In a significant win for the heritage lobby the Scottish Government dismissed appeals into the proposed redevelopment as a hotel of Thomas Hamilton’s Category A listed 1825 Royal High School on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, with the main report dismissing any tourism or economic value as marginal.
image: copyright The Cockburn Association
…one of the world’s most significant examples of Greek Revival neo-classical buildings …
hopes… to allow the Music School proposals by the Royal High School Preservation Trust to advance.
The Cockburn Association writes:
Today, the Scottish Government’s Directorate of Local Government and Communities issued the formal decision on the outcome of the appeals into the proposed redevelopment of Thomas Hamilton’s 1825 Royal High School on Calton Hill, Edinburgh.
The Cockburn Association with its coalition partners Edinburgh World Heritage and New Town & Broughton Community Council attended the 9-week public local inquiry in 2018.
Terry Levinthal, Director of the Association said ‘We are delighted with the decision to dismiss the appeal and to refuse planning and listed building consent to this hotel proposal. The Old Royal High School is one of the world’s most significant examples of Greek Revival neo-classical buildings in the world, and it is the symbolic manifestation of the Edinburgh’s moniker ‘The Athens of the North’. Not only would the scheme cause irreparable damage to the fabric and setting of this Category A listed building, its economic value to the City’s economy was significantly less than had been suggested. Together with our Coalition partners Edinburgh World Heritage and the New Town & Broughton Community Council, we thank the very many people who contributed to our campaign against these proposals and who donated funds towards our appeal costs.’
Professor Cliff Hague, Chairman added, ‘The Cockburn hopes that the development interests behind the hotel scheme will step back from their lease, which they hold until 2022, to allow the Music School proposals by the Royal High School Preservation Trust to advance. This scheme, which is a much more appropriate civic use, has planning consent and is fully funded.’
The plans for a new hotel on the site had been widely opposed in the city and by national institutions including Historic Environment Scotland. The proposals were refused planning and listed building consent twice by the City of Edinburgh Council. The Developers behind the scheme appealed against the decision resulting in a Public Inquiry which started in September 2018 and last for over 9 weeks.
The Royal High School Preservation Trust advanced proposals in 2017 to refurbish the A-listed building as the new home for the St Mary’s Music School. The scheme, designed by Richard Murphy Architects won both planning and listed building consent.
… The Cockburn Association was founded in 1875 to promote and encourage the care and conservation of Edinburgh’s unique architectural and landscape heritage. The Association is one of the oldest conservation, planning and architectural advocacy organisations in the world. It takes its name from Lord Cockburn (1779-1854), a renown Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure, who can claim to be one of Scotland’s first conservationists. His 1849 publication A Letter to the Lord Provost on the Best Ways of Spoiling the Beauty of Edinburgh provided the inspiration to establish a popular organisation and it remains as relevant today as when it was first penned.
See more at www.cockburnassociation.org.uk
See also the Scottish Government website and Edinburgh News
