'Fresh approach' needed to transform Union Street in Aberdeen

A fresh approach is needed to turn around the fortunes of Aberdeen's Union Street, it has been claimed.

Union Street was once the city's flagship shopping street.

The 24 business spaces not in use or closing down in 2017 has risen to 37, and the council is offering grants for improvements.

Commercial property expert Richard Noble said improving Union Street could be looked at in independent blocks rather than as one whole.

He was speaking after it was revealed a fraction of a multi-million pound fund to revitalise the main thoroughfare has been spent.

Since the five-year £2.4m Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (Cars) was launched, just over £200,000 has been spent on completed projects.

Union Street - which has about 190 street level business spaces - runs through the heart of the Granite City, and was once the main retail hub.

Like many other high streets in Scotland, shops are closing and units are lying empty.

Union Street has faced particularly stiff competition from nearby Union Square - described as Aberdeen's "premier shopping and leisure destination" - which opened in 2009.

The complex is home to shops and restaurants, and a cinema.

The Cars scheme was launched in November 2017. As well as offering grants for improvements, it aims to encourage new businesses into empty commercial spaces.

So far more than £201,000 has been spent.

There have been 35 expressions of interest, 13 applications and three completed projects, which included repointing, the repair of rainwater disposal, and structural repairs. Ten are pending approval.

Mr Noble, of FG Burnett in Aberdeen, said Union Street needed to be "broken down into bite-sized pieces".

He said: "I think different blocks could be tackled independently as opposed to just looking at the whole street and thinking 'wow, this is such a massive problem, where do we start?'.

"Look at what each block might require, think about pavements, think about the public realm, think about planting some trees, and I'm confident that the amount of voids will actually come down from the current level.

"But I think we are going in the right direction given what other agents have been telling me about who they've got looking at different shops at the moment."

The local authority has said it is working to conserve the fabric of Aberdeen's historic buildings, and stimulate the local economy.

Councillor Marie Boulton, the council's lead on the City Centre Masterplan - which includes the Cars project - said the aim was to transform the area.

She said: "Union Street remains very much the heart of Aberdeen."