Agenda item

Please note Appendix C to the report is exempt and is contained at item 11.1

With reference to Article 2 of the minute of its meeting of 25 August 2022, the Council had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided updates on a number of projects in the city centre.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

Streetscape Programme

(a)           agree the Streetscape Full Business Case (Appendix B) and instruct the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Commercial & Procurement and Chief Officer - Capital, to proceed with the negotiation and execution of contracts for delivery of the following programmes in the first instance and to report progress to the Finance and Resources Committee on a 6 monthly basis from the date of this report:

a)    Union Street Central

b)    Market Streetscape Phase 1

c)    Schoolhill/Upperkirkgate;

(b)           instruct the Director of Resources to progress with developing the remaining streetscape programmes and bring forward for Council consideration and approval an update to the Full Business Case in (a) above following conclusion of design, planning and consultation stages on the below programmes by December 2023:

a)      Union Street East & Castlegate and Justice Street

b)      Union Street West & West End

c)      Market Streetscape Phases 2 and 3;

(c)           note the instruction from the October 2020 City Growth and Resources Committee that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning develop the Outline Business Case for the A944/A9119 Multimodal Corridor Study Medium/High Delivery Package (which included proposals for improved cycle infrastructure between Westhill and Aberdeen City Centre) and instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to report back the Outline Business Case for the A9119 cycle route (Carden Place (including Queens Cross Roundabout), Skene Street and Rosemount Viaduct), currently being progressed via the Bus Partnership Fund, by December 2023, in order to provide an active travel link from the West End into the heart of the City Centre;

(d)           instruct the Chief Officer - Capital not to proceed with a traffic signal-controlled junction at the Broad Street/Upperkirkgate/Gallowgate Junction, in view of the impending changes within the proposed City Centre Masterplan;

(e)           instruct the Chief Officer - Capital following consultation with the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to consult with stakeholders and funders to review current safety concerns with a view to making a recommendation to help mitigate any concerns in the context of the City Centre Masterplan;

(f)             approve the allocation of additional revenue funds to the Roads maintenance budget of £16,700 from 2024/25 onwards, which was required to maintain the infrastructure change as detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report;

Building Conditions/ Occupancy

(g)           note the update on Union Street Building Condition Implementation Plan Pilot Project and instruct the Director of Resources to report progress to Council in June 2023;

(h)           note the content of the Strategic Outline Case Upper Floor use options at 101-103 Union Street (Appendix G) and instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to continue to review and report back by August 2023;

Aberdeen Market

(i)             note the business case for Aberdeen Market (Appendix C) and instruct the Director of Resources following consultation with the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to proceed with the negotiation and execution of contracts for delivery and report progress back to Council on a 6 monthly basis from the date of this report; and

Queen Street

(j)             agree the Strategic Outline Case for Queen Street and instruct the Director of Resources to progress the short-listed options into an Outline Business Case which would identify a preferred option and report back to Council in August 2023.

Councillor Boulton advised that she was intending to move the following amendment, however Standing Orders required to be suspended as it would require a previous decision to be altered within six months of it having been taken.

          That the Council -

(a)       approve recommendations (a) to (h) contained within the report;

(b)       note the business case for Aberdeen Market in Appendix C and instruct the Director of Resources in conjunction with the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord and Chief Officer - City Growth to explore further opportunities for creative industries to have a significant footprint for both creating and selling in the Aberdeen Market. Ensure local food producers, independent traders (retail and hospitality) occupy other units. Explore all options for the outdoor market space from traditional fresh food markets, antique and vintage markets and performance, and report back to the next Full Council meeting. Taking inspiration from Borough Market, London, Old Spitalfield Market, Covent Garden, Islington Mill Salford;

(c)       to approve option 5 in relation to recommendation (j);

(d)       to defer the implementation of the bus gates on Bridge Street and Market Street to 1 March 2023;

(e)       to not progress with prohibition of a right hand turn from Union Terrace onto Rosemount Viaduct for general traffic as identified at section 4.3 of the report; and

(f)         to take measures to mitigate the cycle lane on Carden Place in protecting the business and residents’ amenity and income.

Councillor Boulton moved as a procedural motion, seconded by Councillor Stewart:-

That Standing Order 42.1 be suspended to enable the amendment to be formally moved.

On a division, there voted:-

For the procedural motion  (9)  -  Councillors Boulton, Brooks, Cross, Farquhar, Houghton, Kusznir, McLeod, Massey and Stewart.

Against the procedural motion  (35)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Al-Samarai, Ali, Allard, Alphonse, Blake, Bonsell, Bouse, Hazel Cameron, Clark, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Crockett, Davidson, Fairfull, Graham, Grant, Greig, Henrickson, Hutchison, Macdonald, MacGregor, McLellan, McRae, Malik, Mennie, Nicoll, Radley, van Sweeden, Thomson, Tissera, Watson and Yuill.

The Council resolved:-

to reject the procedural motion.

The Council further resolved:-

Streetscape Programme

(i)             to agree the Streetscape Full Business Case (Appendix B) and instruct the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Commercial & Procurement and Chief Officer - Capital, to proceed with the negotiation and execution of contracts for delivery of the following programmes in the first instance and to report progress to the Finance and Resources Committee on a 6 monthly basis from the date of this report:

a)         Union Street Central

b)         Market Streetscape Phase 1

c)          Schoolhill/Upperkirkgate;

(ii)           to instruct the Director of Resources to progress with developing the remaining streetscape programmes, including options for the provision of physically segregated cycle tracks/lanes, and bring forward for Council consideration and approval an update to the Full Business Case in (i) above following conclusion of design, planning and consultation stages on the below programmes by December 2023:

a)       Union Street East and Castlegate and Justice Street

b)       Union Street West and West End

c)       Market Streetscape Phases 2 and 3

Further design work to be funded from the City Centre and Beach Masterplan budget;

(iii)          to note the instruction from the October 2020 City Growth and Resources Committee that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning develop the Outline Business Case for the A944/A9119 Multimodal Corridor Study Medium/High Delivery Package (which includes proposals for improved cycle infrastructure between Westhill and Aberdeen City Centre) and instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to report back the Outline Business Case for the A9119 cycle route (Carden Place (including Queens Cross Roundabout), Skene Street and Rosemount Viaduct), currently being progressed via the Bus Partnership Fund, by December 2023, in order to provide an active travel link from the West End into the heart of the City Centre; 

(iv)          to instruct the Chief Officer - Capital not to proceed with a traffic signal-controlled junction at the Broad Street/Upperkirkgate/Gallowgate Junction, in view of the impending changes within the proposed City Centre Masterplan, and instruct the Chief Officer -  Operations and Protective Services to report back to Council on the implications of closing permanently the section of Broad Street between Queen Street and Upperkirkgate to all vehicles;

(v)           to instruct the Chief Officer - Capital following consultation with the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to consult with stakeholders and funders to review current safety concerns with a view to making a recommendation to help mitigate any concerns in the context of the City Centre Masterplan;

(vi)          to approve the allocation of additional revenue funds to the Roads maintenance budget of £16,700 from 2024/25 onwards, which was required to maintain the infrastructure change as detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report;

(vii)        to instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to engage with First Bus and Stagecoach to agree a voluntary code of practice that buses adhere to the same driving arrangements in Union Street Central bus zone as were in place in Broad Street bus zone;

Building Conditions/ Occupancy

(viii)       subject to an updated full business plan being provided by the Open Space Trust and review by officers, to agree in principle to restore the capital grant of up to £358,000 to the Open Space Trust which was removed at the Council 2022/23 budget-setting meeting and that this should be funded from the capital allocation to the City Centre and Beach Masterplans, the final decision being referred to the Council's budget setting process for 2023/24;

(ix)          to note the content of the Strategic Outline Case Upper Floor use options at 101-103 Union Street (Appendix G) and instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to continue to review and report back by August 2023;

Aberdeen Market

(x)           to note the business case for Aberdeen Market (Appendix C) and instruct the Director of Resources following consultation with the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to proceed with the negotiation and execution of contracts for delivery and report progress back to Council on a 6 monthly basis from the date of this report;

Queen Street

(xi)          to agree the Strategic Outline Case for Queen Street and instruct the Director of Resources to progress the short-listed options into an Outline Business Case which would identify a preferred option and report back to Council in August 2023; and

City Centre Masterplan Working Group

(xii)        to establish a City Centre Masterplan Working Group which would comprise one member from each political group and Councillors Boulton and Stewart.