City improvements lined up for more than £1 million of funding

06 June 2019

Suspended street signage for the city centre, lighting on Union Bridge and improvements to an underpass were among a range of projects supported today by Aberdeen City Council’s City Growth and Resources Committee.

Detailed plans will be drawn up for the schemes, which total an estimated £1.2 million. They comprise:

Hayton Road – Street Design Project (estimated cost £90,000) Parklets (£80,000) Suspended Signage (£400,000) Intelligent Street Lighting Phase 2 (£125,000) Union Street Public Realm Phase 2 – Union Bridge lighting (£68,502) Mither Kirk – Funding requested for the replacement heating system (£390,000) Living Wall – Flourmill Lane (cost £60,000)

Council Co-Leader Councillor Douglas Lumsden said: “We are pleased to again be working in partnership with other organisations to progress plans for enhancing the amenity of the city centre and the wider area.”

Aberdeen Inspired has proposed creating parklets – which could include greenery or street art – to reactivate civic space and encourage greater footfall. The operator of the Business Operator District also put forward plans for suspended signage to improve wayfinding and atmosphere in the city centre.

A proposal to make improvements to an underpass connecting communities to their shops at the Fountain area on Great Northern Road (Woodside) and Hayton Road (Tillydrone) was also supported.

Aberdeen City Council is looking to add smart technology to 1,000 streetlights in the city centre, which would allow the level of illumination to be varied and their condition to be monitored remotely, aiding maintenance.

The works/contracts are to be started/signed before April 2020.

The Town Centre Capital Fund was set up by the Scottish Government to stimulate growth and can be used to improve access and infrastructure or to repurpose buildings for culture, tourism and enterprise.

The plans will be developed and taken back to committee ahead of an update going to the Scottish Government in November, which would include a detailed projected spend for each project.