Draft Bon Accord Quarter Masterplan
Redeveloping Aberdeen City Centre
Draft Bon Accord Quarter Masterplan (*)
Plans to transform Aberdeen city centre into a vibrant new retail and leisure community have been unveiled by The Scottish Retail Property Limited Partnership, owner of the Bon Accord and St Nicholas Centres and a long term investor in the city.
The scheme, dubbed the Bon Accord Quarter, will be a mixed use development, bringing new jobs, shops, restaurants and cafés, public space, plus private and affordable homes. Shoppers, residents, businesses and visitors in the city will benefit from improved connectivity, enhanced public realm, easy access and car parking.
These proposals are designed to cement the growing reputation of the city as a popular place to shop, live and relax.
No decision has yet been taken by Aberdeen City Council as it is vital that the people of Aberdeen have their say so that the plans agreed reflect the hopes and dreams of local residents and businesses.
Draft Masterplan
Aberdeen is a living, commercial city with a strong reputation as a popular regional centre. As such, it needs to keep pace with a growing population, personal spending power and expectations of greater consumer choice.
The driving aim of the masterplan is to create a vibrant, mixed-use city centre with retail, public space and local amenities. There will be three defined ‘hearts’:
Retail Heart (picture 1 above): Involving John Lewis, the Bon Accord Centre and St Nicholas Centre and a new department store, combined with contemporary links connecting the entire Bon Accord Quarter site.
Green Heart (picture 2 above): A public realm area providing a place to rest and enjoy the amenity of the St Nicholas Kirk churchyard and the upper level of the St Nicholas Centre.
Civic Heart (picture 3 above): If successful in acquiring developer status for St Nicholas House, we envisage a new civic square in Broad Street, with mixed use development including retail, residential, leisure and possibly a boutique-style hotel
The Benefits
- The development is a masterplan – it is regenerating the city centre as a whole for visitors and pedestrians
- Masterplan aims to address the current deficiencies in the quality and quantity of covered retail space
- £200 million investment
- 300 jobs during construction phase and 500 new jobs on completion
- 200,000 sq ft of new retail space in Aberdeen
- 1,000 new car parking spaces
- Improved public space, permeability and entertainment
- New anchor stores
- Easy for pedestrians with mobility issues
- Two fundamental connections – Bon Accord Centre/John Lewis link and Bon Accord Centre/St Nicholas Centre link
- Links will involve design and modern refit
- Weather-protected seamless route for shoppers
- Upper level link Bon Accord Centre/St Nicholas Centre which provides lower level protection
Community consultation will commence on 5 September and run until 4 November 2005 with a programme of exhibitions, newsletters and presentations.
