Holyrood Park: Queen's estate managers clearly don't deal with oiks like me (even if I'm the local councillor) – John McLellan

When he calls, they act. The might of the venerable Evening News reporter Ian Swanson is far greater than we humble councillors, but then I always knew that.
Royal Park high-heid yins appear to be too busy to respond to John McLellan (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA)Royal Park high-heid yins appear to be too busy to respond to John McLellan (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA)
Royal Park high-heid yins appear to be too busy to respond to John McLellan (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA)

When I emailed the chief executive of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) last month about the complete closure of the Low Road through Holyrood Park to Duddingston Village, I didn’t hear a dickie bird, and neither had locals who had been in touch with them.

HES controls a huge chunk of the city centre, but is unaccountable for its actions, closing a main route for hundreds of people with minimum communication.

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But when the calls went in about this ongoing inconvenience from Mr Swanson, lo-and-behold a reply, even though it didn’t say very much and made no promises. Not to me ─ I was just copied into a response to a resident ─ and I’ve still not heard anything from the Royal Park high-heid yins. Much too grand and busy running the Queen’s estate to deal with oiks like me, don’t you know. Even though the park is in my ward.

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The problem for HES is that other residents have been in touch to complain about their aloof attitude. Pre-pandemic, it was about the number of loud gatherings which disturbed people living along the boundaries in Waverley Park and Royal Park Terrace, and now a Dumbiedykes community representative has also been in touch to complain that a residents’ survey has not involved them.

It’s all very well snubbing councillors, but it’s not us who are being ignored but the people we represent.

John McLellan is a Conservative councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston

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