Developer accused of misleading public

Published on Thursday 4 June 2009 22:03

A FORMER judge and solicitor general for Scotland yesterday accused a developer and council officials of producing "deliberately misleading" evidence about the impact of a towering hotel planned for Edinburgh's West End.

Lord McCluskey, who lives near the proposed development site in the Haymarket area, claimed a picture postcard he had bought provided a more accurate picture of the impact the 17-storey hotel would have than dozens of official pictures.

The veteran legal figure, who told a public inquiry he had lived in Lansdowne Crescent for more than 26 years, said Irish developer Tiger had "effectively concealed the appalling impact on the neighbourhood" the hotel would have.

He said both the developer and the council had used photographs which "deliberately present a wholly misleading picture of the iconic views of Edinburgh."

Lord McCluskey, one of several local residents to speak at the inquiry yesterday, said there was widespread belief in the area that the council and its officials had been "corrupted by the overwhelming desire to raise money somehow in order to fill the gap in the city's finances."

Intercontinental has agreed a deal to run the five-star tower hotel, while Travelodge will be operating on the site. It emerged yesterday that a car park operator, Q-Park had also signed up.

In a lengthy diatribe against modern buildings, and the proposed development in particular, Lord McCluskey said "too much of the architecture of the last few decades bears comparison with the worst anywhere."

He launched an outspoken attack against Richard Murphy, the Edinburgh architect who has designed the proposed hotel, accusing him of laughing off criticism of the scheme.

Lord McCluskey said: "The city belongs not to architects laughingly dismissive of public opinion and hoping to make a personal impact on the city, or to officials or councillors – desperate to find money to fill a black hole in the finances.

"It belongs to its citizens, to the people of Scotland, whose capital it is, and to all who respect our history and its built heritage. It also belongs to our descendants."

Lord McCluskey accused council officials of performing a U-turn over the proposed development, saying they had opposed to a 12-storey hotel there.

Lord McCluskey said he had brought the inquiry reporter, Dannie Onn, a "present" of a 60p postcard from the lobby of the Holiday Inn, the Corstorphine hotel where the hearing is being held, to demonstrate the impact of the hotel development.

"You can see from this postcard that the hotel would totally obscure views of St Mary's Cathedral."

Tiger's lawyer, Roy Martin, QC, disputed Lord McCluskey's assertion, a claim dismissed as "nonsense" by the peer. "I should know. I've lived there for 26 years," he declared.