Eddie Barnes: Who’ll be next to take chance in square’s game of Monopoly?

IF AND when Alex Salmond chooses to move out of Charlotte Square, it will ensure that the game of Monopoly that has been played out in one of the country’s most prestigious addresses may take a new turn.

A decision to move would mean the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), the owner of Bute House, would resume full control over the grand Georgian property that occupies the central position on the north side of the square.

Facing a multi-million-pound bill for much-needed refurbishment, the cash-strapped NTS has to decide what to do with it. A strategy review published in the summer concluded there would be no fire sale. NTS board member Sir Kenneth Calman said: “We saw no need to consider the disposal of major heritage properties – instead we can unlock their potential in order to secure their ongoing conservation for future generations.”

But with the trust still recovering from its well-publicised financial problems, NTS figures say hard cash remains a major issue. And it is only a short while since the NTS sold its HQ on the south side of the square, netting it £8.75 million.

Such is the cachet of Charlotte Square, it appears the trust would not be short of buyers. Both its old HQ and two other properties were snapped up by little-known Ukrainian property tycoon Yury Lopatinsky, a leading figure in Moscow’s financial scene since the 1990s. All three properties were said to have sold for “well over” the market estimate.

Many of the other properties in the square are owned by Edinburgh-based millionaires Walter Scott and Sir David Murray, the former owner of Rangers FC.

Mr Scott, a reclusive former nuclear physicist, hit the headlines nine years ago when it emerged he was buying a string of properties in the square. He is thought to own 1-4, 15-17 and 44-46, with Sir David’s empire controlling numbers 9-11.

Mr Lopatinsky’s buy-up has been controversial, however, with Historic Scotland and the Scottish Civic Trust opposing plans to gut the former NTS HQ and turn it into boutique office space. There are also proposals to create a glass-covered courtyard behind the townhouses in Hope Street Lane.

Located at the west end of George Street, Charlotte Square has long been seen as the jewel in the crown of the capital’s New Town. And while the city’s financial industry has taken a hit, if a prestigious property such as Bute House came on to the market, there can be little doubt there would be numerous interested parties.

Historically, Charlotte Square was home to landed gentry, law lords and distinguished military and medical men. Among its residents were Lord Cockburn, solicitor-general for Scotland and celebrated conservationist; Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus, author of Memoirs of a Highland Lady, and Baron Lister, pioneer of antiseptic surgery. Field Marshal Earl Haig was born at No 24.

In more recent times, financial and legal firms took over the properties for offices.

The square’s garden, normally closed to the public, plays host to the Edinburgh International Book Festival every August.