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Press and Journal
6 days ago
- Politics
- Press and Journal
Exclusive: Aberdeen FC beach stadium talks back on track as Dons hit out at 'slap in the face' comments from councillor
Aberdeen FC and the council could be poised to launch 'more constructive and collaborative' talks about building a new seaside Dons stadium. It comes after planning vice-convener Martin Greig suggested the project 'is unlikely to happen', adding that the second phase of the beach revamp 'was all visionary'. The project – which was initiated by the previous Tory-led administration in 2021 – has been in stalemate for years as the council and the club fight over who needs to pay for it. It has attracted large support from fans, with chairman Dave Cormack arguing there would be no 'meaningful benefit' of the multi-million-pound beach upgrades without a new stadium there. But the tide appeared to change when the SNP and Lib Dems took over the council – with talks being pushed down the line over and over again. And with the Dons' historic win over Celtic last weekend, the club's chief executive Alan Burrows has now broken the silence on where they stand on the matter… In a letter to city chiefs seen by The Press and Journal, Mr Burrows says the suggestion that the project was 'only an idea' – especially after their win – is a 'slap in the face'. Thousands lined the streets donning their best red attire to celebrate the city's football club as the Hampden heroes waved at the crowds from an open-top bus. The proud winners made their way from Albyn Street to Marischal College to greet fans before celebrating with a civic reception at the Town House. And while Mr Burrows thanked the council for the organising the 'fantastic parade', he was taken aback to find their hopes for a new stadium dashed just days later. In his letter to city chiefs, he writes: 'Looking out from the Town House balcony at a sea of red was a magnificent sight and something only Aberdeen FC could have achieved. 'It was therefore disappointing to read in the press the next day that the stadium part of the beach regeneration was only a 'visionary' idea and unlikely to happen. 'Having invested considerable executive time over several years, working with the council to develop plans for an integrated leisure complex and community stadium, this felt like a slap in the face.' Mr Burrows is now urging the council to get round the table once again, however, this time for 'more constructive and collaborative' conversations. He argues this could be key to unlocking the second phase of the beach regeneration, hoped to draw more visitors to the city and boost traders. And to make his statement even stronger, he reiterated the millions of pounds the new complex is believed to plug into the local economy. An independent study, commissioned by the club and the council, suggested that building a seaside stadium would inject at least £1 billion into the city over 50 years. This is on top hundreds of jobs that will be created in the process of getting the complex up and running, and potentially attracting an extra 38 million of visitors to the area. 'There is no better time to build on the momentum and legacy of winning the Scottish Cup,' Mr Burrows adds. 'Rather than a new stadium at the beach being a political football, we'd welcome the opportunity to try to build consensus. 'Major projects can be achieved more effectively and more quickly when there is buy-in from all parties and a united approach to doing what's in the best interests of the city. 'But making this happen and raising the funding requires a shared ambition and political will.' Conservative leader Richard Brooks, who has been advocating for the plans from the start, has already agreed to join talks and help get the project off the ground. He said: 'The club look on board to meet with councillors, to iron out any issues and to work together to move on a new stadium as part of the Beach Masterplan forward' 'This is the sort of footfall our beleaguered city yearns for, so now seems an excellent time to 'literally' build on the Aberdeen Football Club's Scottish Cup success' Earlier this week, council co-leader Christian Allard said he was 'always willing to engage and work cross party'. And last night a spokesperson for the SNP and Lib Dem administration appeared to open the door for a fresh round of discussion. They said: 'Co-leaders will be delighted to meet Mr Burrows at Pittodrie to discuss plans for a new stadium.' Read more:
Press and Journal
27-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
New Dons stadium 'might never happen' as leading councillor says beach vision was 'only an idea'
A leading council planning boss says further work to boost Aberdeen Beach – which include a seaside Dons stadium – is unlikely to ever make it off the drawing board. Lib Dem councillor Martin Greig recently cast fresh doubts over the second phase of the multi-million-pound beach revamp, insisting the plans 'were all visionary'. The whole beachfront scheme – including the potential new Aberdeen FC stadium – could cost £441 million. It comes after the Dons scooped a phenomenal win for the city at the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, proudly raising the trophy for the first time in 35 years. Works on the first part of the beach project are already under way, with a huge new playpark starting to take shape and upgrades at Broadhill planned to be done by July. An events field, an amphitheatre, new canopies and an eye-catching gateway building will also be created as part of the £50m transformation. Meanwhile, the seaside stadium and a new pier overlooking the North Sea were supposed to be erected as part of the second phase of the project. But council chiefs last year decided to put the proposals on hold until they find extra cash to pay for the pricey upgrades. And now Mr Greig seems confident these have been taken off the table entirely. The council has several regeneration projects on the go – including the new market on The Green, the first phase of the beach revamp and Union Street central upgrades. The latter, as well as works to turn Queen Street into an urban park, have been delayed due to a series of issues. And with improvements at Castlegate also imminent, Mr Greig was recently grilled over the council's prospects of getting all of these over the line on time and within budget. He was confident about the progress with the Flint market, however, seemed rather puzzled when the second phase of the beach revamp was brought up. Following some further clarification on the proposed further stages of the project, he quickly snapped back: 'Oh, that's all visionary though.' He added: 'There were no firm decisions made about those [plans]. 'It was appropriate to be visionary in imagining how we can improve the beachfront, and encouraging to see inventive solutions to make it more interesting and more varied. 'Clearly, the council has not proceeded with everything that was on the list.' Asked to clarify whether that means the revamp of the promenade and the new stadium might never happen, Mr Greig grinned with an affirmative 'Yeah…yeah…' He added: 'There has been a series of visionary proposals for the beachfront over the last few decades – piers, buildings… 'So, there is a history of planning – and not action-ing.' It comes as the stadium project remains at a stalemate over funding. The tussle centres around who should pay for further studies into the scheme. Aberdeen FC initially agreed to look into replacing Pittodrie with a new ground at the beach when the previous Tory-led administration approached the club about ditching its plans to move to Kingsford. Studies suggested that building a seaside stadium instead would boost the local economy by £1 billion over 50 years. And chairman Dave Cormack argued there would be no 'meaningful benefit' attached to the major beachfront upgrades without the stadium as part of the project. But the tide appeared to change when the SNP and Lib Dems took over the council. And although finance chiefs have insisted the plans are still a possibility, Mr Greig's latest remarks will further dash the hopes of fans who want to see the new beach stadium become a reality. Thousands of supporters lined the city streets this weekend to celebrate their football club's historic win at the Scottish Cup finals. And Mr Cormack thinks this shows how many back the Dons and the new stadium idea. Speaking to Original 106 during the celebrations, Mr Cormack said 'they [the club] will be patient with that'. He added: 'Aberdeen needs capital investment – particularly around the beach – and a community stadium would serve the city well.' Council co-leader Christian Allard neither confirmed nor denied whether the second phase of the beach project will ever come to fruition. He stressed that the esplanade will undergo some work, but this will focus on dealing with erosion issues. And he suggested that whether the plans will ever go any further than that would depend on how much money and time they have. 'It's not only the financial situation, it's also the capacity of what we can do in one term,' Mr Allard added. 'It's good to be ambitious but you've got to make sure that what you start, you can finish. 'The biggest issue with the beach is the erosion and that needs to be done. 'That [second phase of the revamp] was the plan before the economic changes world-wide and UK-wide. Now we will have to review those and see what needs to be done.' You can rad more on what exactly the second phase of the beach revamp was planned to involve here.
Press and Journal
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Nuart OFF this year - with Aberdeen arts spectacular to return next April
Aberdeen's renowned art festival Nuart has been postponed until next April. The event has been a staple in the city's summer calendar for years, attracting thousands of visitors from across the globe. It is usually held in June, with artists from all over the world descending upon the Granite City to transform its grey walls into colourful works of art. However, the next instalment of the popular festival has been pushed to next spring as organisers focus on preparations for the Tall Ships. Aberdeen Inspired have been running Nuart for nearly a decade. Normally, they would begin planning the mural extravaganza months in advance. But unlike previous times, this year they decided to pause putting everything together until they received the needed funding from Aberdeen City Council. This essentially cut their time for preparations shorter. And with the huge spectacle planned for the arrival of the Tall Ships in July, they decided it was best to leave Nuart for next spring. Aberdeen Inspired chief executive, Adrian Watson, said they have already started working on some fresh ideas on how to make the festival even better. He added: 'Given that Nuart is all about transformation and bringing life and colour to the city, we felt there could be no better time for its return than in spring. 'Nuart isn't just for one weekend – it leaves a lasting legacy imprinted on the fabric of Aberdeen itself.' The four-day festival will take place from April 23 to April 26 next year. Aberdeen Inspired hopes the next edition of Nuart will be as successful as previous years, drawing thousands of visitors into the city centre. The council's culture spokesman, Martin Greig, said events such as Nuart, Spectra and the upcoming Tall Ships help make Aberdeen a 'high-quality destination'. He added: 'Once again we can look forward to the city being transformed into a canvas for imaginative street art.'
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Aberdeen dog fouling crackdown issues two fines in two months
A scheme set up to crackdown on dog fouling in Aberdeen has issued just two on-the-spot fines in its first two months, it has city council brought in private firm National Enforcement Solutions (NES) to help it deal with a rise in complaints about people not cleaning up after their City Council has confirmed to BBC Scotland News that between 12 February - when the initiative launched - and 14 April, two £80 fixed penalties were handed the same scheme has issued 855 fines for littering, with a total of £38,880 paid. A council spokesman said: "Two dog fouling fixed penalty notices have been issued."£160 has been paid."Speaking at the time of the launch of the service in February, councillor Martin Greig said he did not have an exact figure for the cost of bringing in said the scheme had all been "duly costed".Mr Greig added that it was "an appropriate investment" to improve the is now been more than 20 years since the Dog Fouling Scotland Act was introduced, giving police and the council powers to deal with the issue.
Press and Journal
24-04-2025
- Press and Journal
Pupil 'slashed in knife incident' at Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen
A pupil has been taken to hospital after reports of a knife incident at an Aberdeen secondary school. Police attended Hazlehead Academy at about 10.30am on Thursday. A 12-year-old girl was injured during an altercation on school property involving a knife. She was taken to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, and it is understood she required stitches. It was initially understood the incident was a stabbing. However, we now believe the child was slashed. A mum of a pupil said: 'My daughter said it happened in the canteen during the morning break and that children were screaming. Teachers told them afterwards it wasn't a stabbing.' Aberdeen City Council was unable to comment on the nature of the incident but confirmed it is now over. Officers could be seen leaving the school after the lunch break carrying what looked like items in evidence bags. It is believed classes continued as normal. A message from the school sent to parents states: 'We can confirm that an incident occurred at Hazlehead Academy this morning. 'As a result, a pupil was injured. 'The pupil was collected by their parents and is receiving medical treatment. The incident is now over. 'Police were alerted and carrying out inquiries. We cannot comment further at this stage but would want to reassure parents that all appropriate steps have been followed and support offered.' Parents arriving at Groats Road to pick up their children at the end of the school day told The P&J today's 'slashing' is the latest in a series of violent incidents. Councillor and education convener Martin Greig told The P&J: 'The school is doing all it can to deal with this horrible incident. 'They will be following our guidance and policies to make sure everyone is as safe as possible.' The ambulance service confirmed it was not called to the scene. A police spokesperson said: 'At 10.30am on Thursday, 24 April, 2025, we received a report of a 12-year-old girl injured in the Groats Road area of Aberdeen. 'She was taken to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital for treatment. 'Inquiries are ongoing but officers are following a positive lead. 'This was a contained incident and there is no risk to the wider school community.' The Scottish Government's education minister, Graeme Dey, said he is 'utterly concerned' by the alleged attack. MSPs were discussing separate concerns about violence in schools and a lack of support for teachers. 'Can I begin by saying how utterly concerned by the reports of the incident at Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen this morning, where a 12-year-old girl has been assaulted,' he said in the debating chamber. 'Children, like all staff, should at all times go to school and be safe. 'My thoughts are very much with the child concerned, the staff and family. 'Violence in schools is totally unacceptable.'
