This is a work in progress. It started with a realisation that we had a very polarised debate on the built environment in Edinburgh. Developers were ‘bad’, history was sacrosanct.
Edinburgh is a World Heritage Site. When I ran away from London in 1988, sick of foul air and endless commuting problems, streets unfit for young children… well you get the picture! I vowed I would never be for cities again. By the mid 90’s I had started to appreciate Edinburgh and the fact the cities could be vibrant, challenging, artistic, cultured and … in short – great! London is to Edinburgh as a steel girder is to a Cellini silver salt cellar. So we start with a precious environment. The Old Town (pre eighteenth century higgledy-piggledy, multi-layered chaos overlayed with Victorian and twentieth century propriety) and progress to the New Town, the finest Georgian City in Europe (and who else does Georgian anyway?), so actually,one of the most beautiful cities in the world that I have ever seen.
As I write there are billions of pounds being spent developing Edinburgh and in some quarters resistance to this process. So I have visited and spoken with many different parties. The Cockburn Association (preservationists) the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, (self explanatory) the City Council, dozens of developers, Historic Scotland, and I find the makings of an accord, where we all might agree on what is good for the city.
People often say that coalition government (i.e. concensus decision making) doesn’t work. But! my friends, it is the most creative way we can go. When was Britain’s most productive period in the last one hundred years? I can tell you, without doubt, it was in the Second World War, 1939-45. Undoubtedly much of our purpose in being so creative was to destroy an enemy (which you might regard as less than creative). The reality is, that with a common cause, and a common enemy (well let’s say – objective) we deliver most when we work together.
Watch this space. Let’s see how it progresses. And just to confuse things further – the pictures are from Glasgow. Just to prove there isn’t only one City that understands the need for a development accord. Taken last weekend from the tour bus!
Building a future while preserving capital’s heritage
this article appeared in The Scotsman on 16 September 2006
Since writing the above have met with Dennis Rodwell whose latest blockbuster ( a mere snip at £48 from Blackwell Publishing) – Conservation and Sustainability in Historic Cities is an interesting and provocative amble round the topic. Recommended for serious enthusiasts.
