Top economists call on city chiefs to save Adam Smith's house

Published on Friday 4 April 2008 10:22

LEADING economists from around the world have called for Edinburgh City Council to save Adam Smith's former home for the nation.

Nearly 100 have signed a petition calling for Panmure House, just off the Royal Mile, to be preserved, possibly as a school of economics.

The city council wants to off-load the building, where the pioneering economist lived from 1778 until his death in 1790, and it was put on the market for offers over 700,000 last month.

That has sparked fears that it could be turned into flats or a single residential home in a similar way to Robert Louis Stevenson's former home on Heriot Row.

Leading academics from Yale and Columbia University in the United States, Queen's in Canada, the London School of Economics and universities across the UK have now joined a campaign, started by Edinburgh University's school of economics, demanding the building is preserved.

Among the signatories is Lord Meghnad Desai, a renowned economist who has published numerous books on the economy.

A closing date for offers was set for the end of today, with the council saying there has been "notable interest" in the property since it was marketed.

Edinburgh University economist Professor Ed Hopkins, who helped launch the campaign, said: "We had no idea how successful it would be. It is one of these things that you just send out and hope that people respond.

"We are very pleased to have got responses from all around the world, even among those who are not economists."

Prof Hopkins said that he wants any sympathetic use of the building to be considered, or any use that would recognise the significance and keep the building open to the public.

"The worst case would be if it was bought for property development and divided into two or three flats. Also as a single residence it would be entirely closed to the public, which would be unfortunate."

Alongside the City Chambers, where Smith worked from in his final years, Panmure House is the only remaining property in the world with links to him.

He used to hold an informal gathering every Sunday in the house, where he would share opinions with some of the great figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, including Adam Fergusson, James Boswell, James Hutton, and Joseph Black.

Gavin Kennedy, a former economics professor at Heriot-Watt University and author of the book Adam Smith: The Lost Legacy, said: "If they get somewhere over 1 million from a charitable institution for it then that should get preferred weighting over something like a 1.5m bid from a property developer."

In response to the petition, Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the city council's finance committee convener, said: "I can confirm that the council has a responsibility to achieve 'best value' which would include wider public benefit."