Farrell aims parting shot at council bossess

Sir Terry Farrell, the recently departed 'Design Champion' to Edinburgh City Council, left on a sour note after he roundly criticised officials.

In a keynote address made at the City Chambers, Sir Terry struck out at the "impoverished" city-making culture he had experienced during his tenure working with council leaders to promote change and innovation within the capital.

He blamed a "pervading inertia" and "introverted negativity" for the slow pace of development and urged councillors to be more accountable in their leadership.

Sir Terry said : "The issue is, they have to realise they control the bureaucracy which runs the city for them. They need to become more assertive and demanding of their senior officers or things will not change."

The 58 members of Edinburgh City Council were also issued with a biting report by their urban development officer, a post he held for the past five years

The report, which was accompanied by the acclaimed architect's 2008 dossier on the future of Edinburgh, outlined his key criticisms and recommendations for the local authority.

Among some of his specific criticisms was the decision to only include one tram stop on Princes St. in the new transport system currently under-construction – a decision he feels will result in a failure to meet the needs of commuters.

He openly denounced current efforts to transform the Princes St. area as not reaching far enough. His own vision included bulldozing half of the famous street's buildings in an attempt to revitalise the thoroughfare and restore purpose to its disused spaces on the upper floors.

Sir Terry, the designing force behind Edinburgh's financial district and mastermind of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), has also spoken out in recent weeks against plans to extend the EICC – claiming it will compromise the architectural integrity of his original design.

Leader of Edinburgh City Council, Jenny Dawe, has rejected many of his comments and maintains that Sir Terry has had a big impact on the culture of change within the council, as well as bringing into action many positive transformations across the city.

Describing the nature of his role as 'Design Champion' as that of Edinburgh's "critical friend", whose opinions can "be painful at times", she has dismissed the accusations that his ideas were not acted upon effectively by leadership from within the council.