Fresh plans for new Aberdeen Market

The new Aberdeen Market is due to open its doors in just two years’ time.

Excitement is mounting locally regarding the £50million development, which is expected to give a massive boost to the fortunes of Union Street and the surrounding area.

The council says the market will be a destination venue featuring international-style food and drink outlets.

The facility is a key part of the local authority’s £150million City Centre Regeneration Masterplan.

An updated planning application for the project has just been made.

The refreshed drawings reflect public demand for some open space on The Green to be retained following the demolition of the old BHS store.

The latest proposals will incorporate an expanded outdoor space to host major events and pop-up activities attracting additional footfall into the heart of the city and acting as a catalyst for the further regeneration of The Green and Merchant Quarter area.

At the end of April, UK Government minister Michael Gove visited the location, which is benefiting from a £20million Levelling-Up grant.

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was shown around the market site.

The development will also create pedestrian routes between Union Street and the bus and railway stations, including an escalator, enliven Hadden Street and Market Street, and also provide streetscape improvements in and around The Green.

The site is to be developed with market-style floorspace promoting local produce and goods alongside continental-style delicatessen, cafes, and food outlets.

North-east artisan food and drink producers who have enjoyed success at the annual Taste of Grampian event could see the new Aberdeen Market as a perfect opportunity to take their next step by renting space.

There are hopes that the Granite City facility could follow in the footsteps of successful retail town markets south of the border, such as in Altrincham and Borough.

The design of the Aberdeen venue will feature a mixture of fixed indoor units of various sizes alongside space for temporary and pop-up facilities.

There would also be a flexible-use outside space.

The UK Government cash will be used towards the development of the new market and improvements to Union Street Central.

Mr Gove, who is from Aberdeen, said: “I am delighted to be back in my home town to see first-hand how Levelling-Up funding is transforming the city.

“Our investment will ensure Aberdeen continues to prosper with the creation of a vibrant new market space and upgraded transport links turbo-charging Levelling-Up.

Council Co-leader Ian Yuill said: “The UK Government’s Levelling Up fund grant has been a tremendous boost for this city centre development.

“The market development will create jobs, bring a vibrant and exciting new destination for people to visit, and provide an important escalator link between Union Street and the bus and train stations.”

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce was among those backing the city centre to get Levelling-Up cash.

Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of

“Adopting this approach, phase one of the Aberdeen City Centre Masterplan has delivered strongly against these objectives resulting in a number of hugely-exciting additions to our public realm.

“But this was just the start. Now it’s time for the next set of projects and the international market development will be at the vanguard of this.

“It will provide an opportunity for independent retailers to fill the void being left by the majors, supporting jobs in our food, drink and agriculture sector. It will provide a focal point to generate footfall in our city. It ambitious projects within the next phase of the masterplan.”

The former BHS building had been vacant for approximately seven years before it was bought by the council.

Demolition work has taken place on the former BHS structure, and legal work is now going on in preparation for the next stage of the work.

Planning permission was granted by the council in May 2022 to create the new Aberdeen Market.

A year previously, the council’s growth and resources committee agreed to the purchase of the former

Aberdeen Market was once the Granite City’s go-to shopping mall, but it finally shut its doors in March 2020.

With brand names tending to dominate the high street, the market had provided space for smaller, quirky businesses.

As the face of shopping changed across the city centre over the years, Aberdeen Market was a constant part of the story of the city’s retail development.

The original New Market was designed by architect Archibald Simpson in 1842 and gave Market Street its name.

The classical granite facade on Market Street led into a magnificent vaulted hall.

However, exactly 40 years to the day after it first opened, it was destroyed by a fire in 1882.

More than 2,000 people were inside the busy market at the time of the fateful fire, which started at basket maker Robert Ogg’s stall.

Some willow baskets were accidently set alight.

The fire spread quickly and reached the roof, eventually gutting the building.

It was rebuilt and reopened in 1883.

However, by the end of the 1960s, the market was on the wane.

A controversial decision was made to demolish the building and start again.

The Victorian arcades and galleries were swept away in 1971 to make room for modern concrete and steel.

This New Market was opened in 1974 by Scottish brewer and political activist Sir William McEwan Younger.

The opening of the £1million building was delayed because the three-day working week affected the various firms connected with fitting out the centre.

It became a Mecca for shoppers, but people started to turn their back on its small stores in favour of High Street chains.

The facility struggled to retain the popularity of its predecessor with many of the stalls and shop units falling empty, despite a £500,000 facelift in 1992.

Work starts on ONE SeedPod innovation hub for food and drink manufacturing

Work to create ONE SeedPod – the transformational industry innovation hub for Scotland’s food and drink industry – has started in Aberdeen, following the completion of the capital funding package and award of the construction contract.

Opportunity North East (ONE) is leading and delivering the Aberdeen City Region Deal innovation project to create the new space, facilities, programmes and entrepreneurial environment for a key growth sector of the economy on Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) Craibstone Campus.

ONE SeedPod is a £27million investment to enable manufacturing and production businesses to lead in innovation, productivity, sustainability, and developing foods of the future. To increase premium exports and create high-value jobs.

Robertson Construction is the main contractor, and ONE SeedPod is scheduled to open in late 2024.

The project includes £10million of capital funding from the UK Government and Scottish Government via the Aberdeen City Region Deal (ACRD) – a partnership between the governments, ONE, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council. ONE has committed £5.4million and set up Food Hub (NES) Limited to take the capital project forward. ONE secured £3.1million for ONE SeedPod from the Just Transition Fund in 2022, and Scottish Enterprise has now confirmed £2million. Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is a strategic partner and providing the site for ONE SeedPod.

Food and drink businesses and partners hailed the project as game-changing for the sector, which employs more than 22.000 people in North-east Scotland with an annual turnover of £2.2billion.

David Kilshaw OBE, who chairs the Food Hub (NES) Board, said: “The ONE SeedPod industry innovation hub will put food and drink businesses at the forefront of product and process innovation, low-carbon high-value manufacturing, as well as the development of premium markets for consumer-led foods of the future.

“The unique combination of commercial facilities, sector knowledge, insights and expert networks in ONE SeedPod will stimulate ambition, nurture the next generation of highgrowth start-ups, and accelerate scale-up. The hub sits at the heart of this significant food-producing region and will be a national asset for the sector,” said Mr Kilshaw.

UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said: “It’s great news that construction is starting on ONE SeedPod. This fantastic new facility will boost Scotland’s world-leading food and drinks exports and bring new jobs and investment to Aberdeen and the wider region. The UK Government is supporting ONE SeedPod with £5million in funding as part of £125million investment in the Aberdeen City Region Deal.”

Scottish Government Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said: “The start of ONE SeedPod’s construction is a major milestone in the Aberdeen City Region Deal. SeedPod will support a just transition to net zero in the north east, helping food and drinks businesses grow, innovate and succeed.

“It is the result of strong regional partnership working, which draws on the strengths of different sectors, and aligns with the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

“This is why we are making an £8.1million investment in SeedPod - £5million through the Deal and £3.1million from the Just Transition Fund - supporting innovation, enterprise and prosperity for an important industry in the region,” said Mr Gray.

When was your business established?

2021.

What does your business do?

We provide packaging supplies and warehouse consumables along with offering a full procurement service which helps customers manage their spend and drive efficiencies into their supply chain. This really helps them focus on more strategic capital expenditures. i-Protech is one of the North-east Scotland’s leading specialist designers and installers of green energy products - solar energy, battery storage and electric vehicle charging points. We also offer a range of other services including electrical, security and fire systems.

When was your business established?

I started i-Protech in October 2015, after more than 20 years working in the oil industry, onshore/offshore and abroad. I always thought I would have my own business one day so, when the opportunity arose, I decided to go for it.

What sort of companies do you do business with?

The great thing about packaging is that almost everyone uses it! The core of our customer base is oil and gas companies, and we have a focus on working with local businesses. The range of customer we deal with daily is vast though, from providing coffee cups and burger boxes to football clubs in England to hazardous goods drums and labels to a transport company heading to Asia.

What is the biggest challenge at the moment?

There are obvious economic factors at the moment with rising costs of goods. Legal factors are also coming into play with things like plastic taxes being introduced by the government. We have introduced recycled products as standard to avoid this being an issue for the most part though, therefore creating more sustainable products in the process.

What does your business do?

What sort of companies do you do business with?

We provide solutions for domestic and commercial clients in a range of sectors including energy, agriculture, and utilities. We work mainly in the Northeast but also have customers across the country. We recently completed a solar panel install on a house in Skye, which was challenging but a great success.

What is the biggest challenge at the moment?

The past couple of years have been challenging for two main reasons: recruitment of trained, experienced electricians is an ongoing issue, and the sourcing and supply of materials. Brexit, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine have all contributed to a shortage

And the biggest opportunity?

Green regulations are driving change and as a result significant emphasis has been placed on sustainable packaging options in recent times. More natural products are being used as packaging solutions and we can offer products such as burger boxes made from sugarcane and airbags made of potato peelings. Also, with such an increase in ecommerce, we can offer many innovative solutions to help businesses keep shipping costs to a minimum.

What are you most

passionate and proud of?

I am so proud of the team we have built and the culture within the organisation. Every single member brings their own unique qualities and the hard work is clear to see in the results of the first two years. On a personal note, I am also incredibly proud of how I have coped with having a young family whilst starting a new business during such an uncertain time. They have been my rock throughout some turbulent times that every business owner will have experienced and I am so thankful for the support they have given me every single day.

of materials and rising costs. This is improving thankfully.

And the biggest opportunity?

Our current focus is on picking up more commercial work, helping businesses to reduce costs. Recently, we have been doing a lot of work with the agriculture sector. Farms tend to have large areas of ground and building roof space which are conducive to the erection of large solar panel systems.

What are you most passionate and proud of?

I am passionate about offering clients a cleaner, greener way of living. It is always interesting to hear about the newest technologies on the market and how they can benefit our customers to live a safer, greener life, as well as save money.

David England, Managing Director, Highland Fayre Ltd

When was your business established?

Highland Fayre Ltd was established by my father in 1985. Back then it was a small business selling only wild smoked salmon. It has since blossomed into a leading corporate hamper company selling luxury food and wine hampers throughout the UK. We launched online in 1997.

What does your business do?

We provide a wide range of gift hampers suitable for all kinds of occasions. Our specialist area is bespoke hampers for employees and clients, providing branding in various creative ways. We can work to nearly any unit budget and delivery requirement. Where possible we support local Scottish suppliers and champion those whose focus is on sustainability and social enterprise.

What sort of companies do you do business with?

We cater for everyone, be it small companies keen to reward a handful of office staff with individual hampers, or large blue-chip companies wishing to gift hampers on a larger scale. For example, supplying our largest customer necessitates us delivering 16,300 hampers to home addresses in time for Christmas!

What is the biggest challenge at the moment?

One of the greatest challenges is pricing when there are long lead times involved. We sometimes quote as early as February for Christmas hampers, yet still honour the price six months later when the goods are ordered from suppliers. Inflation and higher running costs made 2022 unusually difficult and we predict this year to be similar. I’m proud of the fact that in 33 years of business we have always been able to hold the original price quoted, even for orders placed right at the start of the year.

And the biggest opportunity?

Gift hampers that cater for specialist dietary requirements are an important growth area. We want to do our part in promoting broad food types and have sustainability as a priority. We are also strongly focussed on sourcing ecological products for our hampers, and establishing a reputation for producing social enterprise gifts that endorse social and environmental causes and have a positive community impact.

facilities management services and refurbishments services to oil and gas clients in the UK and North Sea.

What sort of companies do you do business with?

We have a diverse portfolio of clients across the energy sector. Our clients include refineries, oil terminals, gas plants, corporate offices and offshore installations.

Ed Morrow, Managing Director, Sodexo Energy & Resources

When was your business established?

Sodexo was originally founded in 1966 in Marseille, France. Sodexo Energy & Resources has been present in Aberdeen since 1976.

What does your business do?

Our Energy & Resources team delivers catering, hospitality, welfare,

What is the biggest challenge at the moment?

The food and facilities management industry is evolving. We are working on attracting a younger and more diverse workforce, transforming the way we deliver our services through technological enablers and sustainable solutions; and this business transformation is merged with the energy industry challenge of transitioning to renewable energies. As a result, our challenge is to transform our services to be not only more sustainable, but to be able to accompany our clients in new renewable projects as offshore wind, carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

And the biggest opportunity?

The energy sector is experiencing an important wave of change as it transitions from historic oil and gas operations to environmentally sustainable solutions with renewable energy. Our ambition is to be world leader in sustainable food and facility management services for our offshore and onshore clients, so this transition offers us a huge opportunity.

What are you most passionate and proud of?

I am delighted when we hear examples of where our teams have gone the extra mile in delivering services, particularly in the area of safety, our number one priority within this industry. For instance, we have a number of sites with nearly 15 years of no safety incidents. Excelling at service delivery and support is at the heart of all the activities we do for our clients and we strive to create a working environment where our colleagues, clients and customers are free from harm.