Festive fun could be a huge distraction

Concerns have been raised that office workers could be distracted by towering fairground rides erected as part of Aberdeen’s Christmas celebrations.

The Christmas Village event moved from Union Terrace to Broad Street last year, delaying the £3.2 million part pedestrianisation project as the road had to be temporarily Tarmacked.

It will be held there once again this year, but now there are also workers in the £107m Marischal Square scheme.

At yesterday’s meeting of the city growth committee, SNP group leader Stephen Flynn said he worried that tenants at the offices, shops and restaurants could be annoyed by the festivities.

He added he would like to ensure none of the stalls were in competition with the existing food and drink venues in Marischal Square, given the council’s investment in the latter.

Aberdeen Inspired’s Kate Timperley said the event would be designed to complement existing businesses.

Feedback from last year’s event, compiled by the chamber of commerce, emerged last week. It painted a mixed picture, with the positives including statistics that showed 74% of visitors rated the village as “good or excellent”.

However, while 2016’s attraction had a gross net economic impact of £1.7m million, last year’s event provided a net boost in region of just £500,000.

Liberal Democrat group leader Ian Yuill expressed concern that planning for the event was only just beginning when “we have known when Christmas is for 2018 years”.

Ms Timperley said that work was undertaken in preparation.

Last year’s Aberdeen Christmas Village on Broad Street