Letters: Student flats knockback is a victory for good taste

These colony dwellings are part of what makes Edinburgh the delightful place it is – easy-on-the-eye buildings that hark back to the days when architects clearly cared about the way their projects looked.

Not only did they look good, but they were built to last.

That's more than can be said for the current vogue for "throw-em-up quickly and pick up the cheque" developments which have blighted the city in recent years.

Some developments have had all the sophistication you would expect if you let an infant loose with a supply of Lego blocks.

One of the worst examples I can think of is one that blights my journey to work – the turquoise block of flats at Abbeyhill that many locals reckon is a double for a tin of Heinz beans.

Perhaps it has been constructed with the excellent standards of days gone by. I have my doubts, though, and would shed no tears if it were to fall into such a state a of disrepair that demolition would be the answer.

Please, city planners, let Edinburgh continue to be the magical place that has enticed visitors to keep on coming and has made it the envy of so many cities around the world.

A Kemp, Meadowbank Terrace, Edinburgh

Newspaper raises waste questions

I WAS pleased to read your article drawing attention to the Edinburgh council newspaper, Outlook.

It is absolutely outrageous that the council can waste money in this way given the current economic climate.

East Lothian Council has produced a similar newspaper which is mostly propaganda telling us all what a good job it thinks it is doing.

It makes you wonder how much money the local councils are wasting behind the scenes.

Mike Pattison, East Lothian

Rail overhaul is missing the point

THE news item "Action stations for rail improvements" (News, August 13), while being a step in the right direction, really misses the travellers' main point.

We need more evening and later train services on this key route to Linlithgow and Glasgow. Why do services not run daily until 1am departure? Many European countries have a similar service on Sundays as weekdays. Consider Scotland, we have only four trains on a Sunday morning. Likewise no new stations have been built despite massive new housing developments in the central belt. Winchburgh and Bonnybridge are but two localities which should have been rail-connected years ago.

If the Scottish Government's quango does not feel inclined to work toward more train stations for the benefit of the country, then let it walk away and pass on the job to a more enthusiastic body.

Colin C Maclean, Hillpark Avenue, Edinburgh

Energy can give councils a spark

THE decision by the UK government to allow councils the power to sell electricity generated from renewable sources to the National Grid is to be applauded.

This move will allow Scotland's cash-strapped councils to raise millions of pounds from renewable energy and help the Scottish Government achieve its renewable energy target.

It will also open up a host of opportunities for councils; permitting them to develop wind farms and sell the electricity directly, develop smaller-scale community-energy projects to supply remote communities or even to self-generate at council offices and sell the excess electricity into the National Grid.

Providing councils with a financial incentive to invest in renewable energy will allow them to create a revenue stream where funds could be used for community benefit or channelled back into Scotland's frontline services.

Councils will undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to raise funds.

Paul Minto, head of public services, HBJ Gateley Wareing, Edinburgh