Reminder to people to take part in public consultation into review of City Centre Masterplan and the beach
25 June 2021
People are reminded they have a week left to take part in a public consultation into a review of the City Centre Masterplan and the beach which asks people to take into consideration how their views on the areas have changed due to coronavirus.
The consultation asks people to allocate points to indicate how important a potential improvement is. The specific areas for the city centre include Union Street, the west end, Schoolhill/Upperkirkgate/Belmont Street, and the Castlegate. People are asked to consider potential improvement projects in these areas and the expected impact of these is also given. For the beach, people are asked to consider sports and leisure activities, public spaces including connection to the city centre, and the Beach Ballroom.
The consultation comes after the CCMP review was agreed at city growth and resources committee last month. The City Centre Masterplan, which is designed to invigorate the area over 25 years with both public and private investment, was first approved in 2015 and there have been several achievements to date including the completion of Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Music Hall, Marischal Square, and Broad Street.
Over the coming months, there will be completion of Provost Skene’s House and the regeneration of Union Terrace Gardens.
So far, 4,391 people have taken part in the online consultation and there is just a week left until it finishes on Friday 2 July.
Aberdeen City Council City Centre Masterplan spokesperson Councillor Marie Boulton said: “It is great to see so many people have taken part in the consultation already as it shows how passionately people feel about the future of the city centre and the beach area.
“We have achieved a lot of positive changes for the city centre such as the completion of Aberdeen Art Gallery, the Music Hall, Marischal Square, and Broad Street and soon there will be completion of Provost Skene’s House and the regeneration of Union Terrace Gardens.
“I’d encourage everyone to take part to find out what the public’s priorities are while reflecting on what we have learned in the past year of restrictions and changes due to coronavirus including how Aberdeen can be suitable for all regardless of your mobility or age.”
People taking part in the online consultation are asked to consider that everyone has developed a better understanding of the important role that good quality public spaces can have to supporting and improving health and wellbeing. This was seen by the number of people visiting areas of the city such as the beach during the easing of lockdown restrictions.
The consultation also adds that Aberdeen City Council had to respond to challenges presented by Covid-19 such as providing safe spaces for pedestrian movement and access to local businesses, eg pedestrianisation of parts of Union Street as part of Spaces for People.
The public consultation is available at https://communityplanningaberdeen.pointsimulator.com/. The consultation is to finish on 2 July. Further inquiries can be made through contacting CCMP@aberdeencity.gov.uk.