Aberdeen, Aspc Stats

[shortbread]

Highland, Perth and Aberdeen rank highest for job retention scheme claims

These figures does not include unemployed/economically inactive people in each area.

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The Highlands have the highest number of workers on furlough per head of population. Scottish Business Insider analysis suggests businesses in the north of the country - which is heavily dependent on the tourism trade - have claimed on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for 13.6% of the population.

Employers in Aberdeen, whose oil & gas industry sector has taken a hit from falling prices and the resulting job cuts, have put 12.1% of the population on furlough.

We based our calculations on National Records of Scotland population figures for 2018-19, rounding down to the nearest 100, and new figures released by HMRC broken down by council area. Our figures do not take into account differences in demographic make-up such as the number of retired people or economically inactive people in each area.

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/area-highest-rate-people-furlough-22181293

[sandster]

Quite a few mates have been furloughed. I would be surprised if they all had jobs to go back to. That's across all sector from QSs to Graphic Designers to Pub Managers.

[Ignorantbliss]

Going by the increase in ASPC emails in the last week, property market slowly reopening again (also noticed they've reopened a lot of the building sites).

So more supply appearing.

But where will the buyers come from with gloomy job news like this?

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https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/247484/north-sea-expected-to-bear-the-brunt-of-1-in-4-oil-job-cuts-analysis-shows/

One in four UK oil and gas sector employees could be cut in the event of a prolonged downturn, with north-east Scotland expected to “bear the brunt”, new analysis shows.

The gloomy, “L-shaped” recovery scenario would mean a reduction of around 37,500 jobs, according to Robert Gordon University (RGU), while a “Nike swoosh” response would put one in 10 at risk.

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https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/248564/lloyds-register-cuts-46-jobs-from-upstream-team/

Dozens of jobs have been lost at a north-east energy firm, with its parent company stepping back from part of the market.

A total of 46 people have been made redundant from the Lloyd’s Register upstream consulting team, who had been working from the Prime Four site in Aberdeen and an office in London.

 

[shortbread]

A detailed article on Aberdeen's current challenges in the Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jun/25/britain-beyond-lockdown-can-we-become-cleaner-coronavirus

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As Covid-19 accelerates the shift towards renewable energy, Jonathan Watts hears how this change risks causing intergenerational injustice in Aberdeen

Like many young people in Aberdeen, Mike Scotland dreamed of a well-paid job on a rig in the North Sea, in the oil and gas field that has made his home town a boom town for most of the past 40 years. In February the 28-year-old landed the position he had wanted with Shell, and he was due to take a helicopter to the Shearwater platform in July once he had completed training.

Then Covid-19 struck, oil prices crashed, new projects were cancelled and Scotland was laid off. He is now working as a team member at the KFC restaurant in the Haudagain retail park, where he earns the minimum wage. “I earn in a week what I would have made in a day on the rig, but I can support my family and that is the main thing,” said Scotland, whose fiancee is expecting their second child in July. “I appreciate I have a job. Many don’t.”

Intergenerational divide
Since the start of the crisis, thousands of workers have been laid off in Aberdeen, which is the centre of the oil and gas industry in Europe. The town was already struggling to recover from a sharp fall in crude prices five years ago, as well as increasing social pressure to rein back on fossil fuels that are destabilising the climate. Without government intervention, the young look set to take a double hit from the post-lockdown economic downturn and the energy transition.
No age group is immune to the shift, but those closer to retirement are more likely to have a nest egg saved up from the golden era of North Sea oil. Timothy Robinson, 62, a petroleum geologist, has decided to retire early as a result of the coronavirus downturn, which he believes is likely to choke the revival of the oil industry in Aberdeen

“I have almost 40 years of experience in energy and it is currently undergoing by far the most fundamental changes I have ever seen. The only growth areas I can see for it in Aberdeen are decommissioning old rigs and offshore wind energy,” he said. “I would advise anyone who [is] entering the industry to focus on developing experience and expertise in areas that are CO2-neutral, because that is the future.”

In terms of the economic fallout from Covid-19, Aberdeen is likely to be among the worst-affected cities in Britain. This is partly because it has so much to lose. The city has grown affluent thanks to its offshore expertise, which is in demand around the world. The population here are highly globalised, and many technicians and consultants fly off for several months of the year to do lucrative contract work on oil fields in Africa, South America or Asia. But a Guardian callout to readers about the impact of coronavirus revealed a huge number of job losses that some say are barely covered in the media.

Nicola Gardiner, an Aberdeen resident whose husband works in the oil and gas industry, explained how her once-prosperous home city had been affected. Chatting on wicker chairs in the spacious garden outside her traditional granite house, she said house prices had slumped, people were stuck in negative equity and there were no jobs. Efforts to diversify the local economy by attracting more tourists have been hit by delays to the £350m harbour development. Restaurants and hotels are empty.

“It’s a domino effect here as ‘Aber-dream’ turns to ‘Aber-nightmare’,” she said. “There are bleak times ahead. That’s what happens when an industry is dying and a pandemic arrives.”

A just transition
On the seafront, seagulls circle noisily over roads and beaches that are considerably emptier than those along the coastline south of the border. A helicopter buzzes overhead, taking workers out to oil and gas platforms in the North Sea, but the number of such flights is far lower than six months ago.

Andrew Duncan (not his real name) used to be a frequent passenger because he specialises in maintenance of drilling equipment. Last week he was laid off after more than five years’ employment at a major oil service company.

He believes the Covid-19 crisis is being used by some firms as an excuse to accelerate restructuring plans. “I’m absolutely gutted. They went about it in an underhand, sneaky way,” he said. “I was treated as if I was just another asset, like a piece of equipment.”

He is worried about how he can provide for his wife and child. “This is just the beginning. The oil industry faces a perfect storm of lockdown, low prices and climate change,” he said. Now he is applying for jobs in the wind turbine industry and oil rig decommissioning. “That is the future,” he said.

‘Expect the worst and hope for the best’
Colette Cohen, the chief executiveof the Oil and Gas Technology Centre in Aberdeen, is optimistic there will be more support for energy transition in Scotland. “From industry perspective and from government connections, I would say the only recovery is a green recovery. A lot of people have seen a better world and want a change,” she said. “It’s very exciting. It’s an amazing time to be involved in energy and technology.”

But she warned there was likely to be a dip for between 18 months to three years, as the investment shifted direction. “That is the difficult time. That’s the worry. It is hard to see how we will navigate that effectively.” One element will be managing a generational shift: as boom-era oil workers retire and old rigs are decommissioned, opportunities for the young may be hard to find. Coronavirus has made that challenge even harder because it has shut down the service sector.

This week Scotland’s advisory group of economic recovery recommended that the government provide a two-year job lifeline and training scheme for young people as part of £6bn in stimulus spending. “If we don’t intervene radically to transform our economy, inequalities will drastically widen, with long-term scarring for communities across the country and for our young people in particular,” said the chair of the group, Benny Higgins.

This prudent approach of acknowledging risk and alleviating adversity may explain why even the worst-affected workers find reasons for hope. Mike Scotland said he was throwing himself full-hearted into his new job at KFC, as well as continuing work on the mental health and environmental charities he founded. “I get it when people say they are having a bad time, but that is not an excuse to give up. I am looking at this as a life lesson, a step outside my comfort zone,” he said. 

“I think there are a lot of people who want to change and are ready to change. But others who are not ready. I guess Covid could speed it up. People have had more time to be at home and to think,” he said. “We have to expect the worst and hope for the best.”

 

[Warwick-Watcher]

On 29/06/2020 at 15:30, Ignorantbliss said:

Going by the increase in ASPC emails in the last week, property market slowly reopening again (also noticed they've reopened a lot of the building sites).

So more supply appearing.

But where will the buyers come from with gloomy job news like this?

 

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/248939/ithaca-energy-sinks-to-945million-loss-and-plans-25-reduction-of-onshore-employees/

More jobs going in Aberdeen. 

[shortbread]

More City Centre homes .....

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Plans approved to build 140 homes on site of former Aberdeen office building

Plans to demolish Greyfriars House on Gallowgate to make way for 140 new homes have been approved by councillors. Under the plans, the existing office building will be demolished, and blocks of between five and seven storeys tall will be built in its place. A car park with space for 33 vehicles will also be constructed, and access points and road junctions will be altered.

A report, which went before the committee, read: “The proposed development would deliver additional housing in the city centre, which would comply with the vision of the City Centre Masterplan and thus, by default, with the Aberdeen Local Development Plan.

“It is considered that a satisfactory residential environment could be created whilst avoiding undue conflict with the adjacent land uses subject to a requirement for finalised details, including a noise impact assessment, to be submitted and assessed via subsequent matters specified in conditions applications.”

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/plans-approved-to-build-140-homes-on-site-of-former-aberdeen-office-building/

[Killer Bunny]

Yup. Aberdeen is desperate for new homes.

[shortbread]

Affordable housing waiver for city centre development to continue until 2022

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/2306300/affordable-housing-waiver-for-city-centre-development-to-continue-until-2022/

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A waiver for city centre developers that exempts them from the need to build affordable properties will roll-on until June 2022, despite no one having moved into housing as a result of the policy over the last two years.

Aberdeen councillors have extended the moratorium on affordable housing requirements for firms building in city centre in an effort to stimulate building. Councillors voted eight to three to extend the moratorium, which was due to end at the turn of the year. The waiver has been on offer since September 2018 and although eligible plans for around 450 homes have been approved since, none is yet inhabited. But yesterday council officers recommended elected members extend the scheme and blamed the coronavirus crisis for its seemingly underwhelming impact.

The Point development at Triple Kirks has been the largest scheme to benefit from the break, with around 340 homes soon to be readied for moving in. Planning committee members were told coronavirus had affected the delivery of the properties, but that the policy was responsible for a “significant increase” in the number of applications for city centre work. Officers said before lockdown that developer Dandara had been expected to gain sign-off for people to move in by April. Building of about another 60 homes in city centre is underway, meaning work is outstanding on only around 50 properties.

Opposition SNP councillor John Cooke called for the scheme to be left to expire in December, fearing it made living the city centre exclusive to the well paid. “I do want to encourage city centre living but not at the exclusion of lower paid folk: the refuse collectors, supermarket checkout workers and nurses.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Greig said it was “disappointing” there were, as yet, no more people living in the city centre because of the two-year-old policy.

Planning convener Marie Boulton warned the council needed to continue to encourage city centre living or else risked having “a desert in the heart of Aberdeen. We have to make sure we have a vibrant city centre which is a heart that beats, not one slowly dying because retail and office space is not occupied.”

The Triple Kirks re-development Saga

• August 2011: Stewart Milne Office Complex. STEWART Milne Developments has welcomed the granting of planning consent for the redevelopment of the Triple Kirks site in Aberdeen to create 72,600 sq ft (6750 sq m) of Grade A office space in the heart of the Granite City.
• September 2013: Dandara Office Complex. Triple Kirks work underway in Aberdeen 'by end of year' says developer Dandara. Built in the 1800s after being designed by architect Archibald Simpson, the redbrick tower and spire has been lying derelict since the 1970s. Property developer Dandara has bought the site from Stewart Milne Group. It intends to begin a £20m seven-storey development around the building's spire. The aim is for the office space - called The Point - to be ready by late 2015.
• June 2014: Dandara 80k sq ftOffice Complex. Commercial property experts attend the official launch of The Point at Aberdeen's historic Art Gallery on June 12. The Point, Dandara's flagship development, is an investment in the region of £20m, commanding the finest streetscape in the beating heart of a city which sets the tone for the global energy industry. This new development will provide 80,000 sq ft of grade-A office space and will be connected to all of Aberdeen's modern amenities and key business locations on the site of Archibald Simpson's famous Triple Kirks.
• August 2015: Dandara Student Accomodation. Developer Dandara wants to create 337 units for students in the heart of the city. The development was originally going to be office space but Dandara then said there had been a change in market conditions. Gavin Wyley, managing director of Dandara in Aberdeen, said: "Our focus is on securing the future of the former Triple Kirks site, bringing new generations of city centre residents into Aberdeen by creating the city's premier student accommodation. Demand for high quality live/study accommodation in Aberdeen is far outstripped by supply - we hope to address some of that imbalance through the regeneration of the site."
• October 2018: Dandara 'NOT' Student Accomodation. Triple Kirks development will no longer be just for students after council decision. Council planners have given a developer permission to let non-academic residents live in a £20million student accommodation development. Dandara submitted an application to overturn a building condition for its 342-bed Triple Kirks development to be solely for students in October. The move came following a change in city council policy that was approved in September, which allows developers to waive affordable housing contributions for the next two years if they create residential developments of less than 50 homes within the city centre.
• NOW: Dandara The Point. The development’s prime central location, excellent links to the city’s main transport hubs, retail and leisure amenities, meets the demand from the large number of highly skilled temporary and specialist contract workers who relocate to the city each year. This landmark development comprises 342 Build-to-Rent apartment within 5 minutes’ of Aberdeen city centre and features a mix of 50% studio apartments and 50% en-suite rooms with a shared kitchen-living room. Additional facilities include: Amazon delivery, gym, cinema room, break-out area, library, 2 large kitchens (available for rental), and a coffee shop. Superfast broadband and all utility bills are also included.

https://dandarabtr.com/planned-btr-developments/the-point-btr-apartments-aberdeen/

That ugly monstrosity (albeit beauty in the eyes of the.....) is a stark contrast to the initially approved designs.

Edited July 3, 2020 by shortbread

[pmgdawau]

quite apt that building looks like the rusting  hulk of an oil rig, absolutely dreadful

with so much housing going underwater with the mortgages will there be opportunities for unemployed subsea engineers ?

[Ignorantbliss]

On 03/07/2020 at 13:02, shortbread said:

The Triple Kirks re-development Saga

 

That ugly monstrosity (albeit beauty in the eyes of the.....) is a stark contrast to the initially approved designs.

It's a appalling building in its current state, and must surely be a candidate for the next RIBA Carbuncle Cup.

That aside, what astonishes me is why it looks like that (unless there is a outer layer of cladding still to go on).

What happened to oversight of the project by the council planners?

How can someone allow the planned design mutate into this monstrosity?

What a shame the local rag doesn't do some investigative journalism and get some answers.

[shortbread]

7 hours ago, Ignorantbliss said:

What happened to oversight of the project by the council planners?

What a shame the local rag doesn't do some investigative journalism and get some answers.

Property developers are the most influential business groups in Aberdeen, much more so than O&G organisations. They advertise heavily on local media and work very closely with the city council. 

That said karma is a B!tch. So despite all the nonsense the local rags present as 'property news' or the red carpet rolled out by the city council, this nexus can do very little to alter the dynamics of demand and supply. 

[Warwick-Watcher]

7 hours ago, shortbread said:

Property developers are the most influential business groups in Aberdeen, much more so than O&G organisations. They advertise heavily on local media and work very closely with the city council. 

That said karma is a B!tch. So despite all the nonsense the local rags present as 'property news' or the red carpet rolled out by the city council, this nexus can do very little to alter the dynamics of demand and supply. 

Aberdeen is slowly on it's way to join many other British cities where their original purpose for existing has gone.

Liverpool - docks and shipbuilding, Welsh valleys - coal and steel making, Glasgow - service the empire and manufacturing (to support shipbuilding amongst other things).

None of these places developed for fun - they all served industry. Now we're left without the industry but still have the assets and the people.

[shortbread]

THE KNIGHT FRANK GLOBAL RESIDENTIAL CITIES INDEX, Q1 2020

150 GLOBAL CITIES RANKED BY ANNUAL % CHANGE (Q1 2019-Q1 2020)

Quote

The Global Residential Cities Index tracks mainstream residential prices on a city-by-city basis. Updated quarterly, the index tracks the performance of house prices across 150 cities worldwide.

The data in this report is backwardlooking and covers the period up to 31 March when Covid-19 was at its peak in parts of Asia but had yet to take its toll on large parts of Europe, North or South America.
As we’ve outlined in our regular Covid-19 daily updates since the start of the pandemic, we expect sales volumes to feel the impact of Covid-19 more than prices with employment protection schemes and mortgage holidays in many advanced economies likely to reduce the number of distressed sales and hence the likelihood of price falls.

RANK 65, London: +4.6%

RANK 66, Manchester: +4.6%

RANK 83, Glasgow: +3.1%

RANK 84, Bristol: +3.1%

RANK 86, Edinburgh: +3.1%

RANK 118, Exeter: +0.8%

RANK 131, Birmingham: -0.5%

RANK 141, Oxford: -3.1%

RANK 142, Aberdeen: -3.5%

https://content.knightfrank.com/research/1026/documents/en/global-residential-cities-index-q1-2020-7274.pdf

 

[dryrot]

On 05/07/2020 at 23:26, Ignorantbliss said:

It's a appalling building in its current state, and must surely be a candidate for the next RIBA Carbuncle Cup.

That aside, what astonishes me is why it looks like that (unless there is a outer layer of cladding still to go on).

What happened to oversight of the project by the council planners?

How can someone allow the planned design mutate into this monstrosity?

What a shame the local rag doesn't do some investigative journalism and get some answers.

Perhaps "Reality" was designed for the new Scottish Ministry of Love? Seems an excellent design for a secret police HQ

[shortbread]

Good News, John Lewis Aberdeen will reopen! There were fears initially when JL announced reopening of the Scottish stores last week but said the Aberdeen store would remain closed. The big department store on George Street is among the last remaining ones in Aberdeen. 

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Aberdeen’s John Lewis spared as retailer announces plans to close eight stores

The John Lewis in Aberdeen will reopen later this month, as the retailer announces plans to close eight stores permanently. The high street favourite announced a number of shops in England could not take up trade again after the coronavirus-prompted closure. Around 1,300 jobs are at risk due to the move.

The department store in George Street will reopen on July 30, among nine welcoming customers back on that date.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/2322548/aberdeens-john-lewis-spared-as-retailer-announces-eight-stores-wont-reopen/

[Diver Dan]

23 hours ago, shortbread said:

Good News, John Lewis Aberdeen will reopen! There were fears initially when JL announced reopening of the Scottish stores last week but said the Aberdeen store would remain closed. The big department store on George Street is among the last remaining ones in Aberdeen. 

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/2322548/aberdeens-john-lewis-spared-as-retailer-announces-eight-stores-wont-reopen/

It could be a case of "last man standing" and that Aberdeen has a fairly wide hinterland providing customers from a long distance from the city but who don't want to go all the way to Glasgow or Edinburgh to buy their LeCreuset saucepans and mustard coloured corduroys.

[Ignorantbliss]

Aberdeen’s TECA sees £75m wiped off its value

Aberdeen City Council really must be running towards insolvency with investment decisions like this - a labour/conservative coalition is not a marriage made in heaven.

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Around £75 million has been wiped off the value of The Events Complex Aberdeen (TECA), by KPMG’s audit of Aberdeen City Council’s books.

The Big Four firm has revealed that the exhibition centre, which includes the P&J Live arena, two hotels and an energy centre, is now worth around 80% of what it cost to build. The draft audited accounts show that the centre was completed last summer at a cost of £393.7m.

After KPMG challenged council valuations, the replacement exhibition centre has now been rated as being worth £318.7m.

In a report, KPMG auditors said they had “challenged” how the completed Teca had been valued – as it was marked down in the accounts at the actual price of construction. Auditors also urged Aberdeen cITY Council to think about how the pandemic might affect the value of its assets.

Its construction was originally costed at £333m.

Concerned councillors have warned that the huge write-down in value should be viewed as a barometer for how the north-east economy is faring, as it battles with the coronavirus pandemic and turbulence in the oil and gas industry.

On different tack, was speaking to a surveyor this week and they report they have never been busier.

Plenty new houses coming on ASPC, rightmove etc to support that.  Prices not dropping though going by my ASPC watchlist.

 

[spyguy]

7 hours ago, Ignorantbliss said:

Aberdeen’s TECA sees £75m wiped off its value

Aberdeen City Council really must be running towards insolvency with investment decisions like this - a labour/conservative coalition is not a marriage made in heaven.

On different tack, was speaking to a surveyor this week and they report they have never been busier.

Plenty new houses coming on ASPC, rightmove etc to support that.  Prices not dropping though going by my ASPC watchlist.

 

Look for the number of mortgages sold.

Id love to see the stats on mortgages approved per Postcode area.

Having the mortgage amount would be even better.

In my area (not AB) I have a suspicion that there's only a tiny number of mortgages sold/granted.

 

 

 

[The Hammer]

16 hours ago, Ignorantbliss said:

Aberdeen’s TECA sees £75m wiped off its value

Aberdeen City Council really must be running towards insolvency with investment decisions like this - a labour/conservative coalition is not a marriage made in heaven.

On different tack, was speaking to a surveyor this week and they report they have never been busier.

Plenty new houses coming on ASPC, rightmove etc to support that.  Prices not dropping though going by my ASPC watchlist.

 

With the way the Aberdeen economy is just now, it's possibly no surprise that there's a lot of properties coming on to the market. As for prices, it's the selling prices that count not asking prices.

[shortbread]

21 hours ago, Ignorantbliss said:

On different tack, was speaking to a surveyor this week and they report they have never been busier.

Plenty new houses coming on ASPC, rightmove etc to support that.  Prices not dropping though going by my ASPC watchlist.

 

I think there will be a boom in the near future. Firstly there is pent up demand/transactions built up by months of inactivity and secondly government grants/loans has put capital in the hand of many. Plus the furlough and mortgage holidays mean there is breathing space for many till the last quarter of the year.

It will be a very different picture in a years time.

[EME]

On 11/07/2020 at 21:31, shortbread said:

I think there will be a boom in the near future. Firstly there is pent up demand/transactions built up by months of inactivity and secondly government grants/loans has put capital in the hand of many. Plus the furlough and mortgage holidays mean there is breathing space for many till the last quarter of the year.

It will be a very different picture in a years time.

Yup I agree, so much so I’m putting a city centre flat on the market ASAP

I believe there are many who will come out of furlough with more cash in their pockets than before, at least in the short term

Also these government no questions asked £50k loans for businesses coupled with the LBTT changes are a homes under the hammer fans wet dream but could end in tears

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by EME
Spellingz

[Tea]

On 7/12/2020 at 10:00 PM, EME said:

Yup I agree, so much so I’m putting a city centre flat on the market ASAP

Selling now definitely a good idea IMO. I reckon we will probably see a sudden spike in sales (though that is highly dependent on mortgage approvals), then a fairly substantial drop:

"The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has issued a much starker prognosis for the housing market, predicting a further five percent drop this year, and a further 10.6% fall in 2021. That is an even more dramatic slump than the 11 per cent decline the CEBR were predicting at the start of the pandemic back in March. " 

On 7/12/2020 at 10:00 PM, EME said:

I believe there are many who will come out of furlough with more cash in their pockets than before, at least in the short term

Agree 100%. The only issue is that (as mentioned above) mortgage approvals very low right now - it appears lenders are well aware of the potential for an upcoming crash and are covering themselves by only accepting offers with giant deposits. Guess time will tell how many people have been priced out the market due to this

 

[Ignorantbliss]

BT to close base in New Telecom House in College Street

Quote

More than 100 jobs are at risk at BT in Aberdeen.

The communications firm is proposing to close its New Telecom House base in the city.

BT said it only used about 10% of the building and the lease renewal was "costly".

About 140 staff work at the base, and a 90-day consultation is under way. BT said it would try to avoid job losses by exploring alternative opportunities for staff elsewhere.

This is one of the bigger office blocks in the city centre so more supply to add to the glut - though never realised that BT only used 10% of the building.

Checking just now, with BT's departure that makes 7 floors empty.

http://fgburnett.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Aberdeen-New-Telecom-House.pdf

Now to wait for one of the Aberdeen City clowncillors to suggest converting part of it to residential flats.

[The Hammer]

4 hours ago, Ignorantbliss said:

BT to close base in New Telecom House in College Street

This is one of the bigger office blocks in the city centre so more supply to add to the glut - though never realised that BT only used 10% of the building.

Checking just now, with BT's departure that makes 7 floors empty.

http://fgburnett.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Aberdeen-New-Telecom-House.pdf

Now to wait for one of the Aberdeen City clowncillors to suggest converting part of it to residential flats.

They may still be trapped in a lease but I doubt very much Wood or BP have many, if anyone, still in that building. Used to look at it on an early evening in the winter on my way to the rail station and only the top floor ( just a few lights on) and 2nd top floor (all lit up ) showed any signs of life.

[shortbread]

Empty and derelict city centre commercial properties in Aberdeen keep piling up. Makes one wonder what sort of due diligence was done by the city council before pumping hundreds of millions into the Marischal Square development?! With so much empty retail and office space in the city centre looking for tenants, piling on more makes absolutely no sense. It only has a detrimental effect.

The only saving grace for the Telecom house is it's prime location, railway station, bus depot, Union square etc all right next door; plus a four lane road running in front of it.