Yesterday, Aberdeen City Council agreed to Sir Ian Wood’s proposal to suffocate the last green space in the city centre under tones of concrete. Buried with it are Peacock Visual Art’s plans for a brilliant new Arts Centre which would have acted as cultural beacon in the city, a resource which would have enticed talent and commerce into the city long after the North Sea lies empty and barren.

More details of the campaign here.

As one Aberdonian commented this morning on Twitter: “It’s disgusting. ACC sold our integrity, our reputation, our culture, our heritage, our green space and democracy yesterday.” (JackKeenan)

The general feeling in the City today is one of deep-set frustration and despair. The campaign to save UTG and the Peacock proposal has been high profile and bitterly fought in the North East for months now. The culmination of which was a £300,000 public enquiry (paid for by the tax payer) to discover what Aberdonian’s wanted the space to be used as.

Despite a majority being in favour of saving UTG, the council made the highly questionable vote of 20 to 7 in favour of Sir Ian Wood’s concrete tomb. 12 Councillors chose not to vote, a decision which is both disgusting and disgraceful considering the monumental impact of the outcome.

As the decision stands, the concrete will start flowing, our green space will be lost, our hopes for a cultural centre in the city will die and Aberdeen’s faith in democracy and our council has been shattered.

The mood in Aberdeen is one of despair and heartbreak.