Latest news with #CockburnAssociation
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Watchdog objects to demolition of building for student flats
A statement on behalf of the developer by 56three Architects for 66 flats involves the demolition of a three-story building designed by John Duncan MacLeod and Victor James de Spiganovicz and built around 1907 as the institute. The application has been lodged with the City of Edinburgh Council. The Cockburn Association, the city's heritage watchdog, has submitted an objection on the grounds it 'appears to fail to comply with key policies'. The association said: 'While the site is appropriate for redevelopment in principle, the proposal's excessive scale, poor design quality, and loss of distinctive existing buildings raise serious concerns. 'The five-storey frontage block is too tall for its context, and the overall massing, especially in conjunction with adjacent proposals, risks overwhelming the surrounding townscape and conservation areas. 'The design lacks architectural distinction and fails to respond meaningfully to its setting. Internally, the proposed rooms require careful assessment with respect to daylighting standards, and external amenity space is limited and heavily overshadowed.' READ MORE: The developer's statement currently being considered by planners said: 'A Heritage Statement is included as part of this application, for which an in-depth assessment of the existing buildings can be found. 'The building on Ratcliffe Terrace is the former Causewayside Lads Institute and has been assessed to be of low importance. 'A report of valuation was also commissioned by the client which concludes that the building is in poor condition with a market value of nil in the current market, and therefore unsuitable for a loan in its current condition.' It added: 'The report concludes that the state of repair is very poor, both internally and externally, including brickwork, windows and roof. There is also structural cracking on the south elevation. 'In terms of marketability, the report states that there is very limited demand in the location for the use class of property, with excessive capital expenditure required and extended marketing period to secure a purchaser.' A council archaeologist said: "The site occurs on the one of the main medieval routes into Edinburgh's medieval town from the South via Liberton and entering Edinburgh via the medieval Portsburgh suburb and Bristo Port. "This area began to be developed during the 18th century with Kirkwood's 1817 map showing the site occupied by a Georgian property owned by a Mr Christie. This building survives into the fourth quarter of the 19th century when it is replaced by what appear to be small workshops/ industrial units coinciding with the expansion of Victorian industry."
The Herald Scotland
01-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh to turn 67 student flats into homeless hostel
The change of use application was put to councillors for approval after it attracted 29 objections, and was granted planning permission for a period of 10 years. Shelter Scotland welcomed the "emergency response taken in exceptional circumstances," however said it was "not a long-term solution". Edinburgh's housing emergency has continued to escalate in the first half of this year after the council was forced to cease its use of some hotels and B&Bs. By purchasing rooms in temporary accommodation units functioning as unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), the council was effectively enabling property owners to violate licensing laws. The council's own lawyers sounded the alarm late last year, warning that the practice had to stop, and while some of the properties were granted emergency HMO licences, others failed to obtain them. This left the authority with 500 fewer available bed spaces in hotels and B&Bs overnight, exacerbating the homelessness crisis even further. Three months later, in March, the council failed to find accommodation for homeless households on 750 occasions – representing 57.9% of all cases where people presented as homeless over the month. Meanwhile, there was a notable rise in the number of people rough sleeping, from 37 to 59 'unique individuals' known to the council. With the pressure mounting, in April councillors agreed to suspend the lettings policy and prioritise spaces in available council homes for people still being housed in B&Bs and hotels classed as 'unsuitable' under Scottish Government legislation. The decision to buy a five-storey block of student flats and apply for change of use comes as part of the council's wider strategy to ensure it has enough temporary accommodation suitable for long-term occupation. Read more: Objectors to the planning application included Edinburgh's heritage watchdog, the Cockburn Association. It complained the application "does not clarify if acceptable space standards for residential use are present or can be achieved," and did not include details of "the actual or potential impacts of this proposal on the local community". Local residents also feared the change of use would increase anti-social behaviour issues in the area and argued the block should instead be repurposed as social housing. Officials have stated that a 'large and increasing' number of 'non-preventable' homelessness cases originating from outside the city is making it increasingly difficult to keep up with demand. Work is also ongoing to bring void council homes back into use to alleviate housing pressures. With around 700 across the city as of March, officials said this number could be cut in half over the next year. Gordon MacRae, Shelter Scotland's assistant director of communications and advocacy, told The Herald the charity "welcome the City of Edinburgh Council taking steps to address the housing emergency". He said: 'With nearly three in five homelessness presentations not being provided with temporary accommodation when required, and with hundreds placed in unsuitable housing, this is an emergency response taken in exceptional circumstances. 'The Council is facing an impossible task without enough homes or resources. "We know this situation has not emerged overnight; it is the result of decades of underinvestment in social housing and a failure to provide councils with the tools and resources they need to fulfil their legal duties. 'However, this is not a long-term solution. We urgently need the Scottish Government to do more to support City of Edinburgh Council to meet its duties and to ensure everyone has a safe, secure and affordable home.'
The Herald Scotland
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Heritage group wants city's festivals spread across the year
It warns of the prospect a 'tide of citizen discontent' from local residents and even a modern-day 'siege' engulfing the City Chambers, Edinburgh City Council's historic headquarters, unless the Scottish capital changes direction. Read more: It has predicted an unprecedented backlash from local residents over an escalating environmental crisis, the doubling of annual visitor numbers, increasingly overcrowded streets and a city centre litter crisis without a dramatic rethink of its housing, tourism, transport and events strategies. The Cockburn has called for a much greater 'geographical spread' of Edinburgh's festivals and a focus on the 'year-round nurturing of local talent.' The Pleasance Courtyard during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. (Image: Neil Hanna) It has also suggested that the historic Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens, which has some of the biggest outdoor festival events, is knocked down and replaced by a new structure that is ringfenced for 'local artists who give free performances throughout the summer months." The new book, which charts 150 years of Cockburn Association campaigns, imagines two possible futures for the city, one if current trends are allowed to continue unchecked and an alternative, which delivers changes in policy 'almost imaginable' in 2025. The first vision raises the prospect of Princes Street and Princes Street Gardens being renamed by commercial sponsors by 2049, driverless cars and 'airborne taxis' transporting visitors around key attractions, and key city council services being franchised out to a company based in the Cayman Islands. The new-look Princes Street is described as 'a dazzling sight with its huge bright advertising screens, hotels, cafes and restaurants' following the demise of the retail offering on the thoroughfare, while George Street has become home to a series of pedestrianised 'party zones' by 2049. It predicts that the Cockburn Association will have been 'vanquished' by then and the city's reputation as 'a place where it was hard to develop' will have been consigned to the past. However it warns that historic buildings on the Royal Mile will have been replaced by blocks of upmarket holiday flats, while office buildings across the city have been converted for short-term letting. The alternative future vision for the Scottish capital predicts that catastrophic flooding in 2028 and a City Chambers siege by housing campaigners in 2029 prove to be the catalyst for a rethink, after growing numbers of visitors to events like the Fringe exacerbate a "chronic litter crisis" in the city. It suggests that the Cockburn Association itself plays a key role with a 'Future of Edinburgh' report, published in 1931, which was based on recommendations from a series of 'citizens' juries.' The dossier is said to be successful in influencing how key decisions are no longer taken behind 'closed doors.' The Cockburn-influenced future sees churches repurposed for housing, neighbourhood hubs and youth centres, with some shopping malls converted into 'winter gardens' and others demolished to make way for new housing developments. Describing the 2049 future of Edinburgh backed by the Cockburn, the book states: 'Tourists still came to Edinburgh and were welcomed, but not in the numbers seen earlier in the century, in part because of the shift away from cheap air travel after the subsidies on fuel, for example were removed and replaced by carbon taxes. 'The qualities that had made Edinburgh unique had been saved. The historic core retained its integrity, stunning townscape and views. 'Once again, it was home to a mixed and thriving residential community, a safe and litter-free area that was enjoyed by all. 'The old bandstand had been replaced in the 2030s by an award-winning new structure that is used for local artists who give free performances throughout the summer months. 'The festivals had always contributed to the costs of maintaining Edinburgh's buildings by using them. 'Spreading the festivals throughout the year, to avoid exceeding the city's capacity in the August peak, has meant fewer venues being used, but those that are have sustainable income flows. 'The festivals have also taken outreach more seriously than they did in the old days. 'The geographical spread of venues is wider, and year-round nurturing of local talent has been a real win-win, with the development of the neighbourhood hubs.' Witing in the new book, author Alexander McCall Smith describes Edinburgh as 'a rare jewel' and insists that the Cockburn Association's campaigns and objections have never been about 'knee-jerk opposition to change.' He added: 'They are considered and constructive contributions to the task of preserving for residents of Edinburgh – and its many visitors – the experience of being in a place that is humane in its scale, respectful of what is around it, as well as being connected with the past.'
The Herald Scotland
06-06-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Are clumsy streetscapes threatening Edinburgh's heritage status?
'Whilst we may not be under imminent threat of being considered a World Heritage Site in danger, there is this steady, slow creep of issues which need to be addressed to reinforce the city's commitment to its inscription and the value that being a World Heritage Site brings,' says Terry Levinthal, director of the Cockburn Association. Conservation of the city's architectural heritage and its landscape on a macro scale has been relatively good (with a few noted exceptions), but small-scale interventions have been slowly slicing at the overall look and feel of the city. 'Death by a thousand cuts,' says Levinthal. 'One thing Edinburgh does not do well is streetscape, or how it manages the surfaces and the spaces in between buildings in an urban context.' Charlotte Square (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) The Cockburn Association, whose civic guardianship of Edinburgh hinges on heritage as civic responsibility rather than nostalgia, has sounded the alarm about the state of the city's streets. Two months on from the association's public forum, On the Road to Nowhere? Edinburgh's Streetscape and Heritage Places, Levinthal is cautiously optimistic. It would take a very long and substantial decline for the city to lose its World Heritage status, or for it to be considered endangered. But decades of 'chronic undermanagement' and an ethos that streetscape insertions have nothing to do with World Heritage when 'of course they do' has given heritage enthusiasts cause for concern. 'One of the one of the biggest risks in a historic city is not necessarily just to do with altering buildings or building new architecture, but it's actually making sure that you look after the historic streetscape, which is the setting for all of these beautiful buildings,' says Fiona Rankin, the head of public realm conservation at Edinburgh World Heritage (EWH). She explains that the city's streets don't have the same protections as listed buildings, which leaves them vulnerable to a lack of coherent design and maintenance standards. 'It's the cumulative effect of lots of small interventions that can really start to change the character of a place,' she adds. Modern times have brought a myriad of new street objects, like EV charging points, bins, defibrillators, phone charging stations, seating, bollards, planters, sandwich boards, cycle racks and more. They change how people see the street, plucking it out of its historic context and clashing with the Old and New Towns. 'We have to minimise the appearance of these interventions and design them so they coordinate well with each other,' says Rankin. 'It's really important that they're not just installed on a random basis, but the whole street design is taken into consideration, the positioning and design of such objects.' Frederick Street (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) Frederick Street (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) Piecemeal funding from local and national governments has resulted in a patchwork of streetscape elements. A project gets designed by one team; other teams are responsible for different areas. Working separately means they don't choose the same materials, the same style of seating or they might install signage under slightly different guidelines, and everything lacks continuity. Rankin points to Picardy Place as an example. Cycle lanes, tram lines, street lighting, and pedestrian crossings have created a confused urban landscape. 'You end up with a sea of poles,' Rankin says. 'Poles with signage, poles for crossing the road, poles for holding up tram lines. Areas like that, to me, have a negative effect on the heritage location.' Rather than just following engineering guidelines, she suggests that urban realm works begin with the aspiration to have as little intervention as possible and to find the option that suits the heritage best. 'I think it's very difficult to retrofit guidelines for a historic place when the guidelines are generally written for new places, new streets, new junctions,' she says. The EWH is currently working alongside the City of Edinburgh Council to develop a standalone Street Design Guidance Factsheet on Street Design in the Historic Environment, which will be added to the council's suite of Street Design Guidance Factsheets. Rankin has been seconded two days a week to work alongside the local authority's World Heritage officer to ensure that processes of thinking within the council are putting heritage first. 'Making it the starting point, the baseline,' she says. With the council, they are currently looking at coordinating the street furniture so that bins, cycle racks and seating all come from one design. 'We have a huge amount to learn from historic cities,' Levinthal says. 'We have an approach at the moment which is just not working with that outstanding heritage value that Edinburgh has.' (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) Edinburgh's Waverley Station (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) One of the biggest changes within the council is the introduction of statements of heritage significance commissioned by EWH. The key is not to try and take what they have done in say, Copenhagen or Amsterdam or Prague or Berlin and try to replant it in Edinburgh. The specific issues that the capital faces requires its own unique approach. The heritage statements are set to be given out at the very beginning of a project, defining the importance of a location and its history. The hope is that they will allow designers to develop a keen understanding and analysis of what they are dealing with right off the bat so they can carry out their work from start to finish in a sympathetic way. The first major heritage statement has been commissioned for Princes Street and the Waverley Valley ahead of its forthcoming redevelopment. 'This statement will give those designers information that tells them what the priorities are, what's important, and should steer the direction of their design so that it is compatible and complementary to the heritage,' says Rankin. 'We're all guardians of this wonderful city, and we have one chance to get it right.' The redevelopment of Waverley Station is one of the biggest concerns for the Cockburn Association at the moment. Levinthal is anticipating the launch of a master plan consultation 'sometime soon'. 'It is very much a wait and see what that brings with it,' he says. Previous plans involved demolishing large portions of the category A-listed station. At this point, Levinthal says, it's just speculation as to whether a consultation would 'alleviate any fears or give cause for concern.' A glaring issue with maintaining the decadent fabric of the historic streetscape comes down to cost. Council budgets are tight. Temporary fixes, like the tarmac on Frederick Street or the ramp at Charlotte Square, can easily become permanent when they serve a good enough purpose. But, as Levinthal points out, Edinburgh's UNESCO World Heritage City status is the 'golden goose' for both the city's and the country's coffers. Edinburgh'sGeorge Street looking west (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) Edinburgh's Waverley Station. (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) The city welcomes more than four million visitors annually who contribute £1.2 billion to the local economy. And the main reasons tourists flocked to the Lothians was for a castle or fort (42%) and to view architecture and buildings (32%), according to a 2023 survey by Visit Scotland. While it's difficult to pinpoint just how much heritage contributes to the figures or any heritage-specific revenue, it's clear that historic attractions play a key role in Edinburgh's tourism economy. 'Just for that reason alone, it really justifies the investment in it and its added protection,' Levinthal says. The Cockburn Association is optimistic about the forthcoming Visitor Levy, which came into law in September 2024. The tax on overnight accommodation is expected to raise up to £50m a year by 2028/9 which will be reinvested in Edinburgh to manage the burden of propping up a flourishing tourism economy in an ancient city. 'The income, if properly redeployed to help deal with deficiencies like streetscapes and the management of tourist parts of the city, will help deal with concerns the we have with the undermanagement and under maintenance of places,' says Levinthal. He hopes that over time, the trend of places being in slow decline will be transformed. Protecting Edinburgh as a small heritage city 'that punches well above its weight globally' will be on the forefront of civic and political thinking. 'A lot of those death by a thousand cuts could be healed with income that comes from the Visitor Levy, if properly spent and applied,' he adds. 'I think we are at a very exciting but critical point in time,' says Rankin. 'The city is aspiring to grow and transition, and for that reason, we have to proceed carefully. We can't just forge ahead.' In due course, Charlotte Square will be levelled out, as it was before the 1960s, and the unsightly ramp will no longer be needed. The crusty black tarmac on Frederick Street will ultimately be replaced with granite setts. (Image: GordonTerris_Herald&Times) 'For all projects and wider work carried out in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, we take great care to ensure that it respects and where possible, enhances the special character of the area,' says Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, transport and environment convener at City of Edinburgh Council. 'This is in conjunction with making sure that project considerations are properly taken into account, including both the specific and cumulative impacts. 'Under our City Centre Transformation strategy, we're committed to improving our streets and public spaces, creating safer conditions for walking, wheeling, and cycling, along with reducing air and noise pollution. We're taking these goals forward with ambitious projects such as the Low Emission Zone (LEZ), George Street and First New Town and improving the setted streets in the Old Town. Occasionally, we need to make emergency temporary repairs to ensure the safety and usability of streets and spaces. In these instances, permanent solutions will be brought forward as soon as possible. 'We work closely with partners such as Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland, along with other key stakeholders, including the Cockburn Association, to achieve this consistency and respect for our World Heritage Site – and we'll continue to do so in the future.' Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it's free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
The Herald Scotland
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh must not kill off the golden goose that makes its fortune
A prominent lawyer and judge, Cockburn was also an early heritage conservationist. In 1849 he wrote 'A Letter to the Lord Provost on the Best Ways of Spoiling the Beauty of Edinburgh' in which he outlined his fears for the future. 'Edinburgh is not exempt from the doom that makes everything spoilable,' he said at the time, urging the citizens of the city to take an interest in their civic surroundings and to hold local officials to account. The Cockburn Association was formed 21 years after his death to carry forward his concerns and passion for Edinburgh. The success of the Cockburn Association over 150 years lies in what you cannot see. Read more Thanks to its campaigning, there is no dual carriageway through the Meadows or skyscraper over Haymarket, no shopping mall beneath Princes Street or high-rise hotel looming over George Street. Civic amenities such as Inverleith Park, Corstorphine Hill and the Water of Leith Walkway were the result the Cockburn's efforts. The demolition of the First New Town was averted and historic buildings like Moubray House in the High Street conserved. With Unesco World Heritage Site status in place since 1995, the past has been protected, but what about the future? I became President of the Cockburn Association this year at pivotal moment for the city. Recent years have seen growing dissatisfaction about over tourism and creeping development. The population of Edinburgh is rising fast and could soon catch up with Glasgow. Some believe it could reach 750,000 in the next 20 years. But where will those people live and work and how will they move around an Old Town and New Town where history is baked into the cobblestones? Those are some of the questions authors Cliff Hague and Richard Rodger set out to answer in a new book published by the Cockburn Association. 'Campaigning For Edinburgh' lays out two possible visions for the future. One has overseas investors throwing up buildings wherever they want as deregulation opens up the city to market forces with a 24-hour party zone attracting even more revellers from all around the world. In the other, removing VAT from repairs and maintenance leads to a conservation boom with old, empty buildings carefully repurposed based on the wants and needs of the citizens rather than consultants or developers. Edinburgh already faces a housing emergency with more children in temporary accommodation in the city than in the whole of Wales. The priority for those kids is not architecture or heritage, they just want a home, but it's our job to ensure the myriad housing projects now taking shape around the capital are of the best possible quality and standard for them. Crucially, these places need to be communities with heart and soul and the facilities to live meaningful lives, not just dormitories for workers to eat and sleep. Edinburgh should not be pickled in aspic, with locals moving about simply as extras in a heritage theme park for visitors. But if the next few years are not carefully managed, progress risks killing the golden goose that attracts people in the first place. The architect behind the controversial W Hotel project promised it would be 'expressive… and make people happy'. Despite all the objections it went ahead. Once built, it was then named the worst new building in the world. That's not an accolade anyone wants. The revelation this month that Edinburgh is now the most expensive city-break destination in Western Europe prompted more negative headlines. But the answer is not to relax short-term let restrictions or build more cheap hotels. The solution is to manage numbers and the 5% visitor levy coming next year will help do that. The revenue also provides an opportunity to invest in the civic realm or to employ an army of workers to clean the streets, remove graffiti and pick up litter… all paid for by the tourist tax. There is a lot to be optimistic about. Management of the Old Town is already better with short-term let restrictions rejecting 90% of applications. Council plans to cut traffic volumes are also welcome provided they come with continued investment in transport alternatives. The Cockburn Association is always looking to support what is right for Edinburgh. The reborn Jenners site and the exciting new Dunard Concert Hall are two current projects we've backed with enthusiasm. More than anything, we need bold vision, based on sound heritage and architectural principles rather than the latest trend on Tik Tok . Princes Street remains an eyesore and visual proof of the decay and death of retail. The ambition that led 26-year-old James Craig to design the New Town is required now to revitalise that key thoroughfare and to guide where we go from here. Edinburgh has never been more popular but much of that popularity comes down to what has been s0 carefully protected and preserved. Over the past 150 years a lot of battle have been fought over Scotland's capital and a lot of lessons learned. They should provide the blueprint for the future to protect Edinburgh's beauties for the next generation. Stephen Jardine, President of the Cockburn Association, is a journalist, broadcaster and presenter. He has worked for the BBC, Scottish Television, GMTV and Radio Tay.
