The official opening of a multi-million pound streetscape renewal project marks a major milestone in the Green Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI).

Green THI board chairman Councillor John Stewart officially opened the £2.83million Green Streetscape Refurbishment when he unveiled a granite plaque on Hadden Street to mark the completion of the project.

The Green THI is a major, conservation-led scheme intended to regenerate Aberdeen's historic Green and surrounding area. It was launched in 2009 and will run until 2014. The initiative will enable the area to play a key role in city centre redevelopment and provide the important first impression of the city and Aberdeenshire to visitors arriving by bus, boat or rail. The revitalised Green will have an important role in linking Union Street with the bus and railway stations and commercial developments south of Union Street.

Aberdeen's Green area is of national importance as it evidences the development of Aberdeen from its earliest origins. It's a place that has long been recognised as being of strategic importance and gives the first impression of the city and shire to visitors arriving by bus, rail or sea.

The Green (THI) was set up to tackle the problems of rundown historic buildings and streetscape where longstanding economic and structural decline have undermined the character of the architecturally-rich area.

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The project aims to drive and support the regeneration of the area and to give The Green back not just the best of its historic buildings, but also to rekindle its historic sense of adventure, enterprise and confidence.

The streetscape of the Green is defined by the vertically enclosed, sometimes narrow streets which are partially surfaced in traditional granite material. These features are a key component to the character of the area.

Over time, the distribution of granite flags, setts and kerbs had become fragmented with large surface areas covered in stretches of tarmac, concrete and pre-cast concrete paving. This detracted from the aesthetic quality of the area and in many areas the granite surface had also become worn and uneven.

The improvement work was undertaken to: restore the street and walkway surfaces to provide acceptable surfaces for pedestrians and motorists; improve the environment of, and access in, the area for pedestrians living or working, visiting, or simply passing through the Green; more effectively manage the traffic in the area while retaining vehicular access for residents and businesses; increase the attractiveness of the area for residents, visitors and businesses by introducing trees and shrubs, new seating and improved street lighting.

Many footpaths have been widened in the Green, particularly on the routes which are expected to be most used by pedestrians.

Green THI board chairman John Stewart said: "The streetscape work, while a major part of the project, is only one aspect of this fantastic regeneration venture which will not only improve the aesthetics of this historically and culturally important area, but which will also improve its business prospects and the lot of residents living here.

"The completion and official opening of the streetscape works is by no means the end of the Green THI. There's an awful lot more good and exciting work to be done, in terms of repairing and preserving the striking architecture, focusing on key projects including the Tivoli Theatre and boosting the Green's profile through a range of educational and business projects."

An underlying principle of the design was to retain and re-use the existing granite material wherever possible, and using new granite only where necessary. In addition to the durable nature of the granite, the subtle shades of colour in the street patterns bring warmth of character to the streetscape.

The total cost of the streetscape improvements is £2.83million, funded primarily by Aberdeen City Council and Scottish Enterprise. The Green THI provided grant funding of £525,000 towards the cost of the works.

(GK/KMcA)