VITAL elements of the controversial £300 million Caltongate scheme today received the go-ahead from city councillors.

At a stormy meeting of the council's planning committee, various plans for a new five-star hotel, conference centre, plus dozens of homes, shops and offices in the Old Town, were supported by a majority of the 14 politicians.

However, contentious proposals to demolish all but the facade of historic Canongate tenements were put on hold, and the developers Mountrgange have been asked to look at ways of retaining the buildings for affordable housing.

The lengthy meeting, which carried on until 7.15pm, was attended by a large number of protesters, who regularly heckled the councillors. Green councillor Steve Burgess and the SNP's Colin Keir opposed many of the separate plans for the Old Town site, but Lib Dem convener Jim Lowrie spoke out in support of the scheme.

The project will now progress to Scottish Ministers for a final decision.

Listed buildings in Old Town to be demolished to make way for hotel

A FIVE-STAR hotel and conference centre in Edinburgh's Old Town were given the go-ahead last night, in the face of widespread criticism.

Councillors voted to allow the demolition of two listed buildings in New Street to make way for the complex, which had been opposed by heritage groups.

Protesters heckled and jeered as the city council planning committee voted it through.

However, Mountgrange, the developer, was sent back to the drawing board over its plan to remove all but the façade of a tenement block further down the Royal Mile as part of the £300 million Caltongate project. Councillors asked the firm to examine the possibility of saving the building and locating new affordable housing in the Canongate.

The London-based firm's plan for 163 new private homes has been put on hold as a result, but Mountgrange was granted permission to create a major office and retail complex as part of the overall scheme.

Before the vote, councillors heard a series of concerns about the impact of the scheme.

Moyra Forrest, of heritage group the Cockburn Association, said retaining only the façade of historic buildings in the Royal Mile was dire in conservation terms and extremely disappointing from a modern design perspective.

"Retaining only the façade of homes in sound condition and in use could be unthinkable on the Royal Mile in the 21st century," she said.

Jane Jackson, acting director of the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, warned that the impact of new building could lead to the World Heritage Site being put on Unesco's "at risk" list, alongside St Petersburg.

She said: "The loss of the listed Sailors' Ark and the former Canongate School shows a disregard for buildings that are both suited to reuse or refurbishment. In no way would new buildings of the scale and design still proposed conserve or enhance the established character of the Old and New Towns.

"These buildings and public spaces would still have a severe detrimental impact upon that character and, therefore, on the World Heritage Site."

Bruce Nicholson, a senior planning officer with the city council, admitted that several elements of the scheme, including the hotel and conference centre, were unashamedly modern.

Representatives of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and Visit Scotland supported the case for the hotel, while Sue Stuart, head of the Edinburgh Convention Bureau, said the hotel and conference centre were needed to prevent the capital sliding farther down the global league table for hosting conferences.

She told councillors: "Edinburgh is facing growing competition from not just overseas but closer to home, in cities like Manchester and Liverpool."

Nick Berry, Mountgrange's property director, said the hotel development was central to the entire scheme and its operator, Sofitel, required an address in the Royal Mile.

Labour councillor Eric Milligan, a former lord provost, said: "This is clearly the linchpin of the whole scheme. We will face losing £300 million worth of investment if we turn it down."

Although the tenement block in the Canongate that may be saved dates from the 1930s, it is not a listed building, but councillors said they were concerned about its potential loss and needed more justification for its demolition. Mountgrange is proposing to demolish most of the façade to create a new link to a public square at the heart of the development.

CAMPAIGNERS TO DEMAND PUBLIC INQUIRY

CAMPAIGNERS against the Caltongate scheme said they would be demanding the Scottish Government order a full public inquiry into the development.

The city council will have to refer the scheme to ministers automatically because of the large number of objections.

Catriona Grant, a spokeswoman for the Save Our Old Town campaign, said: "There is no question that there has to be a public inquiry.

"The council has ignored a huge number of objections in favour of the £300 million investment they have been promised, without any justification for the loss of these listed buildings.

"The developers own a huge gap site on New Street which could have easily accommodated a five-star hotel and conference centre."

Source: BRIAN FERGUSON Edinburgh Reporter (bferguson@scotsman.com) The Scotsman, Thursday, 7th February, 2008

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