Even in such a steep economic decline, there are always silver linings. The demise of the utterly unsuitable Caltongate project could be one of them. The last Labour administration (left) was curiously close to the developers, the newish SNP/Liberal administration loves them, and SNP Ministers weren't going to break the habit and stick up for local residents. Not on a planning issue.However, with only the Greens and Margo opposing the scheme either in the City Chambers or Parliament, it's taken the market to deliver victory. With Mountgrange in administration as of today, the only risk (flagged in that article) is that the directors will buy the scheme back from Deloitte and try to revive it. I doubt it'll wash.
There'll be a street party on the High St if this is confirmed. With the centre of the city no longer under the shadow of the bulldozer, mostly thanks to the hard work of Sally, Julie and others from Save Our Old Town, perhaps we could all turn to the matter at hand: how to do something constructive with the part of the site that was the old bus station. The Council should start with proper and long overdue consideration of S.O.O.T.'s proposals.
Update: Apparently the bank calls its loan to Mountgrange "a toxic asset". Shame they didn't notice the toxicity a little earlier..
Bad lad James:
http://www.shirleyannesomerville.org/pressreleases/caltongate.html
http://beta.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Old-Town-homes-emptied-before.3465187.jp
http://www.eh8.org.uk/proposal_survey_cant_be_trusted
http://www.eh8.org.uk/planners_give_second_rubber_stamp_to_caltongate_scheme
http://kevinwilliamson.blogspot.com/2008/02/feb-5th-its-d-day-for-caltongate.html (in the comments)
http://independentrepublicofthecanongate.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html
The visible finger of the market.
Is there public-private-pish involved here at all?
Calum, Calum, Calum, the SNP party line in the Chambers is the same as the SNP party line in here. The SNP Councillors helped ram it through, admittedly with one opposed, and the Cabinet Secretary then let it go through despite a level local opposition which would have clearly justified a PLI.
Just because Shirley-Anne is doing her best Liberal impression, helping the party to face both ways, doesn't mean you collectively deserve any credit for that. The fact is that if the SNP either locally or nationally had given any solid commitment to the local community this wouldn't be happening, and if Greens had been in either administration it wouldn't have been just waved through like this.
Greens are opposed to it as a party, top to bottom, we're not spending seven eighths of our time arguing for it and one eighth arguing against.
And no, it's pure private pish, Rehor.