Kingswells Community Council

Developers last night welcomed moves by Aberdeen City
Council to market up to 13 key land sites potentially worth more than
£100million.

Thousands of homes could be built on land now owned by
the council at sites across Aberdeen after the local authority revealed
it was preparing to put them forward for rezoning in the city's next
local development plan.

One property expert said the combined value of the
properties would be more than £100million if they were all granted
planning consent.

Developers hailed the move - which is aimed at helping
meet ambitious plans to build 36,000 homes in the city by 2030 - saying
the council would be failing Aberdeen citizens if it did not market the
sites in this way.

Councillors will be asked next week to give officials
the go-ahead to move towards rezoning the sites in the next local
development plan, which is expected to be completed within three years.
A report to the resources management committee states that failure to
make the rezoning proposals would risk "sterilizing" any development
for up to 15 years.

Major sites earmarked for potential rezoning in the
plan include 1,557 acres at Greenferns, west of Mastrick, 55 acres at
Scotstoun Road, Bridge of Don, and 67 acres at Loirston Loch - which
Aberdeen Football Club is assessing as a potential site for a new
stadium.

The nine-acre "island" that will be created in
Middlefield once 300 homes are bulldozed to make way for improvements
at the Haudagain roundabout could be zoned for a retail park under the
plans.

Eight of the sites are wholly or partly designated green belt or urban green space.

Allan Rae, a partner at property valuers and
development consultancy Knight Frank, said: "It's refreshing that the
council have come out this early and looked at it this way.

"Particularly the big landholding to the west of the
city (Greenferns) is one that would contribute positively to meeting
targets in the structure plan.

"If you asked the question ‘If they didn't do it, would they be failing the citizens of Aberdeen?' - possibly."

Eric Shearer, also a partner at Knight Frank, added:
"In the unlikely event that all the sites were granted consent, you are
probably looking in excess of £100million gross land value."

Last week, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils
sent their joint structure plan to the Scottish Government for
ratification. It included an aspiration to build 36,000 homes in the
city within 20 years.

Construction of new housing is seen as essential to halt population decline in the city.

City council planning committee convener Councillor
Scott Cassie said none of the sites would be sold by the council in the
short term.

"It's about meeting the targets in the structure plan but also about early engagement with interested parties," he said.

"It's only been offered as a suggestion. I'm pretty
sure many of these sites won't meet the criteria set in the planning
process.

"I think there's a long way down the process before any
site is sold. This development plan process is going to go on for
another two to three years."

POSITIVE

Mike Robertson, managing director of property firm CB
Richard Ellis, said: "Without wishing to comment on the specific sites,
I think it is a positive initiative by Aberdeen City Council to put
these sites forward for consideration through the local development
plan.

"This is the sort of thing a commercial landowner would typically do to maximise the potential value of their land."

A note of caution was sounded by outspoken Liberal
Democrat city councillor Martin Greig about selling assets during the
global recession.

"The timing is very suitable for developers who are very keen to purchase land at low prices," he said.

"There is the possibility that developers will want to buy the land and build on it in a few years' time.

"There's a sense the city should not be selling at this time."

The council was criticised last year in a government
inspection report that found it had potentially lost more than
£5million by selling assets at below market value.

Opposition Labour group secretary Willie Young said:
"We need to be cautious in our approach and, when it comes to any
property deal, we need to ensure our hands are completely clean."