Unesco deals blow to World Heritage Site development plans for Edinburgh

Published on Monday 29 June 2009 22:03

HUGE question marks are hanging over two major developments in Edinburgh city centre after Unesco demanded major changes be made to the multi-million-pound schemes, The Scotsman can reveal.

Its annual heritage summit in Seville has passed strongly-worded resolutions urging the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government to scale back plans for a 17-storey hotel at Haymarket and redraw a 300 million Old Town scheme.

Unesco also wants to see the creation of a "buffer zone" to introduce strict controls over developments just outside the city's world heritage site, which covers the Old and New Towns, and a robust policy for protecting key views in the city.

The decisions are a major blow for the council after it approved both schemes in the face of huge opposition from city heritage groups. The World Heritage Committee's decision will drag the saga out for another two years after it ordered the UK government to produce a progress report on its recommendations by 2011.

The ruling may have an immediate impact on the Haymarket scheme, which the government has still to rule on, following a public inquiry that ended this month. Inspectors expressed "considerable concern" about the height of the hotel, saying it would have a major visual impact on the area and would dominate nearby landmarks.

The Scottish Government confirmed Unesco's verdict on the scheme would be taken into account when ruling on whether or not to give the scheme the go-ahead.

Last night, Tiger, the Irish developer behind the 200m scheme, insisted it would not be scaling back its plans.

Although the Caltongate plan, earmarked for a huge site next to Waverley Station, was given final approval by the government, its fate lies in the hands of the council after developer Mountgrange went into administration.

Council land is needed to build a five-star hotel at the heart of the scheme. But Unesco's inspectors said two listed buildings threatened with demolition should be reprieved, while it wants a new building – which would have blocked views from Jeffrey Street – dropped.

Culture minister Mike Russell said: "Edinburgh has to balance being a city recognised for its historic legacy alongside serving as a thriving capital city. We will consider these recommendations when shaping how we continue to manage this incredible city."

Council economic development leader Tom Buchanan said: "Securing new investment within the city centre is core to Edinburgh's success. However, our world-famous Old and New Towns are a key part of our unique selling point and they must also be protected."

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ron Hewitt said: "Both applications were approved by the council after long planning processes.

"A small number of people are able to delay the whole process. The risk we run is that Edinburgh becomes frozen in time."