After 5 years of pr spin, dodgy dealings, speculative profiteering, and legal wranglings the debate around the huge gap site in Edinburgh's Canongate continues.
This week a rash of letters emerged in the local press in response to the to new designs for an alternative to the Caltongate scheme.
The latest plans to be produced by Anta Architecture propose a stronger 'Scottish identity' but still refer to the site as Caltongate. Whilst many may agree smaller blocks with some traditional features would be an improvement to the anywhere architecture of Mountgrange's Caltongate fantasy the Anta plans fail to recognise that the big problem is the Council's view that Caltongate exists as a place.
The name is as unrelated to the identity of the place as the monolithic blocks proposed in the Caltongate Scheme.
If we are to move forward with a more realistic and sustainable development for the Canongate lets start by referring to the 2 sites being considered by names which relate to their place.
Canongate Venture (previously North Canongate Infant School), Jeffrey Street arches, and the market building are on New St and East Market St. The demolished bus depot (and site of the original Gas Works for Edinburgh) lies beside New St and Calton Road. Both lie in the North Canongate area.
Caltongate is created by the same team who redeveloped Greenside and called it Calton Square as is just as unconnected to the community where it has been placed.
I wish people would stop calling it Caltongate too, that's the old development that collapsed - its the northside of the Canongate
ReplyDelete