City fails to back school listing bid

Craigmillar a scheme in Edinburgh is currently being regenerated and it looks like it is looking good with some nice houses and that but we now have an issue about St Francis School. It's to be demolished to make way possibly for a supermarket. Historic Scotland are considering listing it but the Council - is against it and "not in a position to support the inclusion" as the site is needed for the development.

It is worth pointing out that the school was built by Ebenezer Macrae here none of his buildings are listed but I think atleast one should be or one day there will be no Macrae buildings left. Macrae is the same architect who built the Macrae tenements to be demolished and facaded on the Canongate.

The Independent Republic of the Canongate doesn't have a fetish about Ebenezer Macrae or listed buildings - just thought it was interesting what was going on around Edinburgh.

The Evening News article suggests there is to be a "Save St Francis Primary School"

By ALAN RODEN
THE city council was under attack today for fighting proposals to give listed status to a historic primary school earmarked for demolition.
The 1930s St Francis RC Primary School in Craigmillar is set to make way for the £180 million ParcLife project aimed at regenerating the area.A new campaign group has been set up to fight to save the school on Niddrie Mains Road, described as "one of the few beautiful buildings" in Craigmillar.Government agency Historic Scotland is considering listing the property, due to its "good plan form and very good streetscape presence", which would make demolition much more difficult.But in a letter seen by the Evening News, the city's top planning official, Alan Henderson, said the council was "not in a position to support the proposed inclusion" because the regeneration scheme requires the site.A £13m campus, bringing together St Francis and the non-denominational Niddrie Mill Primary School, catering for around 700 children, is due to open for the next school year. The massive regeneration will eventually include 3200 homes, three other new schools, a library and a remodelled "town centre".Residents fear that St Francis will be demolished to make way for a supermarket car park.Former city councillor and ex-community councillor Paul Nolan, who helped set up the Protect St Francis campaign, said the situation was a "scandal".Mr Nolan, an ex-pupil of the school, said
: "St Francis is one of the few beautiful buildings in Craigmillar and many of us feel that what little heritage the community has should be protected."The group has written to members of the city's planning committee, MPs and MSPs, and has contacted former pupils.In a letter sent to the campaigners by Historic Scotland, inspector of historic buildings Joan Richardson said: "We intend to proceed with proposing this building for addition to the statutory list and will shortly be in consultation with the council."A spokeswoman added today: "We are in the process of consultation with City of Edinburgh Council on whether St Frances RC Primary School merits listing."Councillor Jim Lowrie, the city's planning convener, added: "The council is committed to the regeneration of Craigmillar and continues to consult with local residents, community groups and other stakeholders

Macrae Tenements

18 days to go

Just so people know what we are talking about - the Macrae tenements were tenements built by the city architect Ebennezer Macrae in the 1930s here - his buildings are all over Edinburgh and give Edinburgh the feel it has today, because they are common buildings they are not listed buildings. Ebenezzer Macrae was responsible for the design and building of the Corn Exchange and Slaughter Market at Chesser (next to Asda) - building Hutchison, Stenhouse, Prestonfield housing schemes - the better council housing that is more desired and nearly eighty years old. He renovated and designed many of the schools of Edinburgh - the ones that didn't get knocked down i.e. the 1960s ones.

And in the 1930s the Old Town was a very poor area with very poor housing - he was responsible for the building and design of the tenements now to be gutted, tenements in Candlemaker Row, the Cowgate, Grassmarket indeed all over the Old Town and Pleasance.

We don't want to be sentimental but Macrae's vision was for all workers, young and old to have decent housing, his buildings were built for the people not as facades for 5 * hotels.

Photos of the Macrae Tenements to be demolished and gutted can be found here

Cleansing and Clearances o' of Canongate

24 days to go

The Evening News journalists who now get paid to cut and paste press releases from the Mountgrange spindoctors PPS here, (Director Donald Anderson, ex-leader of the Labour Council) reported earlier on in the week that "homes" were to be saved here but for those that follow the Independent Republic of the Canongate know that is nae true, (indeed we think the proper term is LYING).

What is happen about housing is this:-

18 flats on the Canongate are to be demolished, 9 of them were owned occupied but were bought by the developers are rented out by Rettie and Co. 9 of them were owned by the council as council houses, they have been owned by City of Edinburgh since they were built in the 1930s by the city architect Ebenezzer Macrae as part of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1919 here. However the council have cleared 7 of the houses. leaving them empty i.e. no rent is being taken on them despite Edinburgh housing crisis. The council have not repaired the pavements from the top of New Street down past the Sailor's Ark and Macrae Tenements because it is a "regeneration area" despite the whole of the Royal Mile being down up.

The council's and Mountgrange's proposals are to get everyone out of the flats - they are solid, stone flats with balconies and a big drying green at the back, they are houses that would last another 100 years with a little maintenance unlike the housing built in the 60s and 70s - Westburn, Pennywell, Greendykes, West Granton etc that needed to be demolished. The Macrae tenements are highly sought after council housing. The flats are on the Royal Mile and have the No 35 bus stop right outside.

The flats are to have their back taken away, their insides gutted and there will just be the facade - the facade to the hotel i.e. the 5* hotel will look like 1930s council housing but it will be 5* luxury inside - I know it is crass! There will be no HOMES - only two luxury three bedroom apartments above the arcade part at Captain Jack's Close (next to Frescoes the roll shop) will be built by the developers. Obviously these luxury apartments won't be council houses despite having a council house façade. It is all the rage in London, tower blocks in Greenwich and Hackney being turned into executive's suites.

On the Mountgrange site which was the bus depot is where the hotel will be built, offices, shops and more luxury, executive housing fuelled by underground heating from the geothermal energy that is to be funded by the Department of Trade and Industry. There is to be NO affordable or social housing on the bus depot site!!

The developers have acquired land down on Calton Road which was council land and have got grants from Communities Scotland and are to be built by Places for People here. They are not doing anything that couldn't have been done by the council or any housing association yet they are being allowed to claim that they are building their quota of social/affordable housing - but in reality it is being offset and a bit of a scam. Oh guess what - this housing won't have access to the geothermal underground source heating paid for by your taxes!!!

Developers are meant to build 25% social/affordable housing in big housing developments - but offsetting is common i.e. they get into cahoots with councils to do things that would have been done anyway in order not to follow through. What the Independent Republic of the Canongate are saying - the area down on Calton Road should be social/affordable housing anyway and there should be 25% on the bus depot site. And the Macrae tenements should be preserved as people's homes - no more neighbours having to move away.

The Canongate historically had hundreds and hundreds of families and we would like more families in the area - it's a great place for families to live in but Places for People and the developers refuse to accept that three and four bedroom housing is needed. They tell us "families don't like to live in the city centre" yet the expensive flats and town houses are to be three and four bedroom with their own private parking.

It feels like social cleansing to us - our historical neighbourhood is being gentrified - and the traditional people of the Canongate are being cleared out here.

HOMES NOT HOTELS