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"Luxury hotel planned for Old Royal High School" (or music school?)

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  1. Morningsider
    Member

    chdot - edited highlights:

    "Adam Wilkinson of the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust said his and the conservation charity’s fears about the proposals to develop the western edge of the former school site - and their potential impact on the World Heritage Site - had not been heard.

    He said: ‘The clear and consistent advice [we gave] the development team over a number of months has been ignored, which is a matter of deep regret.’

    Wilkinson added: ‘Hamilton’s Royal High School was designed in such a way that in views from the west one only sees the dramatic landscape of Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat and the Salisbury Crags, giving an impression of the countryside in the heart of the city – one of the elements that makes Edinburgh such a special place.’

    ...

    "Charlie Sutherland of Sutherland Hussey Harris was equally unimpressed by the scheme .He told the AJ: ‘I’ve just seen the revised proposal for Calton Hill. Deary me. It’s truly awful.

    ‘Surely the City of Edinburgh are not going to countenance this! or maybe these cow pats can join the Golden Turd down the road.’"

    Posted 8 years ago #

  2. chdot
    Admin

    Ta

    Posted 8 years ago #

  3. chdot
    Admin

    "

    heritage campaigners have been accused of trying to “frighten” councillors out of making bold planning decisions ahead of crunch talks over the future of the old Royal High School.

    Councillor Cameron Rose, who is a key figure on the city’s planning committee, made the comments after it was revealed a team of experts from a leading conservation group are set to descend on the Capital to examine Edinburgh’s World Heritage status.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/activists-use-scare-tactics-over-royal-high-plans-1-3883961

    Posted 8 years ago #

  4. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Maybe I'm wrong, after all I've only lived in Edinburgh for years, but I kind of had the feeling that people visit - and enjoy - Edinburgh precisely because Edinburgh is the Castle, and Princes St Gardens, and synonymous with classical and splendid architecture that hasn't all been bulldozed away for a motorway.

    Filling a prime city centre site with beige boxes, copper turds and squint cakes isn't how I want to imagine Edinburgh.

    Birmingham has swathes of stainless steel and glass, but it works because so much of the city centre has already been lost in the name of progress.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    Nearby -

    "

    He said: “Edinburgh is the strongest performing hotel market in the UK after London and one of the best performing hotel markets in Europe. The Crowne Plaza provides an opportunity for an investor to extract value through active asset management, leveraging in-house expertise or an experienced third-party operator, in one of the UK’s most sought after hotel markets”.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/luxury-hotel-for-sale-after-firm-s-collapse-1-3886735

    Posted 8 years ago #

  6. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I believe the owners of the Hootsman Scotel also can't pay their bills... There's a lot of money in luxury hotels but maybe not so much money to be made in them.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  7. chdot
    Admin

    "maybe not so much money to be made in them"

    Unless you -

    "

    extract value through active asset management

    "

    Posted 8 years ago #

  8. ih
    Member

    He said: “Edinburgh is the strongest performing hotel market in the UK after London and one of the best performing hotel markets in Europe. The Crowne Plaza provides an opportunity for an investor to extract value through active asset management, leveraging in-house expertise or an experienced third-party operator, in one of the UK’s most sought after hotel markets”.

    I understand all of those words but put any 4 or 5 together, and it's absolute drivel.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  9. chdot
    Admin

    "it's absolute drivel"

    No

    Just obfuscation!...

    Posted 8 years ago #

  10. chdot
    Admin

    Reading stuff like that, I can never decided if the writer is trying to hide something or trying to 'show' they know that they know what they are talking about(?)

    Posted 8 years ago #

  11. Arellcat
    Moderator

    one of the best performing

    In the absence of any defined metric of performance, one is left to assume that 'one of' must necessarily relate to the rank ordered set of all hotels. Therefore 'one of the best' could in fact be any of them. We could equally say that it was 'one of the worst'.

    The rest of that paragraph is even worse.

    "Extracting value through active asset management" sounds like firing half of your own staff and contracting out those jobs/services, or more widely, buying up your competitors and shutting them down.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  12. gembo
    Member

    Heard on radio four so true, you can lose world heritage status and just lose status. Apparently 90 per cent of tourist traffic is at festival and they are so drunk that Georgian architecture and Jacobean architecture just look like similar places to urinate.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  13. crowriver
    Member

    HISTORIC SCOTLAND WILL OPPOSE OLD ROYAL HIGH HOTEL PLANS

    Broughton Spurtle has full details:

    http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/historic-scotland-will-oppose-old-royal-high-hotel-plans

    "Earlier today on Twitter, those in the know described the decision as the 'trigger for Ministerial intervention'."

    Posted 8 years ago #

  14. chdot
    Admin

    "

    Controversial plans for a “world-class” luxury hotel at the old Royal High School have been dealt a blow after the nation’s heritage agency lodged a damning criticism.

    The objection by Historic Scotland means ministers will be able to “call in” proposals for the £75 million scheme and order a public inquiry if it gets the go-ahead from the city council.

    It is a major blow for developer Duddingston House Properties, which lodged a planning application for the scheme at the beginning of the month after spending five years working on a viable design.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/national-heritage-leaders-wade-into-royal-high-row-1-3893226

    Posted 8 years ago #

  15. chdot
    Admin

    "

    In a damning 18-page document objecting to the proposals, Historic Scotland lashed out at new-build extensions planned for either side of the Calton Hill structure, arguing they would “diminish significantly the building’s status as an internationally-acclaimed exemplar of Greek Revival architecture”.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/heritage-chiefs-slam-royal-high-hotel-plans-1-3903779

    Posted 8 years ago #

  16. chdot
    Admin

    From HS newsletter

    "

    Heritage Management Regulations

    We continue to have an important role as a regulator and as the statutory adviser to Scottish Ministers, but will now carry out decision making functions in our own name, rather than on behalf of Scottish Ministers. We have introduced greater transparency in the decision making process, as all decisions taken by us in relation to scheduling monuments, listing buildings, and handling scheduled monument consent will now be published through our new online planning portal. Meanwhile, there is a new right of appeal to challenge our decisions regarding scheduling, listing and scheduled monument consent, and new procedures are in place to allow appeals to Scottish Ministers.

    "

    Posted 8 years ago #

  17. kaputnik
    Moderator

    As an aside, today is the day that Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historic Monuments in Scotland (RCAHMS) merge to Historic Environment Scotland. From what I've seen tweeted, it's currently only a paper and legal change; business as usual with no visible differences yet.

    It does mean in future we would have to lobby HES about Holyrood Park or Castle Esplanade, rather than incumbents.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  18. fimm
    Member

    " it's currently only a paper and legal change..."

    I've a friend who works for RCAHMS. That's not the impression I've been getting from him (mind you, he does like a good grumble...)

    Posted 8 years ago #

  19. mgj
    Member

    I'm sure my colleagues who have spent two years working on this would not describe it that way either.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  20. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Sorry, wasn't meaning to denigrate anyone's hard work on this. What I meant was that as far as the public punter is concerned, you still have Historic Scotland and RCAHMS as two desperate, distinct entities for the time being, with their own offices, logos, websites etc.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  21. Min
    Member

    Sorry if this has already been posted but I noticed a picture of what the hotel would look like from street level in the Spurtle.

    http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/opponents-rally-save-citys-soul

    Lovely isn't it?

    They HAVE to be joking..

    Posted 8 years ago #

  22. kaputnik
    Moderator

    It looks dreadful. And like so many new schemes, it seems to be built right up to the pavement, with minimal set back, so as to completely dominate anyone walking alongside it and give no gradual upwards progression of the building. In fact quite the opposite here as it gets wider as it goes up.

    Awful.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  23. Min
    Member

    so as to completely dominate anyone walking alongside it

    I guess that is the idea. One assumes that the clientele it hopes to attract do not walk.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  24. chdot
    Admin

    "

    UK committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), which advises Unesco, slammed the scheme and insisted it would “seriously threaten the fusion of buildings and landscape that make up Calton Hill”.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/highly-negative-impact-of-royal-high-revamp-warning-1-3906331

    Posted 8 years ago #

  25. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/royal-high-hotel-plans-would-violate-landmark-1-3908585

    Posted 8 years ago #

  26. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/snp-calls-to-ditch-edinburgh-hotel-for-super-rich-1-3913307

    Posted 8 years ago #

  27. chdot
    Admin

    "

    fast approaching judgement day for the Capital as Unesco advisors descend on Edinburgh tomorrow to examine the impact of recent planning decisions on the city’s World Heritage status.

    Controversial proposals to transform Calton Hill’s old Royal High School into a luxury hotel and designs for the nearby St James development have been at the centre of a growing storm in recent months, amid claims they could threaten Edinburgh’s heritage standing.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/heritage-fears-as-unesco-look-at-hotel-plans-1-3914407

    Posted 8 years ago #

  28. chdot
    Admin

    "

    Today three inspectors from the UK committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), which advises Unesco, will embark on a two-day visit to the Capital to assess the impact of the developments, amid mounting fears the city’s heritage standing could be at risk.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-fights-to-keep-heritage-status-1-3915406

    Posted 8 years ago #

  29. chdot
    Admin

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/over-2000-objections-to-royal-high-hotel-plan-1-3917491

    Posted 8 years ago #

  30. chdot
    Admin

    "

    MORE than 80 per cent of people in Edinburgh support plans to turn one of its most famous landmarks into a luxury hotel – according to an opinion poll commissioned by its proposed developer.

    "

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/developers-claim-public-backing-for-royal-high-hotel-1-3918560

    If I was in the habit of staying in luxury hotels, not sure I'd be attracted by one that looked like a pile of rusty shipping containers!

    Posted 8 years ago #

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