£20m bid submitted for possible revamp of Aberdeen beachfront

A £20 million bid to revamp Aberdeen's beachfront has been submitted by the city's council to the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund 2.

The proposals for the beachfront include a pier, a playpark and other leisure facilities, attractive streetscaping, increased usability for the Beach Ballroom and a state-of-the-art sports area.

Elements that are part of the bid include an urban park (a playpark, sports area and a pump track), an events field, a gateway building, a hub building, and canopy features, and a pedestrian "spine".

According to the council, the Levelling Up Fund 2 operates on a competitive basis, with a maximum of one project being funded per Westminster constituency and one strategic transport project per local authority.

Councillor Alexander McLellan, Aberdeen City Council's City Growth and Resources Convener, says the plans are centred around the need to recover from the coronvirus pandemic.

He said: "The plans for the beachfront are being designed to provide an exciting new environment for both residents and visitors to the city while conserving the heritage of the area and encouraging more people to make the shift to walking, cycling, or public transport.

"The proposals are also centred around the need to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic in a positive way and ensure we are investing in our city and making it a place people want to live, work, visit and do business.

"We welcome the opportunity to bid to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund 2 and the opportunity that presents to help fund our ambitious plans for the beach front, as we believe we are presenting a strong case to rejuvenate our beachfront and the benefits that will bring to our city and the people living here."

The proposed urban park would create an outdoor destination for the city and would also facilitate connections back to the city centre.

The playpark and sports area, being developed in on-going consultation with youngsters, might accommodate a variety of different play uses including a pump track which could be used by many different types of equipment including scooters, roller blades, roller skates, skateboards, bicycles of all types, and wheelchairs.

A planned events field would be flexible space capable of holding events, festivals, larger concerts and would also have a large, grassed area for day-to-day use such as informal sports and games such as football, touch rugby, ultimate frisbee as well as providing space for picnicking.

The proposed gateway building would act as a sculptural landmark at the entrance to the events park, drawing people down towards the new waterfront destination from the city centre.

Meanwhile, the proposed hub building would be in the central plaza area, creating a focal point at the heart of the new urban park and positioned at a key junction on the main pedestrian spine.

The pedestrian spine would consist of the main route through the area, says the council.