Council property purchase - 'It will create more affordable Capital homes'

Published on Wednesday 28 July 2010 12:29

THE beleaguered building trade and all those struggling to get a foot on the city's forbidding property ladder are not used to good news these days.

So the city council's decision to borrow 55 million to buy up sites where planning consent for housing has been granted but work has not finished is doubly welcome.

This spending spree will create affordable homes for around 600 households who might otherwise have been forced out of Edinburgh and at the same time help some developers balance their books while they wait for the economy to kick back into life.

With the UK and Scottish Government forced to slash spending on major building projects and a continuing shortage of mortgage funds, it was difficult to see where the money would come from to keep a vital part of the Edinburgh economy moving.

The council is to be commended for stepping in to fill the gap, taking advantage of the more favourable interest rates available to local authorities and their ability to use future business rate income as security.

This prudent investment promises to breathe new life into some urban regeneration sites which were in danger of becoming temporary ghost towns.

Centre stage

THE idea of an intimate gig in the Capital by superstars like Robbie Williams or the Rolling Stones is bound to excite music fans.

Rock officiandos still rave today about David Bowie's surprise appearance with his then unknown band Tin Machine at cosy The Forum club in Livingston in the late 1980s.

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre has long been an asset to the city and is bound to make a success of its latest venture into hosting gigs, whether or not it lands a coup on that kind of scale.

With the Corn Exchange, the Picture House on Lothian Road, the Usher Hall and the Playhouse already established on the music scene, Edinburgh is almost becoming spoilt for choice when it comes to small-to-medium-sized venues.

Meanwhile, the wait for the big concert arena which fans have been crying out for for years goes on.