Bank won`t sell New Street Site ?

From todays Evening News 29 April 2009

THE massive Caltongate site is set to mothballed for a year or more after the Bank of Scotland ordered administrators not to sell the site on the cheap.

The Edinburgh-based bank is owed £73.8 million by Mountgrange Capital and is concerned that, in the current market, the site would not sell for enough to get it the money back.

Remember when the republic broke the news of Mountgrange having no cash back in September last year, of course no one believed them as they were not a PR spin doctor like Mark Cumming of Never Beaten PR or Donald whaur`s yer troosers? Anderson of the infamous pr outfit PPS Group

Mountgrange say no funding in place for Caltongate

latest Mountgrange publicity photo

"A spokesman for the Caltongate development said that it might be harder to raise funding for the residential element of the project in the current climate. "

This appears in todays Sunday Herald in which it tells -

"THE £50 million extension to Dundee's premier shopping centre faces delays of up to three years as the economic crisis takes its toll on retailers."

Oops do Mountgrange really think they can get away with knocking down our homes and heritage to build a 5 star hotel for dwindling wealthy tourist numbers and offices for non existent businesses? No we don`t think so either, they just want to knock it all down and sell the land on when economy picks up. So yes, we would have a gap site for over a decade if this was to be allowed to happen.

Caltongate not to happen?

Above a blast from the past in 2006, with our Canongate Coo in front of the Macrae tenements emptied for greedy property developer`s Mountgrange, who planted perspex cows all over the city with their name on it for the Cow Parade that year.

Word on the street is that the council are re-populating the empty council tenancies that they emptied on behalf on Mountgrange, so they could knock them down for their French run Accor Caltongate luxury 5 star hotel.

But now in these uncertain global economic times, it looks like they are listening to folk like us and housing the citys`s residents, which is their first priority, instead of pandering to London resident Manish Chande demands.

The council have still not answered a FOI request from October on the council tenancies at 221 and 227 Canongate. See Here

See SOOT`s 2008`s Hogmanay Protest outside empty homes

Temper, temper!

It has been reported to the Independent Republic that a certain spin doctor was like Rumpelstiltskin the other day because of what was said on this blog - very grumpy and very cross - about a source stating that Mountgrange were pulling out. The Independent Republic were only reporting what we were told!

Now please remember what happened to Mr R when he didn't get his own way - he stamped his foot so hard he fell into a chasm - perhaps it would be the big hole left when Caltongate have to walk away from the Caltongate site!

Mountgrange to Pull Out?

Breaking News

3pm Weds 24th Sept 08

It has just been bought to the republic`s attention that Caltongate Developer Mountgrange are rumoured to be pulling out of Caltongate.

Instead it is being suggested that they are to demolish the listed buildings and homes, and sell on the cleared site with the planning consents......