">From the outset, ACSEF was adamant that a contemporary arts centre would play a major role in a scheme that offers significantly more benefits to citizens and the region, than a contemporary arts centre on its own and that funding can still be secured for this. ACSEF wants to create a cultural hub within the scheme that will regenerate culture in the city and be more inclusive than a contemporary arts centre, offering much wider cultural activities.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">ACSEF will strongly advocate that the Scottish Arts Council funding will continue to be available for such a centre within the bigger scheme.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">As Ian Munro from SAC has gone on record to say</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704#ixzz0Zn2y9uct" style="font-family: arial;">“Our joint board supported this project based on the original plans and designs in Union Terrace Gardens and the commitment is not automatically transferable to another project.”</a><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The Scottish Arts Council funding will “not continue to be available.” SAC does not programme capital investment for completion four years in the future. The SAC will also not award grants for projects in such an early stage. Adding to this the Scottish Arts Council will become </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Creative Scotland as of April next year, which has a much wider remit than SAC currently and a more stretched budge</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">t which, as yet, has not confirmed any Capital funds. ACSEF </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">are in no position to advocate the availability of the SAC grant.</span><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Public Consultation – what are we asking and what will we do with that information?</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The public consultation will begin on 11 January 2010 and run for eight weeks. We need to ensure that the views of the wider community are heard and that as many people from as many walks of life as possible participate.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The aim of the public consultation is to ensure that our proposals, which are at a very early stage, are fully understood so that people can put forward informed opinions on what they would like the space to comprise. But equally it will also give the opportunity to voice all views, for or against, on the project.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">How can a project which is “at a very early stage” be “fully understood”?<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">We want to find out if the people of Aberdeen want to transform our city centre and, if they do, what do they want to see in a new eight-acre, civic space that can be created by regeneration of the whole Denburn Valley.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;">This statement suggests that the only way to transform Aberdeen City Centre is to agree to the "City Square Project." Given that the Peacock development has been excluded as an option in the consultation, and it also boasts a knock-on transformation of the city centre. This may be construed as misleading. </span><br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Our proposals have not been consulted on and we need the public to tell us what their aspirations are and what could happen in the space.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The public need to be given the opportunity to imagine a transformed Aberdeen city centre and be given the confidence to believe that the city has the right to request infrastructure funding as Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh continue to do. Investment in our city centre structure is vital for Aberdeen and its future competitiveness and we need to believe and demonstrate that a new bold vision for the city is in our gift.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Dundee has secured in the region of £66m public sector funding for the waterfront development and is now seeking an additional £45m for the proposed Victoria & Albert Museum offshoot.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><span style="color: red;">The recent round of public investment in Dundee for the waterfront development follows on from initial investments in the city art the Millennium, several diverse, smaller scale projects such as Dundee Contemporary Arts and the Overgate Shopping Centre. The success of these projects has led to a regeneration of the city which has faciltated further investment. These schemes were well thought out ventures with definate purposes which have seen the city benefit greatly. The £45 Million pound proposal for theV&A was given credibility from the success of the DCA as an Arts institution which has gained an highly regarded international reputation both for the facility itself and the City of Dundee.</span></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">The settlement of the Edinburgh Trams has cost the public purse £80 million.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p>The settlement of the Edinburgh Trams was a payout over <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5776348.ece">a row about a contract</a> for works carried out by German contractors Bilfinger Berger. The settlement of £80 million was on top of an original estimate by the contractors of £120 million, with the final cost of the project threatening to be <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8281360.stm">£250 million over estimate</a> and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8040012.stm">a year late</a>.</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p>There is nothing to say that similar disputes and delays could come as part of the "City Square Project" causing it to run over budget, therefore it seems a little odd to use the pay out as a justification in Aberdeen taking on it's own massive infrastructural project. At least Edinburgh trams have a tangible purpose.<br />
</o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Glasgow has received hundreds of millions of public funding for various projects including the Commonwealth Games<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">At the end of the consultation we will present the findings to identify the level of support for the scheme going forward. If there is sufficient support we then launch a second wave of consultation to involve the community in the design of the new square and gardens – that is when this project starts to become real and exciting.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">There has been no information of yet as to how the findings will be collated, whether or not they will be independently assessed and exactly how the proposal will be presented. With the project being so vague and having the shallow promise to be all things to all people, then it would be highly enticing for everyone to suggest what they want within the space. The following section gives a list of features and functions which apparently have been indicated as wanted within the space, will these be the only options or can any possibility be suggested? If so, then how will unanticipated options proved by the people of Aberdeen factor into the overall costs?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">What could be in the 8-acre space?</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">ACSEF has consistently stated that the people of Aberdeen will tell us what they want in the space. Whether it is a grand design or a jigsaw of activities that flow and meet the aspirations of the majority will be decided by the public.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 100%;">· </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">To focus the consultation, some of the features and functions people have indicated they would like to see have been identified as:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">A cultural hub – a significant and potentially iconic attraction<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">A gathering space incorporating an outdoor performing stage and amphitheatre designed into the natural contours of the east/west elevation to attract major outdoor events.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Water features that recognise the significance of Aberdeen as a major port and harbour and the North Sea as its economic fortitude in the past, present and future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Celebration via art or physical exhibition space of the economic landscape of the region – with a focus on energy, demonstrating the huge contribution the industry has made to the region and the role people play in that success.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Green space – lawns, formal garden space and tree-lined avenues – a reflective place for recreation, contemplation, exercise and informal sports.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Landmark sculpture and public art.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Lighting features and design that will animate the square and gardens from day through to night.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Dedicated children’s play area for families to enjoy safely<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Seasonal displays and activities – an ice rink in winter – music festivals in summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Lower concourse level with natural light wells provides further performing arts space and, crucially, connectivity through to the transport hubs at the lower level of Guild Street.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 100%;">ü </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;">Sustainability at the forefront of the design, construction and maintenance.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 2.25pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span><br />
<hr align="left" style="font-size: 78%; height: 3px;" width="33%" /><div id="ftn"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Davis Langdon. Union Terrace Redevelopment Final Feasibility Estimate. Included as Section 8.6 Final Report: Union Terrace Gardens; Haliday Fraser Munro. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Haliday Fraser Munro, Section 4.3.2.4 Final Report: Union Terrace Gardens, 2009 “Overnight possessions would be 9hrs at weekends and 5 hrs during the week”</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div id="ftn"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[3]</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Davis Langdon. Union Terrace Redevelopment Final Feasibility Estimate. Included as Section 8.6 Final Report: Runion Terrace Gardens, Halliday Fraser Munro</span></div></div><div id="ftn"><div class="MsoFootnoteText"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=707990783508069233#_ftnref" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[4]</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Final Report: Union Terrace Gardens, Haliday Fraser Munro Section 4.3.8.4<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-707990783508069233.post-41134325655745425912009-12-02T11:53:00.020+00:002011-02-04T22:09:13.557+00:00This Time. This Place. This Generation. This MessFinally, after no less than six months, an <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8387182.stm">announcement</a> has been made by our friends at ACSEF about the almost-mythical public consultation into Sir Ian Wood's vainglorious plans for Aberdeen City Centre. The announcement has also come with a bonus prize of a <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/">branded identity package</a> for the project which is imaginatively titled the "City Square Project." This package includes a logo, a website, some basic clipart and a catchy tagline: "This Time. This Place. This Generation." Which is an interesting slogan for a project which "<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8387182.stm">is for the generation that will come after us."</a> The website itself contains just more of the same promises to <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/discover/">"create a vibrant, accessible, safe and connected public space"</a> which have been being touted for the last six months without any proof or hard evidence over exactly how six acres of concrete will achieve safety and vibrancy.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46833000/jpg/_46833968_union_terrace_gardens_466282.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46833000/jpg/_46833968_union_terrace_gardens_466282.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 282px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 466px;" /></a>The new wave of stunted PR also includes a new image of "what the square could look like" which is basically just a re-render of the <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/ShowGallery.aspx/Union_Terrace_Plans">old image</a> of "what the square could look like." As well as still showing pictues of tall healthy mature trees, (even though <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/uploads/reports/16/Final%20Report%20-%204.0%20Option%201%20Full%20Raised%20Level.pdf">"The new park due to its deck<br />
construction may not be able to support the same size of tree as is presently<br />
on the site."</a> (Page 65)), is at odds with earlier reports that ACSEF would <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704#ixzz0YXjdiyO8">"work closely with Peacock Visual Arts and the SAC over the next month to see if there was a way to resolve the issue and allow both developments to go ahead."</a><br />
<br />
Last month, even though Public consultation was supposed to be launched in early November, ACSEF announced that it <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704#ixzz0YXmUG1mv">"was postponing its consultation on the square...until the new year"</a> in the light of the Scottish Arts Council extending the funding deadline until March 2010 with the understanding that this extra time would be used to investigate the possibilities of a compromise option which could retain the Gardens andoriginal Arts Centre design while still achieving ACSEF's aims for the square: <a href="http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f274/Underflow/Wood001.jpg">"to see if it is possible to incorporate Peacock's design requirements and ACSEF's proposals into one scheme"</a> . It was understood that Brisac Gonzales would work closely with Halliday Fraser Munro to this end. Ian Munro, C0-Director of SAC was quick to point out that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1479704">“our joint board supported this project based on the original plans and designs in Union Terrace Gardens and the commitment is not automatically transferable to another project.”</a><br />
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</div><a href="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/Jonathan%20Speirs%20Lighting/jonathanspeirs6.500pix.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/files/NEW%20BUILDING/Jonathan%20Speirs%20Lighting/jonathanspeirs6.500pix.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 174px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 606px;" /></a>Details of the format of the consultation have yet to be released, but it has been revealed is that <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"leaflets will be posted to residents, exhibition stalls will be set up in city shopping centres, focus groups will hold discussions and a telephone hotline will be manned"</a>, presumably funded from the £40, 000 of revenue funding given to ACSEF by ACC back in June. <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"Aberdeen citizens will be asked whether they want the project to go ahead and, if so, what they would like to see in the detailed designs"</a>, leaving the actual content of the square to be unknown, jarring with Tom Smith's guarantee that <a href="http://www.blogger.com/The%20project%20is%20very%20real%20and%20properly%20thought%20through%20with%20foresight%20at%20every%20level.%20%20Read%20more:%20http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">"the project is very real and properly thought through with foresight at every level."</a> Foresight enough to not have any content as yet and properly thought through enough to have no actual idea of what the site will look like other than stretching between the four corners of the Denburn Valley or <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">“chasm”</a> as Mr Smith affectionately describes the area.<br />
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Should the outcome of the impending consultation be in favour of the "City Square Project" then this doesn't guarantee that it is actually going to happen, as is stated on the project site: <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/discover/">"it will need to gain planning permission and funding. There will also be further detailed consultation before submitting any planning application."</a> As I mentioned in a previous post, due to the nature of the Denburn Valley area, protected as Urban Green Space in the <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/planning/pla/pla_localplan_home.asp">Aberdeen Local Plan (2008)</a> obtaining planning permission <span style="font-style: italic;">should</span> cause problems. However this may not be a problem if the body responsible for submitting the planning application are actually <a href="http://www.acsef.co.uk/infoPageMS.cfm?pageID=13&MSID=17&CFID=3793379&CFTOKEN=73125439">leading the modernisation of the planning process .</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibN6I6RvjXhZuLzm8Ik8qagJx4pnojrUQpgZEv7iHUxVjnB6_IbamRRA6_I0cy3m97bFzjencMHW8kQoum88zn27obeIf8cob0botWrPibPlYwoPkpVMMIwXk8MU0xNkZ9tRuKrZxWU2c/s1600-h/IMG_0291.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411385000312981122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibN6I6RvjXhZuLzm8Ik8qagJx4pnojrUQpgZEv7iHUxVjnB6_IbamRRA6_I0cy3m97bFzjencMHW8kQoum88zn27obeIf8cob0botWrPibPlYwoPkpVMMIwXk8MU0xNkZ9tRuKrZxWU2c/s400/IMG_0291.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 300px;" /></a>With the future of this "City Square" full of uncertainty and its very existence threatening a project which has already gone through due process, gained planning permission, 75% of it's funding and actually has content, there is a very real risk that a few months down the line we could end up with nothing. On Tuesday, Leader of the Labour Group within ACC, Barney Crocket called for the Peacock proposal as it stands to be included in the public consultation as well as Wood's <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1507427#ixzz0YjDbb0cm">“We know that there is worry at Peacock about how the arts centre is involved in the consultation and we would certainly want to make sure everything is on the table. It would be a worry for the city to risk losing everything – we would like to make sure all options are considered.”</a> The closest an to an official line on the debacle from ACC was Council Leader, John Stewart who called for <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1502424#ixzz0YjJyEOUa">"a genuine, open and honest consultation. I really want to know what people think”</a> Mr Stewart has already received hundreds of emails in opposition to the Square, and the numbers of the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-new-contemporary-art-centre-in-union-terrace-gardens.html">online petition</a> continue to rise, which should provide a healthy estimate of "what people think." Despite this his he <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1502424#ixzz0YjMCDGs2">"had chosen to keep out of the debate"</a> and continue ACC's Laissez-faire attitude when it<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1512387"> comes to the concerns of the city </a>they have been elected to lead, and the constituents who voted them there.<br />
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<a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20081116/ai_n31016092/">"[The cost of the project] may come out at GBP200m, in which case it's dead. We absolutely </a><a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20081116/ai_n31016092/">won't raise GBP200m. If it's between GBP100m and GBP150m, we would have a fighting chance."</a> This was Ian Wood's original appraisal of cost issues around the square two weeks after his initial announcement, unsurprisingly the HFM technical appraisal brought the price in exactatly within his estimation, although it's not as though large <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8059987.stm">infrastructural</a> building plans ever come in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliament_Building#Timeline_of_cost_increases">anywhere near their original estimate</a>. Even <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvc4Vp6ESNCEdQ2f4FoANEM4-TJuujrvm1XXYiCCH_AEiq-JE-NvWf5kiWOlNJ5NGRpqVsxAefulEJyDKDCsBtzthn7wB0iKlW6KFaI37xywOKfMgqK9G7Szfql63o-6RZVU6Lh8PBxc/s1600-h/construcy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412214495030888386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvc4Vp6ESNCEdQ2f4FoANEM4-TJuujrvm1XXYiCCH_AEiq-JE-NvWf5kiWOlNJ5NGRpqVsxAefulEJyDKDCsBtzthn7wB0iKlW6KFaI37xywOKfMgqK9G7Szfql63o-6RZVU6Lh8PBxc/s400/construcy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 243px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a>then, with £50 million provided from Wood's own funds, and hopes that <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1502424#ixzz0YjakS621">"£20m can be raised from the private sector"</a>, this still leaves a shortfall of at least £70 million which must be met from public funds. Rita Stephen, ACSEF Development Manager, speaking on Northsound 2 on 6th December maintained the belief the the funds could come from the Scottish or UK Governments. A Scottish Government spokesman statued <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1507427#ixzz0Yvi24XrE">“We would consider any approach for funding on its own merits”</a> which may not be the most encouraging statement, given the project in one form or the other has had funding bids rejected three times previously.<br />
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</div>One possible way of raising the funds publicly is the proposal to introduce a <a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/regeneration/regen/reg_business_improvement_district.asp">Bus</a><a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/regeneration/regen/reg_business_improvement_district.asp">iness </a><a href="http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/regeneration/regen/reg_business_improvement_district.asp">Improvement District (BID)</a> to the city centre. A highly controversial scheme which has already been rejected in <a href="http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/Elections_Voting/Election_Results/GlasgowBusinessImprovementDistrict.htm">Glasgow</a>, would effectively place "Union Street, Market St et al" under private ownership of a City Centre Company, "which could sit under the umbrella of a city development company, or be stand alone entities under ACSEF." At the ACSEF annual forum in 11th June, North-East businesses were encouraged <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0Yk1Bx3P5">"to pay an extra 1% i</a><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0Yk1Bx3P5">n rates to help trigger a quarter of a billion pounds of new investment in the region’s future growth."</a><br />
<div class="Body"><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0YpBKEoPj"></a></div><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0YpBKEoPj"></a><br />
<a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1259121#ixzz0YpBKEoPj"><blockquote>"The money would be ring-fenced and used to <span style="font-weight: bold;">fund ACS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">EF priorities</span> such as the Energetica project, which aims to create a corridor of energy firms between Aberdeen and Peterhead, and the £140million Aberdeen civic square at Union Terrace Gardens."</blockquote></a> Essentially, it would appear, that an additional tax would be introduced onto City Centre business, forcing <span style="font-style: italic;">them</span> to pay for the square whether they want it or not. This "£25million over five years" and management of the city centre would be given, rather than directly to ACC (Who have announced they are facing another <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1510959">£25.5 million</a> of <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=council+cuts&submit=Go">cuts</a>), but to ACSEF, a non-elected group currently without legal status or any funds. Given the fact that businesses in the City Centre would have to pay even more rates on their premises hardly encourages suggestion that building this square could <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/discover/">"be the catalyst for the much needed regeneration of Union Street."</a><o:p></o:p><br />
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<div><div id="ftn"></div></div>Returning to the issue of the existing proposal for the Arts Centre and it's future in the site, with Despite <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/art-student-versus-millionaire-in-a-battle-for-a-city-s-heart-1.929558">Ian Wood</a> and <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1507427">Dave Blackwood </a>maintaining that "“It is absolutely not an either/or situation,” another opinion tells otherwise, while perhaps not entirely "either/or" it is certainly a case of "a bird in the hand..." While the in the "City Square" there <a href="http://www.thecitysquareproject.com/discover/">"could be an iconic contemporary arts centre"</a> (and there <a href="http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/935798"><span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> be a car park, <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> have shops, <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> have a restraunt, <span style="font-style: italic;">could</span> have an Energy centre</a>), the city square project has yet to have any solid purpose, attracted no funding and not been granted planning permission. The project has a long, difficult and costworthy road and there is a very high possibility that it simply will not go ahead at all.<br />
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Union Terrace Gardens are one of the highlights of Aberdeen, one of the symbols of the city and it's unique landscape an<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Union_Terrace_Gardens2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Union_Terrace_Gardens2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 208px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 278px;" /></a>d history. The real myth being <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1443474">"trotted out"</a> is that of underuse, Obsolescence and demonizing it as dark, scary and unsafe, and even if these were true or a massive problem, the solution should not be simply to rip it up and level it off. There are ways and means of regenerating an area, turning it around, and there is a project already very real sitting waiting to be realised. The growing numbers opposing this plan, signing the petition, writing to the council and asking questions show that people activelly care about not losing their Gardens. We can only hope that this public consoltation <span style="font-style: italic;">will</span> be <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1506877">“robust and comprehensive",</a> <a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1507427">"make sure everything is on the table"</a> and really make sure that the people of Aberdeen are allowed to have their say but the ability to do so educated on what ALL the options are for the sight and given honest and transparent information on exactly what will happen to the Gardens in each of these options.<br />
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</div>Fraser Denholmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304964112603810274noreply@blogger.com5