A £15m project to regenerate historically contaminated landfill sites by cleaning up Aberdeen's waste legacy gets under way today.

Lord Provost Peter Stephen with Peter Lawrence (Enviromental Contracts Manager) The Ness Farm and Tullos Hill landfill sites are to be restored to minimise the environmental harm they cause. The council aims to fully restore the land, providing a wildlife and recreational area for future generations.

The work is being carried out to meet Sepa requirements.

Upgrades to some of the existing path network and the installation of information boards dealing with the archaeology, wildlife and recent history of the site are included in the programme of work.

This is a major, three-year project to regenerate a historically contaminated site and there will be significant changes, especially to the northern end of the site adjacent to the railway line.

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Large vehicles and equipment will be operating on the site during phase one of the works, so for safety reasons the whole area will have to be temporarily closed over approximately 10 weeks this summer.

Further parts of the site will be closed for 24 weeks. It is hoped that that the whole of the southern part of the site will be then be re-opened permanently.

Access to areas of the site with no risk of harm to human health will be permitted, but access to areas where this is a risk of harm will be prevented. The level and areas of public access will change as the work progresses.

Lord Provost Peter Stephen said: "This is a very significant and important step for Aberdeen and I am pleased to see that work is about to begin.

"This is a very important part of the city, with a great deal to offer residents and visitors alike in terms of green space which boasts a plethora of fascinating wildlife and historical attractions, including Bronze Age barrows."

Lead councillor for the environment Ron Clark added: "We are spending £15m on cleaning up the legacy of landfilling in Aberdeen.

"As a result of the waste being buried here, part of the site will be lost to citizens for the foreseeable future.

"Once the restoration work has been completed, Aberdeen folk will have an enhanced, natural resource on their doorsteps which is a credit to the city."

(GK/BMcC)