There are a number of future developments in Aberdeen, Scotland that have been proposed or have begun to be constructed or inititated already. The majority are to upgrade the poor transport infrastructure of the city or to modernise the city centre, particularly around Union Street.
Many of the transport initiatives have come about as a result of the NESTRANS voluntry regional transport partnership.
Contents |
There are proposals at Aberdeen Airport to upgrade the runway by adding 300 metres in length.[1] This would potentially be long enough to accommodate long haul Boeing 747 aircraft, although the purpose is to create a better landing strip for smaller though equally long haul aircraft reaching North America and the Caribbean.[1]
In November 2010 a £10million plan to extend the runway of Aberdeen Airport with 124 meters was given the go ahead, with work expected to begin in March 2011 and end during summer 2012.[2]
There has been a significant negative response to the proposals from environmental campaigners.[3]
There are plans to build an £18 million Hilton Garden Inn hotel at the airport which is one of eleven hotel developments proposed in Aberdeen.[4]
The Aberdeen Crossrail project wants to see new stations built in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire as currently there are not enough stations to cover a high percentage of the population. The proposals could lead to a half-hourly commuter service between Inverurie, Aberdeen and Stonehaven during the daytime.[5]
Other railway proposals include:
The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is the proposed Aberdeen road bypass. With a costing estimated in excess of £300 million the project has seen much controversy from locals and environmentalists. Having been on the cards for a number of years the bypass was finally given the go ahead by the Scottish Government on 21 December 2009. Construction work on the project is likely to commence in 2011.[8]
On the 6th of October 2011 Aberdeen City Council voted to demolish St Nicholas House their previous headquarters and put the site on market afterwards this is due to the completion of the refurbishment of Marischal College earlier in 2011 which is now the Aberdeen City Councils New headquarters.[9]
Jamie Oliver has been given permission to convert half of the former Esslemont & Macintosh building on Union Street into one of his Italian restaurants the restaurant the restaurant will be open plan and take up two floors of the building.[10]
The City Square Project was proposed by Sir Ian Wood in December 2010 the aim of this project is to raise the Union Terrace Gardens to street level this has caused a lot of controversy among the people of Aberdeen with divided views on the project. A design contest was held which saw six designs being released two of which being chosen by the public. Between these two designs a winner will be chosen some point at the start of 2012. However a potential referendum may go ahead to decide whether or not to proceed with the project. This may be the case as many members of the public feel the gardens should be kept as they are and the money used for the City Square Project be used to modernise the Gardens.[11]
The former Broadford works site near the city centre may be redeveloped in the near future which would see New homes shops and restaurants opening in the area that has been empty for almost 7 years.[12]
Pittodrie Stadium is located at a site that is surrounded by other developments and so there is little room for manoeuvre to upgrade the site. The new site for the proposed stadium will be at Loirston Loch in the Cove area of Aberdeen. There has been much debate as to whether the stadium will benefit from this location but Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen FC prefer this site.
The site is worth £23 million[13] and is on prime real estate and so would be sold to help pay off the club's debt. The club and the city council envisage building a community stadium that would give the club guaranteed match day rental. This would lead to better cost efficiencies for the club and more use of the stadium for community projects and events.[13]
As Muir Group own the land around Loirston, there will be a new "village" created around the stadium at a later date and once they gain planning permission. Stewart Milne has also requested planning permission to build 350 homes on the Pittodrie Stadium site.
Planning permission has been granted to build an extension with enhanced changing facilities adjoining the existing Rubislaw Field Pavilion. The Rubislaw Playing Fields belong to Aberdeen City Council and are used mainly by Aberdeen Grammar School. A multi-purpose Astroturf pitch has been built.
In 2006 Trump purchased a 1,400-acre (5.7 km2) plot just north of Aberdeen at Menie (Balmedie), Scotland, with the intention of turning it into a £1 billion golf resort and "the world's best golf course" capable of hosting world class events such as The Open Championship.[14] There has been opposition from some locals and negative reaction from environmental groups, but the project continues.
The development plan for Trump International Golf Links, Scotland (TIGLS) included two 18-hole courses, a 5-star hotel, golf villas, holiday homes, and a golf academy. It was strongly supported by local business leaders[15] but met opposition from some local campaigners and from environmental groups anxious to preserve the 4,000-year-old sand dunes that are designated an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). Though recommended for approval by Aberdeenshire Council officials[16] the development was initially rejected by a local subcommittee of elected members. However it was subsequently approved following a controversial planning inquiry ordered by the Scottish Government in June 2008, at which Trump personally testified. Work began on the site in July 2010.[17]
In March 2009 the Trump Organisation had asked the Council to use its powers of compulsory purchase to acquire some areas of land at Balmedie not forming part of the original TIGLS site for which planning permission already existed. These included four family-owned properties.[18] In response local campaigners established Tripping Up Trump, a movement aimed at protecting the families at Menie being threatened with eviction. When it emerged at the end of January 2011 that Queen guitarist Brian May had agreed for the band's hit Bohemian Rhapsody to be used in a film highlighting the plight of the families, Trump appeared to deny in a media statement that there had ever been an eviction threat, declaring "we have no interest in compulsory purchase and have never applied for it."[19]
In September 2011 the Trump Organisation lodged a formal objection to the proposed construction of a wind farm off the Aberdeenshire coast not far from the site of the new hotel and luxury housing. Donald Trump also wrote personally to the First Minister of Scotland protesting mainly on aesthetic grounds at the proposed erection of offshore wind turbines, which he characterised as 'ugly'. His letter claimed that he was protesting on behalf of the Scottish people, 'not... merely for the benefit of Trump International Golf Links.' Donald Trump is not understood to have made any previous objection to any of the large number of other wind farms that have been built in rural locations in Scotland over recent years.[20]
The University of Aberdeen, partnered with Sport Scotland and Aberdeen council have started phase one of the sports village. Phase two will begin shortly next year. Some of the developments of the complexe include a state of the art gym, cafe, Olympic size swimming pool and large sports halls.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||