What The Dickens??

"You`ve got to knock a building down or two"

Well, like we often say here, you just couldn`t make it up....Manish Chande (above left with Mark Cummings his spin doctor) yes the infamous, London based speculative property developer who emptied homes and businesses in the pursuit of his wealth, aided and abbetted by other greedy people commissioned the great, great, grand daughter of Charles Dickens to paint his skewed vision of Edinburgh and the area he wanted to destroy in the Old Town with the scheme that was known as "Caltongate"









see the paintings for sale or rent here , there is no sign of the one with Manish in front of his lost empire....remember this Caltongate King Heads for Victory, and yes Mr Chande, you blatently lied in this piece


a modern day Dickens Classic in the making



Lies, greed, deceipt, hypocrisy, double standards, treating those with less with contempt.. the list is endless..corruption, selling off the family silver.......to be continued..

Answers from Council on Calton Hill

If you want information from the City of Edinburgh Council don't bother with an FOI, just get Brian Ferguson of the Scotsman to write a misleading article, see yesterday's post.

Remember it takes around 3 months with an FOI, remember when they were asked about the council homes they cleared on Caltongate developer Manish Chande's behalf...which they never got the rent for, now thats a scandal

FOI on Tenements at what do they know

Hill to stay open - letter in today's Scotsman

The claim of your report "Public faces Calton Hill ban at night in bid to cut crime" (15 September) is misleading. While Edinburgh council is drawing up plans for Calton Hill to preserve and protect the area for the enjoyment of residents and visitors, these do not include any proposal that it should be shut at night.

We are looking at ways to deal with antisocial behaviour and vandalism, and the closure of Carriage Drive to all vehicles earlier this summer has already contributed to a significant reduction in these problems, as well as ensuring pedestrian safety.
We want to promote the hill as a safe and well-maintained public space, making it cleaner, safer and more attractive, and it is simply not true that the council intends to restrict night-time access . CLLR ROBERT ALDRIDGE Environment leader City of Edinburgh Council

Mountgrange Greed knows no bounds

Full Article here in Reuters

from article -

'LONDON (Reuters) - Fund manager Mountgrange spies more money-spinning opportunities in the housing market than in commercial property, where prices are rallying fast under the glare of the world's wealthiest bargain hunters.

Nick Berry, a partner at the privately owned fund manager, said sheer weight of money chasing discounted UK offices and shops was inflating values quicker than the fundamentals alone would support, pushing the firm to consider alternatives.

"There's a stronger case for optimism in the residential sector at the moment. There is an overwhelming shortage of housing, in particular affordable housing so demand is easily identified," Berry told Reuters.

"Available commercial property stock is much less abundant and when you're thinking about where demand is coming from in that sector, it's not so obvious. Unemployment is rising and that is pushing up vacancy rates too," he said.

Berry said the appeal of the residential sector was underpinned by lower construction costs and cheaper land prices, as well as a willingness on the part of some UK banks to take action on their problematic residential assets.'

Mountgrange, which was set up by veteran property entrepreneurs Martin Myers and Manish Chande, made its last acquisition in August 2008 when it bought a portfolio of retail and office properties from PRUPIM for 140 million pounds.

Berry said Mountgrange's investors -- a mix of sovereign wealth funds, European and North American fund of funds and state pension investors -- have been supportive of a decision to remain on the sidelines and placed no pressure on them to rush back into the UK property market.

"I'd say that whilst rents continue to fall and it is unclear where new occupier demand is coming from, it is difficult to argue that funds who have adopted this approach are in danger of missing out," he said.

This is the same Mountgrange (another one of the companies now in administration) that owes £18,000 n rent to the City of Edinburgh Council for the rent on the council tenancies they had cleared to make way for a 5 star hotel and luxury housing.....and owes HBOS £70million smackeroonies see BBC piece here

You couldn't make it up. Have these people no shame?

Caltongate must be scrapped insist UNESCO

"Unesco insists Capital must scrap £300m Caltongate scheme"

The elephant in the room is of course Caltongate, no one utters the word in council corridors any more, we hear, they are hoping it will go away, but in sunny Spain this year it is to come back and , well, we all know what elephants do...Why did Caltongate not get a public inquiry?

In the republic we can`t help thinking that the Council have obviously not passed any exams in how to defend their decisions to approve bad developments, perhaps they should pay a visit to the Argument Clinic

With today`s headline -

Unesco insists Capital must scrap £300m Caltongate scheme

in The Scotsman they must be scratching their heads on what to say next

from todays piece -

"A £300 MILLION development in Edinburgh's historic Old Town has been thrown deeper into chaos after Unesco inspectors demanded council leaders have the whole scheme returned to the drawing board.

Councillors are set to face international condemnation at a world heritage summit in Seville next month after a damning report urged wholescale changes be made to the Caltongate scheme – even though it has received final approval from the Scottish Government."

" Leaked documents obtained by The Scotsman reveal that heritage inspectors are demanding a reprieve for two listed buildings threatened with demolition, the scrapping of a modern building which would have blocked views from Jeffrey Street, and a full review of how the development would impact on views from Calton Hill."

"The council is expected to face a major dilemma over the future of the site if Unesco's world heritage committee approves the report's recommendations, as expected. The local authority has had two other major developments called in for public inquiries within the past few months, as well as having to deal with a Unesco investigation triggered last summer."

Yes, they certainly do

This week plans to demolish the art deco Odeon Cinema approved by the council were called in by the Scottish Government, see here

and of course there is the public inquiry that ended yesterday on plans approved by council for the Haymarket Horror Hotel

Then there is the matter of the council not getting the money they are owed from developers...

Meggetland - "A NEW community hall is set to be mothballed after council officials failed to collect £200,000 to pay for it from a now defunct housebuilder". article here

Then there`s the rent from the council homes they emptied on behalf of Caltongate Developer`s Mountgrange

a council blinded by the pie in the sky promises from the big boys and the bling of it all...they think they are big business but in reality they have not a clue, how would they fair on the Apprentice we wonder...thing is though its a capital city and people`s lives they are playing with and its for real.

Mountgrange owes £18,000 in Rent

Mountgrange`s Manish Chande and his spin doctor Mark Cummings legging it from Edinburgh, leaving behind them debts including £18,000 in council house rent arrears....

Remember how through an FOI we in the republic found out that Mountgrange were renting the council houses see here

Caltongate failure set to free up condemned flats for rent

Full Piece here 16 May 2009

"UNDER-THREAT council houses on the Canongate are set to be reused after the collapse of the Caltongate scheme.

Developer Mountgrange Capital was meant to be meeting the cost of the rent while the flats laid empty but council chiefs today admitted they failed to collect a single penny before Mountgrange went into administration in March.

The outstanding rent is thought to be around £18,000, with officials admitting they are not sure how they will recover that money.

Council chiefs said they intend to assess the flats to see what it would take to bring the properties up to a condition fit for rent.

The nine council flats were due to be bulldozed or partially demolished as part of the Caltongate project, which was sunk when Mountgrange's bankers pulled the plug.

A further nine private flats at 227-229 Canongate have been bought up by Mountgrange over the last two years and are now in the hands of the administrator Deloitte.

Campaigners today welcomed the chance of getting people back into the empty properties, particular in light of the city's affordable housing crisis.The Macrae Tenements on the Canongate, which are lying empty and have lost the city thousands in rent

Julie Logan, spokeswoman for the Save Our Old Town campaign group, said: "We are really pleased that the council has finally seen the sense of the recommendation that we made in our Canongate project report.

"There should not be a lot to do to these flats because a lot of them have had new doors and glazing, and also modernised inside in recent years.

"It will be good to get people into these homes, even on a temporary basis, and then start to have a proper look at what can be done with the area longer-term."

City leaders are trying to find firms to take on the gap site but it is thought it could be years before work gets underway.

A council spokeswoman said, "The council is considering options for bringing the nine flats back into temporary use until the future of the Caltongate development is known.

"A number of considerations need to be taken into account including the cost of bringing these properties up to rentable condition, and the timescale in which the new development is due to begin. If this proves to be feasible and cost effective, then bringing these properties back into use is a real possibility."

She added: "One of the terms Mountgrange had provisionally agreed to was they would cover the rent loss associated with the empty Council properties.

"However, as discussions are ongoing with the administrators, we are not in a position to say how this will money will be recovered.""

Red Bull gives you Caltongate

Almost ten years ago what was "Caltongate King" Manish Chande up to?
Drinking energy drinks and running past pop star`s houses. Nowadays he is throwing champagne receptions and renting 8 council houses from the City of Edinburgh Council, denying people in the capital a home.

"A £300m deal with Land Securities will make property chief Manish Chande a major construction client, but contractors aren't his favourite people.

It's just after lunch and Manish Chande breezes into the meeting room of his Barbican offices with a can of Red Bull in his hand. He's always drinking the stuff – not so much to quench thirst, he says, but to pump more caffeine into his system. It's virtually the secret of his success. "It keeps you going, especially if it's 11 o'clock at night and you've got to work late," he says."

"Lives In Hampstead – I run past Noel Gallagher's house, Supernova Heights, in Belsize Park most mornings.""

Full article here

Caltongate King rents 8 council flats in Canongate

Caltongate King piece

40,000 bids for council tenancies

The Caltongate Crash

Collapse of inappropriate development
offers capital a chance to think again

In today`s Scotsman 26 March 2009

Every cloud has a silver lining and the demise of Mountgrange and abandonment of the "Caltongate" development (your report, 24 March) is the most positive outcome so far of the current economic crisis.

Those who opposed this project deserve the thanks of everyone who cares for Edinburgh. Had they not objected so vigorously this project would have advanced further, with listed buildings destroyed and a yawning gap site on the Canongate.

Your editorial (24 March) is wrong to suggest local residents made "impossible" demands. Their principal demand was that the city council respect its own and national policies on conservation and the preservation of listed buildings and the world heritage site.

In a throwback to the discredited policies of the 1960s, council and developer colluded to destroy part of a local community. It is a shameful event in Edinburgh's planning history that, with some honourable exceptions, councillors, MSPs, Historic Scotland and the Scottish Government displayed supine acquiescence and impotence in their dealings with this piece of developmental hubris.

Two things should happen now. The council must immediately re-let all the vacant flats which it still owns in the Canongate. It is completely unacceptable that desirable social housing is being deliberately kept vacant to suit a developer. Tenants should also be found for those commercial properties still owned by the council. (Caltongate developer Manish Chande pays the council rent to keep flats empty, read more)

The council must also declare its intention to produce a revised masterplan for this part of the Old town, using its own resources or employing a respected consultant. In "Caltongate" it has allowed itself to be led ignominiously by the developers. The pernicious practice of allowing developers to produce their own masterplan must not be repeated.

On the other side of the Canongate 20 years ago the city council and its partners produced a masterplan for the Holyrood Road site. That area, a literal stone's throw away, was developed as flats, hotels, offices and cultural attractions such as Dynamic Earth and the Scottish Poetry Library. Views may differ about individual buildings, but few will deny that a genuine mixed development took place on that site which respected the traditional pattern of wynds and closes and at the same time gave expression to innovative architecture.

That is the way forward for the New Street site. The council must take charge, pay heed to its own policies and listen to the local community. ROBERT CAIRNS Ratcliffe Terrace Edinburgh

Here is what they are saying -

The Canongate Project

Here is the report on the project in a pdf file. It was published in February 2009

Watch Canongate Project Film here

A special "NO FOOLS ADMITTED" SOOT meeting is on the 1st April 2009 at 7pm in Old Saint Pauls Church Hall, Jeffrey St. Finding Old Saint Pauls

Come along and get involved, you do not have to live in the Old Town but you do have to care for it

Another letter that also appears in todays Scotsman newspaper-

What a driech front page photograph (24 March) – Edinburgh's centre blitzed by the battle of expansion versus conservation. Or could it look like the blank sheet of opportunity – a space which could be developed to learn new ways of creating more equal prosperity and buildings which enhance life and the landscape without overheating the economy and planet?

Suggestions of temporary landscaping could be the preliminary to more permanently pleasing solutions, if carried out as a well-run co-operative project involving paid workers and volunteers – individual citizens and already formed groups. This would create jobs and increase local spending in the short term, with occupation and livelihood motivating alongside learning. Social enterprise is the current label for the business model. JANE GRIFFITHS Middleby Street Edinburgh

Caltongate Rent Scandal

Caltongate King rents 8 council flats as he admits that he can`t afford to build his own luxury ones yet....

In these uncertain economic times when there are nearly half a million bids for 2700 council homes in the capital, Save Our Old Town campaigners are demanding answers to the social injustices being committed by the council and their partner in Caltongate, London property developers Mountgrange. Campaigner Catriona Grant finally received an answer (see attachment) to a FOI to the City of Edinburgh Council which was lodged in October 2008, almost 3 months later on Friday 9th January. FOI

The answer that Mountgrange are renting these 8 flats now lying empty in this the year of Homecoming, is a slap in the face for those in Edinburgh in desperate need of a home. The descendants of past clearances are being asked to return while our own council is clearing our homes for a rich man`s benefit!

Last week a Norwich council chief was sacked for clearing out old age pensioners from their homes and putting herself, her lover and her pals in.

In last weeks Sunday Herald it was reported that Mountgrange admitted there is no cash secured to build the residential part of the Caltongate scheme, does this mean our council homes are going to be filled with Mountgrange Millionaires and their pals?

Today the Evening News printed this -

Builders pay city to keep flats empty

Caltongate King piece

40,000 bids for council tenancies