Heritage champion 'gagged' for objecting too much to projects

Published on Sunday 5 April 2009 22:18

A NEW row over the historic heart of Scotland's capital erupted yesterday after it emerged the body responsible for monitoring and protecting it is to be banned from commenting on major developments.

The Scotsman can reveal the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust (EWHT), the supposed "champion" of the Unesco-designated site, has been told to stop objecting to high-profile schemes and insisting it has a "veto" over controversial planning applications.

Officials at Edinburgh city council and Historic Scotland (HS) have been accused of "gagging" the trust – which relies on the two bodies for more than 1 million in annual funding – in the wake of damaging rows over recent developments such as Haymarket and Caltongate.

It has been told to concentrate on promoting the world heritage site to tourists, working with schoolchildren and developing projects to restore historic buildings and monuments.

Consultants brought in by the two funding bodies to review the performance of the trust – set up in the wake of Edinburgh's Old and New Towns winning world heritage status in 1995 – found the group has been too "adversarial" and was responsible for "considerable tension" with the council and HS.

The report, produced following interviews with heritage and planning experts, council officials and HS inspectors, says the review has highlighted confusion over which organisation is the voice of "authority" over heritage issues in the city.

But its findings are thought to have triggered fury within the trust, which has been told to sign up to "new arrangements" with the council and HS to "govern its contributions" to submissions from these bodies.

An EWHT source said: "We've been told to keep our heads down or face substantial funding cuts … It was very much a case of 'take it or leave it'."

Details of the clampdown emerged only months before Edinburgh's handling of the world heritage site is expected to be criticised at a Unesco summit, and weeks before World Heritage Day, on 18 April.

Jim Lowrie, Edinburgh city council's planning leader, yesterday insisted the council was simply trying to "streamline" the planning process in the capital and that EWHT would still have a role to play when plans for major developments were being drawn up in their early stages.

The report states: "In the past, interpretation of EWHT's roles has differed markedly between EWHT and its sponsors. This has been most evident in the area of planning, where there has been considerable tension. The process has tended to be very adversarial, resulting in a lack of constructive dialogue to try and resolve differences of opinion."

Mr Lowrie said: "There has been a feeling from EWHT that it has the final veto on major developments, which it simply doesn't under planning law.

"They have appeared at the planning stages to give a kicking to developments. No-one is trying to gag them, but we want to streamline things, so they're more involved earlier on."

Jim Johnston, a veteran heritage campaigner, said: "There is clearly an attempt to prevent EWHT from speaking independently … The question is who is going to provide independent comment on projects in the world heritage site."

Charles McKean, the chairman of EWHT, said in a statement: "The recommendations made reflect a change of emphasis towards more targeted grant-giving, project work in the public realm and interpretation of the world heritage site."

No-one at HS was available for comment.