Not In My Backyard

The new Marischal Square development continues upward but has now totally obscured the view of Marischal College. As far as I am aware they have not found many tenants for the new development so far.

Last week the Aberdeen Football Club (AFC) announced it was planning to build a new stadium and training centre on the outskirts of Westhill, a dormitory town just outside the City boundary. From the point of view of the City this location is ideal, it is away from any existing housing areas and on a main dual carriageway out of the city, as well as being close to the City bypass presently under construction. By a hair's breadth it lies just within the City boundary.

Naturally the residents of Westhill are not very happy. The main road is already barely able to cope with the amount of traffic between Westhill and the City. While the proposed site is well away from possible protests from Aberdeen residents, it backs right up against housing in Westhill.

Will the Council listen to the protests of voters living outside the City boundaries? Well they must have been deafened by the protests against the Marischal Square development, many of those complainants were no doubt voters in the City. They are hardly likely to listen to protests from people who do not even have a vote in the City elections.

Aberdeen Football Club is chaired by a local property developer who already seems to have some influence over planning decisions in the area, so the chance of local objectors managing to prevent this move by AFC seem not too high.