Aberdeen to apply for funding to spearhead City of Culture bid in 2017

• Aberdeen city council is planning to set aside £13 million over four years for the project, and to raise a further £10 million through corporate, philanthropic and personal support

• Chief executive Valerie Watts said that the work will benefit the Granite City’s residents as well as attracting visitors from the UK and abroad

• The council is expected to learn next Spring if their bid has been successful

Members of the council’s urgent business committee today unanimously approved the approach for lottery funding to help meet the estimated total cost of £33million for the transformational project.

The council is also planning to set aside a total of £13 million over the next four years for the project and to raise a further £10 million through corporate, philanthropic and personal support

Aberdeen City Council’s Chief Executive Valerie Watts said: “I am delighted that the council has taken this decision today. The investment being proposed will increase access to the city’s Art and Museums Collections by a third, as well as making it possible to welcome larger incoming exhibitions.

“This work will not only benefit the people living in the city but will attract visitors from the UK and abroad. It is an important step in this council’s plan to maximise Aberdeen’s cultural potential as we bid to be UK City of Culture 2017.”

Councillor Barney Crockett, the leader of the city council, said: “This decision highlights this council’s commitment to the redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery as its top cultural priority; its location is the very heart of the city’s Cultural Quarter. This decision, which was unanimous, is testament to this council’s determination to do all that we can for Aberdeen’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2017.”

The council is likely to learn in the Spring of next year whether its bid for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been successful.