Issue - decisions

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to note Aberdeen City Council awarded £1,429,228 through the Cultural Investment Framework as part of the 2025/26 budget (as detailed below):-

(ii)           to note the Castlegate Arts unsuccessful application for Culture Investment Framework funding was considered through a fair and transparent process, with the officers recommending not to award funding due to the organisation not meeting investment priorities and the “Following the Public Pound” guidance, with the final decision being made at the Budget meeting on 5 March 2025;

(iii)          to note the Finance and Resources Committee unanimously agreed on 26 March 2025 to allocate £508,000 for Local Business Support and £521,380 for People and Skills from the 2025/26 UK Shared Prosperity Fund;

(iv)          to note the competitive application process for allocation of the 2025/26 UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with approximately £4 million worth of applications received for the Community and Place element, and only £1.2 million of funding remaining to allocate within the programme, and that the Finance and Resources Committee will make the final decision on the applications at its scheduled meeting on 7 May 2025;

(v)           to agree that any proposal to allocate funds directly from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which bypasses this process sets a concerning precedent and is disrespectful to those organisations who have already applied for funding;

(vi)          to note that directing funds to specific projects without a clear process undermines objectiveness and fairness and could lead to similar claims from other organisations who were not approved for funding and may risk non-compliance with “Following the Public Pound” guidance and may also create a risk of the Council having to repay some of the money back to the UK Government on the grounds of having awarded money to projects which may not meet UK Shared Prosperity Fund eligibility and criteria;

(vii)        to acknowledge the funding provided to date by Aberdeen City Council’s SNP and Liberal Democrat Partnership in 2024/25:

(viii)       given the above outlined process for the allocation of UK Shared Prosperity Funding for 2025/26, to take no further action.

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to note that the Chief Officer - People and Citizen Services would circulate the briefing note to all Councillors in confidence;

(ii)           to request that the link to the Integrated Impact Assessment prepared for the Council 2024/25 budget meeting be circulated to all Councillors again; and

(iii)          otherwise, to take no action.

The Council resolved:-

to take no action.    

The Council resolved:-

to take no action.  

The Council resolved:-

to welcome this Council’s continued commitment to City Centre regeneration and:

1.      Welcomes the latest independent data from HUQ Signals showing that footfall in Aberdeen City Centre grew by 3.6% in 2024, in comparison to 2023, and Aberdeen continues to outperform the Scottish and UK national averages.

2.      Notes the ongoing city centre regeneration projects underway at Union Street Central and the Aberdeen Market site funded by Aberdeen City Council and the UK Government.

3.      Welcomes that more than 6,000 people enjoyed the Council’s commissioned festive night buses which provided free travel across 10 routes, every Friday and Saturday night between 16^th  November 2024 and 5^th January 2025, as well as the 2024 Hogmanay service that carried the most people on any single day of operation with 841 passengers, all funded through Bus Lane Enforcement surplus monies to help people to get home safely for free over the festive period.

4.      Welcomes the continuing success of the Union Street Empty Shops Action Plan which has helped lower the number of vacant ground floor properties on Union Street and, bolstered by the additional capital funding approved at the March 2024 Council Budget meeting, encouraged additional economic benefit for the city centre.

5.      Welcomes the work of the Council’s cleansing team in keeping our city centre tidy, and welcomes the recent grant received from Keep Britain Tidy’s Chewing Gum Task force which contributed towards additional cleaning and signage.

6.      Welcomes the Union Street Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) which has seen investment in the improvement and maintenance of historic buildings on Union Street; the Council’s successful application to the first phase of the Heritage and Place Programme being run by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund; and the Council’s additional capital investment through the Aberdeen City Heritage Trust for Building Repair Grants around Union Street West.

7.      Recognises the excellent partnership working between the Council and Aberdeen Inspired, Our Union Street, Port of Aberdeen, and others, in bringing to the city Spectra, Festival of the Sea, Nuart, Iconic Bricks Dinosaur Trail,  International Exhibitions at the Art Gallery (such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year and currently Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol), and Christmas in the City, including Christmas Parade, Aberdeen Christmas Village, Curated in the Quad Christmas Market, and festive lighting in Union Terrace Gardens.

8.      Welcomes the excellent events coming in 2025 - Spectra, Highland Games, the Festival of the Sea and The Tall Ships Races, as well as on-going support to Aberdeen Performing Arts, P&J Live and Visit Aberdeenshire in attracting international events, conferences and visitors to the City.

The Council resolved:-

to take no action as the procedural motion to suspend Standing Order 42.1 was defeated, which meant the item could not be considered.

Meeting adjourned until a later date.  

to take no action.

(i)             to note that the Chief Officer - Commercial and Procurement would circulate an update on the performance of the Generation Aberdeen branding;

(ii)            to note that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning would circulate updates with regard to (1) the number of consultations that had been carried out with businesses in the city centre and their corresponding views; and (2) progress with the priority actions in the Empty Shops Action Plan since the matter was last reported to committee in March 2024; and

(iii)          to note that the Council agreed to refer a report on the City Centre and Beach Masterplan to the Finance and Resources Committee for consideration on 12 September 2024 and therefore that no action be taken at this time.

(i)             to welcome the Co-Leaders’ hosting of a round table meeting of business groups, bus operators, and others to discuss the city centre bus priority measures;

(ii)           to reaffirm the City Centre Masterplan objective of turning Union Street into a destination rather than a through route;

(iii)          to agree that successful businesses are vital to the future of Aberdeen city centre;

(iv)          to note that any changes to city centre traffic management arrangements would require equality impact assessments;

(v)           in the context of the ongoing construction works on Union Street and around the New Market development, to instruct the Chief Officer - Operations to introduce a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) to suspend Bus Gates on Union Street (westbound only) / Market Street (southbound only), between its junctions with Adelphi and Hadden Street; this allowing all classes of vehicle to turn left from Union Street onto Market Street, thereafter restricting general traffic to a left only turn at the bottom of Market Street onto Trinity Quay (Virginia Street), this to aid continued access and servicing of the businesses on Market Street and Shiprow throughout the remaining period of construction, with the cost of this being met as part of the Capital budget for “City Centre & Beach Masterplans : Market Redevelopment”;

(vi)          to instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning, using funding from the Bus Lane Enforcement reserve, to report as soon as possible on:

1.    the feasibility and impact of reopening Bridge Street to all vehicles in one or both directions.

2.    the feasibility and impact of removing the ban on right turns from Union Terrace onto Rosemount Viaduct;

(vii)        to recognise the importance of consistent messaging about Aberdeen’s city centre being open for business and instruct the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration to work with partner organisations to promote this; and

(viii)       to note that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning would confirm how much had been spent to date on Aberdeen Rapid Transit.

to take no action.