The Caltongate Jig

The Scotsman have revealed that a deal is being negotiated between Edinburgh Council and Mountgrange's administrators Deloitte, with Allied London over the redevelopment of the Caltongate scheme.

The good news is Allied London are said be considering how to amend the plans to avoid the demolition of 2 Listed buildings and McRae tenements as they do not see the provision of a 5 star hotel as being integral to the redevelopment. However, it does not appear that much consideration has been given to the sale and demolition of the public buildings and Common Good Land on East Market Street which is now under investigation by the European Commission. 

The prospective new developers have indicated they would rather see the development more focused on 'government and commercial' uses (this sounds like offices,cafes and supermarkets). Still no talk of providing the much needed family homes then?

The residential character of Edinburgh's Old and New Towns is a fundamental characteristic of the place and something valued by visitors and citizens alike yet little is being done to ensure we continue to have a mix of residential properties in the City Centre. Throughout the planning process for the Caltongate development the urgent need for affordable and family housing was raised and ignored. More recently, during the consultation on the redevelopment brief for Argyle House and King Stables Road, the local community again raised the need for more affordable family housing and development to support the existing residential needs in the area, yet the focus still appears to be on commercial development and temporary accommodation (for students or visitors).

When is CEC Economic Development going to wake up to the changes happening elsewhere.
Many other councils have now recognised the value of communities developing public assets. Why sell them off in the hope that a sweet deal will encourage a speculative private development to start when the assets can meet an identified community needs simply by renting or transferring management of them to housing associations, community trusts and other third sector organisations?
Is it not about time Edinburgh caught up and started taking a more enlightened approach to economic development and allowed more resilient redevelopment plans to be considered.

Old Town Festival

SOOT is busy preparing our events for the Old Town Festival which starts on 14th June.
The full programme is now out and can be dowloaded from the Scottish Storytelling Centre website. Copies of the programme are also available in many of the venues and other community centres and libraries.

During the festival there will be lots of oportunities to find out more about some of the famous characters who have lived in the Old Town as well as finding out more about the residents who live there now.

SOOT will be presenting a community art exhibition which will include a mix of work by and about the characters who inhabit this precious place. There will also be opportunities to get involved in some art workshops and join with residents to celebrate the refurbishment of the Coinyie House Close Gardens.

Community Venture

The Canongate Venture has had a varied history. First built as a primary school, then changed to a school of building, then craft and small business space for affordable rent. Now it lies almost empty while the Council and Mountgrange's administrators scurry around looking for a new developer to demolish it. Its long overdue to relet this space for local crafts, makers and small and start up businesses. 

It can also provide much needed space for the community, space for community recycling, space for community organisations to meet, and the potential for a landscaped play area. 

There is lots of potential and it cannot be considered surplus to requirements any longer.

SOOT continues to call on Edinburgh Council to bring our building back into use

Come and play at Canongate Venture playground on Sunday 9th May from 2pm

Free seeds for May Day

Earlier this year SOOT undertook some junk art where we created masks of urban wildlife. We then took our creatures out on World Community Arts Day to look for spaces where they could flourish.

This Saturday  is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day.

On May 1st we will meet up to sow and share seeds, learn how to make planters and seed trays from junk, and have a wander round the Old Town to explore the streets and spaces and contribute ideas and actions for improvements.

We will be meeting at Chessel's Court Gardens, just next to The Canon's Gait pub on The Royal Mile at 2pm, all are welcome to join us.

Spring into action

This Sunday SOOT will be at Forest Free Fair  from 2 - 5pm alongside One Mans Junk. 

Come along and get involved with some junk art and meet up and find out more about whats going on!

Throughout the spring we have a number of projects running as we prepare for the Old Town Festival in June where we will be displaying film and artwork produced in and by the community, and hosting talks and workshops. In addition we will continue to campaign on actions identified in the Canongate Project Report.

Like most community based organisations we are dependant on volunteers to help fund raise, organise and contribute to the success of these projects. We welcome any offers of time, skills or ideas from individuals or other organisations. Donations are also always welcome!

Upcoming Events for your Diary

Sat 1^st May International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day

(Meet SOOT at 2pm - Chessels Court Garden)

Sun 9^Th May Playground Fun and Games

(Meet SOOT at 2pm – Canongate Venture, New Street)

 Mon 17^Th May “Women of the Old Town” Film Group

(SOOT film development meeting - time and venue TBC )

Back to the drawing board

Now that the sale of public assets and Common Good Land at East Market St to Mountgrange has been successfully challenged through the European Commission it is time for the council to rethink their strategy for the Waverley Valley.
Back in 2005 when the Caltongate Masterplan was first revealed to the public, members of SOOT put forward alternative ideas for development which would address the real needs of the area and provide a strategy for development.

Despite numerous concerns being voiced during the masterplan consultations  (in particular at the workshops and the well attended Community Planning Day ) Mountgrange's Caltongate masterplan was agreed with little consideration given to the issues and aspirations raised in consultation. This then formed the blueprint for approving the planning applications which followed.

It was clear to many at the time that the plan was not a masterplan but a detailed plan for an enormous, speculative, commercial development which allowed one developer total control over a very big site (which had been enlarged by the councils agreement to the off market sale of public assets). Many also felt the whole planning process was heavily influenced by the land deal with Mountgrange and should have been called in by Scottish Government.

Now we have an opportunity to review the sale of this key piece of land, and reconsider if it really is surplus to requirements.
Perhaps those in control will now recognise the true value of the site on East Market Street to support the economic, social and environmental health of those who live and work in the Canongate as was highlighted in the Canongate Project film
It is time to tear up the Caltongate masterplan and start again, but this time work alongside heritage and community groups to create a new more resilient development brief for the area.

Caltongate scheme or scam?

The latest news on the Caltongate scheme throws up some serious questions for the future of the council owned East Market Street and the huge gap site in the Canongate in todays Scotsman.
SOOT have been questioning the council on the return of publicly owned buildings since Mountgrange went into adminnistration  in 2009 and calling for the return to use of Canongate Venture (which had provided much needed affordable workshop space until the deal was struck to sell it to Mountgrange for demolition in 2005) and the council flats on the Canongate.
Perhaps now the Council will finally consider returning the common good land and other publicly owned  buildings to productive use for the benefit of the community and look at opportunities for a more sustainable and responsive regeneration of this important area in the World Heritage Site?

SOOT Spring into action

Come along and join other SOOT supporters planning events for the spring and to prepare for events during the Old Town Festival.
There will be opportunities for all to get involved in some creative work (writing, painting, junk art, puppet making etc) or just catch up with friends and enjoy some free activities.

Do you have a particular interest in local history  gardening  scrap art  film or photography? Then this is the time to get involved and help shape new community projects underway. Do you have ideas and skills to share or storys to tell?
All welcome and activities are suitable for all ages.
Experience is NOT necessary enthusiasm only required.


FRIDAY 16th APRIL   3pm - 6pm
Blackfriars Community Rooms,
Coinyie House Close
Edinburgh, EH1 1NL
(access from New Skinners Close)

Moray House Sports Complex

The Moray House Sports complex on Holyrood Road, which was refurbished and extended in 2001 to accommodate the merger with Dunfermline college of Physical Education. Now it is the subject of proposals for demolition to redevelop the site for student housing.
An exhibition of the proposals will be on display to the public at Thomson's Land on Sat 17th April.

Where to develop next?

This week we heard from Dave Anderson ,Edinburgh's Director of City Development, that plans are afoot to build another 'city expansion' this time at the western edge of the city. The area is to be provided with some £30 -£40million of infrastructure, and will of course be well connected to the tram (at least it is at the end of the tramline where a tram depot is being constructed!), and aims to promote creative design capturing the elegance, walkability and livability of the New Town!
Yet, it appears to be another case of a very large development being promoted by a single developer. City Planners are rumoured to have employed architects 7N Architects to draw up a design framework for an Arena, hotels, office blocks and of course a public square.

Whilst some suggest this may be due to development being pushed out of the city by the ever increasing costs of developing brownfield sites in town, there is also a significant number of large scale developments being proposed in the city centre.
With the new planning process well underway, large developments must now include pre-application consultation. This should allow for discussion early on with all stakeholders and of course the costs of consultation are to be borne by the developers but does it work? Is it an improvement to the previous system at either informing the public how to participate or listening to the communities when they do?

The city centre now has many large new developments going through the new system yet the evidence collected and concerns raised by communities in the last 5 years appears to have had little or no impact in shaping the proposals now being brought forward.
In 2008 SOOT undertook the Canongate Project. This community action research highlighted the need for much more affordable and family housing, as well as the desire for more sustainable development and making better use of existing public resources to meet local social and economic needs.

Many of the developments being proposed in the city centre now still are focused on student housing, hotels and apart-hotels, offices and retail/cafes. They still are designed on large scale sites where the existing buildings and structures will be demolished regardless of their potential adaptability for other uses and the plans are usually fairly well advanced by the time the public are invited to comment.
Most recent to be announced is the redevelopment of sites at Sugarhouse Close and the demolition of the Moray House University sports complex on Holyrood Road.

This adds to the additional student accommodation planned for the rear of Festival Theatre and around the Meadows. The Council are also undertaking a consultation on Student Housing however as the draft planning guidance does little encourage spreading student accommodation across the city we are left to wonder if the city centre will still be home to families in the future.