Council aims for 3,000 more city centre residents

Council chiefs are preparing plans to boost Aberdeen city centre’s population by more than 20% in less than 20 years.

The local authority’s regeneration spokesman Ross Grant said the plan was to attract 3,000 more people to live in the area as part of their 25-year City Centre Masterplan launched in 2013.

But they are waiting for a report from real estate firm Savills which was commissioned to identify ways to help attract people back into the city centre.

There are currently about 16,500 residents living there. It is understood that plans are being drawn up to once again investigate partial pedestrianisation of parts of Union Street. However, opposition councillors have criticised the length of time it has taken the council to get a report, with funding for the study agreed in 2016.

Aberdeen Labour councillor Mr Grant said: “The Masterplan looks to create new and distinctive housing opportunities in terms of setting and scale.”

But opposition SNP leader Stephen Flynn said: “There will be a collective sigh from the people of Aberdeen when they realise that this work is massively overdue, with funds for a study first agreed in 2016.

“Ultimately, based on the comments from their spokesperson, people will be wondering why the administration bothered to spend public money on a delayed feasibility study when they seem to have already decided that they’re going to press ahead with this.”

“Why did they spend money on a study when they’ve decided”

Councillor Ross Grant, regeneration spokesman