ABERDEEN'S Union Terrace Gardens is set to open to the public on Thursday following high-profile construction delays.
The public space, which opened in 1879, has undergone a £28 million upgrade since being closed in 2019 for renovations.
And now the gardens are set to be accessible to the public again after a “soft open” of a section of the space was cancelled back in April due to stalled construction works.
Shortly before the planned opening of the park it became clear that there was still a significant level of work required to be done and that it was not yet ready to be unveiled.
The council voiced its disappointment at the time but added that it was following the advice of its construction partner Balfour Beatty.
Controversy had hit the project previous to the failed April opening as the year before it emerged slab steps from the gardens had been dumped in a residential garden.
It was later confirmed by the council that materials stored at an “unapproved location” had been removed.
Currently, the main lawn of the gardens is yet to be turfed, with that likely being put on hold due to the prospect of frost and rain over the coming winter months.
It is possible that turf for the central lawn could be put down after the Spectra light festival in February, with some of the event set to take place in Union Terrace Gardens.
Renovations to the space were due to be finished last year but were pushed back due to delays partly caused by the pandemic.
Plans to give the gardens a sprucing first received the local council support back in 2007 but it wasn’t until December 2016 that proposals to remodel the park were unveiled.
The renovations finally received approval in 2018.
