Aberdeen eyes beach rejuvenation with £20m levelling up fund bid

ABERDEEN City Council has submitted a £20 million bid to rejuvenate its beach area to the UK Government’s levelling up fund 2.The plans for the beachfront include a pier, a playpark and other leisure facilities, ‘attractive’ streetscaping, increased usability for the Beach Ballroom, and a ‘state-of-the-art’ sports arena.The elements which are part of the levelling up fund 2 bid include an urban park (a playpark, sports area and a pump track), an events field, a gateway building, a hub building, and canopy features, and a pedestrian ‘spine’.The levelling up fund 2 operates on a competitive basis, with a maximum of one project being funded per Westminster constituency and one strategic transport project per local authority.Aberdeen City Council city growth and resources convener, councillor Alexander McLellan, said, “The plans for the beachfront are being designed to provide an exciting new environment for both residents and visitors to the city while conserving the heritage of the area and encouraging more people to make the shift to walking, cycling, or public transport.“The proposals are also centred around the need to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic in a positive way and ensure we are investing in our city and making it a place people want to live, work, visit and do business.“We welcome the opportunity to bid to the UK Government’s levelling up fund 2 and the opportunity that presents to help fund our ambitious plans for the beach front, as we believe we are presenting a strong case to rejuvenate our beachfront and the benefits that will bring to our city and the people living here.”