Twelve Days of Christmas 2009

It is almost that time of year once again, time for a trip down memory lane........or have they privatised that now???

A SENIOR city councillor has landed himself in hot water by making an obscene one-fingered gesture to carol-singing protesters.
Remember this from December 2006?
Full story here -Councillor in One Finger Salute

Below is one of the carols adapted and sung by a group of Save Our Old Town Campaigners as councillors, architects and other wanabees entered a champagne reception hosted by Caltongate Developers Mountgrange at The Fruitmarket Gallery on Market Street, close to the proposed development.

Mountgrange director Manish Chande, lied in the press in May 2008. He claimed that the wife of Trevor Davies had verbal abuse shouted at her from one of the carol singing campaingers . We are still awaiting a retraction of this blatent lie.Full story here

On the twelfth day of Christmas my council sent to me :

Twelve diggers digging

Eleven planners planning
Ten global chain stores
Nine builders building

Eight PR spinners Seven legal experts


Six cows a conning

A five star hotel
Four wrecking balls

Three cheap homes

Two office blocks

and Mountgrange now in admin....is...tra...tion

Mark Cummings - Invicta PR latest

From The Sunday Times by Jason Allardyce August 9, 2009

Labour candidate ‘was sent sectarian messages’

Lothian and Borders police are studying offensive text messages received by Dunfermline and West Fife candidate Thomas Docherty


Police are investigating allegations that a Scottish Labour candidate was subjected to sectarian abuse by text message.

Lothian and Borders police are studying text messages received by Thomas Docherty, who will contest Dunfermline and West Fife in the general election.
The messages, which contained a lyric from the so-called Famine song, were allegedly sent from a mobile telephone number belonging to Mark Cummings, a lobbyist. His clients have included Premier Property Group, a firm owned by David Murray, the Rangers chairman.

Two weeks ago, Docherty, a Catholic, received a message repeating a line from the Famine song which has been banned at Rangers’ Ibrox ground, and which was recently ruled by Scottish law lords to be racist. The song pillories people of Irish descent whose ancestors came to Britain to escape the potato famine which began in 1845.

The message to Docherty allegedly read: “The famine is over. Why don’t you go home? FTP.” FTP is commonly used as an abbreviation for the sectarian phrase F*** The Pope.

It is alleged that when Docherty texted the sender to check whether the message was intended for him, he received the reply: “Yes, because you are one of them.”

As a Labour candidate, Docherty is campaigning against a proposed major housing development in Dunfermline which Cummings’s firm, Edinburgh-based Invicta Public Affairs, is lobbying for.

In a statement, Cummings, director of Invicta, said: “I am aware of the matter as it has been brought to my attention. I am responding properly on a voluntary basis with the relevant authorities.

“This is a private matter that relates to me in a personal capacity only. It in no way relates to any commercial relationships that I have.”

A police spokesman said: “Police are investigating after a 34-year-old male received an offensive text message of sectarian nature.”

Docherty was unavailable for comment.

Mark Cummings pictured above with former client Manish Chande of Caltongate's Mountgrange.

Here is a bit of history on this man known throughout the country for his pr for developments on the whole unwanted by communities -

In Nairn he is well known see here

He worked with PPS who were the PR Company behind Developers Mountgrange (Caltongate) also Viridor Waste at Portobello.

The company`s motto is - "Call PPS if ...you need to undertake community consultation or if you feel your scheme may run into political or community opposition." hotlinehere

They featured in The Evening Standard in July 2007 in an article titled "Bugging, Bullying, Forgery: Property PR Tricks" EveningStandard30thjuly2007

See Dispatches Programme aired on Monday 30th July 2007 Scroll down page to find link to programme (PPS part starts at 16 minutes 50 seconds to 25 minutes 24 seconds) although all of programme worth watching!) On the 6th August 2007 another story concerning Mountgrange`s PR company PPS was published in EveningStandardaug07

In Private Eye issue no. 1192 31st August 2007 are Caltongate developers Mountgrange and their PR lobbying firm PPS to read article select your print preview and enlarge to 100% see here

"Mark Cummings the Scottish Director of PPS and Mountgrange`s spokesperson for the last two years or so left the company, 2 weeks after the Private Eye story was published in August. Now it appears he is still working for Mountgrange just under his new company name “Invicata”"

"Mark Cummings, the spin doctor who left controversial lobbying firm PPS this autumn, has landed a contract with PPS’s most high profile client in Scotland. Cummings worked on the Caltongate development account for PPS, but despite his departure was spotted at a meeting of the Caltongate Liaison Group last week. His new firm, Invicta Public Affairs, has now been taken on by Caltongate’s developer Manish Chande for what Cummings describes as “PR and public affairs, all the usual stuff”. Chande’s firm Mountgrange is expected to retain PPS’s services despite giving Invicta some work on the project." SOSarticle

Where are they now????

This is what it says on Trevor the finger Davies, Caltongate Devottee - former planning convener - written most probably by his number one fan himself

" Trevor Davies is an honorary Professor in Urban Studies in the University of Glasgow (now contain yourself from keeling over with laughter) with a degree in economics.

From 2003 until 2007 he was Convener of the Planning Committee for the City of Edinburgh Council. Edinburgh faces substantial planning issues as one of the fastest growing cities in the UK, balancing the exceptional and large demands for development with the conservation of its unique build heritage. (Aye that will be right, they hate heritage)

remember this?

In response to that challenge, Trevor appointed Sir Terry Farrell as the first City Design Champion and created the UK’s first City Design Initiative. He has extensive experience of and skills in the leadership of place making and planning policy formulation.TPS Public Affair Clients"

What it says on another former Caltongate devottee planner Spence, another one who went to Mountgrange`s champagne reception....

"Ian Spence is a highly experienced architect and town planner. He started his career as an architect in both the private and public sectors, latterly becoming design team leader. Invited to Edinburgh Council to establish an Urban Design unit. Developed urban design practice within the Council’s Planning Service – dealt with strategic development and directly processed many major planning applications. Upon local government re-organisation he was appointed Conservation and Design Manager (Assistant Director position equivalent). Ian was subsequently appointed as Development Quality Manager (with broader responsibilities – deputising for Head of Planning when necessary). " TPS Planning Clients

PPS Group Scotlandis headed up by Donald Anderson. The office has seen success in recent years and built a team of specialists that can assist on schemes large and small. They are currently involved in new settlements, city-centre mixed-use schemes, waste management projects, casinos, retail redevelopments and wind farms. Their current clients include, BAe Systems, Gala Casinos, The Junction, Land Securities, Redrow and Sainsbury's.


PPS Group motto -"Call PPS if ...you need to undertake community consultation or if you feel your scheme may run into political or community opposition."

Now we all remember wee Donald don`t we? Another rude arrogant man who when a Labour leader of the capital wined and dined with the developers.

An Invicata Public Affairs works day out

The company PPS Group which has appeared in Private Eye about their dodgy practices he works for is none other than Caltongate developers Mountgrange PR company....which another horror Mark Cummings spin doctor of the worst kind ever, worked for, who has now set up his own spinning lair called Never Beaten...with a bevvy of beauties he`s doing his best for the worst for Scotland......

So all of the above have gone from public to private, using all their contacts and knowledge to help drive through planning applications, well knock us down with a feather..............
more on this to come...