An exciting new venture is being launched in Aberdeen city centre to boost business, tourism, leisure and retail opportunities in the area.

The city council is working with a consortium of independent businesses to create a Merchant Quarter. The consortium is seeking to promote the businesses and define the area as an attractive, cosmopolitan destination for a range of daytime and evening activities including shopping, dining and socialising.

The Merchant Quarter incorporates a significant part of the Green, which is being regenerated and restored to its former glory through the £2.8million Green Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI), a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Aberdeen City Council, Historic Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.

It will also provide increased connectivity between the city's transport hub, Union Street and the shopping centres.

The area boasts an eclectic mix of high-quality independent shops, life-style businesses, hotels and some of the best dining and live entertainment venues in the city.

The opening of the Union Square, with late-night shopping six days a week and the new cinema complex, has significantly altered the dynamics of the area. This has led to an increased opportunity for the shops, bars and restaurants in the Merchant Quarter to extend their operating hours, including Sunday opening and increase their mid-week entertainment offer.

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The vision of the 26 business-strong consortium includes:

* the coming together of all the independent businesses in the area;

* a new vibrant, cultural, "grown-up" area for Aberdeen, centred around brasserie-style food and drink, lifestyle businesses and independent shopping, supplemented by a range of festivals;

* the creation of an artistic gateway with themed lighting, art, sculptures and street furniture, for visitors arriving in the city by bus, boat or train;

* a distinctive and attractive tourism offering and an area of civic pride for city residents;

* a better-connected area where the combined strength of the participating groups can be used to further improve access routes, street infrastructure and policing.

Merchant Quarter Association chairman Jonathan Dey described the Merchant Quarter as the coming together of an eclectic mix of independent, high-quality businesses to create a distinctive offer that the people of Aberdeen will be proud of.

He said: "It's where we want to signpost visitors so they can enjoy the best of the city's heritage, brasseries, bars, live entertainment, fashion and culture.

"Merchant Quarter is located at the gateway to Aberdeen and is flanked by the city's Green and harbour waterfront. The arrival of Union Square and the refurbishment of the street infrastructure has attracted unprecedented investment to the area.

"Now the Merchant Quarter concept has created the springboard for a whole plethora of cultural and investment activity that is changing the skyline and shop frontages almost on a daily basis. The vision is for the Merchant Quarter to create an artistic and cultural gateway' to rival that of any other city in the world. The vision and the possibilities have brought together a multitude of partnerships, creating excitement and generating an overwhelming positive response."

Gordon McIntosh, Aberdeen City Council's director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure added: "This is an exciting idea which could bring great benefits to the area, both for the businesses there and for city residents and visitors.

"This area is the historic heart of Aberdeen and was for many years a bustling, thriving hub of activity. In recent years, we have seen much of that activity returning with the establishment and growth of a cosmopolitan mixture of businesses."

(GK)