Proposals to create a Pilrig Conservation Area (PCA) are being considered by the Council's Planning Department, and will be explained in public soon at a series of local open evenings and an exhibition.
The idea for the new designation started among local residents who feared recent changes in Scottish planning legislation could lead to, for example, proliferating extensions which would profoundly change the area's distinct character for the worse (Breaking news, 6.2.12; 2.4.12).
Leith Central Community Council's Annette O'Carroll describes that distinct character as:
'... the usual tenements and large Georgian and Victorian houses, but also streets of small Victorian terraced houses and cottages ... resulting in a good social and ethnic mix'.
When an early draft of the PCA was shown to the Council's Built Heritage Group in February this year, it met with a muted response as too few listed properties were included within its boundaries (Breaking news, 27.2.13).
Following discussions with Council officers since, that difficulty has now, potentially, been resolved by annexing a history-rich slice of the adjacent Leith Conservation Area (see map below). Included would be Pilrig Church, A-listed Middlefield House (pictured above) and the Georgian houses at the Leith Walk end of Pilrig Street.
The resulting carve-up may remind some readers of the Treaty of Sèvres, but it has a persuasive geographical and social logic to it and seems unlikely to provoke hostitlities. (The Pilrig Colonies already have their own Conservation Area.)
Demonstrable public support for the proposals is vital if they are to go ahead. So it's important for those who agree with the plans – whether or not they live in Pilrig – to make their views known. Those against the plans would also be wise to make their voices heard.
Everyone can do this by answering a 2-minute survey here or attending explanatory open evenings (4.00–7.30pm) on Wed. 15 or 22 May at McDonald Road Library. An exhibition outlining Pilrig's history and architecture will run at the library from 13–27 May.
The closing date for consultation responses is 21 June and the proposal should go before the Council's Planning Sub-committee on 8 August.
For more information, contact the Council's Pilrig Proposed Conservation Area webpage or Tel. 469 3634 or email built.heritage@edinburgh.gov.uk
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Update
In June, the Cockburn Association – one of Edinburgh’s most important built heritage organisations – backed designating Pilrig a Conservation Area.
‘There is no doubt that the unlisted buildings of Rosslyn Cres/St, Cambridge Gardens/Ave, Balfour St and the Pilrig Cottages are of architectural and historic interest, have a distinct character and … wider value in understanding the historic expansion of Edinburgh,’ wrote Director Marion Williams.
‘Combined with the open spaces of Pilrig Park and Rosebank Cemetery they make a worthy conservation area.’
