City centre streets and buildings more attractive and in better shape than ever - Donald Anderson

Edinburgh St James is attracting over 20 million visitors a year. Picture: John Devlin

In the last few decades, the city has seen significant campaigns and protests over new developments including the then “Caltongate” development, the Virgin Hotel proposals and the Edinburgh St James development. Even in leafy Stockbridge proposals to keep Edinburgh Accies on site at the birthplace of international rugby became mired in controversy.

Let me declare an interest. I worked on all these developments and was proud to do so. They were all developments that strengthened the city centre, or in the case of the Edinburgh Accies proposals, strengthened and improved an urban centre that was already fantastic. A “Save our Stockbridge” campaign was launched that generated a petition with over 2500 signatures and claims that the “monstrosity of glass and steel would destroy the skyline and blight this historic area”.

The Caltongate (now Waverley Gate) proposals were even more controversial. The petition in that case raised 5000 signatures and claims that the proposals were “alien” to the character of the Old Town and “… not out of place on the surface of the moon”. There were claims that it would end the city’s World Heritage Status. The proposals were only approved by eight votes to six amid huge acrimony.

At Victoria Street the atmosphere was even more feverish. Campaigners started a Let There Be Light campaign. Protests included banners attacking the “endarkenment” of the city’s central library, a legal challenge and one protestor camped up a tree to try to stop the proposals. That petition raised 2600 signatures and 5500 people signed a “vote of no confidence” in the council planners. Again, the proposals narrowly scraped through.

St James Quarter had the toughest fight of all because planners recommended refusal. This because it was to be built using limestone. The “W” Hotel was recommended for refusal not because of the architectural copper coloured “flourish”, but because the proposals had been widened beyond what had been agreed by the Edinburgh Urban Design Panel. Ironically the designs were scaled back post-approval to what the Urban Design Panel had given the thumbs up for.

These have all been astonishingly successful proposals. Stockbridge is a stronger and more vibrant place than it was before. Waverley Gate has transformed the area around it, and Edinburgh St James is attracting over 20 million visitors a year. The Virgin Hotel is an amazing success and has restored three crumbling listed buildings and made one of the city’s finest streets vibrant on both sides again.

And what of the controversy now, there is barely a peep. Some rude comments about the “W” Hotel, but other than that none of the dire predictions of destruction or loss of heritage status have come to pass. Edinburgh’s city centre streets and buildings are more attractive and in better shape than ever. Only 2.4 per cent of the city’s thousands of listed buildings are now on the “at risk” register and the city is a leading light in conservation led regeneration. Protest is important, but protestors (who are good and decent people), can get it wrong, and (in my view) in these cases that has proven to be the case.

Donald Anderson, Director, Playfair Scotland