Letters: Empty feeling at shopping centre is thanks to Labour

Cllr Day fails to mention that it was his Labour administration that signed off the plan for the Muirhouse blocks to be demolished en masse.

I agree with Cllr Day – it would have been a lot wiser to regenerate the area in stages.

That way we would have ensured that part of the community remained in Muirhouse and avoided shopkeepers struggling to make ends meet as a result of hundreds of people being rehomed elsewhere.

Cllr Day also states that the council should reduce the shopkeepers’ rent and rates. He should know that neither the rent nor rates for those shops are managed by the council.

The units in the shopping centre are owned by Credential Holdings, while business rates are a matter for the Lothian Valuation Joint Board.

If he wants to be helpful he should write to Credential Holdings and to the Lothian Assessor.

Maxime Delattre, Abbeyhill Crescent, Edinburgh

Useless idiots should resign

MY partner and I went Christmas shopping to Edinburgh last Friday and saw the mess Princes Street is in due to being dug up for the second time in three years.

I cannot believe that not one of the numpties who gave this shambles the go-ahead has even considered resigning due to the sheer embarrassment of how utterly useless and deaf to the voice of the people of Edinburgh they are.

Alan Lough, Dunbar, East Lothian

Best not blessed with strength

TENNENT’S has a new ale on the market called Caledonia Best.

I had a pint of it last Saturday. There is nowhere on the font to tell you how strong this beer is and the bar staff couldn’t tell me either.

I accessed the website, www.caledoniabest.com, and can find no mention of the strength.

I e-mailed the company using the “contact us” option on both the above address and also at www.tennents.com and have not had the courtesy of an answer.

With all the publicity about Scotland’s drink problem, surely this information should be readily available.

David Wylie, Fraser Avenue, Edinburgh

Trees massacred by barbarians

RECENTLY I attended a talk at the Saltire Society. We viewed slides of north Edinburgh and there was a lively debate about conservation and development.

One of the photos depicted the classic view eastward from Canonmills Bridge. Many tourists on foot stop there to watch herons feeding in a tranquil setting.

Coming back from this event I was shocked to see that there had been a chainsaw massacre at Canonmills. The trees had been chopped down.

I understand that the same blitzkrieg is to happen on the west side of the bridge. What type of barbarians are running our city?

Ian Lutton, Boswall Road, Edinburgh

Wonderful care at city hospice

I AM an inpatient at Edinburgh’s Marie Curie Hospice. I cannot leave this hospice without letting News readers know just how wonderfully I have been looked after.

The meals from breakfast to supper are second to none thanks to the small but excellent kitchen.

At first, I was in a great deal of pain and was losing weight by the hour.

However, with the excellent care and medication given around the clock, I’m still here. I’m very happy to accept my limitations and cannot give thanks enough.

No words can express the loving kindness experienced from the doctor, nursing staff and volunteers.

There are many Marie Curie outlets throughout this fine city, so please help, so that the charity can continue to help others.

Stuart Morrison, Marie Curie Hospice, Frogston Road West, Edinburgh