Support for the Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT) plans to create a new home for St Mary’s Music School at 5–7 Regent Road has gathered momentum over recent days.
Voices from the ‘heritage lobby’, local community, politics and the Arts have gone public with their approval ahead of Friday’s extended deadline for comments to the Council.
These are by no means the only opinions on the subject, but they are for the time being the most audible.
The AHSS, which was instrumental in coordinating opposition to the Duddingston House/Urbanist Group design for this site, is in favour of the new proposal.
In its submission, it begins by stressing the Thomas Hamilton building as ‘one of the most important examples of Greek Revival architecture in the world’.
It then describes the new proposals as ‘intelligent and sensitive’, raising no objection to the creation of a basement foyer or demolition of the former gym and other newer structures.
It welcomes the low-profile horizontal planes of the proposed new school buildings, and how they would reveal the original belvedere whilst giving prominence to the Hamilton centrepiece.
Some members of the AHSS’s Forth and Borders panel have regretted the loss of cast-iron stanchions in the assembly hall, and some wanted a solid as well as glass closure to the south-facing entrance.
There were doubts, too, about glass paving of the portico above the foyer and glass safety barriers, and a desire for the architect to make better use of the undercroft’s original vaulting.
All in all, though, AHSS believes the proposed school and concert venue constitutes a suitable use, in line with Council objectives.
The New Town and Broughton Community Council – whose representatives also spoke out against the hotel proposal when it came up before councillors in December – is in favour of the music-school alternative.
It supports the ‘aesthetic and educational use’, and asserts that development would improve public access to the Hamilton campus and the surrounding under-utilised area of the city east of Waterloo Place.
From a listed building standpoint, ‘the level of intervention proposed on the key south-facing façade is minimal, and the proposed alterations would add value to the structure and overhaul its setting fit for modern schooling and cultural events’.
NTBCC would not miss the gymnasium, but welcomed retention of the lodge.
In conclusion, it argued, ‘It is clear that this proposal is considerably more appropriate than other recent applications due to its sympathetic reuse and complimentary redevelopment of the main Royal High building and its current setting. The Old Royal High School is one of Edinburgh’s most important cultural assets and has both national and local significance. The opportunity to protect, enhance and secure a viable long term future for this asset should be seized’.
Labour MSP Sarah Boyack – who with Alison Johnstone MSP (Grn) spoke out against the hotel scheme at December’s Development Management Sub-committee meeting – has now supported the RHSPT’s alternative proposal on her website.
‘Having seen the proposed plans,' she writes, 'I feel they are sympathetic to the building’s original design, and would not only bring in additional talent to the city, but would enhance our reputation as a culture capital, and preserve the historic legacy of the building. I believe the proposal provides a solution to the currently derelict building that preserves, rather than jeopardises, Edinburgh’s World Heritage Status and Outstanding Universal Value status’.
Meanwhile, St Mary’s Music School, which hopes to expand into the redesigned Regent Road complex, has published 24 endorsements of the proposal by prominent musicians and Arts figures from across the UK, including Dame Evelyn Glennie and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.
Christopher Bell (Chorusmaster, Edinburgh Festival Chorus; Artistic Director, National Youth Choir of Scotland; Chorus Director, Grant Park Festival Chorus, Chicago) captured their consensus succinctly: ‘The proposals for the Royal High School site are at the same time exciting and contemporary whilst preserving the integrity of the Hamilton Building. I heartily support the proposal and urge Edinburgh Council to reject other applications and pave the way for an outstanding future for the building, the school and Scotland’s musicians’
More comments
The deadline for comments on listed building consent (Ref. 15/05665/LBC) has now passed with a total of 110 letters received. Comments on the full planning application (Ref. 15/05662/FUL, current total 489) will be accepted until 22 January (make a public comment here).
We are happy to summarise any interesting examples – for or against – which come to our attention.
Got a view? Tell us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk and @theSpurtle and Facebook
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Dear Spurtle
Whilst it is heartening to learn there will be no hasty cannibalisation of the former Royal High School Building into a sprawling hotel complex, I am not certain the aspirational school idea is any more viable in its current form.
How will it be resourced over time in terms of building maintenance and running costs? How catholic the type of music and arts? What will be the impact on other classical music and wider arts venues that already exist within the city? Will there be scholarships for national and international talent? What about accommodation for visiting musicians or will the 'school' be purely parochial?
The visual aspect of any changes of structure and use are important, but not the only consideration. Doubtless the more high falutin' denizens of the town will see these questions as 'low brow', and the points about money downright crass, but I think they're worth raising so's the already empty city coffers don't get lumbered with yet another crumbling edifice.
Yours faithfully
S. Bell
(Warriston Road)
Dear S. Bell: Not crass in the slightest. All good questions. We'll ask St Mary's Music School and RHSPT to respond.
In response to S. Bell’s observations and queries on 20 January (above), William Gray Muir, Chairman of the Royal High School Preservation Trust, and Dr Kenneth Taylor, Headteacher at St Mary’s Music School, today (21 January) sent Spurtle the following joint statement.
Thanks to the support and commitment of Dunard Fund, the plans are fully funded for St Mary’s Music School to move to the former Royal High School building in Edinburgh and for the future upkeep of the building.
On an ongoing basis, the school is funded by fees (see below), private donations and rental income. The move would enable the school to sell Coates Hall, its current home, which would place the school on a secure financial base for the future.
The high-profile [Regent Road] location would make the school more visible in Scotland, the UK and internationally, enhancing the city’s musical credentials as a cultural centre of excellence.
In line with the prospective plans for the move to the former Royal High School, a robust business plan has been prepared by the school, which has given the School’s Directors confidence that such a move could actually enhance its financial position.
As Scotland’s only independent specialist music school, we are not just a school for Edinburgh, but one for the whole of Scotland with our pupils coming from across the nation and beyond, all taken on musical ability and potential regardless of personal circumstances.
The school offers a world-class standard of music and academic education to musically gifted children aged 9–19 years. Scottish Government funding, up to 100 per cent, is available through the Aided Places Scheme to assist parents with the cost of tuition and boarding fees. Cathedral and School Bursaries are also available.
St Mary’s Music School promotes engagement with the wider community and extends in-depth learning in music to children from other schools as part of its outreach programme. A move to the Royal High School building would allow the school to extend this work.
@theSpurtle @stmarys_music So in today's budget it wouldn't work, but in tomorrow's one it suddenly will?
@HeusdenTaco I think they mean current financial position would be improved by larger premises. Not saying current finances don't work.