Decision details

The Council resolved:-

City Centre Masterplan

(i)             to note that the City Centre Masterplan was approved unanimously in 2015 and agree the ongoing support of Council to the progression of the Masterplan review, noting that a recalibrated Masterplan to include the Beach would be presented to Full Council in August 2022;

Union Street Central

(ii)           to note the content of the Union Street Central Options Appraisal (Appendix A) and agree to implement Option 3 (bus lanes with bus laybys);

(iii)          to instruct the Director of Resources to develop detailed designs for the implementation of Option 3 and further instruct that these designs where possible should allow for conversion to Option 2 (full pedestrianisation with central bicycle and service corridor and servicing laybys) should the Council agree in the future that:-

(a)       suitable 24-hour access arrangements to Union Street Central are in place for people with disabilities and limited mobility; and

(b)       suitable alternative bus and public transport arrangements are available which ensure easy bus passenger access to Union Street Central;

(iv)          subject to (iii) above, to instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to progress the necessary statutory processes to support that implementation;

(v)           to instruct officers to continue to engage with the UK Government about the developing profile of this project and to report back to Council on the outcome of that engagement;

City Centre Traffic Management Plan

(vi)          to note the outcomes of Phase 2 of the Traffic Management Plan (Appendix C) and agree:-

(a)       that, irrespective of any decisions made in relation to Union Street Central, bus, taxi (and private hire) and cycle priority will require to be implemented on Bridge Street, Market Street and Guild Street to achieve the safe and efficient movement of active travel and public transport users through the city centre;

(b)       that, should Union Street Central be closed to general traffic, Schoolhill/Upperkirkgate will require to be pedestrianised between Harriet Street and Flourmill Lane, and right turns prohibited except for buses, taxis (and private hire) and cycles from Union Terrace into Rosemount Viaduct in order to mitigate the impacts of displaced traffic from Union Street Central and to improve the safety of people walking and cycling;

(c)        the detailed designs of the above (as shown in Appendix C) and other necessary interventions, including operational plans for the Merchant Quarter and Belmont Quarter, all as specified in paragraph 3.18, and instruct the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services to progress the necessary Traffic Regulation Orders and thereafter move to delivery of the required measures; and

(d)       the initial outcomes of the option appraisal and sifting exercise for Union Street East and West (as shown in Appendix C), and that the remaining options proceed to detailed stakeholder engagement prior to final appraisal;

Union Street Building Condition Survey

(vii)        instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to undertake the Union Street Building Condition Implementation Plan Pilot (Appendix D) and report progress to Full Council in December 2022;

George Street Mini Masterplan

(viii)       to note the outcome of the recent engagement exercise on the future of George Street (Appendix E) and instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to report back a Mini Masterplan for the George Street to Full Council in December 2022;

Ongoing Engagement with Stakeholders

(ix)          to note the ongoing engagement with key stakeholders, including the Disability Equity Partnership and children and young people, that has continued since the last report to Council in February 2022 (Appendix G) and instruct the Director of Resources to continue to engage key stakeholders on City Centre Masterplan projects moving forward, including establishing a City Centre Stakeholder Forum as detailed in Appendix F;

Aberdeen Performing Arts

(x)           to instruct the Director of Commissioning, in conjunction with the Chief Officer - Finance, to agree a capital contribution to Aberdeen Performing Arts of £225,000 for His Majesty’s Theatre from the City Centre Masterplan capital budget; and

Cycling Walking Safer Routes

(xi)          to welcome the funding earmarked through Cycling Walking Safer Routes (CWSR) and agree that this is deployed as soon as practicable to ensure that the agreed extended CCTV system along George Street is made operational at the earliest opportunity.