Historic Scotland will object to the planning application for the old Royal High School.
In an email to City of Edinburgh Council yesterday, it outlined the grounds for its concerns. It will expand upon these later, but they are in brief:
- Adverse impact on the Hamilton building, and views to and from it.
- Height, scale and massing of extensions would overwhelm the former school and diminish its architectural status.
- Adverse impact on the designed landscape of Calton Hill, and on other buildings and monuments on it.
- Adverse impact on the Old and New Towns of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site.
You can read the full email in the pdf attached below.
The move does not come as a major surprise, since Historic Scotland has been concerned about development here – particularly on the western side of the site – from a very early stage.
Earlier today on Twitter, those in the know described the decision as the 'trigger for Ministerial intervention'.
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