The Guardian/Edinburgh has aired concerns about redevelopment at Canonmills.
Spurtle first covered the issue in May 2009 (Ref. 09/00830/FUL; Issue 170), and shares many locals' misgivings.
At the same time, we think it's worth asking some awkward questions and airing difficult responses. What follow are all based on conversations with locals.
- Are the new plans bad? Maybe, maybe not, but not just because they're higher and more modern than what they replace. Those Spurtle spoke to were evenly split: some hated the designs; some thought they were bland. One said they thought they were the kind of thing community councillors would fight to preserve in another 150 years.
- Would the proposed development block a view of the river from the bridge? No. It would obscure the view some neighbours had of the river from their homes.
- Would the proposed development block a view of local architecture? Yes. But although the nearby listed Scots baronial tenement is quite interesting, it is by no stretch of the imagination the Taj Mahal.
- Would the proposed development adversely affect the Water of Leith? Not so far as we can tell.
- Would development add anything to the neighbourhood? Possibly, yes. The area is now slavishly in thrall to the fortunes of corporate giants nearby, and the whims of their staff. More local residents might encourage more local businesses to try selling something other than coffee.
- What would be lost? A row of cheaply built, unremarkable, 19th-century shops which have – for as long as anyone can remember – been falling to bits, malodorous, and potentially rodent-infested.
- Who would miss the old shops most? Potentially rodents, and a heron grown fond of surplus tapas.
Do you agree? Disagree? Send us your views.