Police deserve a blasting over bagpiper Asbos

Published on Saturday 14 June 2008 10:24

WITH regard to the article on the front page of the Evening News (Asbo order to hit pipers, June 12), I think it is scandalous that the police/authorities are getting involved in an issue like this.

If the pipers are playing at midnight or 2am in the morning then I think the police might have a case but surely there are simple solutions to any perceived problems that could be worked out by all involved and I would urge all parties to discuss it and come up with a proper and sensible solution.

What concerns me more though is Lothian and Borders Police seem to be getting a bit of a reputation for getting involved in matters that are not directly related to policing. Recent examples being the type of flag being flown at the Fettes HQ and now people playing bagpipes.

Where are the police when acts of vandalism are taking place at my work? I currently work at the bowling greens at Leith Links and Victoria Park and almost every Monday morning I have to sweep up broken bottles and regularly find used needles as well as damage to buildings. The bowling greens at Leith Links are about 100 yards from a police station (Queen Charlotte Street) and yet the vandals still manage to wreak havoc at the place.

I would far rather the police deal with problems such as those at Leith Links' bowling greens than chasing after bagpipe players in Edinburgh city centre.

Mr Alastair Macintyre, Webster Place, Rosyth, Fife

Time to debate historic buildings

I FEEL I ought to address some of the points made by Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP in the Mouthpiece column of the Evening News (June 9).

Scottish Ministers have a duty to consider buildings for listing under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

This is carried out on their behalf by Historic Scotland, drawing on criteria of age, rarity, architectural interest and historical associations.

Post-war buildings, such as the BHS building in Edinburgh, do tend to evoke strong feelings either for or against protection.

However, as the highly successful recent exhibitions on Basil Spence in Edinburgh and Gillespie, Kidd and Coia in Glasgow have shown, the importance of Scotland's architects and architecture did not cease in 1939 and the fact that a building is from the 1960s is not in itself a restriction to its consideration for listing.

There is undoubtedly a need for a wider debate on Scotland's post-war architecture and to provide a platform for this debate, Historic Scotland will host a conference on post-War architecture and publish an introductory book at the end of this year.

The purpose of listing buildings is not to preserve them in aspic – historic buildings are flexible and are regularly adapted to meet current needs without losing their significance.

Historic buildings contribute to the government's broader, long-term agenda, including tourism, sustainability and regeneration.

While it is usually possible to balance preservation and regeneration, on occasions like Caltongate, this is more challenging.

Rather than being an unhelpful process, listing ensures that the historic merit of buildings is understood and can be taken fully into account in any decision-making process.

Malcolm Cooper, chief inspector, Historic Scotland, Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh

Schools chief needs to be taught lesson

EDUCATION convener Marilyne MacLaren removed a parent representative from a cross-party working group because she had "incontrovertible proof" the said parent had been leaking information to the Press (MacLaren is accused of witch hunt against campaigner, News, June 10).

That "proof" turns out to have been nothing of the sort. But I, in turn, have incontrovertible proof of Ms MacLaren's incompetence.

Under her brief tenure as education chief, 22 schools and community centres faced the stress of last year's woeful "consultation" on closures, which was rightly but shambolically abandoned.

Primary schools have each taken a hit of 15,000 on average out of their core budgets, with even bigger cuts in secondary schools. Meals in stand-alone nurseries have been downgraded to the point that councillors concede they are almost inedible.

On that evidence, should not Ms MacLaren's colleagues do the decent thing and remove her from office?

Gavin Corbett, Briarbank Terrace, Edinburgh

Park base is vital for new Porty High

I CAN give A Connelly (Letters, June 11) many reasons for building the new Portobello High in the park, but two stand out in particular.

Moving Portobello High releases land for the necessary expansion of St John's Primary School. The sizes of site proposed for St John's in the council's feasibility study range from 2.0 to 1.1 hectares. The current school is obviously too small at 0.66 hectares and all three options considered require land vacated by Portobello High.

Rebuilding Portobello High in the Park avoids a costly decant with a damaging two to three years schooling in Portakabins.

William Wilson, Portobello High Street

Stop handouts for Edinburgh Leisure

I READ "1m deficit is deep trouble for leisure" with utter amazement (News, June 10). What an utter shambles with the public having to pay again for sheer utter incompetence and lack of any budgetary control.

There should be more sackings, surcharging and a lot less excuses. If Edinburgh Leisure was a private company, it would have gone into liquidation years ago. It hasn't for the simple reason Joe Public props it up with public money and now they want to increase their prices to continue their incompetent life. What fools they must take us for. The gravy train at public expense must stop now.

John Arthur, Craigmillar Castle Road, Edinburgh