The development of Aberdeen’s city centre and beach is driven by the global significance of Aberdeen as a metropolitan hub and the energy capital of Europe, but also recognises the need to ensure that the city centre serves the needs and aspirations of local people.
This Masterplan will undoubtedly enhance the prosperity of the city centre and beachfront areas, whilst improving the quality of life of those that live, work and visit. This can serve as a catalyst to increase visitor spend in Aberdeen’s retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, and could encourage more people to live in and invest in the city.
New Market
The new market, to be called Flint, is currently under construction and will be a major destination venue in the heart of the city with an international-style market floorspace offering food and drink outlets.
Union Street Central
Union Street Central is being transformed with local granite and Scottish whinstone to create wider pavements, a plaza entrance for the new market and bus and cycle lanes. This will help reinvigorate the city centre with a vibrant and accessible environment to benefit businesses and citizens.
Aberdeen Beachfront
Aberdeen beachfront is a unique area of the city and its redevelopment will create a transformational waterfront destination with strengthened active travel routes to the city centre via the Castlegate and Union Street.
These improvements will result in a world-class sport, leisure and tourism destination using an innovative landscape-led approach. The projects include a world-leading play park, a new events park, a dynamic beach park, the redevelopment of the iconic Beach Ballroom and new leisure facilities.
This people-focused environment will be inclusive for all, creating a real community asset and bringing the ‘wow’ factor back to the Beachfront.
Castlegate
The Castlegate is a key element of the overall Aberdeen City Centre and Beach Master Plan, both as an event venue and a crucial link between the city centre and the beachfront.
Work will begin in Autumn 2025 to transform the location’s streetscape with new and enhanced features to help make it more of a destination and encourage increased footfall for the businesses based there.
These works will take a year to complete and will include the relocation of the Gordon Highlanders statue and a careful preservation of the historic Mercat Cross.
Queen Street
A distinct area of the city where engagement with stakeholders and the public was used to shape its own Masterplan. The vision for the Queen Street neighbourhood is a vibrant, city centre community at the heart of reinvention and as a place to form new connections: social, cultural, economic and educational.
The first part of these works will be the demolition of the former Police Scotland divisional headquarters on the south-east side of Queen Street, which is due to commence in the first quarter of 2026.
The proposals include a new Urban Park in the north-west corner of the site with provision for outdoor seating and informal performance areas, a sensory garden, terraced garden and enhanced street greening.
Detailed design work will be undertaken in 2024.
George Street
The George Street neighbourhood is located towards the northern boundary of the Masterplan zone. George Street itself runs north to south, forming a key link between the city centre core and areas to the north of the city. The area is dominated by the Bon Accord Centre and bounded to the west by Robert Gordon’s College.
The vision for the George Street neighbourhood is to create a vibrant, city centre community at the heart of reinvention and as a place to form new connections social, cultural, economic and educational.
Proposals include embracing difference, by highlighting and celebrating variety, building on reputation, by encouraging discovery and building recognition by place branding and creating reasons to come to the area.
