Designating the Piper Alpha Memorial and Memorial Garden, Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen

Overview

The Piper Alpha Memorial commemorates the 167 men killed in the Piper Alpha Disaster of 1988 – the world's worst offshore oil and gas disaster. It was produced by the artist Sue Jane Taylor following a commission by the Memorial Committee.

The memorial was unveiled in 1991 as the centrepiece of a large formal rose garden in Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen. The garden was designed by the former Director of Parks, David Welch, and was selected as a dedicated memorial garden for Piper Alpha in 1989. An anniversary memorial service is held in the garden every year on 6 July. 

We have been asked by a member of the public to assess the site for designation. After carrying out an assessment, we are proposing to:

• Add the memorial garden to the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes as the 'Piper Alpha Memorial Garden / North Sea Memorial Rose Garden'. This would recognise its national importance as a strongly valued public site of memory that connects people and communities to the enduring legacies of the Piper Alpha disaster. Inventory status means that a site’s cultural significance can be taken into account in the planning process.
• List the memorial sculpture as the 'Piper Alpha Memorial, Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen' at category B. This would recognise its special architectural and historical interest as a rare example of a commemorative monument related to the history of the North Sea oil and gas industry and for its association with an event of international significance. Listing would ensure that the importance of the memorial is taken into account in future decisions about its management.

We have opened this public consultation to gather views on designating both the memorial and the memorial garden.

Find out more about why we think the memorial and garden meet the selection guidance for designation by downloading our Report on Handling from our Portal.

We are also interested in your view on how we record the name of the garden. 

While we have no role to play in determining the official name of the site, we need to apply a designation name and to provide a name of site for the National Record of the Historic Environment. 

Why your views matter

We encourage members of the public to send in their views and comments. You can do this by completing the short questionnaire below. 

This questionnaire usually takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

Find out what comments we consider and what happens next in our guide or the video below.

You can find out more about listed buildings and the inventory of gardens and designed landscapes in the Advice and Support section of the Historic Environment Scotland website, and read our heritage designation selection guidance.

What happens next

We will collate and consider your comments and then make a decision on designation. We will publish our decision on our Heritage Portal.