Tycoon in appeal to back City Garden

Published on Thursday 23 February 2012 00:49

OIL tycoon Sir Ian Wood has made an 11th-hour appeal to the public to back his controversial plans for the transformation of Aberdeen’s Union Terrace Gardens.

Scotland’s second richest man insisted his dream of placing a futuristic City Garden at the heart of a revitalised city centre was not a “vanity project”.

He said: “I greatly regret that this has become such a divisive issue. This is not about big business trying to control Aberdeen’s future. The business supporters genuinely care about Aberdeen’s future. They know that something needs to happen in the city centre to help them attract the talent they need to grow.”

Sir Ian, head of energy giant Wood Group, has pledged £50m to kick-start the £140m plans to make the “Granite Web” design by New York architects Diller, Scofidio and Renfro a reality.

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Ian Aberdon

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 08:10 AM

What we have in Aberdeen City Centre right now already IS an urban eyesore. A disgrace for what - supposedly - is meant to be one of the few successful cities right now.

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Aberdeen lad

Friday, February 24, 2012 at 02:41 AM

I think its disgusting the way Aberdeen City Council and ACSEF have behaved, if they weren't so corrupt I might have read their leaflets that were shoved through my door.

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Graham Slater

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 06:23 PM

Wood is desperate if he is trundling out Corall. After the people of Aberdeen reject the CRAZY scheme to bulldoze city-centre Victorian parklands and fell,nearly 100 century-old trees, the SNP councillors will find much creative interest in alternative, much less costly plans to deck over the road and railway and extend the beautiful UTG, rather than destroy them. We do not want and cannot afford a granite chip and concrete monstrosity complete with wire-caged elevated walkways disfiguring the granite heart of Scotland's third city and landing it with an urban eyesore in the making.

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Alan Craigie

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 04:58 PM

A council that can't pay it's bills, has had Audit Scotland tell them they're spending was unsupportably excessive, and we're told by Councillor John Corall we're "tired, blinkered people with no vision or hope" if we dare oppose it. Me thinks John will be seeking alternative employment come the next election.

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Logie88

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 08:54 AM

Ian Wood obviously has not done the media training. "This is not about big business trying to control Aberdeen's future". Of course it is.

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Free Scot

Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 08:41 AM

It would be easier to accept Wood at face value if the deal between him and ACC was published instead of being secret. If this is truly altruism then why are the details being hidden? His heavy handed insistance on one design makes you think some of the newly created subterranean property might be part of the deal.

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