Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee this week approved an update of the £48 million Beachfront Phase A project which included details of the three different elements of the scheme including the start of works to the new playpark area.

Committee convener Councillor Alex McLellan said: “It is very exciting to have the start of works to the playpark and associated parking as the first of the new beachfront improvements which will help attract people to the area as well as enhance natural features.

“We look forward to watching the beach park area progress and work starting on the events park and Broadhill in the coming months.”

The report to committee said planning consent was granted in December 2023 for the playpark, car park, and events park. Building warrant applications are now being prepared for the rope factory, hub building, gateway building, amphitheatre, site-wide drainage, and canopy.

The new works are designed to renew the beachfront to maximise the potential of this unique space and create an exceptional asset for the city.

The main features of the Beach Park include a play park, sports area/pump track, gateway building, hub building, and canopy features.

The play park will provide a significantly sized outdoor destination, facilitate connections to the city centre, create a focus for activity, and will act as a key ‘gateway’ into the wider park and the beach. The seaside location and the rope factory that was once located to the south of the site have both been key inspirations that have helped shape the design of the play area.

In conjunction with youth engagement exercises, the play area has been broken down into four main character or themed areas - The Sports Zone, The Adventure Zone, The Woodland Zone, and The Coastal Zone. Throughout all these zones, there will be rope strands creating feature routes which promote exploration and interaction between the core play and the themed zones.

Sitting within the Adventure Zone at the centre of the park is the Rope Factory, a large-scale bespoke play structure which will become an iconic element within the park and an attraction of national significance. The idea for this iconic piece of play has evolved out of workshops with the youth groups and schools.

The Events Park is an area of approximately 2.5 hectares and is intended as a flexible space capable of holding events including festivals, larger concerts and gatherings. The Field will be the central focus of this area, semi-enclosed by woodland planting, providing definition and increased shelter.

The vision for Broadhill is to enhance the natural environment of this distinctive feature achieved through additional planting, furthering the diversity of habitat and ecological value. Access on Broadhill will be enhanced by upgrading the existing path network through resurfacing and management and as there is an extensive network of formal and informal paths, and it is not intended to introduce or change this network in any significant way.