Edinburgh Council wants to grass and plant flowers in the gap sites of Edinburgh hopefully in their attempt to win Britain in Bloom. Read more here. This is not a bad idea but it should not be the only idea for gap sites. The Caltongate site has a £100,000 bond for a land art scheme if work did not go ahead within 3 months of planning permission - more than a year later and Mountgrange in administration where is the land art scheme, where is the £100,000??? The Republic says "show us the money" - the contract states that the money was to be held in a joint bank account with the council and Mountgrange. The community should have a say how this bond should be managed and spent.
Contact your local councillor and ask about the bond and when will it be released. Citizens in the Republic think much more is needed than grass and some cornflowers, if it is to be a public space even temporarily then it needs to be thought about, whatever happens, a continued gap site would be an eyesore and a testimony to mismanagement .
