Caltongate site - 'It would show we are open for business'

There are few more obvious signs of the impact of the economic downturn on Edinburgh than the huge empty space where the New Street bus station once stood.

The Caltongate site should by now be the bustling home of a five-star hotel, civic square, flats, shops and offices - instead it is a vast expanse of earth and rubble. Some will have delighted in the demise of that project, having feared insensitive development would ruin the historic setting of the Royal Mile, but no-one can be happy seeing the forlorn area today.

The efforts of the city council to kick-start regeneration will be widely welcomed, and not just because its new development blueprint carries with it the crucial promise of jobs.

Agreeing to convert, rather than demolish, the grade C-listed former Canongate School building, signals a fresh approach. This promises the beginning of a quieter redevelopment than developer Mountgrange's bold offering, and should therefore prompt a quieter response from the heritage lobby and local activists. Seeing building work finally begin there would be a powerful signal that Edinburgh is open for business.

A cut too far

AS the cuts bite in the bid to tackle Britain's massive public sector deficit, increasingly tough decisions are having to be made.

Yesterday the Evening News warned council tax rises looked inevitable, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer unveiled plans to end universal child benefit.

Neither will be popular. Both will be painful for those affected. And strong arguments can be made against the two moves as part of an unwelcome squeeze on the middle classes.

But it is clear that cuts do have to be made - even, as we reveal today, in our emergency services. Every employee of Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade has been asked to consider taking voluntary redundancy as part of the service's bid to save 5m.

This has become a typical exercise across the public sector but brigade bosses assure us that the number of front line firefighters won't go down. And it would be a cut too far if these brave people who put their lives on the line were treated as an expendable asset, in the same way as council managers or health service bureaucrats