The Edie awards gave the Environ part of the Caltongate scheme an award - why I don't know, it doesn't exist yet, doesn't even have planning permission. The environmental part of the scheme is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry to fund geothermic energy for the 5 star hotel, luxury apartments and upmarket office blocks. Paid for by the tax payer however the "affordable social housing" just have to use bog standard electricity and gas and for it themselves!!
And why an environmental agency would give an award to an organisation that is knocking down use usable buildings for expensive ones that have a life span of 40 years at the most I really don't know. The building that are to be demolished are the stone Macrae tenements - 9 of which are council houses, the old sailors ark (listed building) and the Canongate Venture (listed sandstone Victorian School).Environ do "environmental impact surveys" on projects such as dams in China and Cement factories in Nigeria - read their website they work for projects that may get into trouble or have "difficulties".
This is a PR exercise by Mountgrange who have obviously lobbied the relevant people and being punting themselves as "environmental" - I doubt the panel frequented itself with the facts, which is a shame really because we need more environmentalism not less.
Green award for Caltongate
Controversial Caltongate project has picked up a major "green" award.
Environ, an international environmental consultancy firm, scooped a top accolade at the "Edies" - the Awards for Environmental Excellence - for its work on the Caltongate project.
The project incorporates a ground source heating system and the judges were impressed by the scale of the development.
Among the runners-up were Edinburgh Council's new offices.
