EXPLORE ABERDEEN

Restoration of city’s historic heart about to begin

01/07/09

A five-year conservation-led programme aimed at restoring Aberdeen's Green to its former glory gets underway this summer.

The Green Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) has been set up to tackle the problems of rundown historic buildings and streetscape where longstanding economic and structural decline have undermined the character of the architecturally rich area.

Aberdeen City Council is working to make property owners aware of the benefits of the scheme, which will contribute to the cost of repairing and restoring the buildings to their former glory.

The project to regenerate the historic heart of Aberdeen has secured £1.4million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The money, combined with another £1.4million contributed by Aberdeen City Council (£525,000), Historic Scotland (£350,000), and Scottish Enterprise (£525,000), will fund The Green Townscape Heritage Initiative, which aims to deliver a co-ordinated approach to the regeneration of this area with public and private sector partnerships.

Councillor John Stewart, chairman of the Green THI Board said: "This is a welcome opportunity to secure investment in key buildings in the area, as well as provide support for homeowners and businesses to improve their properties.

"This will be further enhanced by the streetscape improvements to the area, which are being funded by the City Council, which will assist in developing better linkages between Union Street and the new Guild Street development.

"The first visible evidence of the Green THI will be seen this summer with the launch of the streetscape work. I am excited at the prospect of seeing the work begin and the steady improvement of the area over the next four years."

Specific funding is available in the budget for the four priority projects. They are:

  • The Tivoli;
  • Victoria Buildings, Bridge Street;
  • the former Palace Theatre, Bridge Place;
  • 76-78 and 82-84 Shiprow.

The grant schemes are available to nearly all property owners in the area who wish to undertake high quality repair and restoration of buildings with architectural or group merit.

Funding is available under the main grants scheme for the following categories of work:

  • building repair – grants of up to 60% of eligible costs building repairs not related to routine maintenance. Typical works will include: masonry repairs; lead and rainwater goods; and roof and dormer repairs.
  • re-instatement of architectural detail – grants of up to 75% of eligible costs are available for works which restore lost or obscured detail to a historic façade, such as correct window patterns, original shop fronts or missing decorative ironwork.
  • re-use of historic floor space – projects to restore viable uses to redundant or derelict historic buildings may be eligible for a grant. This may involve a change of use and physical alteration to the character of the internal space to secure, for example residential accommodation from warehouse floors or commercial, office-type uses above shops, bars, etc. The level of grant will be assessed on a project-by-project basis.
  • small grants scheme – the small grant scheme allows owners of any of the eligible buildings identified with the Green Townscape Heritage area to participate in the scheme where their property is not included in the main grant scheme projects. It provides grants for individual items of mainly small-scale external building repair and reinstatement of architectural detail. Small grant scheme projects are likely to have eligible works of up to £5,000, with a grant rate of 60%.

The initiative will enable The Green to play a key role in the development of city centre redevelopment and provide the important first impression of the City and Aberdeenshire to visitors arriving by bus, rail, or sea. The revitalised Green will have an important role in linking Union Street with the bus and railway stations and the new commercial developments taking place south of the city centre.

There is obvious potential for the development of a distinct City neighbourhood in The Green, characterised by cafes, restaurants, specialist shops, galleries and a revitalised Tivoli Theatre.

A programme of street work is also to be undertaken to enhance the streetscape, including the restoration and repair of the granite sett surfaces during the conservation-led regeneration scheme. That work is due to begin next month [July].

It is hoped that the Townscape Heritage Initiative, which will last for three to five years, will completely regenerate the area by both restoring the historic fabric of The Green and attracting new uses appropriate for a 21st century city.

The Green THI covers the area between Union Street and Guild Street, from Shiprow to Bridge Street, including the Adelphi, the Green, and Market Street.

A map illustrating the properties that are eligible for grant funding can be seen on the internet by clicking on the Green THI boundary map link at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/Planning/sl_greentown/pla_GreenTownscape_HI.asp

Aberdeen City council has produced a series of technical guidance notes for undertaking repairs and conversions to buildings within conservation areas. Copies can be downloaded from www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/greenthi

The Green THI is a partnership between Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen City Heritage Trust, The Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.

For further information about the Green THI contact project manager Graham Young by calling 01224 523318, email gryoung@aberdeencity.gov.uk, or write to The Green THI, 9th floor, St Nicholas House, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1BW.

The eligible buildings for the main grants scheme are: The Tivoli Theatre; The Victoria Buildings; 76-78 and 82-84 Shiprow; The Palace Theatre; Metro Hotel; 11a-13 Hadden Street; 35-39 Market Street; 2-10 Exchange Street/11 Hadden Street/5-7 Stirling Street/ 56-58 and 60-64 Bridge Street; Carmelite Hotel; 46-52 and 18–44 Market Street; 14–18 Bridge Street/32-38 Windmill Brae; 19 Adelphi; 1 and 3 Bridge Place; 44-50 Green; and 1-7 Trinity Quay.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, HLF invests in every part of our diverse heritage. To date, HLF has supported more than 2,500 projects, allocating over £500million in Scotland. Website: www.hlf.org.uk.



If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 08456 080910.