Sir Ian Wood wants to concrete over Union Terrace Gardens and turn it into a "city square".
Jesus, where do I start with this. Have you seen the plans. Concrete central. As a sop, there's a few trees thrown in for good measure, but essentially this is a slab of concrete. Just what we need.
Supporters claim there's more greenery than in the gardens as they are just now. They've wheeled out a tame horticulturalist who claims all the plants and trees are dying in the gardens as they get little sunlight. Tenuous stuff in the extreme.
Of course the idiots in charge of the city are in favour and the pathetic local rags are also in support. This cabal of delinquents are so in awe of the likes of Sir Ian Wood and Stewart Milne (who is unsurprisingly also in favour) that if they suggested building a leaking nuclear reactor in place of the Gardens they'd enthusiastically back the plan.
The £50m pledged by Wood has to be supplemented by the Council to the tune of at least £60m. Where in the name of Allah are they going to find that?
It's very magnanimous of Sir Ian to wish to leave a legacy to the city, although there is worrying talk of businesses in the city being pressurised into backing the plan and I've yet to hear a "normal" person in favour.
The likes of Union Terrace and Broad Street are windswept, cold places even on a decent summer's day. We are not Barcelona, Florence or Paris. We are Aberdeen and with our 5 days of nice weather a year, the last thing we need is a place to promenade. Think of the mess the place will get in on a Saturday night!
Now I know the Gardens are not wonderful. They are a no go area for many as they are full of junkies and winos. But the plans already in place for the regeneration are solid. Peacock Arts have a innovative plan for an Arts Centre, which already has planning permission.
The Victorian toilets, closed by the monkeys in charge years ago, are a work of art in themselves and there's plans to turn them into a restaurant. Spruce up the foliage, add a few cafes and coffee shops, get the Police to actually do their job and get rid of the jakeys, have the community wardens patrolling frequently and bob's your uncle. It'll cost a shedload less than £50million.
If Sir Ian wants to spend £50m, might I suggest he volunteers to clean all the granite buildings on Union Street, regenerates the original city square at Castlegate , buys some more art for the already excellent Art Gallery and assists demolishing St Nicholas House and that glass carbuncle they've thrown up on the side of His Majesty's Theatre and give me the change. :o)
But if he insists on concreting over the only greenery in the City Centre, then by all means do so as the New Pittodrie Stadium.
Music tonight - how about a bit of jazz? Cry me a River has been covered by every man/woman and their dog. For me, Julie London's version is the definitive and best - download it and judge for yourself, you will not be disappointed - tremendous off key double bass, sultry, velvety vocals, sublime and haunting.
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Share your concerns Macbeth. Can I have a long rant myself? ...Annie Lennox weighing in had me sceptical at first (but I still like sweet dreams are made of this) and essentially she is right about Aberdeen being blighted by provosts/councillors agreeing with architects to concrete over historical sites
ReplyDeleteMar's Castle and Jamieson's House were unbelievably demolished in favour of Seamount Court (flats) and the current registry office. Both these were similiar to what we know of today as Kings College and Provost Skene's House.
Building the current soon to be demolished St.Nicholas House meant destroying the old medieval quarter of Aberdeen that extended down to the Green (now being re-named by some flunky marketeer as "the merchant's quarter") . But finally they are going to demolish that eyesore and move into marschal college. But to see how they are ripping out everything inside the college is a disaster and it will cost the city's taxpayer untold millions in the future.
So it's no surprise they want to rip out 200 year old healthy elm trees and put some more concrete down. The maths also dont stalk up.....the Peacock arts centre was to cost 16 million...mostly from the public purse. Kate Dean said 1 year ago in a Guardian interview that it was the best thing for Aberdeen. Then , almost one year later , Deano and the delinquents are in awe at the magical mystique of private sector money and Woody's £50m donation offer and immediately change their minds about Peacock and support the concrete option instead which will cost 110 million in total (just because I think they are scared to do a Trump again and because Salmond jumped on the bandwagon ..witness recent photo op in evening express with woody, deano and salmond).
But hold on, that means 60 million from the public purse instead of 16 million. Who cares, it's only public money after all.
Bit of a vicious circle there ... if UTG is populated by 'junkies and winos', then they are only there because it is abandoned ... and therefore a peaceful place to go do the junk and the wine.
ReplyDeleteBut, the police record of crimes in UTG over the past couple of years is Zilch! ... So, either no one is going there to risk being abused, or ... people are going there and not being abused ( and therefore have nothing to report ) ... or .. 'winos and junkies' are peaceful folks intent on doing no harm to anyone but themselves ... or ... the J'n'ws hang about in the wee dark corners of UTG that other folks are not attracted to, ... or ... everyone who goes there must be a junkie or a wino, and therefore their love of the place is to be dismissed, .. or ... maybe, the whole 'place is full of j'n'w's and thereby 'dangerous' is what folks who dont go there want the rest of us to believe?
Ach, go see it for yourselves ... bring a big hefty mate with you if it reassures you .... but statistically, it is the safest place of it's size in the whole of Aberdeen .. and more beautiful than almost any .... and if more of us 'normal' folks go there, even with our 'hefty mates' for assurance, then no-one will be able to argue that the place is full of junkies and winos! .... just keep your hefty mates on a lead :)