Summary of Stage 1 Public Responses to the Marischal Square Development
The main desire is for an OPEN Area. The OPEN categorisation on the chart below is further broken down into those who want the whole area left open; those requesting to ensure the view of Provost Skene is left open; and those who want to ensure the area is left open to be able to view Provost Skene AND Marischal College in one sweep.
The latest updated plans by MUSE make some minor changes to the initial plans presented but do not address the main concerns shown in this chart which were put forward by members of the public attending the Community Consultation Exhibitions. This becomes more worrying when the two new Boards created to consider a Masterplan and Regeneration plan for Central Aberdeen do not include any representation of citizens of Aberdeen or their Community Councils. It is understood from statements made by Councillor W Young Convener of the Finance Committee at a recent Community Council Forum meeting this decision on Public or Community Council representation will be reconsidered.
The attached chart attempts to give a structured visual understanding of the views of people who submitted an opinion on the plans for the Marischal Square Development as presented at various exhibitions by MUSE the company contracted by Aberdeen City Council to undertake the major restructure of the Square and surrounding area.
There were 772 responses studied. These were the annonymised comments presented by MUSE to Aberdeen City Council in their Stage 1 Community Consultation Feedback. The feedback to later exhibitions has been requested in several letters to Councillor Young, the Head of Asset Management at Aberdeen City Council and MUSE the developers, but so far without success.
(Note the Phase 11 responses have at last appeared on the Aberdeen City Planning website and I got a paper copy on 27th May. The date on the front of the Phase 11 responses is December 2013, so I'm not sure where they have been since then as I asked Mr Hugh Murdoch (Aberdeen City Head of Asset Management) how I can get a copy on 30th January and he stated he passed my queries on to MUSE at that time. Most of the Phase 11 responses are not the verbatim comments from the Public as the Phase 1 were, but have been categorised and divided in a way I have found most difficult to chart, so unfortunately anyone interested will have to go through the digital copy on the Aberdeen City website. See my instructions as to how to see the new Phase 11 feedback on my HOME page.)
It must be realised that in order to give some structure and categorisation to the unstructured responses some level of interpretation has had to be taken. For example when a visitor to an exhibition has stated - "I am looking out from Broad Street and can see Marischal College and Provost Skene's House in one wonderful view". This will be categorised as OPEN / Provost Skene and Marischal.
Also responses from ONE visitor can be included in several categories. For example a visitor can state he would want to see a civic square AND Broad Street closed to traffic.
In order to highlight the main desires of visitors the categories shown on the chart are ONLY those with more than 12 visitors requesting that facility. For example there are a few people who found glass buildings acceptable, in particular if they were made of reflective glass to show Marischal College, but their numbers were too low to show on this summary.
Several visitors to the Marischal Square exhibitions noted the contrast between what has been, and is being, allowed to happen in Aberdeen compared to what has been achieved in other cities in the world with even Dundee being cited as an example of what can be done to enhance the city centre. One can walk down Schoolhill now to see the magnificent view over to Marischal College and then realise this wonderful vista is about to be hidden and denied to citizens and visitors to Aberdeen for several generations.