What a week it has been so far with everyone getting their tuppence worth in about Unesco had to say about how we here in the capital are looking after our piece of heritage for future generations of the world. Well I think if we are not to be laughed at or pitied then really we should agree that we have is worth cherishing and not to throw it under a bulldozer on the whims of a greedy speculator in what ever era we are living in, or at under the so called justification warcrys of "Progress" or "Money, money , money" "jobs, jobs, jobs"
We are all just passing through, visiting the earth and her wonders, whether human made or natural.
Thank you Unesco for having a voice for humankind, especially the little people..Edinburgh thanks you and future generations will do too.
Scotsman Piece here
Unesco deals blow to World Heritage Site development plans for Edinburgh
From the piece -"Its annual heritage summit in Seville has passed strongly-worded resolutions urging the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government to scale back plans for a 17-storey hotel at Haymarket and redraw a £300 million Old Town scheme."
Someone had painted this on the hoardingsof New St Site Nov 08 for visiting Unesco delegation to see Read here what the pro development lobby are saying
The Canongate Macrae Tenements that were to be demolished for the projectand heres what Wilsons Weekly Wrap made of it all
So far the Scottish government has responded by saying that Unesco’s recommendations will be taken into account in the final planning inquiry decision, the developer has effectively said, bugger off, and Gordon Murray of gm + ad has exploded with rage at the very idea of any (external) body interfering with the right of (external) developers to completely knacker our cities in the name of mammon. Indeed Gordon has got himself into such a froth in the AJ’s daily bulletin as to lump Unesco, Prince Charles, the City of Bath Council into a huge conspiracy against local democratic processes.
The best bit of the tirade is when he cites Historic Scotland, the National Trust and the Royal Commission of Ancient and Historic Monuments as the agencies that provide us with the intellectual basis from which to appraise our own heritage, his point being, I think, that we don’t need Johnny Foreigner lecturing us on the value of our culture.
Haymarket Horror HotelJust a pity that none of the agencies he lists has ever been known to demonstrate any democratic instincts whatsoever. But then, Gordon appears to see the purpose of World Heritage Site status as an enhancer of tourism, a viewpoint the City of Edinburgh Council has certainly taken in the past, not having bothered to read the bit of the Unesco citation that conferred responsibility upon it for the future protection of the capital’s Old and New Towns. Time, lads to read the small print of the contract."
