How Edinburgh's Cockburn Association saved city from Meadows motorway and other catastrophes

Edinburgh faces many challenges. It’s a city trying to balance growth and development with heritage and history. The future is uncertain but the present could be so much worse.

In another world, Princes Street would have a cavernous underground shopping mall running it’s full length, no doubt empty and falling into disrepair. The Meadows would be cut in half by a motorway, choked with traffic and belching fumes, and Haymarket would be dominated by a 260ft monolithic tower block, ruining the view to the west.

None of these things came to pass thanks to the work of the Cockburn Association. For 150 years, Scotland’s oldest conservation and amenity organisation has campaigned for Edinburgh, putting the best interests of the city above what suits developers.

The Cockburn Association campaigned against a previous plan to drive a motorway through Edinburgh's Meadows (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

Temple of Pluto

My introduction to it came when I was a student living in the New Town and a neighbour asked me to sign a petition against plans to build an ugly gas pressure station in Queen Street Gardens. People power worked and the Cockburn Association suggested an alternative, more fitting design. The result is the Temple of Pluto you can just spy nestling amongst the trees.

Since then, I’ve watched them battle planners and property spivs as they seek to protect, preserve and promote Edinburgh’s built heritage and civic amenities. I value what they do which is why I’ve agreed to become the organisation’s new president in their 150th anniversary year.

This year offers a special opportunity to reflect on the association’s achievements and a range of events and celebrations are planned built around the publication of a book telling the story of the first 150 years.

Critics have accused the organisation of being pickled in the past and against all change. That’s simply not true. Sir Terry Farrell’s grand vision for the giant Edinburgh Exchange redevelopment of the city’s financial quarter is just one of the major projects they have championed.

The treescape in many of Edinburgh’s green spaces such as Bruntsfield Links and the creation of Inverleith Park are other examples of successful campaigns. They get behind what is right for the city but they won’t be swayed by fashion or special interest groups.

Preserving what we have

The past proves that is the correct approach. The proposals for underground malls, motorways and giant office blocks would have fundamentally changed the city but left only a legacy of decay.

In a society obsessed with sustainability, the best thing we can do for the planet is preserve what we have. Building anything involves a huge carbon footprint so we need to better protect what already exists.

Named after Lord Cockburn, a judge, lawyer and early conservationist, the forces that threatened Edinburgh in 1875 and led to the creation of the association are still at work today. From eyesore accessibility ramps in Charlotte Square to rapacious property developers and event promoters who would turn the city into a giant theme park given the chance, Edinburgh needs to be defended and protected more than ever. As Cockburn suggested, Edinburgh is not exempt from the doom that makes everything spoilable.

And there is also a big conversation required about what the future looks like and how the city adapts moving forward. That is not for politicians or property moguls to decide, it’s down to every single one of us who lives here.