Your correspondent, Ian Beattie, in taking a swipe at the former head of Creative Scotland, feels the need in doing so to add further to Aberdeen's great civic wound (Arts chief's own beliefs to blame, Letters, December 23).

I cannot claim to speak for the arts community, but merely as one of the majority of Aberdeen citizens who voted for raising the Union Terrace Gardens to street level. To castigate Sir Ian Wood for making the greatest financial offer to the city since Robert the Bruce's gift, which created our Common Good Fund, is sadly typical of the level of rhetoric which has passed for debate on this matter.

Had the proposal favoured by Mr Beattie gone ahead it would have done for Union Terrace Gardens what Norco House did for George Street and St Nicholas House for the Guestrow.

John Mackay

Aberdeen