The Great Calton & Gate Swindle continues

Yes, The Development that incriminates it`s fans..., is back this season with a new song for them "dig, dig, dig, dig digging, dig an escape route for me"

The story so far

and today`s Evening News has a piece questioning the development???

They are in a hole so keep digging!

Evening News mourns Caltongate

Caltongate: 'Mountgrange at least had an innovative plan'
This is the Evening News Comment from yesterday to accompany the devastating news that Caltongate is on the brink of collapse, see yesterdays posting.

AFTER years of consultation and compromise it is unfortunate that the Caltongate project is likely to at the very least be further delayed due to the dire circumstances in which the development company finds itself.

Love the idea or hate it, Mountgrange had at least come up with an innovative scheme to breathe new life into a derelict corner of the inner city.Such problems have already resulted in delays to other major regeneration projects at Springside on the former Fountain Brewery Site and at Shawfair, where plans to create a "new town" on the outskirts of the city have also been shelved.Elsewhere, progress at Granton and on the Waterfront is slow and the plan to develop a medical park at Little France shows little sign of progression. The commercial property market is, to say the least, difficult and it will take some time to recover.

During the lengthy period it has taken Mountgrange to obtain planning permission for its housing, leisure and business scheme its fortunes have slumped dramatically. The company has posted losses in excess of £24 million and has seen the value of the Caltongate site plummet by almost £18 million. Its auditors gloomily forecast that they are uncertain as to whether it can keep trading. But before those who fought against the scheme celebrate, they must remember that the site will eventually be developed and the principles which underpinned it will not go away.

It is understandable that in the present economic climate that banks are wary about backing companies such as Mountgrange who are involved in speculative construction projects. There is plenty unfilled office space in Edinburgh, with more becoming available soon, and not too many firms are queuing up to expand or move into new premises. Housebuilders are finding it difficult to unload even what affordable housing is being completed.

Against this background it is somewhat reassuring that the city council today has earmarked an additional £1.4m in next year's budget to help stimulate economic growth. It hopes for an outlay of almost £4m that it will attract over a hundred times that in new investment and it promises to invest more the following year should it be required.Aiming to attract such level of investment in these times may seem an ambitious target but the city must continue to aim high. Recessions don't last for ever and Edinburgh must ensure that when it is over it is in the best position to take advantage of any opportunities that might become available.

From an article at the end of last year Councils look to get their message through letterboxes more often in The Sunday Herald, the Evening News has let the City Of Edinburgh Council and Mountgrange know exactly how much they support them!
from the article -

John McLellan, editor of the Evening News, scorns the suggestion that this outlay should be increased to compensate for his paper's shortcomings.

"I am really sorry that I have caused those poor sensitive dears so much heartache. I take it as a compliment. If you actually analysed the main policies on which the council has received criticism, you would find that we supported them.



We were behind the trams, the rationalisation of schools, the Caltongate development and the decision to demolish Meadowbank stadium. "On the point of the leadership of the council, we are reflecting exactly what every civic leader says about them."

Anyone for a game of Edinburgh Monopoly?

In the Evening News today -

"As a new report reveals Edinburgh is facing a critical shortage of hotel rooms, what options are available to make sure visitors to the Capital have somewhere to stay?"

Todays article would have you believe that we are facing a crisis of hotelless tourists....much more worrying than homeless residents?

So like Caltongate will it be a case of look I`m a developer I now have 18 of your green little houses so I can cash them in for a French 5 star hotel...

Full article here Eve News

The following comments on article speak more sense -

It also seems to me that the quote from the Chamber of Commerce: "We have hotels coming through now at places like Quartermile and Caltongate, but it has taken years to get them to that stage. We are getting the image of not being friendly to developers"

shows a major ignorance of the national planning system..Deeply worrying that people like this are given so much newspaper space to spout.

It is true that Hogmanay and the Festival see a horrendous excess of demand over supply, and this needs to be addressed in anyway possible. But outside these relatively narrow periods lets remember that capacity in Edinburgh exceeds supply - often on a huge scale. Developments on the fringe of the city such as Edinburgh Park should be encouraged, but within the City Centre there are other considerations.In discussing 'hotels' it should also be remembered that Edinburgh has a long tradition of bed and breakfasts and guesthouses that goes back to when there were few hotels in central Edinburgh other than for the well-heeled. There are literally hundreds of these and their combined capacity is a significant slice of Edinburgh's accommodation pie. It has for several year's been in VisitScotlands interests (apparently) to exaggerate how 'busy' Edinburgh is and there are many anecdotal stories of the visitor centre suggesting accommodation in Penicuik or Haddington long before Edinburgh's own capacity is genuinely full.These small facilities utilise and preserve historic buildings without destroying them. The City Council is entirely right to think long and hard before ripping the heart out of the city in the fashion that all large hotel developments seem to necessitate. Reducing the city's appeal by inappropriate and ill-concerned developments may well solve the capacity problem by lowering demand as much as increasing supply.Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Totally agree - and the dreadful Old Town Caltongate development, with its facade scheme and demolition of the Listed Caltongate Venture, is another nail in the coffin of the attracation of the city for tourists. Claims of the need for a new and very ugly Sofitel Hotel and a conference centre are greatly over stated in order that the developer can make a huge profit, aided and abetted by the Chamber of Commerce and sundry councillors and ex-councillors and planners.See:www.ew8.org.ukand tha daily blog.


They could sleep in their cars in the shiny new robotic car park...

The occupancy rates quoted in the paper today (as opposed to the online version) suggest that Edinburgh should be trying to fill what's there before building even more boxes glass and concrete monuments to spiv developers. The city is at the bottom of the comparison list with one fifth of rooms remaining unfilled - ie: below Hanoi but above Zurich. What effect will the dollar rate have on tourism from N America?