Would you believe it, there’s been a miracle on Union Terrace Gardens …
We actually have a plan in front of us that looks like it might rescue the dear green space from the desperate air of neglect that has haunted it for years.
Cafes? Yes, please.
Gallery space. That would be lovely.
Walkways and lifts to make it easier to actually get to the gardens?
That’s just what we need.
A halo of light hanging over the space? Ooh, that’s clever. In fact that could be an iconic image for the heart of Aberdeen.
And what’s that … all of this for a fraction of the cost of the other divisive plan? Cool.
Now, the churlish among us (that’ll be me then) could point out the idea of galleries and cafes breathing new life into the gardens is nothing new. In fact, if the Peacock Visual Arts plan hadn’t been bulldozed aside for the City Gardens project we would have all of that, right now.
But this is not the time for nitpicking.
The last thing we need is the legion of naysayers sharpening their online knives to shout down the new-look Union Terrace Gardens.
You know the types. They want every blade of grass left where it is, all the trees untouched and a return to pensioners playing giant draughts.
What they really want are their nostalgic memories made flesh again. Which isn’t going to happen.
But that never seems to stop them from sniping, from moaning, from meeting any possibility of change with a wall of negativity that hobbles too many good things in this city.
On the table now is a real chance to rescue the gardens, to make them vibrant and busy again.
This isn’t just about reclaiming the gardens from neglect. It’s much more important than that.
It is about turning them into a hub for the city centre, a place where people gather, enjoy themselves, take pride in.
We need to talk up the heart of Aberdeen instead of doing it down.We need to drown out the Dementors. That goes for all of us, our politicians, our business leaders, ourselves.
Aberdeen, the whole of the North-east, is in the grip of difficult days.
Bringing Union Terrace Gardens back to life is a positive step we can take to counter that.
Please, let’s make this happen.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
