Are you engaged yet?

Back in 2005 Scottish Government endorsed the National Standards of Community Consultation this, along with new rules in Planning to for pre-application consultation, was intended to ensure fairness in the delivery and planning of services but is it being used?

Last week Edinburgh Council held a Charrette (the new jargon for stakeholder workshop) to engage with community and council about how to improve the Royal Mile.

These issues and many other urgent issues (lack of affordable and family housing, access to public land and parks, absence of community space closed off roads, management of city centre events, enforcement of planning and licencing policies, temporary uses for gapsites and empty property) have all been raised and discussed at previous charrettes and focus groups but to date there has been little real action taken.

Whilst the previous charrette led to a Area Development Framework (ADF) to guide action and development (which includes a proposal to 'develop the Royal Mile Project' as a big project for community engagement and improvements the area)  
This ADF framework is still out to formal consultation until 23rd Jan!

The existing consultation process is not meaningful, democratic or productive so it was no surprise then that a number of residents, SOOT supporters and the local Community Council decided to boycott the event 

Although some who attended claim that the event was a success the outcomes dont appear to be anything very inspired.

The Neighbourhood team will undertake a 'spring clean' to improve the appearance of particular hotspots (an annual event has been happening since they were established) and a new Royal Mile manager will be recruited to manage day to day management (surely the existing City Centre Town Centre Coordinator and Neighbourhood Managers jobs already cover this although clearly not being very effective at implementing improvements)

Although the charette and planning teams state support for the reuse of vacant property and use of rent controls to encourage better mix of shops, the councils own economic development and property teams are continuing to sell off assets for demolition, increase rents to long established local shops and encourage any tenant which will generate higher rents!

It would seem that others in the city are also feel that councils Charrettes and consultation are no more than a tick box exercise to distract from the bigger issues which people DO want an opportunity to comment on (like privatisation of services). Local Blogger Peter Matthews has also decided NOT to engage in the most recent consultation exercise for the Local Plan and development of the Leith Docks.

Maybe its time for communities to take control of the consultation process. Networks of common cause and concern are already gathering to see how Councillors and others can be held to account regarding how the whole city moves forward.

Activists call for Holyrood to intervene in capital row

Concerns about Edinburgh's World Heritage Status were raised by heritage bodies in the city when yesterday it was reported that the (new or revived) Caltongate scheme would require to go before the UN World Heritage committee.
The Scottish Government through Historic Scotland are required to protect World Heritage Sites and  therefore have a responsibility to ensure any revived development for the Waverley Valley takes due consideration of the recommendations made following UNESCO's visit in 2009.
The Scottish Government also have a responsibility to ensure Local government complies with legislation and policy and that best value is achieved for communities through public asset management. Will any of our representatives at Holyrood take up the challenge and question Edinburgh Council about so called benefits of flogging off much needed council housing on the cheep to developers who may demolish them with no guarantee of development?

Meanwhile Edinburgh Council provide 24hr security to 'protect' the gapsite

Today this article was published in the Glasgow Herald
by Brian Donally

"Members of the Canongate Community Forum, the area where the project is located, said Edinburgh City Council was wrong to approve the sale of land and buildings for £3.4M last month without further consultation.
Now the group plans to lobby Holyrood in an effort to prevent the sale. It includes nine flats for a total of £900,000, which the campaigners say is well below the normal market price.
One-bedroom flats in the area regularly fetch £150,000.
The sale will make way for a massive development in the medieval Old Town that will include a five-star hotel with 211 bedrooms, an 18,000sq ft conference centre, offices, shops, cafes and 165 new homes.
Resident and campaigner Julie Logan said there was strong opposition to demolishing a number of buildings at the Canongate to allow the develoment to go ahead.
She said: "The sale of these assets was approved just before Christmas, at a time when all of the interested groups did not have the time to put together formal objections.
"The issue is it was agreed to sell off the land without enough consultation or without providing any evidence this delivers best value in any kind of way for Edinburgh.
"There are groups who are deeply concerned about the proposals to demolish the buildings. We saw no need to rush this through. The flats have been empty for two years now and would need some work done, but they are not in great disrepair.
"The Scottish Government has got to play a role to ensure the best value is achieved."
The concern over the agreement of the sale of the assets to developers Artisan Real Estate Investors comes after The Herald revealed yesterday the entire project is to be scrutinised by Unesco after fresh fears it could jeopardise the city's World Heritage Site status.
Similar plans for the 640,000sq ft site previously prompted a UN mission to the capital that ended with Unesco telling then developers Mountgrange to redraw its plans or risk damaging the critical component of the accolade, the area's "outstanding universal value".
Director of heritage watchdog the Cockburn Association said the council was "rushing this (sale) through at a very bad time to sell".
Artisan Real Estate Investors says it comprises a "powerful consortium of South African investors which is set to breathe new life into a project that has been dormant for more than a decade".
When first mooted, it was claimed the project could create 2000 jobs.
Artisan has taken over the project two years after the previous developer Mountgrange folded. Dave Anderson, head of city development, said the sale would help lead to more affordable housing for the area.
He said: "The capital receipt will be credited to the Housing Revenue Account and re-invested in the provision of affordable homes.
"In addition to the capital receipt, Artisan will transfer, free of value, a plot of land earmarked for the majority of the affordable housing on the consented scheme directly to the council. This plot of land has planning consent for 36 affordable housing units and will count towards the overall affordable housing requirement of the consented scheme.
"The commencement of the project has the potential to be a catalyst for Edinburgh's commercial property market and should encourage further overseas investors. The completed development will deliver much needed new commercial space to the city including offices, retail units and a five-star hotel."

Edinburgh Council security checking the gap site and Canongate Venture yesterday

Seasons greetings!

On Thursday 22nd December Edinburgh Council voted through the unconditional sale of land to Artisan.
This now allows the developer to proceed with demolitions of listed buildings and homes in the World Heritage Site, despite calls from UNESCO to seek modifications to the plans following their vistit and after Mountgrange went into administration.

Meanwhile Cllr Jim Lowrie attended award ceremony for a group of teenagers who have just completed training in heritage building skills saying
"Well done to all the pupils who have passed their heritage skills training. This is an inspiring and worthwhile course that is equipping young people with important skills that will help protect our historic buildings into the future."

What a pity Cllr Lowrie and his fellow councillor Buccanan didnt think of protecting historic buildings when they encouraged their party members to vote to sell of our assets just 2 days ago!

Developers Artisan are expected to reveal ammended plans in the New Year.

Communities speak up

OTCC will present their deputation to council this morning requsting members pause and reflect on the mistakes made by previous council

" The future of our city and how we protect and develop it will certainly be high on the
agenda at the coming elections.
This council was limited in its ability to respond to the failure of the Caltongate
scheme during the start of the recession by being locked into a land deal with
Mountgrange secured by the previous administration and left to the mercy of the
banks to control the use or sale of public assets.
By agreeing this sale and giving Artisan an unconditional option to progress this
development investment, you (Councillors) will again tie the hands of any incoming
council to respond to new opportunities, policies and plans.
It is undemocratic for officials to rush a decision on this land sale at a pre Christmas
committee without affording time for councillors and the community to scrutinise the
details of this offer or consider alternatives."

The Splashback campaign will also be presenting a deputation urging the council to NOT close Leith Waterworld


You can follow the debate on Caltongate and Leithwaterworld live with @STVEdinburgh on twitter 

New developers speak out

It seems that new plans are definitely being considered but they are still secret!
 Lukas Nakos, who heads up both MAS plc and Artisan the company seeking to buy up council assets is quoted on Moneyweb saying

"We will be working in close partnership with the City of Edinburgh and local stakeholders to move forward quickly with development plans in 2012. Although a high-quality development, it will be less ambitious than originally conceived and will be well-attuned to the present economic climate,"

However to date the new developer has not approached any of the local stakeholders including the Old Town Community Council which he refers to in this interview


How on earth can the council agree to sell valuable public assets to a developer who wants to keep their development plans secret. Surely any decision to sell must be justified as being of benefit to the city and how can the benefits be assessed when no plans or projected timescales are provided.

SOOT and the Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust will be supporting the Old Town Community Council who intend to present a deputation tomorrow calling on Councillors to delay making any decision on the sale of land until a thorough assessment can be made of the developers proposed plans and predicted timescales for development and equal opportunity given to other interested parties to submit any alternative proposals.

This cart before the horse developer led planning is what caused Caltongate to fail so badly in planning and architectural terms, and what caused the deterioration and neglect of the area following Mountgrange going bust, as the council lost control over the use of assets.
For Council officers to rush approval of a unconditional discounted sale past councillors days before Christmas based on a very brief report which contains no confirmed details on the developer or the proposed development is hardly democratic decision making. The decision if taken now could also become a significant burden on any new Councillors or Administration elected in May (and could influence how people vote)

If the plans are to be reviewed or revived lets allow some mature open discussion with the community about how to insure this developer actually delivers more than a big hole!
SOOT have called for supporters to come along to the City Chambers tomorrow morning before the meeting which starts at 10am

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

Dinna sell the Old Town to build a big Hotel

News just out today that Caltongate is back has put a black cloud over Christmas in the Canongate.
It has been pointed out several times that the speculative scheme drafted by Mountgrange was not only environmentally unsustainable but not economically viable either, so why try to revive this hideous development by giving away public assets and common good land to developers when these assets are needed by the community?

The Mary Portas Report published yesterday highlighted the need to re energise our existing high streets and support small and new business and to reconnect places with community. The Council have themselves identified the pressing need to provide affordable workspace in our city, yet community led proposals for bringing Canongate Venture back to use have been dismissed without any discussion.

Since Mountgrange went into administration there has been many who have visited the site and who, from a 'professional' perspective acknowledge that the Caltongate plans were a well publicised fantasy which never had any real substance to them and actually have been the cause of severe blight to the area.

(A visit from The Academy of Urbanism in April 2010)

Despite the council embracing processes of 'community engagement' in planning, recent consultations with the community have demonstrated that the views of community and heritage groups do not matter and that there has been no real change.
To date the council have provided no real justification for selling off these valuable assets, the details of the land dealings were hidden behind the "commercial confidentiality" excuses for years until eventually exposed through FoI requests shortly before the Caltongate plans were deemed "toxic" by the banks.

Surely now is the time to invest in community assets not have them striped by developers for a quick profit. 

Now is the time to reclaim the debts to the council incurred by Mountgranges actions (lost revenue for council flat rents, council tax arrears, repair and repainting to the gapsite hoardings) from the administrators.

Dinna sell The Old Town for the false promises of riches to come from yet another hotel development.

Empty Homes Scandal

This week Channel 4 launched its series highlighting The Great British Property Scandal where thousands of empty homes across the UK lie deteriorating whilst thousands are homeless.

Here in Edinburgh the ongoing farce of Caltongate continues with  Councillor Tom Buchanan repeating his 'we're close to a deal' mantra. In responding to the scandal of the waste of the empty McRae flats, reported in the Evening News, he said

“It is disappointing that we are not able to make revenue from rental property on the High Street but we have been working with the administrator to make sure a new owner takes over Caltongate and develops the site. There is a developer that is close to going public on a deal.”

The council owned McRae flats clearly need to be put back to use. Perhaps this Channel 4 led campaign will inspire our Scottish Government to push for action on the more sustainable reuse rather than demolition of buildings as debated recently in Parliament (you can watch the debate from Holyrood here)

CEC have a great opportunity to take a lead on recent thinking (instead of continuing to follow failed economic plans) by reusing all the council owned buildings earmarked for demolition in the Caltongate plans (Canongate Venture, the flats, the market building and the arches) and by persuading any potential developer of the gapsite left by Mountgrange to also refurbish the private flats and bring all of them and the Ark building back into use

 

Recently action has been taken to occupy the former Forest Cafe as a community space however as there are no squatting rights in Scotland it will be interesting to see how quickly they are removed by the administrators!

Old Town Lights Up

Its that time of year again and tomorrow the Edinburgh Winter festival is launched with Princes St's lighting up event.

The switch on of the festive lights in the Canongate will take place on Wednesday 30th November at 6pm at Chessel's Court.

So why not come along and join local residents for some christmas cheer!
Step away from the mobbed shopping centres and commercial activity and gather with the local community to welcome in the yuletide.

Along with live performances from Candice, enjoy a little mulled wine or mincepie and even partake in a little carol singing as we celebrate lighting up Edinburgh’s old town.

So remember....
**30th NOVEMBER**
**6PM**

**CHESSEL'S COURT**

Council calling for residents views!

The Council is embarking on a project looking at the Royal Mile. This is one of the strands that emerged from the consultation process which was a key part of the Southern Arc Area Development Framework. The purpose of the study is to see if they can collectively identify improvements to the street – how it is used and managed, how the traffic flows, how the residents and business use it, etc.  

It is very important that they understand the key issues for all the different groups who have an involvement with the street. They also need to ensure that they have identified and gathered all relevant background information from those who have real knowledge of the place

Residents in and around the Royal Mile are an important group whose views we wish to collect, and they would like to invite the local community and residents’ groups and their members to participate in a focus group, on Tuesday 8th November. 

The focus group will run from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, and will be held at the Council offices, Waverley Court, on East Market Street.  If you live in or around the Royal Mile (from the castle to Abbeyhill) please help ensure residents views are heard and contact Alison Morris at CEC to book a place.