aberdeen
Aberdeen oil service worker's luck
18/05/13 17:05 Filed in: news
Many of us dream about driving a brand new supercar, like an Aston Martin, or a Lamborghini, or a Ferrari. But, although there are quite a number of them on the streets of Aberdeen, few of us ever get the chance to drive, let alone own one. Read More...
AWPR full speed ahead… or maybe not
13/11/12 17:33 Filed in: Granite Chips
Just when it seemed there was something that that Aberdeen City Council administration and the vast majority of citizens could agree on and unite in pushing forward, one of the ruling coalition introduces a question mark.
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Read More...Aberdeen needs a plan and planning
12/09/12 11:00 Filed in: Granite Chips
The new administration at Aberdeen City Council have come under some pressure – not least from this blog – to come forward with their plan for the regeneration of Aberdeen city centre, following their controversial voting down of the City Garden Plan, which had been backed by the majority of Aberdonians in the earlier referendum.
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Read More...The mandate for ditching gardens
30/08/12 09:10 Filed in: Granite Chips
Fast forward to 2014. In the Scottish Independence referendum the majority of people vote “no”.
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Read More...What now for Aberdeen city centre?
24/08/12 13:52 Filed in: Granite Chips
Unless you have been taking a spin in Curiosity on the surface of Mars, if you have any interest in Aberdeen you will know that Aberdeen’s councillors have voted not to proceed with the Aberdeen City Gardens Project and the £182 million package of city centre funding that went with it.
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Read More...Aberdeen City & Shire needs to fight for broadband investment
09/08/12 11:31 Filed in: Granite Chips
For too long Aberdeen City and Shire has been regarded as a cash cow. As the centre of the industry that has underpinned the UK economy for more than 40 years, we have watched as revenue has been siphoned off into the UK Exchequer with precious little put back.
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Read More...Good words but little detail
08/08/12 10:24 Filed in: Granite Chips
The new administration on Aberdeen City Council – a coalition of Labour, Conservative and Independent councillors – has produced its five-year plan for the city.
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Read More...What was the point of the referendum?
14/05/12 18:44 Filed in: Granite Chips
So we had a referendum so that the electorate could decide whether Aberdeen should go ahead with the City Garden Granite Web plan and the other elements in the funding package, or abandon the plan and stick with the existing Union Terrace Gardens.
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Read More...City Garden is 'all or nothing' vote on city centre investment
04/02/12 13:30 Filed in: Granite Chips
I should probably not be surprised, given the amount of confusion and misinformation that has surrounded the argument about the City Garden project. But, I am now amazed to find that the ‘referendum on the gardens’ is not just a ‘referendum on the gardens’.
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Read More...City Garden could create 6,500 new jobs
19/01/12 17:15 Filed in: Granite Chips
The Aberdeen City Garden Project could create 6,500 new jobs and inject £122 million annually into the local economy according to a new report by PwC.
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Read More...Run down Aberdeen
14/04/11 10:06 Filed in: news
An interesting and thought-provoking video that shows the other side of Aberdeen, behind the facade of the prosperous global oil and gas centre. It looks at the state of the city’s fabric and takes an arguably overly-bleak view of the city’s future prospects. Read More...
'City shopping footfall nosedives'
21/11/11 12:03 Filed in: Granite Chips
Today’s Press and Journal reports that the number of people visiting shopping areas in Scotland has nose-dived in the past year with a 9% drop in footfall. This comes as no surprise, but there is no pleasure in pointing out that this concern has been a recurring theme in this blog over the years.
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Read More...City Garden designs go on display
19/10/11 10:33 Filed in: news | Granite Chips
The six short-listed designs for the City Garden project in Aberdeen have gone on show today at the city’s Academy Shopping Centre.
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Read More...Are Aberdeen's visitors spongers or wealth creators?
27/09/11 15:15 Filed in: Granite Chips
Last week Aberdeen city Councillor John Stewart reportedly made the comment that: “Frankly, the city has been subsidising people from outside the city for too long”.
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Read More...What do you mean fast link not in consultation?
01/09/11 16:46 Filed in: Granite Chips
Have I got this right? Does the RoadSense argument with the Aberdeen bypass come down to the Stonehaven fast link not being included in the 2004 route consultation? From what I read in the press it seems to.
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Read More...RoadSense - Stop the Nonsense!
27/08/11 11:16 Filed in: Granite Chips
In less than 24 hours more than 500 people have signed a petition urging William Walton and RoadSense to abandon their appeal, which could delay the start of work on the Aberdeen bypass by at least another nine months.
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Dismay at continuing bypass misery
25/08/11 11:38 Filed in: Granite Chips
After the Court of Session turned down Road Sense’s objection to the Aberdeen by-pass, there were reports that the road would not now open until 2017 – five years later than the government promised. Now we hear that Road Sense is intent on piling on the misery by lodging an appeal.
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Read More...Six weeks to save Grampian Police
26/07/11 09:45 Filed in: Granite Chips
The Scottish Government seems to be determined to dismantle Grampian Police and the seven other police authorities in Scotland. In their place would be one national police force, no doubt headquartered in Glasgow, or Edinburgh.
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Employment update for Aberdeen City and Shire
12/07/11 16:05 Filed in: news
These are the latest figures on employment in the City of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, showing the employment trends and industry types. Read More...
Time for co-ordinated approach?
24/06/11 09:19 Filed in: Granite Chips
The press recently has been full of all the action plans for improving Aberdeen city centre. While (as long as any development is appropriate and respectful of the city’s traditions) this is welcome, there seems to be a real danger of confusion with all the different initiatives.
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Read More...Action on city centre? Or just another mountain of paper?
14/06/11 12:21 Filed in: Granite Chips
Ask visitors to Aberdeen what they think of the city centre and many will be complimentary – especially if their visit has been graced by sunshine that makes the granite sparkle, rather than matching the grey of the skies on a bad day.
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Read More...Haudagain delay extends Aberdeen roads problem
13/06/11 11:30 Filed in: Granite Chips
Councillor Kate Dean’s statement that work on Britain’s newly-crowned worst roundabout – the Haudagain at the junction of the A96 and A90 trunk roads – cannot begin until the Aberdeen by-pass is completed, underlines the fragile nature of Aberdeen’s roads infrastructure
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Read More...Is an all-Scotland police force the answer?
18/01/11 12:45 Filed in: Granite Chips
There seems to be a headlong rush in political circles to merge Scotland’s police forces into one. To hear some people speak you would think it was the only way to reduce costs. I’m not convinced.
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Read More...Aberdeen companies come together to form global giant
16/12/10 09:56 Filed in: Granite Chips
The announcement that Aberdeen’s Wood Group has reached a £600 million agreement to acquire fellow Aberdeen company PSN looks like a very positive move for Aberdeen as it builds its position in the global oil and gas industry.
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Read More...Combining Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils
08/11/10 08:54 Filed in: Granite Chips
Combining Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils is an idea that has been doing the rounds in recent years. But, it was given renewed impetus by former Aberdeenshire Council Chief Executive, Alan Campbell, when he promoted it as a solution to the financial woes in the aftermath of Aberdeen City Council’s proposed £127 million cuts.
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Read More...Take a lawyer if you want to park in Aberdeen at night
13/10/10 11:11 Filed in: Granite Chips
Encouraging more visitors into Aberdeen to spend money and support the local economy. That would seem a laudable aim for Aberdeen City Council. But, the latest parking regulations seem certain to drive evening trade out of the city. Read More...
Aberdeen stalled in the slow lane
28/07/10 19:40 Filed in: Granite Chips
The recent letter by Aberdeen area business leaders to Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson is a plea that most of us in Aberdeen City and Shire will relate to.
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Read More...Hard to sympathise with serial illegal parker
03/06/10 12:04 Filed in: Granite Chips
It is hard to summon up any sympathy for the Aberdeen legal firm employee currently facing potential bankruptcy over almost £20,000 of unpaid parking fines. Read More...
Aberdeen second in UK for quality of life
26/05/10 15:16 Filed in: Granite Chips
Aberdeen has been ranked second in the UK only to London, for its quality of life. The survey ranks Aberdeen higher than international cities like Rome, Houston, Hong Kong and Dubai.
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Read More...Stop sticking spanners in the works!
18/03/10 09:55 Filed in: Granite Chips
It seems that at every turn, there’s a pressure group hiding behind the bushes ready to run out gleefully and stick a spanner in the works of every significant development project.
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Read More...Repairing Aberdeen, Repairing Scotland
17/03/10 09:38 Filed in: Granite Chips
Trips into the centre of Aberdeen used to be a pleasure. It was good to see the city at its best. Sadly, now, these trips serve as a reminder of off how our city is decaying. Read More...
Action needed now to secure UK oil industry
15/03/10 18:08 Filed in: Granite Chips
The message delivered to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) that action is needed now to encourage investment in the North Sea oil and gas industry needs to be heeded by our politicians.
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