Updates on two memorial gardens in Aberdeen were today agreed by councillors at committee.
The members of Aberdeen City Council’s Operational Delivery Committee approved two separate reports, one on the North Sea Memorial Rose Gardens and the Piper Alpha Memorial within it and the second for improvements and a refurbishment to the Memorial Garden at Hazlehead Crematorium.
The report to committee for the North Sea Memorial Rose Gardens said council staff have been in contact with groups connected to the Piper Alpha Memorial and the North Sea Memorial Rose Gardens at Hazlehead Park after an instruction from Council in June (2022). Meetings are being arranged and discussions will be held to agree a way forward and next steps.
The groups include the Pound for Piper Memorial Trust which launched a redesign project on 13 May 2022 sharing a conceptual design, gathering feedback, gauging the level of support, and raising funding.
The project looks to support the future of the gardens and reflects the Trust’s vision and long-term purpose to ensure that the monument and gardens are maintained to a high standard for years to come. In their own words, ‘to ensure that the gardens remain a special place for solace, comfort, and contemplation’.
Committee previously heard there had been no discussion between the Pound for Piper Memorial Trust and Aberdeen City Council on rebranding or renaming the memorial or the gardens. There has been no final decision made on the garden redesign.
A full report will be brought to a council committee in due course to discuss the future of the gardens and, as part of the formal process, any proposed changes to the gardens will be subject to consultation and all relevant planning approvals. The final decision on the future of the memorial and the gardens will be made by the council.
The report said there had also been an instruction to prepare a cost estimate for the planting of the rose beds as an interim measure including the options on how this could be funded. The cost of replanting the empty rose beds is estimated at £16,400.
The report said the service has no revenue budget currently set aside for replanting any area of the garden and budget could be sought through grant funding and sponsorship but this is not guaranteed.
The report also said communication was received from Historic Environment Scotland which has received an application to designate the Piper Alpha Memorial and the North Sea Memorial Rose Gardens on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes. HES will report back on progress and next steps in due course and this information will be reported back to committee.
In the report about the improvements and refurbishments to the Memorial Garden at Hazlehead Crematorium, it said the Garden has been in place since the crematorium opened in 1975.
There has been little change to the memorial garden since then and a large part of the garden is open to the road leading to the crematorium which results in a lack of privacy and intimacy for those attending the garden to remember loved ones. The benches, planter plaques and memorial stones are situated in the grass area with no path network linking them together. The current granite flagstone paths are uneven, and the steps mean access is prohibited to those that are less able.
The improvements to the Memorial Garden which were approved today include a new timber pergola, improved fencing, new paths, new seating areas, tree planning, new herbaceous planting, and the cleaning of existing structures.
The cost of the improvement work identified is estimated to be £62,000 with an estimated £37,000 contribution by charities. The remaining funds would be provided by revenue budget from the Council’s Environmental Services.
Marischal College Aberdeen AB10 1AB
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