Council overrules Caltongate objections, but will review McDonald road

Caltongate development (artist's impression)

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Campaigners are this week celebrating partial success in their battle against two major Edinburgh development projects after opposition from local residents and MPs forced a review of plans for a large student block near Princes Street.

On Monday 25 February, Edinburgh City Council reversed an earlier decision approving a proposal from the UNITE student housing group for a £22 million development at a site on McDonald Road, at the top of Leith Walk.

Developers have claimed victory, however, in the battle to decide the future shape of the capital's historic Canongate quarter.

A council meeting on 7 February played host to heated debate when city leaders accepted plans for the £300 million Caltongate development.

The project, one of the largest in the capital for decades, would see a modern five-star hotel and conference centre, luxury flats and premium retail and office space constructed in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Planning councillor and Liberal Democrat representative for Fountainbridge & Craiglockhart Jim Lowrie hailed the council’s approval of the Caltongate plan as a positive step in attracting investment to Edinburgh.

“I'm delighted the main elements have been approved, because it sends the message to investors that Edinburgh is not afraid to have modern developments,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News.

His enthusiasm was not matched by that of local residents and concerned observers, who mounted a campaign to block passage of the Caltongate’s approval through local government.

Some 2000 letters of protest have been received by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Campaigners are set to appeal to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) on the grounds that the Caltongate development would harm the city’s cultural and architectural heritage.

Edinburgh’s Old Town holds UNESCO World Heritage Site status, which nominally protects it from physical degradation through economic development.

This status could be repealed, however, if campaigners succeed in having the area put on the Endangered List – signalling a lack of confidence in the authorities’ ability to maintain the site’s historical integrity.

The Prince of Wales, who has repeatedly spoken out against development in areas of historical interest, has also been asked to intervene by campaigners.

The movement against the Caltongate development has also found a champion in Margo Macdonald MSP, the only independent member of the Scottish Parliament, who has condemned the project for not providing enough affordable housing.

She said: “It's against democratic precedent and good practice in a properly participative community for such a volume of opinion to be over-ridden, even after an eight-hour-long city council meeting, without strenuous attempts to bridge the gap between developer and objectors.”

The developers in question, however, have had little time for any objections.

Architect Allan Murray – already well-represented in Edinburgh having designed projects such as the Omni Centre, and BBC Scotland’s local headquarters at the Tun on Holyrood Road – has accused the Caltongate’s detractors as wanting to “live in the Edinburgh of the 17th century.”

“It was disease-ridden, imploding, untenable, teetering on the brink of disaster,” he said, emphasising the importance of regular periods of modernisation to revitalise a city’s economy and social cohesion.

“The things we hear are so emotionally charged and lacking in thoughtfulness that it is scary. You just have to walk down the Royal Mile to see the changes,” he added.

Mr Murray’s dismissal of local dissent was supported by Councillor Lowrie, who said of the campaigners: “In five years' time they will have got used to it.”

The UNITE development at McDonald Road has attracted similar, if less vociferous protest.

Local residents claim the density of the development, which comprises flats of four and five bedrooms, will place further strain on services in an already-crowded area of the city.

"We don't object to students per se, but the general feeling is that nearly 300 students is a lot of people for a very small site,” said Jackie Bell, a spokeswoman for the McDonald Road Residents’ Association.

In particular, residents have questioned the viability of a high-end student development – rents are from £119 per week, including utilities – in its location, a considerable distance from the city centre campuses of the Edinburgh College of Art, Napier University and the University of Edinburgh.

Local residents Gary and Jean Ferguson said: “The nearest buses, shops, takeaways, bars and clubs are a ten-minute walk away on Leith Walk.

“Students are not going to choose to live in an area where the amenities they want are not close at hand, especially if accommodation and all the amenities they are looking for are readily available in other areas of the town close to where they are studying,” they told the Edinburgh Evening News.

“By the same token the residents around McDonald Road appreciate the peace and quiet of this area and do not want it to change."

Council officials will now visit the site as part of their reappraisal of the plans; a decision is expected in two weeks. 

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