Urban regeneration expert Jonathan De Mello thinks students are key to revitalising Aberdeen’s city centre after a sustained period of regression.
De Mello, who brings a wealth of retail experience from working in cities across the UK, has been recruited by Aberdeen Inspired and Aberdeen City Council to change the fortunes of the retail, hospitality and service sectors of the Granite City.
Speaking at an event held by Aberdeen Inspired in February, De Mello unveiled the findings of his ‘Retail and Property Strategy’ report, laying out a set of recommendations that the City Council and partners will endeavour to develop and implement over the coming years.
De Mello’s speech was met with acclaim from attendees of the event, who also saw how Our Union Street and Aberdeen Inspired were working to improve on aspects within the city centre.
Speaking with The Gaudie after unveiling his report, De Mello was eager to consider how his recommendations could benefit students in Aberdeen. He said: “Students lead the way with trends in many places, and then adults want to follow because they perceive students to be the trendiest demographic.
“I’d like to see younger fashion stores in the city centre too, giving students more options and being more reactive to global shopping trends. We already have a lot of drinking establishments in the centre, which is good for students, but as drinking culture changes Aberdeen needs to adapt.
“Students are inherently creative and have their part to play in Aberdeen’s revival. A physical venue in which students could use in the city centre would be an interesting concept, where they could use it for art or other creative activities.”
Retail guru De Mello also pitched an idea for the university to be more present in the centre: “A physical space could act as an ambassador site for the universities, to share the work that is done and to attract more Aberdonians to get involved with university projects.”
He also highlighted Aberdeen’s lack of ‘competitive socialising’ venues, which include bowling, escape rooms and remakes of popular TV game shows. Of the 15 comparative cities in which De Mello compared Aberdeen with across the UK, only three cities had less to offer in terms of indoor competitive socialising.
The consultant said : “I work with lots of brands that are actively looking to engage with student populations. Boom Battle Bar is an example, with sites all over the UK and students are their main target group.
“We do have Lane7 here, but it’s in a suboptimal building and their performance lacks behind other city centre bowling alleys that I’ve worked with. Most other cities with big student populations have more to offer and I hope we can change that here.
“Competitive socialising is a key focus for me and I’m looking to bring it here in a big way.”
