Caltongate must be scrapped insist UNESCO

"Unesco insists Capital must scrap £300m Caltongate scheme"

The elephant in the room is of course Caltongate, no one utters the word in council corridors any more, we hear, they are hoping it will go away, but in sunny Spain this year it is to come back and , well, we all know what elephants do...Why did Caltongate not get a public inquiry?

In the republic we can`t help thinking that the Council have obviously not passed any exams in how to defend their decisions to approve bad developments, perhaps they should pay a visit to the Argument Clinic

With today`s headline -

Unesco insists Capital must scrap £300m Caltongate scheme

in The Scotsman they must be scratching their heads on what to say next

from todays piece -

"A £300 MILLION development in Edinburgh's historic Old Town has been thrown deeper into chaos after Unesco inspectors demanded council leaders have the whole scheme returned to the drawing board.

Councillors are set to face international condemnation at a world heritage summit in Seville next month after a damning report urged wholescale changes be made to the Caltongate scheme – even though it has received final approval from the Scottish Government."

" Leaked documents obtained by The Scotsman reveal that heritage inspectors are demanding a reprieve for two listed buildings threatened with demolition, the scrapping of a modern building which would have blocked views from Jeffrey Street, and a full review of how the development would impact on views from Calton Hill."

"The council is expected to face a major dilemma over the future of the site if Unesco's world heritage committee approves the report's recommendations, as expected. The local authority has had two other major developments called in for public inquiries within the past few months, as well as having to deal with a Unesco investigation triggered last summer."

Yes, they certainly do

This week plans to demolish the art deco Odeon Cinema approved by the council were called in by the Scottish Government, see here

and of course there is the public inquiry that ended yesterday on plans approved by council for the Haymarket Horror Hotel

Then there is the matter of the council not getting the money they are owed from developers...

Meggetland - "A NEW community hall is set to be mothballed after council officials failed to collect £200,000 to pay for it from a now defunct housebuilder". article here

Then there`s the rent from the council homes they emptied on behalf of Caltongate Developer`s Mountgrange

a council blinded by the pie in the sky promises from the big boys and the bling of it all...they think they are big business but in reality they have not a clue, how would they fair on the Apprentice we wonder...thing is though its a capital city and people`s lives they are playing with and its for real.