Two years ago, our family joined one of the largest demonstrations ever to be held in the City of Aberdeen. We and thousands of others demonstrated against the many cuts threatened for education, social care, sports centres, parks and so forth. The Dafter made up her own slogan and chanted it the entire length of Union Street: “Cut the cuts! Cut the cuts!” It was sleeting and snowing, and we saw loads of other people we knew, including the Dafter’s headmaster and teachers, and many of our neighbours. Despite our protests, teachers and classroom assistants lost their jobs, secondary subjects have been cut in high schools across the city, and many worthy charities that help the vulnerable have had their funding axed. Arts organisations are similarly suffering. But hey, this is Austerity Britain – or is it?
One of my first blog posts, in May 2010, recorded our sadness and shock that despite a public referendum voting against the project, Aberdeen City Council had voted to spend £70 million on “improving” Union Terrace Gardens. This project came about because local businessman Sir Ian Wood had offered £50 million to revamp the gardens. More recently, I shared some of the design entries for the “City Square” project. The winning design is “The Granite Web”. How an unelected consortium of businesspeople is allowed to shape the fate of a public park has never been explained, but clearly Aberdeen City Council is allowing it to happen.
Now, with ongoing public outcry, Sir Ian has agreed to finance another referendum to ask the citizens of Aberdeen if we want to keep Union Terrace Gardens, or go with the business community’s dream of The Granite Web. Here is a newsletter we received urging us to vote for their scheme.
A newsletter from those behind "The Granite Web"
Meanwhile those who love the Victorian gardens and think the Granite Web would be an act of vandalism, are also campaigning:
A bicycling campaigner to save Union Terrace Gardens
The signs below ask a few pertinent questions (in rather unidiomatic English): “You want our taxes to pay for more shops? You want to take our garden? And you build on it? And we pay for it?”
A householder uses their front garden to appeal for us to Save Union Terrace Gardens
And this morning I read that First Minister Alex Salmond – whose government overturned the Site of Special Scientific Interest status of the moving dunes so that Donald Trump could build his golf course north of Aberdeen – has now backed “The Granite Web”. Apparently people across the city are changing their minds about the scheme, and you hear people saying, “Everyone knows you need to spend money to make money”.
Curiously, this is not the stance of the local government in any other respect. Well, you know how we used our referendum votes. Sigh!
Ho Hum…sounds all too familiar! We all have our own views on Alex Salmond and his so called fab policies for Scotland!
By: heikeknits on February 20, 2012
at 2:20 pm
Very frustrating, and quite sad. One of the things I noticed about living in Aberdeen is how money-focussed the place is, no doubt due to the oil boom. I lived in Rosemount and regularly walked past these gardens, it’ll be a real shame if they do go.
By: tearoomdelights on February 20, 2012
at 2:24 pm
the Granite web sounds rather ominous. i like the sound of gardens much more. couldn’t they just use the money to tidy things up a bit and put in a few more flowers and trees?
By: ajb47 on February 20, 2012
at 8:22 pm
What’s that old song from the 70′s? ‘We’ll pave paradise and put up a parking lot!’, dum da dum dum!
I’m sorry that Donald Trump is blighting your country, too!
That sort of thing is world wide, I’m afraid. They cut down the century old trees, rip out the beautiful gardens, tear down the historical buildings and they call it ‘progress’. Progress for whom? Those who profit. Sad. xx
By: Karen on February 20, 2012
at 10:10 pm
Too sad to loose greenspaces. We need them!!
By: Relyn on February 21, 2012
at 11:31 pm
Thanks for your messages of agreement. I think you’re quite right, ajb, the money could be used to restore the gardens rather than demolish them. And Karen, yes wasn’t that Joni Mitchell? Exactly. (And don’t get me started on Trump…) But it seems obvious to me that business people are lining their pockets with this scheme. I find it sad that so many residents apparently believe that the “Granite Web” is the way forward.
At least they have realised that people want gardens and not a huge paved-over square, which was their first idea. They have also changed the plan to keep the nature of the valley, whereas the first project was to fill in the Denburn valley. That’s the most positive thing I can say about it and I really hope that people vote it down. If they don’t, I hope I am pleasantly surprised.
“Progress” indeed… Like the destruction of the town of Bath in the 1970s. If German bombers had done it in WWII, people would be outraged, but if it’s our own city councils, well then that’s different!
Stepping off my soapbox now!
By: christinelaennec on February 23, 2012
at 11:35 am