EDINBURGH's economic prosperity will be damaged unless steps are taken to protect its historic heritage and world-famous landscape, the city's council leader claimed yesterday.

Jenny Dawe, who issued the stark warning almost a year after taking the reins of power in the capital, said she was determined not to see the city's World Heritage Status "compromised" by new developments.

As debate over the future direction of the capital intensified yesterday, she admitted to a preference for "more modest and people-friendly" architecture and city centre environments.

Speaking at a major conference in the city to mark World Heritage Day, Ms Dawe said Edinburgh had to be careful in what it created in future years, warning: "grandeur can become merely gross."

She echoed many of the concerns voiced by the new head of Edinburgh's most powerful heritage group, Adam Wilkinson, who said the city was in danger of "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs" if it placed too much emphasis on large new hotels, conference centres and office blocks.

Business leaders yesterday warned Mr Wilkinson that he was "heading for a bloody nose" after an outspoken interview in The Scotsman and a series of attacks on the priorities of developers and investors at yesterday's conference.

However Ms Dawe said it was "quite justified" to regard Edinburgh's historic architecture, World Heritage Site status and parks as economic assets in their own right.

"It's vital that while welcoming new development, this must be of high-quality design and must enhance the built environment without compromising the qualities and buildings that won Edinburgh its World Heritage Site status in the first place.

"If we do not protect, where necessary, and also enhance this built environment it will have a serious repercussion on our economic future.

"It is quite justified to regard our high-quality architecture, World Heritage Site status and urban green spaces as economic assets in their own rights."

Ms Dawe added: "It is essential that the vitality of the city centre is enhanced. But we have to be careful what we create. Grandeur can become merely gross.

"Edinburgh has a rich architectural heritage and is proud of its UNESCO status. We do not want to see that compromised. The average isn't good enough. We don't want Edinburgh to become any town, any place, any country. Edinburgh is special and we must keep it that way."

Mr Wilkinson told the conference yesterday that Edinburgh should look to the likes of Geneva and Stockholm to see how cities had developed without harming their historic environments or classic skylines.

But Mr Wilkinson said: "Edinburgh's historic environment is its unique selling point, but the city is in danger of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Visitors don't come to the city to look at a conference centre."

Award-winning Edinburgh architect Malcolm Fraser, who was responsible for the Dance Base complex in the city's Grassmarket, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and the Scottish Poetry Library, said the city should leave it to the current generation of architects to shape the future.

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