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

The Council`s New Masterplan continued

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

UNESCO Slams City on Caltongate

Watch Jim Lowrie In Action Here

By Brian Ferguson The Scotsman Today Full Article Here

from the article -
"UNESCO yesterday criticised Edinburgh council's handling of the Caltongate development and said the demolition of two listed buildings could have been avoided, The Scotsman can reveal.

Its European heritage chief, Dr Mechtild Rössler, condemned the council for allowing the London developer Mountgrange to draw up the initial blueprint for the huge Old Town site, by Waverley Station."

"Jim Lowrie, Edinburgh city council's planning leader, admitted the local authority could be left in a "tricky position" if the council's handling of Mountgrange was strongly criticised and asked for a response."

"However, Mountgrange has launched an attack on Unesco, the world heritage body, branding it an "irrelevance" and saying it is not interested in its views on the £300 million development."

The firm said it has no intention of postponing the start of work until after next summer's World Heritage summit, in Seville, discusses Edinburgh.

A spokesman Mark Cummings of Never Beaten PR said a "dangerous precedent" would be set if a major developer had to wait until Unesco had delivered its judgment, and insisted that Mountgrange had no intention of changing its scheme, even if key criticisms were made by Unesco."

Also today Scotsman Burning Issue

Should Unesco be more in touch with modern urban planning reality? (odd question??)

Yes

RON HEWITT Chief executive, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce (remember Manish Chande, Caltongate Developer, is the chambers property portfolio Head!)

THE recent visit of the Unesco delegation was a welcome opportunity for the directors of the World Heritage Committee to assure themselves regarding the situation

on the ground. That Dr (Mechtild] Rössler, in summing up, saw no reason to report Edinburgh's World Heritage status being at risk is welcomed by the business community. The existing environment is a key reason why developers want to invest in our city. And if we want them to do so we must have attitudes that make investors welcome.We don't agree the city is in a polarised debate about the issue.

Whenever we meet with heritage groups we are able to have open conversations about a joint interest – preserving and developing one of the finest cities in Europe. Has this underlying commonality ruled the roost of the planning process? No! Should it? Yes! Do we need a better planning process to make applications run more smoothly? Yes! And it has arrived. It is called the Planning Act Scotland 2006 and it stipulates that community consultation should precede the hearing of applications in the council's planning committee.

It is interesting that Dr Rössler seemed unaware of these provisions. We explained the delays in bringing in regulations to implement the act are occasioned by a lengthy period of consultation – just what has been asked for all along. Dr Rössler told us Unesco has no interest in (or resources to deliver) vetting of planning applications in Edinburgh. Historic Scotland (legally) performs the function of overseeing our historic environment. We will continue to work with that organisation and other heritage bodies.

No

SALLY RICHARDSON spokeswoman, Save Our Old Town Campaign

WORLD Heritage status is awarded on consideration by the World Heritage Committee (a committee of member nations of Unesco) on the recommendation of the International Commission on Monuments and Sites. Nominations are put forward by national governments (in this case the UK government), often at the suggestion of a national institution (in this case, the City of Edinburgh Council). The World Heritage Centre is an admin body for the UN World Heritage Convention, to which the UK is a signatory.

Unesco was formed in a spirit of encouraging international understanding and peace, through co-operation in the realm of education, science and culture. World Heritage Sites are an important part of this, encouraging nations to understand the values that they share with others across the globe: what Edinburgh and, say, Peru's Machu Picchu have in common may not be obvious immediately, but then you begin to understand how another culture produced – or came to value – a site, and realise that how they value that place is not very different from us.

To say World Heritage Status is irrelevant to Edinburgh is to say that Edinburgh has no relevance to the rest of humanity and, if removed, that its outstanding universal value has been significantly reduced. At present, the site remains of huge international significance and interest – key to this is its juxtaposition of the organic medieval Old Town and the carefully planned and designed 18th and 19th century New Town. Those calling on World Heritage Status to be dropped, or just ignored, need to open their minds, and perhaps also their hearts, to everything that makes Edinburgh special."

Council throws out waste station bid

Wall E seems to have found Allan Murray`s inspiration for his Cube Building

flung up in the Nasty Noughties of the 21st Century,

CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a waste transfer station in Portobello have been thrown out by councillors.
This morning they voted to reject the development of a £7 million road-to-rail transfer station in the former rail freight yard off Sir Harry Lauder Road.Waste management company Viridor had the backing of Edinburgh City Council officers for its plans. But councillors rejected their recommendations by 11 votes to three.They argued the station - which would see hundreds of bin lorries deposit waste every day - would be detrimental to the local community, because of the smell.Protestors made their views heard at a demonstration outside the city chambers before the four-hour meeting, arguing such a development was not suitable in a residential area.

Evening News 30th July 2008

Caltongate Hotel Cancelled

French Hotel Group Accor may pull out of Caltongate, as 5 star Hotels are lying empty at what should be Edinburgh`s busiest time of year


Headlines today say it all -
Scottish hotel downturn worst in Britain as trade plunges by 7% Scotsman

Stage set for a difficult year as rooms remain empty before Festival Scotsman


Waste depot protesters call for demo at city chambers on Wednesday 30th July

The campaign group Portobello Opposes New Waste Site, or Pongs, has urged people to attend next week's planned protest. It has the backing of Edinburgh East MP Gavin Strang, who this week wrote to every member of the council's planning committee to outline local concerns.Mr Strang said it was only the second time in 30 years that he had felt compelled to make such a move. "This is the wrong site, no question, and I am very concerned that the views of my constituents are properly heard," he said. Robert Gatliff, the chairman of Portobello Community Council, agreed that local residents were very concerned that Viridor was looking to force through a development in the wrong place."There is also the worry that this site could be used for something else in future, such as a passenger rail terminal or even a tram terminal, but if this rubbish depot is constructed that will no longer be a possibility and the people here will lose out."

A spokesman for Viridor said the company planned to create a "state-of-the-art facility"."The facility will reduce traffic volumes and reduce CO2 emissions by 42 per cent," he said. "This is achieved by shifting transport of waste from road to rail, bringing an important rail freight facility back into long-term viable use. "Vehicles using the facility will mainly operate outside peak traffic times and will use Sir Harry Lauder Road, thus not contributing significantly to traffic levels in the area." Full Article 22nd July



Viridor the waste company use PPS Group the controversial PR company run in Scotlan, by none other than Caltongate Devotee Donald Anderson, former Nu Labour leader of City of Edinburgh`s Council Planners give Nod 25th July 08

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." hotlinehere


So you can be sure this is a scheme which is no good for anyone other than the folk wanting to build it and run it, miles and miles away from their homes and communities of course!

If you can help then get yourself up to the City Chambers from 8.15 am - the meeting starts at 9am

Saving Edinburgh Continues

The Future Haymarket

IAN ROSS questions the change being foisted upon Scotland's capital

I BELIEVE we are now in a crisis in my home city of Edinburgh as bad, if not worse, than the destruction and damage that took place in the 1960s. Vested interests are being given free rein to exploit every available site. Now even Unesco is worried about the status of our World Heritage Site. I believe that the plans now approved and those in the planning process are such that Edinburgh no longer deserves the status granted by Unesco.

We hear time and again from those in positions of influence that Edinburgh is losing out on investment to Manchester and Glasgow. Good for them – Edinburgh does not need it. Only those with a benefit to gain seem to be worried.

We are destroying the very essence of the city by over-development and a rush to make it bigger. I see no benefit for the ordinary citizen. Extra people will not pay for the upgrading of schools – they will mean more children requiring schooling, more traffic, etc.

The supposition being put out is that if we fight against these developments Edinburgh will lose out – well I hope we do. Will Edinburgh become a less wonderful place to live if we do not have Caltongate, if we chuck out the plans for a 17-storey hotel at Haymarket, if we tell Forth Ports we do not want their nine villages, or if we return the St James Centre to something that is an asset to the city, not another eyesore to replace the current one? The Scotsman 8th July

New wave of 'philistines' poses a major threat to the capital's historic skyline, claims DAVID BLACK

Caltongate Developer Manish Chande (right) with his partner in crime Martin Myers

THOSE of us with long memories might just recall the early Seventies, when Edinburgh University's firebrand student rector, a certain Gordon Brown, established "the rector's working party on planning".The shared objective among enlightened citizens at that point was to scupper the manic demolition proposals which the philistine triumvirate of university bigwigs, property plutocrats and a right-of-centre "progressive" (no irony intended) town council had drawn up a decade earlier for the historic Southside of Edinburgh.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown when a young student

Among other things, Brown and his troublesome cabal produced a couple of polemical booklets under the aegis of the Edinburgh University Student Publications Board. The Forgotten Southside and The Unmaking of Edinburgh may not have been classics of the printmaker's art, and the standard of spelling left something to be desired, as contributor Robin Cooke (sic) discovered, but they caught and reflected a growing public mood and helped to turn the tide in a historic city that was, in a very real sense, under attack.

As a result the Buchanan Road proposals, the university's 1963 comprehensive development area plans, the flagrant misuse of the Section 13 (Dangerous Buildings) notice, and an equally wanton disregard for the legislation which had been enacted to protect our listed buildings were placed beyond the reach of the scorched-earth planning Ba'athists and their philistine henchmen.

A new age of holistic urban harmony was ushered in as the Crown Estate commissioners spent some of their North Sea oil gains on the restoration of Nicolson Street, housing associations translated derelict tenements into good-quality homes, a Georgian church scheduled for demolition became a community centre and another nearby became home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Saved - The Queens Hall
The crowning achievement, perhaps, was when the establishment saw the error of its bad old ways and delivered a volte-face by declaring both the Southside and the Old Town outstanding conservation areas, clearing the way for central Edinburgh's designation as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Ah, but we were so much older then, we're younger than that now! While we all retired from the scene, quietly convinced that the forces of philistinism had been well and truly routed, little did we guess that their discredited remnants would regroup a quarter of a century later, well provisioned by corporate largesse, and ride forth under a gleaming new banner – "The Rebranding of Britain".

Saved - Southside Community Centre
PR whizz-kids softened us up with siren rhetoric about how a city like ours, while it might be cute in a sort of old-fashioned way, really had to move with the times if it was to survive. The choice, we were told, was between "Modernity or Heritage" and this meant that we had to have lots 'n' lots of flashy new-built icons.

The corporates and bureaucrats brought in a selected breed of architects to perpetrate a number of truly awesome aesthetic crimes within the world heritage site, such as the hideous Omni Centre and some daft, upturned Holyrood boats, which were meant to be symbolic of the "New Scotland". Objectors were characterised as the enemies of progress.

There were, of course, some good new buildings. Few would question the dignified urban presence of Saltire Court, or the delightful quirkiness of the Scottish Poetry Library. But, more and more, the desire to squeeze as much revenue-generating floorplate out of a site as possible dictated the outcome as our planners cravenly acquiesced to the increasingly avaricious demands of behemoth developers, while telling the rest of us that we wurnae allowed to have window boxes on a listed building, or whatever.

Let's take a rain check here. Right now, in our elegant capital city, one developer's PR machine is schmoozing us with the idea that Edinburgh's skyline of spires and domes clearly embraces the idea of vertical emphasis, so wouldn't it make sense to erect a skyscraper atop the St James Centre?

Another developer, with the apparent support of the very council which is meant to be protecting our civic virtue, intends to tear down listed buildings in the Old Town and erect a bloated sprawl of aesthetically-bankrupt, commercial ticky-tacky that will degrade the historic environment more than anything which was ever proposed in the philistine 1960s.

Vintage Concrete

Back in fashion in all major cities

In this fine city of ours, which should have had a metro years ago, we are extorting money from traders and residents for a tram system that will connect the Gyle with Leith waterfront, doing nothing for most of the citizenry.

We mustn't kid ourselves – this city of ours, this sublime capital of an ancient nation, is under siege, not from the Barbarian hordes of yore, but from the oleaginous blandishments of Mammon and his sticky-fingered minions.

It is, of course, grossly unfair to generalise, for development can be benign, as well as malign, but the evidence of our eyes tells us that the balance is drifting inexorably away from the good towards the bad and the downright ugly. They have the cash and they can afford to fête and flatter and feed their guff to the media courtesy of an impressive PR juggernaut, which even includes former city councillors.

Former Labour Council Leader Donald Anderson (pro Caltongate when in office now Director of PR ccompany PPSGroup, who Caltongate Developers Mountgrange use)

Isn't it time we did something about this? Obviously, we can't afford to commission a PR company, but we can at least pick up our pens and scribble. If a dozen of us – some old, some new – could each write a 2,000-word essay on the current shenanigans, couldn't we set the tumbrels rolling, or at least encourage a reassessment of our current approach to planning and development?

There is a rich and diverse range of subjects which could be tackled – our PPP hospital, the great tram adventure, the Caltongate scandal, and even the screwing-up of some essentially brilliant ideas, like the over-designed nonsense recently perpetrated in St Andrew's Square Gardens.

The trumpet has sounded! Rise up, ye sons and daughters of Edina, your city needs you at this hour!

Get in touch with The Save Our Old Town Campaign

at canongatecommunityforumATyahoo.co.uk

David J Black is author of All the First Minister's MenThe Scotsman 18th July 08.

The Vandalism of Edinburgh

Mark Cummings PR supervandal for all developments that stink , collects his wages

Today we must catch up on all the news, on our holidays at the moment so daily postings not possible -- but one thing is clear we must all write to UNESCO asap - To inform the World Heritage Committee about the threats to Edinburgh write to - Committee's Secretariat at -

wh-info@unesco.org

It's time to turf vandals at the 'gate out of office

Letters Evening News 15th July 2008

"YESTERDAY I (and presumably the other 2000 objectors to the Caltongate affair) received a letter from dear old Edinburgh City Council informing me that the first phase of demolition work in the course of the Caltongate development had been approved, and will shortly commence.
My computer dictionary defines the word 'vandalism' as "deliberate, mischievous, or malicious destruction – or damage – of property" (particularly in regard to public property). Who are the greater vandals – the 16-year-olds spraying their tags on a building wall, or the councillors and council officers who have driven through the Caltongate abomination against significant local objection, and failed the people they were elected and appointed to serve? It is time to clean the hive, and I appeal to every one of my fellow voters to vote for anyone except your sitting councillor at the next council election ... and if you like the idea, tell someone else about it: let's dump the whole lot and start again. Voting in a clean council would only be the start, because the new council should be pressed to dismiss those council officers who significantly promoted the worst depredations of its predecessor."

Evening News 16th July 08 Tory Cooncillor Rose (who voted for Caltongate on the planning committee in Feb 08) rabbles on trying to justify the vandalism committed against the city ...really you should be ashamed of yourself and do good in your retirement from the police.

Architect Peter Wilson has something to say on Rebus Rose Rantings

Thorny Subject
Still in Edinburgh, Planning Committee member, Councillor Cameron Rose, has taken it upon himself to expose the architectural and urban design credentials that made him an obvious choice for the job. The retired police inspector feels a “legislative look” at Historic Scotland’s listing policy should be taken, a viewpoint formed from his bewilderment that a building such as the Royal Commonwealth Pool by RMJM could possibly merit it’s A-listed status.
Showing a commendable appreciation of 1960’s architecture, Councillor Rose feels that “it’s debatable whether it has historic significance”. His real beef, however, is with a listing process that allowed two C category buildings to impede the Council’s eagerness to appease the developer of the Caltongate site next to its new headquarters. As with so many of his colleagues, he is happy to repeat the public relations rhetoric that the proposed project is “creating a new living community” in the heart of the Old Town, encouraging the thought that perhaps it is the city’s Planning Committee itself that merits a legislative look at some of its recent decisions. Article on Architecture Scotland

Then in the Times Article July 17th 08 an unnamed vandal says -

"A spokesman for Mountgrange, the property company that is developing the £300 million site next to the Royal Mile in the Old Town, said that work was likely to begin before Christmas. He added that the scheme would reflect “the way we live today whilst respecting the past”. (Pass the sickbag, quick!)

Questions That Demand Answers

Save Our Old Town Campaign

After yesterdays misleading article, The Evening News has at least printed part of the other side, which isn`t fuelled by Mountgrange`s PR machine headed by former council leader Donald Anderson Calls continue for Caltongate public inquiry

But here are some of the questions that need to be raised and which could be answered at an Inquiry What You Can Do Here

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

Each daily blog we will try to highlight a campaign or two locally or nationally..

Todays campaign has my 5 year old son`s favourite car mad Jeremy Clarkson supporting the campaign to stop a demolition in Devon Brunel Builing Totnes

Where are the big names for Edinburgh when she needs them?

Caltongate Developers funded Labour while seeking council backing

The Times, Feb 20, 2008 By Mike Wade Page 5 Scotland Edition (not available online)

>Scottish party given £4,000 by Mountgrange

>Former leader has job at project`s company PPSGroup

A London-based development company behind one of the most controversial planning decisions in Edinburgh made a £4,000 donation to the Scottish Labour Party to fund a champagne reception at a time when the backing of party councillors for the project was crucial to its success.

A Times investigation has established that the donation was made by Mountgrange, the company which is developing the £300 million Caltongate project in the heart of Edinburgh's historic OldTown. The scheme, which envisages the demolition of some listed buildings, is bitterly opposed by conservationists.

The disclosure of the donation last night provoked outrage among the scheme’s opponents, who seized demanded an investigation into links between the former Labour council and Mountgrange.

Bob Cairns, a former Labour councillor, who left the post as convenor of planning in 2003 said the party had been “extremely unwise” to accept a donation from a firm involved in such a controversial planning application. “Personally, I wouldn’t have touched money from that source with a barge pole,” he said.

It is claimed that the donation was made when the future political control of the city was in doubt. It was expected that Labour would retain control - in fact the SNP now holds the balance of power.

Links between Mountgrange and the Labour Party have been the subject of controversy since last October, when it was disclosed that Donald Anderson, the former Labour leader of Edinburgh council, had been appointed Scottish director of PPS, the public relations company which has been promoting the Caltongate project on behalf of Mountgrange.

While still leader of the council, Mr Anderson had spoken out enthusiastically in favour of the Caltongate scheme in a newsletter published by PPS on behalf of Mountgrange, though he had stepped down from his position by the time the donation to Scottish Labour was published by the Electoral Commission on 20 March.

Then, on 19 April, two weeks before Labour were voted from office, the city council’s planning committee approved by nine votes to five the installation of an underground heating system, which formed the first phase of the Caltongate project.

Steve Cardownie, the SNP councillor who is deputy leader of Edinburgh City Council, said the revelation was “disconcerting news”.

He said: “This is an extremely controversial planning application which found support within the previous city administration. It merits further investigation to find just how deep these connections go.

“Although the new administration has determined recent applications, this still does raise question marks over the relationship between the Labour Party and the company and why the donation wasn’t made known prior to their application being submitted.”

Any donation to a political party has to be declared within 30 days. In spring 2007 Labour were still hopeful of remaining in power at national and local level. In the event it was unsuccessful on both counts, and for Mr Anderson, who resigned as council leader in August 2006, there was further disappointment as he failed in his attempt to be elected as MSP for Edinburgh South.

He established Anderson Consulting, a firm which, according to its website, offered “comprehensive advice on planning policy, and processes. We help make sure your project gets a fair hearing from the planning process, and that you are able to respond positively to concerns.”

Anderson Strategy

Five months later it was found that he had taken up a new position as Scottish Director of PPS. He is still employed in that capacity but despite his seniority, the company claims that he does not to work on the Caltongate project.

However, in May 2006, while still leader of the council, Mr Anderson, enthusiastically endorsed Mountgrange’s plans in a glossy newsletter produced by PPS and distributed to households in central Edinburgh.

“The Caltongate development offers Edinburgh a terrific opportunity to transform this area from a neglected backwater into a vibrant, integrated part of the city centre. The mix of residential, commercial and public space will make this one of the most desirable locations in the city and regenerate an area that for too long has been allowed to run down,” he said.

Opponents of Caltongate include community groups and the Cockburn Association, Edinburgh’s civic trust. They have campaigned against the demolition of two listed buildings, and against the size and scale of the project which lies of land between the Canongate and Calton Road. However, in Mountgrange, they have found a powerful opponent.

The company was formed in 2002 by Manish Chande, its chief executive, and Martin Myers, his business partner. In 2004 Caltongate was one of five development sites in England and Scotland that the company bought from the Sofam Beheer BV for a total price of £60m.

Mr Chande is a former director of Land Securities, the UK’s biggest property company, and, with Mr Myers, joint founder of Trillium, which won a contract to own and manage the majority of the Department for Work and Pensions property portfolio – a 2bn deal that made it Britain's biggest commercial landlord.

More than 2,000 objections have been lodged against the Caltongate development. It earmarked for the site of a former bus garage on New Street. A PPS spokesman said: “Mountgrange has sponsored a number of events, including the Cow Parade in Edinburgh and the reception at a Scottish Labour Party business dinner.”

No-one from the Scottish Labour Party was available for comment.

Edinburgh Cow

Then in the Final edition of Today`s Evening News Edinburgh Council`s Labour leader Ewan Aitken hit back at claims his former administration was wined and dined at a champagne reception paid for by the company behind the Caltongate development.

Remember this?

Evening News Dec 06 Councillor Trevor Davies stunned the group of parents and children as he was heading into a champagne reception hosted by developers in the Old Town.

My worries over Caltongate grow By MARGO MacDONALD

From piece in today`s Evening News

"That fact, and his cheap shot at linking the objections to his plan to the over-crowded, dirty and diseased Edinburgh of the 17th century, has stiffened my resolution in favour of further investigation of the present plan up to and including a public inquiry, if that's what it takes to bring about a development of the city that reflects the character, standards and ambition of its citizens."

Edinburgh Needs You

SAY NO TO CALTONGATE
PROTEST
WEDNESDAY 6TH FEB
OUTSIDE CITY CHAMBERS,
HIGH ST, THE ROYAL MILE
From 9am


Come along and make the Planning Committee and others see that Caltongate is so wrong for Edinburghs` Old Town, and that they should not be voting to approve this inappropriate development.

What is needed is lots of people. As many at 9am as possible. We aim to have a presence all day until committee ends. Which will be until after 4pm. Come whenever you can, come and go throughout the day.

Bring along placards and banners, musical instruments, whistles etc. Be prepared for the weather, bring flasks of hot drinks, snacks and even a portable seat if you need to.

Do make your own banners/posters to put on or outside your windows from today. A clear message can then be seen all over the city, you don`t have to live in The Old Town. Its everyones Old Town and World Heritage Site.

You can print off a poster for your window at these link

http://www.eh8.org.uk/files/PORTRAITPOSTERNO.pdf
http://www.eh8.org.uk/files/LANDSCAPEPOSTER-1.pdf

Sigh the petiton at www.eh8.org.uk

ABOUT THE MEETING


If you wish to sit in on meeting - Report to main reception in city chambers quadrangle to pick up a visitors pass and to be directed to meeting.

Meeting is to run as follows Timings Approximate

10am Director of City Development Alan Henderson to present reports on applications and recommend that the committee approve them.
10.30am 8 bodies will give deputations (10 mins each ) against Caltongate
Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland
Canongate Community Forum
Cockburn Association
Old Town Association
Edinburgh World Heritage Trust
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
Old Town Community Council
Royal Park Terrace and spring Gardens Residents Association
12.05pm Representations in favour of applications by Visit Scotland/Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce
12.15pm Questions by committee to the deputatees and to the Director of City Development
1pm Presentation by applicant Manish Chande (Mountgrange Caltongate Developer)Then questions by committee to the applicant and director of City Development.
1.30pm Comments by Councillor Beckett as a local ward member
*************Break for Lunch*************

2.30pm Meeting Resumes - Debate and DECISION by the committee

With only two days until a decision is taken on the Caltongate Applications, the PR spin machine behind them is working overtime. Did you know that in a report published by property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle it shows the Capital is trailing other major European destinations in hotel provision – offering just a third of the number of rooms available in Prague and ten times fewer hotels than Paris.
Well the facts are that Paris is 1118 sq km, population 11.5 m, Prague 496 sq km, Population 1.2 million,whereas Edinburgh has only 259 sq km and only a population of 500,000 thousand!!! So that means Paris is just over 22 times more people and about 5 times as big so the amount of hotel space is probably right, unless every home is made into a hotel bedroom? So there is statistics, statistics and damn right lies. The full page advertisement for Caltongate courtesy of The EveningNews


Just for the record the Save Our Old Town campaign is not against having a hotel on the empty site. It is only against the knocking down of listed buildings and evicting residents from their homes in order that the hotel can have their frontage!

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of Edinburgh's Chamber of Commerce, said the plans for the Caltongate scheme were "visionary and ambitious".He said: "The designs are contemporary, bold and complementary to a city which has always been constructed in the styles of its times.

Remember the Chamber are all pally with Manish Chande, they made him head of their Property Portfollio group.

Above Manish Chande Mountgrange Chief Exectutive, The Sailors Ark and part of the Macrae Tenements that would be lost for the above Caltongate Sofi Hotel.

"Edinburgh is crying out for more high-quality hotel space to boost our conference and tourism sector. It's therefore imperative this development is approved."Ben Carter, area director of VisitScotland, said the organisation would "support the development of a flagship hotel" in the Old Town.

Remember that former Leader of Edinburgh Council Donald Anderson was executive member for tourism, culture and sport, before being ousted from office.believes the hotel will create 300 jobs, as well as rejuvenating ‘one of the most tired areas of the city centre’ Now he is director of Mdevelopers Mountgranges infamous PR firm PPS Group.

Now also remember , GVA Grimley, Jones Lang LaSalle and Rettie & Co are advising Mountgrange.
PropertyWeek