London Calling

With all eyes on Westminster, this is the blog to keep on top of things Order-Order Blogspot

Here in the republic it has got us thinking the questions we need answers to, will appear soon as it seems to be the order of the day...

In todays piece in The Scotsman on Herb Stovel giving his expert opinion in the Haymarket Inquiry, many in the comments on the article are asking these very questions

Remember these

1. Complaints have been made to both the Competition DG and the Internal market DG of the EU Commission, because of the extent that Mountgrange Caltongate Ltd may have been provided with privileged access and offered exclusive consideration in pursuance of its commercial objectives, it follows that competing bidders, both actual and potential, have been unlawfully discriminated against, and public resources unlawfully exposed to risk in this case. Caltongate Given A Black Mark

2. A clear breach of Article 7 of the applicable code of conduct as set by the Standards Commission (Scotland) in the case of Planning Committee convenor Jim Lowrie.
The code states that a breach has been committed where a planning committee member expresses a prior public view ahead of a decision being taken, or where a member has lobbied, either overtly or covertly, for a particular interest group or to the commercial benefit of a particular applicant. In Article 11th Oct 07 it says

“City planning leader Cllr Jim Lowrie said: "I really don't feel that we are that far behind Glasgow in terms of the speed of the planning process, but the problem in Edinburgh is the number of historic buildings and the need to address heritage concerns. "However, we don't want to fall behind and it's very important we listen to organisations like the chamber. "We have to get big developments like Caltongate up and running as soon as we can."

Given the views expressed by Councillor Lowrie in the Edinburgh Evening News of 11th October 2007 there was clear evidence of such a breach in the public domain, and in the circumstances the convenor should have been removed from his office with immediate effect.

The Council’s failure to apply article 7 of the code in this instance would appear to call into question the validity of the vote and subsequent award of the planning consent to Mountgrange Caltongate Ltd, and should be reviewed as a matter of urgency.

The economic relationship between the council and the developer in this case has the characteristics of an institutionalised public-private partnership.


3. The recent report in The Times about Mountgrange`s donation to the Labour Party,
Mountgrange donate to Labour Party

which questions the fact that the Department of Trade and Industry, when it was being headed by the present Chancellor, Alistair Darling, assisted with the funding for an investigation into the project’s proposed heating system.


4. The statements of Historic Scotland chief inspector, Malcolm Cooper given his relationship with Mountgrange’s Mr Manish Chande Historic Scotland and Caltongate


5. The actions of Donald Anderson during his period as council leader should also be scrutinised, given his individual relationship with Mountgrange’s Mr Manish Chande.
Champagne Donation Under Fire


6. The very real prospect of the loss of World Heritage status for the city, see Dresden’s recent experience, arising from a proposal to build a bridge over the River Elbe.
More Here

7. And a question that so many people are asking - why is it that one architect, Allan Murray, seems to be involved with virtually every key project within the World Heritage Site, as well as Caltongate?
Caltongate or Edinburgh Must Die


8. The pro-active role of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce in promoting the development
Mountgrange`s Manish Chande is head of their property portfolio group see page 4 of their magazine
Chambers Magazine and in Evening News Today Ron Hewitt of Chambers Roots For Caltongate

Anti-Heritage Meeting as Caltongate Grinds to a Halt?

News has reached the Republic that a well known Edinburgh architect is to host an anti-world heritage conference when delegates from UNESCO visit the capital.

Caltongate Developer`s Myers and Chande

In The Scotsman today-

"Among projects facing delay are the long-awaited replacement for Meadowbank Stadium, an extension to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the massive Caltongate development in the Old Town"

Could it be one of the two architects involved in Caltongate who is organising the anti-world heritage conference?

Architects Hit back in UNESCO Row

Malcolm Fraser?

This month, Fraser attended The Cockburn`s annual lecture with Prof. Herb Stovel, where he sat with his head in his hands, not looking his normal cheery self....but perhaps he was uncomfortable, hardly surprising when he has openly referred to The Cockburn Association as the Toxic Wing of the Heritage Lobby...

Allan Murray?

or could it be the Haymarket`s Richard Murphy ?

Murphy has spoken of UNESCO being the "Conservation Mafia"

"What is Unesco? Who is Unesco? My experience of Unesco is some brand, a conservation mafia. I’ve quickly come to the conclusion that conservation architects have an exceptionally limited view of the world and architecture within it."

Disney Status For Capital?

Even with Disney Status, the ubiquitous Edinburgh Scaffolding

Danger of Capital being made into a Disney production


ON THURSDAY Professor Herb Stovel gave the Cockburn Association's annual lecture, this year entitled Keeping the Faith in World Heritage, in which he made many salient points with regard to recent planning decisions made within Edinburgh and how he perceives their impact upon the Outstanding Universal Values that Edinburgh embodies.

Intriguingly, he made the statement that Edinburgh was of a sufficient size to cope with the increased number of visitors associated with WHS, yet failed to make the connection with the three controversial developments – Caltongate, Haymarket and St James Centre – being proposed to house these visitors.



The pursuit of increased tourist numbers is what threatens the OUV. While UNESCO's prime concern may be keeping the city looking pretty, this resident's concern is for their life in the city.



All new large developments are primarily hotel accommodation – aside from the big three already mentioned two hotels are proposed for Princes Street with talk of a third one in the West End; the Cowgate fire site is proposed to become a hotel and both sides of Waterloo Place are either hotel or serviced apartments. So what future for the real people? Bussed and trammed in from outlying districts to serve the tourist core?



The Old Town once boasted a fantastically egalitarian mix and we need provision to be made for young and growing families on modest salaries within the city centre unless we are to become a Disney version of a living city.


Letter to Evening News 20 October 2008

Keeping the Faith in World Heritage

Above the Osbert Lancaster cartoon was signed off 29 years ago tomorrow, could have been today somewhere in an office in Edinburgh ...

Professor Stovel is one of the world's leading experts on conservation matters and assessed the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh for UNESCO World Heritage site status in 1995.

Tonight he is giving the The Cockburn Annual Lecture Keeping the Faith in World Heritage: Issues and Challenges
at the Edinburgh College of Art, Main Lecture Theatre 18:30 - 20:30
Cockburn Association

Listen to the Professor , one of the world’s leading authorities on conservation matters, in discussion with the EWH Chairman Professor Charles McKean last year on …What makes Edinburgh distinctive and how does it compare with other World Heritage cities?
Hear Listen to the Podcast

All cartoons are by Osbert Lancaster who is being currently celebrated in an exhibition in London see More here