Letters: We're being sold short by Capital's 'parcel of rogues'

Another scandal involving common good land is the forthcoming sale of the south-east slopes of Inverleith Park for 9m (News, December 20).

A housing development here would ruin the setting of one of Edinburgh's green gems. And for the sake of what? A few quid off your next council tax bill, or more likely easy funding to be creamed off in consultancy fees or squandered on some stupid scheme.

The city's new chief executive seems to think this is a done deal (News, January 12). Readers should help dispel that delusion by signing the petition against the sell-off. Look for the ironic "Land for sale" posters in shops near the park and the Botanics.

Alan Murphy, Learmonth Grove, Edinburgh

Barren land must be put to good use

ON a recent visit to the area, I was struck by the apparent barren state of the grounds surrounding Saughton prison.

In former years, I seem to recall that this land was worked by the prisoners themselves – providing both meaningful activity (work), no doubt the acquiring of skills by the prisoners concerned, and I believe also providing fresh produce for consumption by the prisoners themselves.

Surely if it is the case that this is no longer the practice it would be a good idea to put the land to more profitable use.

Brian Sneddon, Newington

Look for answers rather than blame

I REFER to the column by Gina Davidson "Be honest about BlindCraft future" (News, January 20). The essence of the article is focused on blame as opposed to any significant emphasis on the importance of finding a sustainable solution.

Let me provide the facts about Glencraft and my role. Glencraft was not part of Aberdeen City Council's infrastructure. It was a separately constituted corporate body which was heavily subsidised by Aberdeen City Council over many years.

The business plan of Glencraft was not sustainable without the heavy subsidy (which itself was not sustainable) and Glencraft consequently entered into voluntary liquidation.

The actions that followed through a multi-agency working group, which I chaired, brought together representatives of the workforce, public agencies and council services, the social enterprise sector and ultimately the private sector.

The ethos of that group was, without exception, to work with each other to find a workable solution.

In the end an Aberdeen-based company, PSN, showed exemplary leadership and chose to develop a partnership with the legacy of Glencraft, establishing a "phoenix" company which is progressing through its first year of trading.

For Ms Davidson to assert in her article that my arrival in the city is "...the trigger for ramping up the pressure on the blind and disabled workers.." is frankly ridiculous.

I suggest our energy would be better directed in these extremely challenging times seeking out workable solutions and useful partnerships to help those in the community who need our support, rather than generating unhelpful commentary from the sidelines.

Sue Bruce, chief executive, Edinburgh City Council

Flood prevention not drain on cash

BY saying that the Water of Leith flood prevention scheme is a needless drain of cash, wouldn't Harald Tobermann be killing off any notion of collective responsibility for the common good (Interactive, January 18)?

That'll be the death of "society" then, every man for himself, the strong survive, the weak go to the wall.

Flood prevention is a right, not a luxury. We all have the right for our government to do whatever it can to protect us. That's what we are paying for.

Jim Taylor, The Murrays Brae, Edinburgh