The first public consultations regarding a masterplan to regenerate Aberdeen city centre are to take place later this month.

The sessions will take place in The Academy Shopping Centre, Belmont Street, over four days and will allow people to have their say on the future issues facing the city. They will also be able to share their ideas for improvements to the area.

The consultation events will be held on:

• Wednesday 24 September from 10am until 5pm

• Thursday 25 September from 10am to 8pm

• Friday 26 September from 10am until 5pm

• Saturday 27 September from 10am until 5pm.

Councillor Marie Boulton, Chair of the City Centre Regeneration Board, said: "Aberdeen is a busy, flourishing, cosmopolitan city which is continuing to experience strong growth and attract international business interest and significant tourism levels.

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"We want that to continue and have agreed a Strategic Infrastructure Plan to ensure all of the necessary infrastructure is put in place to enable sustainable economic growth and that Aberdeen remains a place where people want to invest, live and visit.

"The regeneration of our city centre is a key priority of that Plan. It is absolutely essential that Aberdeen has a city centre fit for the 21st century, which Aberdonians can be proud of and which people want to visit.

"We have appointed a multi-disciplinary team to work with the public, businesses and a range of organisations to identify the best way forward for our city centre and to draw up a masterplan and delivery programme to work with the public and other stakeholders to help us shape Aberdeen city centre for the future."

Scott Mackenzie, Director of Architecture at BDP, added: "We are expecting a wide range of ideas from the people of Aberdeen. These might range from really detailed things about how places and spaces are used and managed, to very big ideas about new infrastructure and development and also thoughts on how the economy of the city might expand beyond oil and gas, for example into tourism.

"We hope people will also be able to draw on their experiences of other places too, whether in Scotland or overseas, as that can sometimes be helpful in thinking about how things might change."

(JP/IT)