Garden in the City

I have to admit that the image of my blip today is rather dull, a tad boring and anything but a brilliant photograph; but it is, in this part of the world, a story of a very important subject.
Local businessman/bully Sir John Wood has decided that our lovely gardens situated right in the heart of the city centre, are no longer fit for purpose.
The sunken gardens opened to the public in 1879, and cover approximately two and a half acres . The space is bounded to the north by Rosemount Viaduct, to the south by Union Street, Aberdeen's main thoroughfare, to the east by the railway and the Den Burn, now flowing underground, and to the west by Union Terrace
Contrary to popular belief the area is not a natural amphitheatre but a small river valley with a late-Victorian viaduct constructed at the North end in 1889. The amphitheatre was formed from the covered remains of Denburn Terrace after demolition.
The park is surrounded by of some of the best Architecture of Aberdeen, prominent among which are His Majesty's Theatre, St Mark's Church and the Library on Rosemount Viaduct to the north, and the Triple Kirks to the east.
On the park's north side is a formally planted and maintained floral crest of the city's coat of arms.
At the Union Street end of the gardens stands a group of mature Elm trees, nearly 200 years old. The trees stand on the remnants of the site once known as Corbie Haugh: Corbie in Scots meaning crow; and Haugh meaning a low-lying meadow in a river valley. Corbie Haugh is still an apposite epithet for this area as crows still nest in the elms. The trees were originally planted to stabilise the embankment to prevent the newly widened Union Terrace slipping into the gardens.
The arches, which run along the length of Union Terrace, were designed by architect James Matthews, who was instrumental in turning the area into a pleasure park.
Now however this vandal has charmed the city council into going ahead with a plan to revamp (sic) them, despite the fact that a recent referndum was held and the MAJORITY of the people voted against the idea, and was rather fond of a seperate proposal by local Peacock Arts to tidy them up an dutilise the viaduct arches as art spaces.
Anyway today was the second last day of a public exhibition of the six winning designs for the new gardens, of which only one retains the principle of what it is now. This one seems to be the most popular, but even if this one does get the most votes there is no guarantee that the committee of judges, which includes the aforementioned charleton, will chose it.
some of the people in the photo are part of Friends of Union Terrace group who have been protesting and campaigning against the wholesale destruction of this splendid greenery. Some images of the gardens are here.
And images of the 6 plans are here.