A prominent fast food outlet occupying a Category B-listed building on Aberdeen’s Union Street requires urgent repair works to address significant structural deterioration, according to planning documents.
An application has been submitted to Aberdeen City Council requesting approval for alterations to the McDonalds branch in the city centre.
The McDonald’s restaurant at 117 Union Street, which has operated from the historic premises for decades, occupies a mid-19th century building that forms part of the Union Street Conservation Area – one of Scotland’s most architecturally significant thoroughfares.
The Union Street building represents one of numerous historic commercial properties along the thoroughfare that have undergone multiple changes of use throughout their lifespans. The building’s history reflects Union Street’s evolution from its early 19th-century development as one of Scotland’s great planned streets through various retail incarnations to its current food service use.
It originally served as one of F.W. Woolworth’s department stores when it opened in 1926. McDonald’s has been serving customers at the Union Street location for over thirty years, having opened its doors in the early 1990s.
It has now been identified as requiring substantial maintenance work to its roof structure and window frames.
The company behind the proposal, Dave Holden Consultants, asserts that the modifications will be “sympathetic” and will show “full respect” for the historical site. They contend that the necessary repairs should be undertaken “as soon as possible” to complete them before the arrival of colder weather.
According to the proposal, malfunctioning windows and flashing will be replaced, and additional repairs will be performed where feasible. However, enhancements will be limited to the roof area.
Planning documents indicate that 19 windows will require replacement or repair. Repairs are anticipated for “severely rotted” window frames, and several cills will be replaced, primed, and painted. Some windows will need complete replacement, including one arched window that has not been painted since its original installation.
Listed Building Context
The property falls within Aberdeen’s Union Street Conservation Area, which contains more Category A listed buildings than any other conservation area in the city. As a Category B-listed structure, any alterations or repairs affecting the building’s character require listed building consent from Aberdeen City Council in addition to standard planning permissions.
Under Scottish planning legislation, owners of listed buildings are responsible for their repair and maintenance, with work required to be carried out to high standards using traditional methods and materials. The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 mandates that changes to listed buildings must be given careful consideration through the planning system, with particular attention paid to preserving the special architectural or historic interest of such properties.
Union Street Regeneration
The repair requirements emerge during a significant period of investment in Union Street, where Aberdeen City Council has committed over £150 million towards the City Centre and Beach Masterplan. The £17 million Union Street Central streetscaping project, currently underway between Market Street and Bridge Street, aims to create more pedestrian-friendly spaces and revitalise the historic thoroughfare.
The council has also established a £2.4 million Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS), jointly funded with Historic Environment Scotland, to support restoration and enhancement work on historic Union Street properties. To date, this programme has delivered grants for shop frontage refurbishments, window replacements, roof repairs, and reinstatement of traditional architectural features across multiple buildings.
More recently, the Union Street Empty Shops Grant Scheme has allocated almost £600,000 of match funding to 18 traders and landlords, leveraging over £2 million of private investment and bringing nearly 9,000 square metres of previously vacant floorspace back into use.
Aberdeen City Council’s Building Conservation and Heritage team emphasises that like-for-like repairs and routine maintenance to listed buildings do not require listed building consent and can proceed as normal. However, more substantial works affecting a building’s character – including roof alterations, window replacements, or structural modifications – require formal applications.
