Plans: An artist’s impression of the regenerated site.
A multi-million pound proposal to regenerate Aberdeen’s derelict Broadford Works has been unveiled.
The plans for the site – the largest collection of Category A listed buildings at risk in Scotland – have been put forward by a steering group led by The Prince’s Regeneration Trust for 517 homes, retail space, places to eat, a nursery and public space.
Other members of the steering group include site owner Ian Suttie, Aberdeen City Council, Historic Scotland, Tenant First House Co-operative, and architects and planning consultants, Halliday Fraser Munro. The National Trust for Scotland Little Houses Improvement Scheme has also been involved.
The 3.5-hectare site has over 100 buildings and stands close to the heart of Aberdeen, its eye-catching chimneys and tall mill buildings a distinctive feature of the city sky-line, yet it has stood redundant and neglected for the last seven years.
The former mill buildings were previously used by textile firms Richards, which went out of business in 2004.
Ros Kerslake, chief executive of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, said: “This planning application is hopefully the start of regenerating this impressive industrial heritage site and bringing it back into the community for people to enjoy.
“The steering group members all bring a set of expertise and experience that make it an excellent vehicle to ensure the proposed development honours the site’s industrial heritage while creating a contemporary mixed-use site that will greatly improve the facilities and opportunities available to the people of Aberdeen.”
The owner of Broadford Works, Ian Suttie, said: “The support given to this application has been extremely helpful for all participants. Each party has been able to present their priorities in a spirit of reaching a workable consensus.”
Mike Scott, senior heritage management officer at Historic Scotland, added: “We are very pleased to see the submission of these renewed proposals for the regeneration of the nationally important Broadford Works site.
“Given the large number of listed buildings involved and complexity of the site, we support the proposed planning strategy and have welcomed the opportunity to be part of the Steering Group, led by The Prince’s Regeneration Trust. We look forward to working further with the steering group members and the community as the planning and listed building proposals progress.”
Aberdeen City Council’s director of enterprise, planning and infrastructure, Gordon McIntosh, said: “The city council has always been supportive of regenerating the former Broadford Works site.
“There has always been a tremendous appetite to transform such a historic industrial site in the city so that it can be enjoyed by the people of Aberdeen for years to come.
“The formation of the steering group has brought together a tremendous amount of expertise and experience, which has enabled the group to tackle several major challenges facing this project. The steering group has made tremendous progress and Aberdeen City Council looks forward to continuing its work with its partner agencies.”
Click here to view more artist’s impressions of the proposed development.