More than 4,350 ideas to help breathe new life into Aberdeen's Union Street have been suggested by the public

Bob Keiller (pictured above), chairman of the recently-formed 'Our Union Street' group, has described the response as "remarkable" and thanked all those who want to be part of the conversation about the future of Aberdeen City Centre.

Last night the group published all of the ideas, unfiltered, on its website ahead of a planned public meeting expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Click here to view all of the ideas in full.

'Remarkable tally'

“Three weeks ago, when we launched, we asked the public for ideas to help breathe fresh life into Union Street – and they have certainly delivered," Mr Keiller said in an update yesterday.

“Today, the total number of ideas submitted to us sits at over 4,350, which is a quite remarkable tally given the website has been live for just 21 days.

“For this, I want to place on record my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has shown an interest."

Transparency

Mr Keiller said he wants everyone to be able to access the ideas put forward and has published them all online.

He added: “We want Our Union Street to be different to anything which has come before it; a community-led effort to restore civic pride in our most famous street.

“To do that, this must also be the most transparent effort, and today we are making the first significant step towards that.

“As of this morning, we have published every single idea submitted to us, unfiltered, on our website so that you are armed with exactly the same material as the team here.

“If you have a spare moment (or a spare couple of days!), please read through them. Our small team have started sorting them into themes ahead of a public meeting we are looking to arrange in the coming weeks.

“This meeting, of course, will be open to absolutely anyone who wants to contribute and detail will be announced in due course.”

Volunteer force

'Our Union Street' was a product of November’s emergency Union Street summit and the organisation has been set-up by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, Aberdeen Inspired, Aberdeen City Council and Opportunity North East, with additional support from Shell, which recently relocated to the street.

They will seek to raise capital and provide the governance for the not-for-profit organisation, which is in the early stages of being set-up.

The partners wanted a unifying and collaborative figure to lead the effort, and approached Mr Keiller, who has agreed to provide his services for free.

He will now seek to build an army of volunteers drawn from all corners of Aberdeen to help arrest decades of decline in the city centre.

KeyFacts Energy news: Aberdeen Focus