Heritage bodies speak out about Caltongate

The news of the Caltongate revival has caused many heritage professionals to restate their opposition to the scheme and remind us of the advice provided by UNESCO during their visit to Edinburgh, warning the Council that this is effectively a 'slap in the face'

SOOT have called on other groups and objectors to join them from 9am on Thursday morning outside the Council Chambers - the Full Council meeting starts at 10am - and to write to their councillors and MSPs and ask them to support the local community who needs these valuable assets to be retained and brought back to productive use.

Whilst we agree with the concerns raised about the World Heritage Site status, it was clear form the original planning procedure that many of some of our existing councillors care little about UNESCO's opinion as seen in this video

The Waverley Valley Regeneration - Caltongate Report is now available to the public and it is proposed to sell the land and houses to the developers Artisan, selling the 9 council flats for £100,000 each. The report also proposes council support for compulsory purchase powers to acquire 2 busy local business premises also earmarked for demolition.

Its time Edinburgh woke up to the changing economic environment and look for new  ideas and opportunities to support community ownership and management of assets