Council should take 'decisive' action over future of Edinburgh's former Royal High School building

Opposition councillors are demanding Edinburgh City Council takes ‘decisive’ action regarding the former Royal High School building, as they called on the council to publish details of its contracts with the current developer.
Landmark: Former Royal High School buildingLandmark: Former Royal High School building
Landmark: Former Royal High School building

The local authority is believed to be tied into a hotel lease agreement with developers Urbanist Hotels and Duddingston House Properties until 2022, but the developers have yet to acquire planning permission for a development.

The latest bid for planning permission, which would have seen the Royal High School converted into a luxury hotel with multi-storey extensions to the wings of the building, was thrown out by the Scottish government in October following a public inquiry.

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The developers have since brought forward a ‘more modest’ proposal for a hotel at the site, which looks south from a prominent position on Calton Hill, in the hopes planning permission can be acquired for the conversion of the A-listed, 19th Century complex.

Campaigners such as the Cockburn Association have long favoured alternative proposals, bankrolled by American arts philanthropist Carol Grigor, to relocate St Mary’s Music School from the city’s West End into the building.

Now, Edinburgh Green Party councillors have submitted a motion calling on the local authority to find a viable ‘meantime’ use for the building, and for full details of the developer contracts to be published.

The motion, submitted by fellow Green Party councillor Gavin Corbett, ward member for Fountainbridge and Craiglockhart, is set to be heard at the next full council meeting on Thursday.

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City Centre councillor Claire Miller, Green Party, said: “The old Royal High School has dragged on for too long.

“The building is one of the finest in Edinburgh, in one of the best locations, but it is suffering from decades of being empty. So it is now time to be decisive.

“The hotel proposals have been comprehensively rejected and it is clear that the city wants something far better than yet another luxury hotel for the exclusive use of the wealthiest people.

“A future use that enhances public access and respects its traditions of learning would be much more in line with public views.

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“That is why Green councillors have put forward a proposal this week to look at what’s next for the site, including severing the links with the hotel developers.

“As the city recovers from the worst of years I believe we can see a much more positive future for one of our best-known landmarks.”

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