Hearts war memorial to return to Haymarket

The monument will be put into storage later this year to allow tram works at Haymarket junction but fears that it will not return to its historic home have been quashed.

As the Evening News previously revealed, a temporary stone will be laid in nearby Atholl Crescent to act as a memorial until 2011, when the clock will be returned to a spot near its current location.

The news was today welcomed by Hearts and by monument campaigners, who revealed they have applied to Historic Scotland to have the memorial upgraded from its C-listed status.

A report by tram firm TIE, which recommended moving the monument permanently to Atholl Crescent, last week led senior SNP councillors to say the memorial was definitely staying at Haymarket. However, the city's transport leader Phil Wheeler then told the News a decision had not been taken.

City leader Jenny Dawe and deputy leader Steve Cardownie have now issued a statement confirming the memorial will be "permanently sited at Haymarket following completion of the tram works".

Jack Alexander, of the Friends of the Heart of Midlothian War Memorial campaign, gave the news a cautious welcome.

He said: "The clarification is good news but we will carry on with our campaign, we need to get the Historic Scotland listing improved, it is something which probably should have been done 30 years ago.

"We're not terribly happy with the two-year absence. The only people who want to have a two-year consultation are the officials who propose moving it to Atholl Crescent."

There doesn't appear to be a need for the consultation period in that the settled will of the people of Edinburgh is that they would like the memorial back at Haymarket.

"This whole business of Atholl Crescent as a temporary site is something they've decided and presented to everybody. The football club didn't ask for that, neither did supporters. Atholl Crescent is by no means certain. It may well be that, during the course of the two-year period, there could be another site for the war memorial.

Haymarket junction is 200 yards wide. It shouldn't be difficult, unless you have an agenda to remove it altogether."

The memorial was built by the Gorgie club in 1922 to remember the team's footballers who had signed up to fight in the First World War.

Although this year's annual memorial service will go ahead as normal, the 86-year-old monument will have to be relocated from Haymarket junction to accommodate the tram line.

Councillor Cardownie said: "It was important to allay the fears of both Hearts supporters and the wider public.

"The memorial was always to return to Haymarket, the best place to be seen to remind people of the sacrifice of these brave men, particularly on Remembrance Sunday.

"It will return to Haymarket, and to a stone's throw away from where it is currently located."

Hearts were the first team to enlist in the Great War when the whole side joined up. In total, 30 players served in the Army, and they were followed by other Scottish teams, including Hibs.

A Hearts spokesman said: "The Heart of Midlothian Football Club war memorial is every bit as important as Tynecastle Stadium itself.

"There is one home and one home only for the war memorial and there should be an immediate reinstatement of the memorial to Haymarket on conclusion of the tram works."