12 years on: Could the former Archaeolink site finally see redevelopment?

The site of a former north-east history centre in Oyne could finally see a redevelopment plan come forward some 12 years after it closed its doors to the public.

Archaeolink Prehistory Park, near Oyne, was put up for sale, through Ryden, by Aberdeenshire Council in July of 2015 having been closed in 2011 when the local authority withdrew all funding for it, having failed to attract the visitor numbers required to make it sustainable.

Hailed as a flagship attraction when it was opened in 1997 by Tony Robinson (Time Team), while proving a popular destination, it never achieved the levels of tourist draw required to sustain it.

Marketing information from Ryden indicates that the site is to be split into two separate lots with a combined area of 5.35 hectares (13.21 acres).

The former visitor centre would lend itself well to a multitude of uses and ws is identified back in the Proposed 2016 Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan as an opportunity site for sensitive redevelopment of up to 10 homes while the former Archaeolink building is safeguarded for employment purposes.

Now documentation has revealed that members of the Garioch Area committee will be asked to to approve the sale of the site to an undisclosed buyer during closed door session items at next weeks meeting of the Garioch Area committee on Tuesday.

The same session will also see approval for the sale of a vacant office building at Unit 4, Souterford Avenue in Inverurie.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.