Today is the last chance for readers to comment on three big local developments.
- Plans to conserve and extend with new building the old Royal High School, turning it into a luxury hotel. There’s advice on how and where to contact the Council here and contrary opinions in Letters published today.
- Council-appointed urban planners are thinking about how to shape George Street over the next few years (see Issue 244). They’re holding an open drop-in session today in the Assembly Rooms, from 2.00pm–7.00pm. All welcome.
- Royal Bank of Scotland are at the first stages of imagining the future for a huge site bounded by Dundas Street, Fettes Row, Royal Crescent, King George V Park and Eyre Place/Eyre Terrace. We looked at the early proposals here.
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UPDATES
Later on 2 October, City of Edinburgh Council extended the deadlines for old Royal High School comments. See statement below:
By noon on 7 October, 1,569 comments about the FUL planning application had been registered online. A further 365 had been registered with respect to the LBC application. It was not clear at this stage how many were for and how many against the proposed development.
Malcolm Chisholm MSP confirmed that he would object to the proposal on 25 September.
Councillor Nick Gardner (Leith Walk) confirmed his objection 'on behalf of myself, and on behalf of the (small) number of constituents who have contacted me' on 1 October. Fellow Ward 12 councillors Angela Blacklock and Lewis Ritchie are unable to make public statements at this stage as they sit on the Development Management Subcommittee which will eventually decide the matter.
Edinburgh Central MSP Marco Biagi has also objected to the proposal. On Tuesday 6 October we were sent a copy of his letter (below).
Later on 6 October, on Facebook, there appeared this:
Deidre Brock MP This week I joined forces with Edinburgh Central MSP Marco Biagi to object to plans to turn the former Royal High School building on Calton Hill into a hotel. Like many constituents, I'm concerned about the impact the proposals would have on the skyline, the building itself and Edinburgh's World Heritage Site.
I like the idea of a top class hotel coming to Edinburgh, along with the economic investment and job opportunities that come with it - but this is just not the right plan for the site. Like everyone else in the city, I’m frustrated with the constant to-and-fro over the building’s future, but that doesn’t mean we should just plump for the latest plan.
It’s time for the council to find a proper use for the building which preserves the architecture and its fabric but breathes new life into it. It doesn’t have to stay exactly as it is but any changes should be sympathetic to the design and craftsmanship that have made it one of Edinburgh’s icons.
The council has shown before that it is capable of a sympathetic redevelopment when the Assembly Rooms in George Street were refitted and brought into the 21st century. Let’s see a concerted effort go into finding a new use for Parliament House.
Sarah Boyack MSP (Lothian) also commented on 6 October. Her three-page submission is available below or via her blog.
If you know of any other local political representatives who have submitted a formal comment on this matter, please let us know.
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@theSpurtle The great and the good are all in confederacy against it. Perhaps, after all, there's merit in the hotel project.