Apr 152011
 

By Bob Smith.

Destroy  his vision at yer peril
Ye bunch o ignorant plebs
He’s  mair money than the lot o ye
An aat includes ony media celebs

He thinks ye’ve gin aff yer heid
If ye turn doon his generous offers
We’ll nae survive withoot him
There’s nae  money in city coffers

Neen o yer speil  he wints ti hear
Aboot the green lungs o the city
Iss is  aboot pittin lots o dosh
In   his Acsef cronies kitty

A  fine specimen o a  roof gairden
Fae  some architect wull be seen
The toon centre  transformed says he
Fair sparkling  in front o yer een

Faa‘s mou dis aa iss crap cum fae?
O aye yon millionaire mannie Widdie
Some think  the billie a richt gweed chiel
Ti the rest  he’s  a  bliddy diddie

©Bob Smith “The Poetry Mannie” 2011

 

Clock Ticking For Triple Kirks And The Peregrines

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion  Comments Off on Clock Ticking For Triple Kirks And The Peregrines
Mar 252011
 

In January 2011, Richard Pelling posted a blog entitled Triple Kirks Nonsultation?’ about what was going on at The Triple Kirks site. At this stage, the plans for the site had already been subject to intense local criticism, inspired a poem and had even received a bit of a national mauling in Private Eye (Eye 1279, page 16). Richard now brings us up to date.

In February,  Stewart Milne Group (SMG) submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) screening option request to determine if they would need to carry out an EIA prior to submitting plans – to which we of course made comment.

It turns out that given that the site is less than 0.5 hectares in size and “does not fall within a sensitive area”,  no EIA is required.

So, the presence of the Schedule 1 listed Peregrine Falcons on site apparently does not merit any special attention and no study of the potential impact on them is required. Sad.

While on the subject of the majestic Peregrine, it is worth pointing out that the registered address of SMG is, ironically, Peregrine House in Westhill. Want more irony? Of course you do! One of the items cited in the Corporate Social Responsibility section of the SMG website is Protecting our Native Birds.

With the pesky matter of the requirement for an EIA out of the way, the plans for the proposed development were duly submitted to Aberdeen City Council in March.

Now on the aforementioned Corporate Social Responsibility section of the SMG website, I was pleased to read the following :

“Protecting our Heritage – Historic buildings are a vital part of this nation’s heritage, and one particularly close to our heart”.

So in line with this statement, would the final plans represent a volt face, meaning that Archibald Simpson’s Triple Kirks site would be treated in a sympathetic manner? Would the soaring A-listed spire now be afforded the respect it deserves? Nae chance. Perusal of the application on-line – P110303 – reveals that they look remarkably similar to those being peddled during the nonsultation exercise – quelle surprise.

Surely the site deserves more than the bland and insipid glazed shed that that some would say desecrates the Triple Kirks site and detracts from the surrounding historic streetscape? Why bother to give a building A-listed status if it can be treated with such disregard? Please check out the plans and then make your comments on the application – you have until 31st March 2011 to do this.

Remember that if you commented in the initial nonsultation exercise or in response to planning application P110056, you need to do it all over again for this one – P110303 – in order to make your views known.

If you have concerns on the impact on the spire, it would also be worth contacting Historic Scotland directly – I’m sure they will have something to say in response to seeing the plans anyway – but it’s good to let them know that you care about the fate of the Triple Kirks spire (Historic Building No. 19940).

As for the fate of the Peregrines, if you are worried about how this development may impact them it is certainly worth contacting Scottish Natural Heritage to express your concerns. The SMG website shows that they have apparently been funding some RSPB projects in Scotland, so could this mean that the RSPB may be reluctant to stand up for the Triple Kirks falcons? If you are an RSPB member perhaps you might consider dropping them an e-mail to ask them to fight for the falcons.

Anyway, whatever you feel like doing, please do it … the clock is ticking on Triple Kirks! So as the saying goes, act now or forever hold your peace.

As a footnote, it was nice to see the Rosemount Review report that :

‘ Rosemount Community Council rejected new plans to develop the derelict Triple Kirks site last night. The community council concluded that the new designs were “not in keeping with the area”. ‘

Giving Away Union Terrace Gardens

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion  Comments Off on Giving Away Union Terrace Gardens
Mar 182011
 

By Mike Shepherd.

On April 27th, Councillors will be asked to vote to transfer the lease for Union Terrace Gardens to a third party body, either a limited company or a trust.

If the vote is passed, the Council will still nominally own the park, however control of the property will effectively be transferred by this action.

The public will not be aware of this coming up unless they have the skill and patience to dig through the multitude of reports on the Council website and find the appropriate report where this is mentioned. Even then, a subsequent report has only been issued to Councillors.

This came out on the 23rd February and includes a timetable for the City Square Project, the highly-controversial proposal to replace the city centre park with a three storey building and a roof garden. The relevant item concerns the full Council meeting on the 27th April as detailed below. Note that SPV is an acronym for Special Purpose Vehicle, essentially the limited company that will be designated to take the project through to planning permission and beyond.

“Paper to Council seeking approval of the SPV project business plan, approval to lease Council land to the SPV and permission for the SPV to take the project forward, subject to approval of the final detailed design scheme.”

In the next column is the following:

“ACGT will produce a business plan for the operation of the SPV up to the point where planning consent is obtained.”

This is a key sentence; the ACGT referred to here is the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust, a limited company formed in January this year.  Thus it looks as if there is some link between the SPV referred to in the timetable and the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust.

this is an attempt to force the issue on the City Square Project well in advance of planning permission being sought.

Who exactly are the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust? This is a good question as you will find very little in the media about the company. My understanding is that the trust has been formed by the businessmen involved in funding the project as a means of finding extra private funds to finance it and to take on key tasks such as managing the design competition.

Additional information comes from the articles of association for the trust which can be purchased from the Companies House website. These mention two board members, businessman Tom Smith who is also Chairman of ACSEF and Colin Crosby who is President of the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. It is not known who else is on the board. However, it is clear that there is as yet no council involvement. The articles mention that the Council have the option at any time to become a special member of the group.

The objects of the company are stated and are as follows:

The urban regeneration of Union Terrace Gardens and the Denburn Valley (the Gardens Site) to create a new civic space and gardens with the aim of creating jobs, investment and improving the quality of life for the citizens of Aberdeen. The civic space and gardens shall:

  • Include at least 5 acres of city square and gardens;
  • Provide improved accessibility to green space by allowing walk on, walk off street level access from all four sides;
  • Create at least 2.5 acres of all-weather covered space beneath the square and gardens at concourse level;
  • Incorporate key aspects of the heritage of the current gardens, including the arches, viaduct and Union Street Bridge at concourse level;
  • Cover the road and railway; and provide easy access to public transport;
  • To promote, operate and maintain the new civic space and gardens for the benefit of the citizens of Aberdeen.

 

Elsewhere within the articles we read of the powers of the trust. Two of these powers are of note:

– to purchase, take on lease, hire, or otherwise acquire, any property or rights which are suitable for the company’s activities;

– to sell, let, hire out, license, or otherwise dispose of, all or any part of the propertyand rights of the company;

A Press and Journal article provides extra information about the limited company. It has recieved more than £400,000 from Sir Ian Wood’s family trust and has received a grant of £375,000 from Scottish Enterprise through funding available for major infrastructure projects (note that this £375,000 did not come from the Peacock grant as mistakenly reported in a previous P&J article). The company will also be responsible for managing the international design competition which is intended to produce designs for the proposed city square in August.

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2172588

There are many issues involved; some of these are discussed here:

Control of the Property: If the vote is passed on the 27th April, Councillors will be approving to transfer control of Union Terrace Gardens to an SPV, likely to be a limited company / trust (possibly the City Gardens Trust). I have been told by the Council executive that the likely term of the lease will be 125 years. The Council will nominally own the property although a long term lease will in practice hand over total operational control to the SPV.

The vote to approve transferring the lease in April looks to be premature. The final design is not due to be approved until December this year and planning permission will not be sought until May 2012. By contrast Peacock Visual Arts were given planning permission for their arts centre in the Gardens and only then did the question of transferring the lease arise (they were never granted it). My opinion is that this is an attempt to force the issue on the City Square Project well in advance of planning permission being sought.

Implications for the Design Competition: We are told by the P&J that the City Gardens Trust will run the design competition. This does appear to limit the scope of the competition however. The stated objectives of the Trust are exactly in line with Sir Ian Wood’s strict conditions for the City Square Project, that is – walk on, walk off street level access from all four sides.

This precludes any options that consider decking over the railway line and road but keeping the Gardens substantially intact; or improving the existing Gardens only.  There are plans later this year for an item which the timetable describes as:

“short-listed design proposals subjected to public scrutiny.”

The word consultation has not been used here, although this is what the item appears to allude to. It has already been stated in a Council meeting that option to keep the gardens substantially as they are will not be included at this stage.  Thus the public will only be asked to ‘scrutinise’ between modern designs for Aberdeen city centre.

The Involvement of Scottish Enterprise: It is poignant that the Scottish Government body, Scottish Enterprise have given a £375,000 grant to the City Gardens Trust when they also funded the public consultation where the public said no to the project with a sizable majority (1,270).

There are many in Aberdeen that are appalled at the loss of heritage should Union Terrace Gardens be built over with and a modern city square put in its place.  Now it also looks as if public control of the property will be transferred from the Council to a third party organisation about which not a great deal is known. If like me, you are appalled at what has been proposed and the way it is being done, write to your councillors and let them know what you think.

They can be contacted through the website:  www.writetothem.com

Please also consider joining the campaign group the Friends of Union Terrace Gardens on www.friendsofutg.org

You’ve Been Trumped – New Documentary Goes Viral

 Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Events, Featured, Information  Comments Off on You’ve Been Trumped – New Documentary Goes Viral
Mar 112011
 

With thanks to Martin Glegg and Helen Thomas.

You’ve Been Trumped – a new documentary investigating the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Donald Trump golf course development near Aberdeen, Scotland has gone viral – with an innovative crowd sourcing drive to finish the film in time for its world premiere at the beginning of May 2011.

The feature length film, which includes music from Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Ros, has been selected to premiere at ‘arguably the best showcase in the world for documentary’, according to its production team.

The filmmakers were arrested and put in prison cells by Grampian Police whilst making the film.  The Director, Anthony Baxter was also handcuffed in what the National Union of Journalists described as ‘a blatant example of police interference aimed at stopping bona fide journalists from doing their job’.

Now, to complete the documentary for cinema release, the producers are embracing crowd sourcing, which has been pioneered by some of world’s top filmmakers such as Kevin Macdonald, the director of hit films such as Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland.  The film is aiming to raise £12,000 in 50 days through the website Indiegogo.

In its first day of crowd sourcing, You’ve Been Trumped raised almost £2,000 with donations coming in from around the world.  The filmmakers are offering ‘Perks’ to contribute to the film, such as signed DVDs by jonsi, and a guided walk along the coast to the village where Local Hero was filmed.   The story of the residents on the Menie Estate where Donald Trump is building a £750 million golf resort, has been likened to the classic 1983 film starring Burt Lancaster.

The exact location of the premiere of You’ve Been Trumped is top secret until a news launch on 23 March 2011.

The Peacock Grant And The City Square Project

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion  Comments Off on The Peacock Grant And The City Square Project
Mar 082011
 

The City Square Project is a highly controversial proposal to replace Union Terrace Gardens with a  three-storey building topped by a modern city square. This week, unlikely as it seems the scheme became more controversial as Mike Shepherd tells Aberdeen Voice.

The latest revelations concern the luckless Peacock Visual Arts (PVA) proposal for Union Terrace Gardens.

The local art group, Peacock Visual Arts, had planned to build a “centre for contemporary arts” in part of the Gardens. The £13.5 million building was to contain a gallery, a TV studio, a print studio, a restaurant and offices for Peacock Staff.

The intention was also to provide a base for Aberdeen City Council’s Arts Development and Arts Education teams as well as extra space for the City Moves dance agency. The project had been awarded funding from Aberdeen Council (£3 million), the Scottish Arts Council (£4.3M) and the Scottish Government body, Scottish Enterprise (£2 million).

See:-  http://www.peacockvisualarts.com/archive/182/over-9m-of-core-funding-now-in-place

After planning permission was granted to Peacock in August 2008 by the Council, Sir Ian Wood then stepped in and in November 2008 announced his own plans for Union Terrace Gardens, a civic square described by him as “a cross between the Grand Italian Piazza and a mini Central Park”.  Scottish Enterprise paid for a technical feasibility study for the City Square Project and then promoted the consultation to gauge public opinion on the issue.  Aberdeen Council now found themselves faced with two projects competing for the same lease of ground.  Councillors later decided at a full Council meeting in May 2010 to support the City Square scheme rather than the Peacock Visual Arts centre.

The Peacock contemporary arts centre was effectively killed off by the May Council vote

In reply to a recent question as to what was spent out of the Peacock grant,  Scottish Enterprise listed £190,000 spent on the technical feasibility study for the City Square Project and  £226,000 spent by Peacock on architect, design and project management costs. No indication is given as to when the agreements to do this were signed off.

See:- http://fraserdenholm.blogspot.com/2011/02/use-it-or-lose-it.html?spref=fb

Thus money intended for the Peacock scheme looks to have been allocated to a feasibility study for a rival project which ended up replacing the Peacock scheme itself as the Council’s preference (Scottish Enterprise, it should be said, have acknowledged that if the PVA plan had been approved they would have honoured the £2 million grant).

It was later reported in a Press and Journal article that Aberdeen Council had secured permission to use a further £375,000 of the grant funding for the City Square Project. What this money is to be used for is not allowed to be, as yet, in the public domain.

See:- http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2153115?UserKey

The Press and Journal  report states that the Peacock grant now stands today at  £1.2 million out of the original £2 million allocated. The grant was left open after the vote in May. According to information provided by Scottish Enterprise the money is nominally available to fund similar projects to the Peacock scheme until the end of March this year, at which point it has to be returned back to central funds.

The Council monitoring officer has been asked to launch an investigation into the matter

The Peacock contemporary arts centre was effectively killed off by the May Council vote. Although Peacock had been asked to locate their arts centre within the proposed city square building, this proved unacceptable to them and there was no chance of an alternative proposal surfacing in time for the March 2011 deadline.

The Council executive confirmed to Scottish Enterprise in November 2010 that the Peacock funding was no longer required; they nevertheless made a request to reallocate the funds to alternative projects under revised terms. Kevin Stewart, the Council’s finance convenor, told the Press and Journal that seven proposals had been drawn up, costed and presented to Scottish Enterprise.

See:- http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2154909

In response to a question I had asked him as to whether the money could be given to Peacock for new facilities, Cllr. Stewart replied that:

“Council officers put forward a number of worthy projects that could use the funding, including Peacock, but these were all rejected by Scottish Enterprise.”

The £1.2 million grant to Aberdeen Council from Scottish Enterprise now looks as if it will have to be returned to central government funds at the end of March. The Council monitoring officer has been asked to launch an investigation into the matter under the Local Government in Scotland Act.

See:- http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2163875

Item Grant Allocated from
the grant
Amount remaining
in grant
Original Peacock Grant 

 

£2 million
Technical Feasibility Studyxx
for the City Square Project 

 

£190,000
Spent by Peacock 

 

£226,000 £1, 584,000  (“£1.6 million)
Additional funding for the
City Square Project (P&J) 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

£375,000

£1,209,000 (“£1.2 million”)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What is Urban Sprawl and Why Should I Care?

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Environment, Featured, Information  Comments Off on What is Urban Sprawl and Why Should I Care?
Mar 042011
 

The Aberdeen City and Shire landscape today bears little resemblance to the landscape of the past.  Voice’s Suzanne Kelly asks – Is this progress, or is this progress towards ill health, lack of biodiversity, and urban sprawl?

Back in the late 1950s, NASA (the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration) started its missions  and started photographing our planet from space.

Over the decades a major change in our planet became apparent to the NASA scientists:  we were rapidly destroying green areas, quickly expanding the surface area our cities, and covering previously green areas with non-porous material – usually asphalt and concrete.
The face of the planet was visibly changing, and the term ‘Urban Sprawl’ came into being.

Urban Sprawl is not just an ambiguous catchphrase – it is a very real phenomenon recognised by scientists and environmentalists from NASA through National Geographic.

If any of these items sound familiar to you,  you will understand Urban Sprawl and why it has to be slowed if not halted:-

  • increased air pollution and ‘particulates’ from car use, and associated health problems (asthma, heart disease, effects on unborn, types of cancers)
  • Increases in other forms of pollution, including light pollution
  • Inadequate facilities, e.g.: cultural, emergency, healthcare, and so forth for population size
  • Inefficient street layouts
  • Inflated costs for public transportation
  • Lost time and productivity due to time spent commuting; less personal time for relaxation and recreation
  • High levels of racial and socioeconomic segregation; deprived neighbourhoods
  • Low diversity of housing and business types (identikit houses packed closely together)
  • Health problem increases e.g. obesity due to less exercise and more time in cars
  • Less space for conservation and parks
  • High per-capita use of energy, land, and water
  • Loss of biodiversity

Urban Sprawl is changing Aberdeen and the Shire – and it is virtually irreversible

Last week I received an email from J Leonard, an Aberdeen Planning official.  He explains that we need to kill (or cull if you prefer) the small number of deer on Tullos Hill in order to protect trees the City has a grant to plant (£200k value in total).  He explained that when the trees are grown, deer and squirrels can then live in the area (thankfully the deer have been spared), and that Tullos Hill is ‘in the heart of an urban environment’.

This is what Urban Sprawl does – it takes over the greenbelt land bit by bit, until there is only a bubble of natural land left here and there, or what builders euphemistically call ‘wildlife corridors’ – small areas of land connecting remaining green areas. I was speaking to an older Aberdeen resident who distinctly remembers a time before the Altens Industrial Estate existed, and tells me of a green paradise teeming with many types of wildlife.

Now we have a few open areas but notably south of the city centre, we have turned part of the coast into a waste tip we had to cap just recently, and we added a sewage plant to the coast and are planning hundreds of houses in this sensitive area. Aberdeen Football Club intends to put a 21,000-seat stadium on land adjacent to Loirston Loch in the River Dee SAC (Special Area of Conservation).

We are failing to listen to the residents in these areas who currently enjoy a relatively rural area and whose lives will change greatly

The area holds remaining pockets of creatures such as (apparently protected) otters and bats as well as rare plants and animals (as per the Council’s own sign on Loirston Loch).  There will be no real environmental benefits associated with this stadium (indeed the pre-planning reports come up with about 40 negative permanent environmental impacts – but says we will get a ‘wildlife corridor’ where we now have open fields and an uninterrupted SAC).

However, we are told we will get ‘job creation’ and an ‘iconic building’ by Margaret Bochel of Aberdeen City Planning who endorsed the stadium plan.  Somehow, the only place the Council and AFC are willing to put this building is on greenbelt land, which we will never get back and which will never be the same.

We are told that Aberdeen needs to ‘ensure its future prosperity’, and our elected officials, builders, planners and business organisations tell us we must keep building and expanding.  The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, a new runway / airport extension, the 21,000 seat ‘community’ stadium, and of course transforming the Victorian gardens of Union Terrace Gardens into a ‘public square’ are large examples of proposed new structures — structures which we are meant to believe equate to economic prosperity (despite costing the taxpayer tens of millions or more per project).

The housing developments springing up like mushrooms are, we are told, going to be ‘modern’, ‘competitive’, and ‘attractive to inward investment’.  We are failing to listen to the residents in these areas who currently enjoy a relatively rural area and whose lives will change greatly:  they have resoundingly said they do not want development.  We are told there is a housing shortage (although many homes and office buildings in the city centre are vacant), and these developments are needed from Stonehaven to Inverurie and throughout the shire – on any bit of ground available.

Whether or not such building works will ensure future prosperity (can you ensure future economic success at all?), there is one truth about all of these projects:  they are all examples of Urban Sprawl.

What’s so important about Air Pollution, Light Pollution, and Biodiversity? Air Pollution

The link between air pollution and forms of heart and respiratory disease is now well acknowledge and documented.

There are cities such as Los Angeles and Hong Kong which issue daily air quality reports – recognising that bad air quality can directly cause illness such as asthma attacks.

Vehicle exhaust is a considerable factor in creating air pollution; ‘particulates’ created as a product of combustion engines are a part of the air pollution cocktail as are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur.  A brief search of the British Medical Journal yields results such articles as:

And a quote from ‘Air pollution and daily mortality in  London:  1987-92 reads:

“The 1952 London smog episode was associated with a twofold to threefold increase in mortality and showed beyond doubt that air pollution episodes could be harmful to health.”

Car parking lots are coated with various chemicals associated with vehicles; these get into the soil with rain and snow.  And thus these pollutants can enter the food chain.

Light Pollution:  Really?

Until the Industrial Age, the planet was dark at night.  Now (as satellite photos demonstrate) city areas emit light all night long.  The problem with this is it is definitely affecting the breeding cycle of birds, insects including butterflies and moths, bats and other creatures.  We are changing an integral part of our ecosystem.  These creatures are largely responsible for pollinating our crops and keeping other insect pests in check.

Light pollution is a real and worrying phenomenon, and we need to reduce night-time lights.  If nothing else, saving electricity and energy will help save cities money, and global warming certainly is not helped by lighting up large portions of the night sky.  There is also research to show that light pollution can slow down the way in which air pollution breaks down.

It is safe to say that having a red, glow-in-the-dark football stadium on what is now greenbelt open land in Loirston will be detrimental to creatures that can currently live and hunt there.

each new housing estate is eating up our greenbelt land and urban sprawl threatens our health and well-being on several fronts

Mark Parsons, Mark Shardlow and Charlotte Bruce-White are all experts in the fields of insect life and conservation; they have authored an article ‘Light pollution – a menace to moths, and much more for Butterfly Conservation.  In it they present strong evidence from around the world that manmade light pollution is interfering in a very negative way with insect ilfe cycles.

Recommendations the article makes include:

  • Light should be kept to a functional minimum in all areas
  • Lights that emit a broad spectrum of light with a high UV component should be avoided
  • Aquatic environments and areas of high conservation value are potentially particularly sensitive to light pollution.  Lighting schemes in these areas should be carefully planned to avoid negative impacts

This last point is totally contrary to what is proposed at Loirston Loch.

Biodiversity

Again, the ecosystem is being changed at an alarming rate.  We are removing habitat – and without land to live and forage in, we will continue to lose animal populations and whole species.

What alternatives are there to continuous building and more urban sprawl?

How accurate are these assertions we have to keep building and using up the greenbelt?  The stadium for instance – how necessary is it?  The existing stadium at Pittodrie could be modernised.  Norwich FC recently rebuilt its stadium – the same is most definitely possible for Pittodrie.  Cities across the UK have lost millions bidding for, and hosting international competitions; prosperity is not automatic with a stadium.

We have to keep pumping money into the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.  As to reported housing shortage, we know that there are thousands of empty houses both in the public and private sectors, and rather than new builds, using some of our vast quantities of unused offices and converting these to homes would be the more economical and more ecologically sound way forward.

Aside from the tens millions of pounds of taxpayer money any one of these new structures will drain from the public purse from consultation through to design, execution, use and maintenance, there is another price to be paid.  Each of these projects, and each new housing estate is eating up our greenbelt land and urban sprawl threatens our health and well-being on several fronts.

Wildlife tourism could be encouraged – as it is, the RSPB estimate that Scotland is visited by thousands who want to see our unique birds and other wildlife – perhaps we could preserve habitats, encourage our existing wildlife, and promote our natural resources more widely?

The EU is taking this very real problem seriously, and the US is realising the ramifications as well – perhaps it is time for Aberdeen’s planning and development professionals to wake up to urban sprawl’s threats as well.

Further resources:

  • EU Environment Agency publication, “Urban Sprawl in Europe – the ignored challenge”
  • Butterfly Conservation (Magazine of the Butterfly Conservation) Issue No. 106 ‘ Light Pollution – a menace to moths, and much more’

Want to take action?: Write to your local community council, city council planning department, MSP and MEP to express concern Visit your local wildlife sanctuaries, the city’s coastal areas, Loirston Loch Support conservation charities such as the RSPB, Butterfly Conservation, the John Muir Trust

Union Terrace Gardens – Their Use And Value To Aberdeen City

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion  Comments Off on Union Terrace Gardens – Their Use And Value To Aberdeen City
Feb 252011
 

By Mick Miller.

Over the months that the debate over the development of Aberdeen city centre has raged, one argument often fielded by those in support of the City Square Project is: “Union Terrace Gardens aren’t used.”
This raises the issue of “use” – what does it mean for a space to be used?

Here are some reflections on this.

Firstly, Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) are used. They are used by people, like most parks and open space, when the weather is good and people have the free time to use them. They are used regularly by people who live in the city and own a dog for example, or who have no garden of their own. They are used by office and shop workers when the weather is good and the need to take lunchtime relaxation is fulfilled by sitting in the sun rather than perhaps a stroll around the art gallery or shops. I know this because when I worked in Aberdeen city centre I used to struggle to get a seat in UTG on a sunny lunchtime!

They provide safe space for families away from traffic concerns. Union Terrace Gardens are used at the weekend by those who live close, and not so close, as recreation and relaxation space. They are used by visitors to the city who value them as part of their visit ‘experience’; that is as a part of what makes Aberdeen distinct as a place to visit. The above photograph  shows quite clearly the gardens in use on a good sunny Saturday.

Of course they are used in many other ways. They act to define the city space, to give a ‘green heart’ to the surrounding city scape. Because they are sunken they give a unique perspective on the city . Looking up from the garden towards His Majesty’s Theatre and St Marks with the Wallace statue in the foreground is one of the defining views of Aberdeen. Like the UTG itself Aberdeen would not be Aberdeen without it.

Ornithologists can spot the peregrines that nest on the ruined steeple of Triple Kirks. Bat lovers can gather at dusk to watch these enchanting mammals flit in and out of the gardens lamp light chasing their prey in a silent whirlwind. It takes a long time for a park space to achieve the diversity and richness that is UTG – destroy it and it would never be recovered.

Just by being there, Union Terrace Gardens are used. This is in common with all city centre garden space. The photograph attached shows Princes Street Garden in Edinburgh.

Not packed – but valueless because of it?

One would hardly think so.

Edinburgh residents would never contemplate decking over this space. The gardens in Edinburgh are as much a part of the City as the Castle.

Of course Edinburgh do utilise the garden space in a far better way than Aberdeen. They are maintained better; at Christmas they are bedecked with lights and an ice rink installed. Aberdeen Council used to do this sort of thing too but over the years have allowed UTG to fall into disrepair. This represents an appalling neglect of a valuable public asset.

UTG is of course not used in a ‘commercial’ way. The commercial interests that would likely dominate any development on the site would doubtless seek to maximise the value of the space primarily in terms of monetary and commercial value. The City Square ultimately must ‘improve’ the space in this regard in order to have any chance of viability.

This discontent with Union Terrace Gardens seems to have some link with the need for Aberdeen to emulate somewhere else. But why?

Sir Ian Wood has argued that he wants to see a combination of a mini – Central Park (as found in New York City) and an Italian piazza. Central Park, co-incidentally, was established in 1873 – just about the same time as Union Terrace Gardens, give or take a few years . It serves a population of some 1.7 million people – and that’s just Manhattan without the other 4 Boroughs that go to make up New York as a whole or the tourists that frequent the city.

It has more in common with Union Terrace Gardens in terms of maturity, make-up and value to the community than anything that the much touted design competition for the city square might come up with. Central Park has history that makes it what it is today.

The piazza concept should give cause for concern. Wikipedia describes it thus:

“In Britain piazza generally refers to a paved open pedestrian space without grass or planting”.

Piazzas work in Italy and other Mediterranean countries because they have long hours of hot sunshine and, more importantly, a historical significance that embeds them in the country’s culture. You can’t import them into a place that has no connection with the way of life that they reflect. Look at the upper deck of the St Nicholas Centre to see how it works in Aberdeen.

This discontent with Union Terrace Gardens seems to have some link with the need for Aberdeen to emulate somewhere else. But why? Where Aberdeen has attempted such an approach the results have been dismal. Go to any of the shopping malls including the horrendous Union Square and you could be anywhere, in any shopping centre, in the UK.

Meanwhile the old E&M premises, an icon of Aberdeen, crumbles its way through another winter. The City Square Project will have the same effect; stripping away yet another facet of Aberdeen that actually makes Aberdeen, well, Aberdeen! As a consequence adding to the catalogue of destruction that has over the years de-valued the city’s architectural significance; eroding that which makes Aberdeen a unique and beautiful city.

Mick Miller, 9 February 2011.

City Deevilment Company

 Articles, Creative Writing, Opinion, Satire and Humour  Comments Off on City Deevilment Company
Feb 252011
 

By Bob Smith.

Jist hud on a wee meen’tie
Noo fit’s aa iss crap?
A City Development Co.
Ti pit us aa on e map

Maist likely a Deevilment Co
Is fit fowk micht jalouse
Tryin ti sneak throwe ideas
So UTG we wid lose

Awa wi yer cooncil haverins
Dinna listen ti them craw
If private sector’s involved
It’ll be nae eese ava

The heid-bummer o the company
Is ti be a business mannie
We’ll hae ti be richt vigilant
So’s e buggers they ca canny

Transferin assets o oor toon
Am nae happy wi at aa
Iss micht be legalised robbery
O city “treasures” fit are braw

Noo aroon the eyn o April
Aathing micht become mair clear
Aiberdonians afore aat tho’
Shud stan up an bliddy jeer

©Bob Smith “The Poetry Mannie” 2010

Aberdeen A Go-Go – It All Happens In April

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion  Comments Off on Aberdeen A Go-Go – It All Happens In April
Feb 182011
 

Last year, Aberdeen was posted for sale on eBay. Come April, this may not seem much of a joke any more. Mike Shepherd explains why.

Two major events take place in Aberdeen this April which could change the political and actual landscape of the city for ever, when details of the assets to be transferred to the City Development Company are to be announced. Then on 27 April, the Council meets to approve transfer of a lease for Union Terrace Gardens to the limited company intended to develop the park.

The Aberdeen City Development Company has recently been registered as a limited company. This is a joint venture between Aberdeen City Council and local businessmen. The intention is for the Council to transfer assets into the Company and for both the Council and the private businesses involved to profit share from the development of the assets.

Controversially, although the Council nominally controls the Company, six of the twelve man board will be from business. The chair will be a private sector appointee and will have a casting vote, meaning that there is private sector control of the Company at board level.

The Coun­cil has iden­ti­fied 59 assets which could potentially be transferred to the Devel­op­ment Com­pany. Of these, 14 have been short-listed as suit­able for devel­op­ment. The Coun­cil has not revealed which assets these are, although details should be made available at the April Finance Committee meeting.

The aims of the Company are stated as being charitable, with the idea of using the profits to regenerate the poorer parts of the city. A subsidiary property company will also be formed which will be used to sell off assets considered unsuitable for development by the main company.
https://aberdeenvoice.com/2010/11/aberdeen-for-sale-the-aberdeen-city-development-company/

On April 27, the full Council meets and it is likely that Union Terrace Gardens will dominate the agenda.  A timetable for the City Square project was issued for the Council meeting on 6 October last year.
http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=9525

In it, 27 April was earmarked for a vote that seeks approval to lease Council land to the company designated to take the project forward through and beyond planning submission. This company,  the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust,  was  registered as a limited company last month.

I’ve been told by the Council Executive that the Council intends to retain ownership of the land and would probably assign a 125 year lease for the property to the Trust. There is a major drawback to this though. Under recent Scottish Government legislation,  it is now possible for someone sitting on a long term lease to convert the lease into outright ownership.

It is likely that the Gardens have been partly built on common good land; however, even this may make no difference. The Edinburgh Evening News recently quoted a Scottish Government Minister as saying that a proposed exemption in this legislation for common good land would open the door to frequent and expensive litigation.

http://news.scotsman.com/news/SNP-opposes-common-good-legal.6714542.jp

It also looks as if the Project Management Board for the City Square is hoping to launch the architectural competition in April. Councillors have been told that there are ‘procurement issues’ in awarding a contract to a suitable company to manage the competition. The company may not be in place before the end of March.

Kevin may have a hard job persuading local voters to support his views

If the launch happens in April, expect a lot of public relations activity to go with this. They will be hoping to drown out the furore that will result from the proposal to transfer the lease.

The Scottish Parliamentary elections will be held on Thursday May 5,  only a few days after the April Council meeting. It is almost certain that the fate of Union Terrace Gardens will be a subject of major debate at the hustings. The SNP group leader in the Council, Kevin Stewart, will be standing against the current MSP, Labour’s Lewis Macdonald for the Central Aberdeen seat. Lewis only has a 382 vote majority from the last election and the SNP sees the constituency as one of their top targets. Kevin is a member of the board for the City Garden Project and the SNP councillors have mostly voted for progressing the project in Council votes. Cllr. Muriel Jaffray is a notable exception.

Kevin may have a hard job persuading local voters to support his views on the City Square. A recent poll run by Craig Adams indicated that out of a sample of 1,140 participants, only 87 (7.6%) supported Sir Ian Wood’s scheme.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=2wBkyUzY5LwdryXec_2b936w1BLixjo8dtX4egHwLTFbs_3d

Another event happens in April. The Royal wedding takes place on the 29th and the day has been declared a national holiday. Unless perhaps, you live in Aberdeen. The STV website has reported that Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce is carrying out a survey of its members to find out if they would give staff the day off and found that many firms were undecided.

“The Chamber said that many contracts of employment state an employee is entitled to a fixed number of public holidays so this means they are not entitled to the additional day off. Employees whose contracts state that they are entitled to all public holidays would be entitled to take the day off.”
http://local.stv.tv/aberdeen/news/6233-uncertainty-over-royal-wedding-holiday/

Apart from a few local businessmen, Aberdeen may not be a happy place this April.

Menie Masterplan Must Be Revised To Protect Residents

 Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Information, Opinion  Comments Off on Menie Masterplan Must Be Revised To Protect Residents
Feb 182011
 

By Bennachie Blether.

Residents at Menie who have spent years under threat of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) for their homes have breathed a sigh of relief with news of a statement from Donald Trump that his organisation will not ask Aberdeenshire Council to use their powers to purchase the land.

However, since the news broke last week, significant evidence in the form of a letter to planning chiefs at the council shows that Trump International Golf Links Scotland (TIGLS) did indeed ask for CPOs to be administered.

Menie resident David Milne issued a press release which also contained the letter in question. He said:

“There is an element of relief to be gained from the recent statement from Donald Trump regarding his decision not to use Compulsory Purchase Orders in relation to his housing development here at Menie. However, the statement has been treated with scepticism by myself and many others simply because in his statement he claims never to have actually requested CPOs in the first place, this is untrue.

“The letters show quite clearly that a formal request for CPOs to be used was made on March 4, 2009 and was the result of some considerable prior discussion. Therefore until such time a formal letter withdrawing the request is made public, this application can be reinstated at any time.”

Planning permission for the £750m championship golf course, 450 room hotel, 950 holiday apartments and 500 residential homes was granted in May 2009.

In a further twist to the ongoing saga, local councillor Debra Storr has written to Aberdeenshire Council to point out that as there is no prospect of Trump acquiring the properties of the Menie families, the Masterplan, which includes these properties, is no longer valid.

According to Councillor Storr:

“The Masterplan now needs to be redone to reflect the reality that the Trump Organisation is not going to get control of the land owned by the Menie families. The Trump Organisation has made it clear that it intends to work round these properties and Aberdeenshire Council needs to see the detail of that.

“I have therefore asked the council whether they have told the Trump Organisation that a revised masterplan is required and when we may expect to see the revised plans.

the council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period

“The Menie families are concerned that they will continue to suffer harassment by the Trump Organisation and therefore it is to everyone’s benefit if a revised Masterplan is submitted to show how the families will be able to peacefully enjoy their properties within the resort development.”

Ms Storr added:

“We have already seen the building of ‘temporary’ bunds at Hermit Point and Leyton Cottage. Therefore I do worry that Aberdeenshire’s cosy relationship with the developer will mean that the legitimate interests of the families will not be protected.”

Councillor Storr has written to both Iain Gabriel, director of Infrastructure Services, and Christine Gore, director of Corporate Services at Aberdeenshire Council asking for confirmation that the local authority has advised the Trump Organisation regarding the masterplan situation and when the revised masterplan can be expected.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said:

“We are currently considering whether the approved masterplan for this development requires to be revisited.”

Commenting on the issue, Trump International executive vice president Sarah Malone gave the view:

“Debra Storr appears to be confused and is yet again attempting to create problems where there are none.”

However, fellow councillor Martin Ford backed Ms Storr’s call for new plans:

“The bid for compulsory purchase was just one of the unreasonable demands Mr Trump has made in connection with his proposed resort development. We will never know whether Aberdeenshire Council or the Scottish Government would have done Mr Trump’s bidding this time too.”

“One consequence of Mr Trump abandoning his demands for his neighbours homes is that the approved masterplan for the development is no longer implementable. It includes the land the residents’ homes are built on.

“This raised the question of whether the planning condition requiring a masterplan can now reasonably be said to have been fulfilled.

“In his statement, Mr Trump claims that he has ‘no interest in compulsory purchase’ and ‘never applied for it’. That is downright untrue.

“Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote to Aberdeenshire Council formally requesting the council to exercise its power of compulsory purchase to acquire eight plots of land on behalf of TIGLS. The eight properties were listed and included were the homes of four families.

“Aberdeenshire Council could and should have made it clear long ago that compulsory purchase was not an option it would support. To that extent, the council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period.

“The council’s shameful failure to stand up to Mr Trump’s bullying has caused lasting damage to its reputation.”

Councillor Ford also paid tribute to the Tripping Up Trump campaign, adding:

“I want to pay tribute to the well-organised and effective campaign run in support of the Menie residents.”

“The thousands of people who actively helped the Tripping Up Trump campaign were defending important principles, and last month’s statement from Mr Trump is effectively an admission that the campaign has worked. Thank you to everyone who took part.”