Press Release 20 Aug 09
Save Our Old Town - Edinburgh
Press Release: 20/08/09
"Caltongate" Gap Site To Turn Green
In response to a report being presented today at a full council meeting the group Save Our Old Town are presenting a deputation.
They are requesting that they are supported in a temporary community greening of the empty New Street development site which was once earmarked for the now "failed controversial Caltongate project"
The report "Temporary Greening of Development Sites" includes Caltongate as one of the curent large 'holes in the ground' , which it compares with the capital´s longstanding gap sites of the 70's and 80's.
SOOT´s deputation stresses that it is important to remember how the gap site at New Street was created.
Julie Logan from SOOT said "Despite the existing planning powers and policies referred to in Paragraph 2.3 of todays report to ensure demolition in conservation areas and of listed buildings does not take place unless contracts have been let for approved and agreed redevelopment, the previous administration broke with policy and good practice and permitted the demolition to be approved and undertaken before the Caltongate Masterplan had even been put out to consultation."
She added "In our deputation today we remind all councillors that the many people who objected to the planning application for the demolition of the bus raised concerns then, about the risk of the city being left with an ugly gap in the heart of the World Heritage Site."
However, a condition was applied to ensure that if there were any delays in the planning or development process a temporary landscaping scheme would be implemented and funding for this was secured through a bond."
From the SOOT deputation presented at today´s full meeting of the council, it requests the council to -
- commit to drawing down the bond for a temporary landscaping scheme on the New Street site to be undertaken in full consultation with the community and for City Development to investigate the potential for use of this gap site for temporary allotments or parkland.
- will support the temporary use of vacant council owned buildings to facilitate uses and organisations which address identified community needs and which provide environmental improvements to the locality.
- will support initiatives from communities to reuse and redevelop publicly owned land and buildings which are considered surplus or suitable for disposal, or land which has been identified for development.
Catriona Grant, Chair of SOOT said today "The community could be running a garden/allotment project on the land. In London the strategy is to turn gap and ex-building sites into community gardens, using massive grow bags/builders sacks."
"Perhaps part of the site could be a wild flower garden, even with some beehives. In the long run such ideas would be better than an ugly site, and we believe it should be community managed rather than council managed, as this encourages civic pride and stewardship, among all the generations in the community."
She finishes with "The Canongate Project Report on the community research our group carried out last summer on the Old Town is very clear about local food, greenspace and places for children to play so by turning the ugly barren gap site into a fertile green space alive and with the needs of the local community being met, surely this cannot be overlooked by the council today."
"Perhaps part of the site could be a wild flower garden, even with some beehives. In the long run such ideas would be better than an ugly site, and we believe it should be community managed rather than council managed, as this encourages civic pride and stewardship, among all the generations in the community."
She finishes with "The Canongate Project Report on the community research our group carried out last summer on the Old Town is very clear about local food, greenspace and places for children to play so by turning the ugly barren gap site into a fertile green space alive and with the needs of the local community being met, surely this cannot be overlooked by the council today."
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Notes for Editors
Save Our Old Town Edinburgh -
In October 2005, London Property Developers Mountgrange Ltd unveiled plans for their re-development of the site in and around the former New Street bus depot.
These plans called for the demolition of historical buildings in the World Taking their place would be a five-star hotel, a conference centre, office blocks and up-market shops and apartments.
No one had asked the people who live and work in the area how they felt the area could best be developed.
In response, The Canongate Community Forum now know as Save Our Old Town - Edinburgh, was founded and they got together with architects, conservationists and environmentalists, to raise awareness of this threat to the World Heritage Site.