Balfour Beatty is set to start work this summer on the £27m project to transform the Victorian sunken gardens.

LDA design, the firm behind London’s Olympic Park, has drawn up designs for the park that include new walkways, an amphitheatre and cafe.

Existing heritage features will be enhanced, including reinstating the ‘grand staircase’ into the gardens from Rosemount Viaduct. The central lawn will be retained as a flexible space for large-scale events and gatherings.

The transformation of the park is expected to take between 18 and 21 months to complete.

Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty’s regional managing director of Scotland, said: “Our construction expertise coupled with our experience in regenerating public spaces makes us ideally positioned to deliver the three new pavilions and sympathetically upgrade this much-loved historic space.”