Lord McCluskey on Haymarket: In my judgement it's a tasteless, vulgar, ugly cliff

A FORMER judge and solicitor general for Scotland today launched an outspoken attack on the £200 million Haymarket development, branding it "vulgar and tasteless".

West End resident Lord Mc-Cluskey, one of the country's most senior legal figures, said the scheme "would grace a declining industrial town in the more depressed parts of Lancashire, but has no place whatsoever in Edinburgh".

The city council has also received letters of objection from the John Lewis firm, which warned that city centre shopping could suffer, and the Hilton Grosvenor Hotel, which said the flagship 17-storey hotel would "dwarf" its Victorian architecture.

The controversial plans for the former Morrison Street goods yard, which include a neighbouring three-star Travelodge, offices, shops and restaurants, are due to come before councillors on the planning committee next week. 39 objections to the plans were today made public, and mainly come from local residents concerned about the height of the hotel.

But council planning chief Alan Henderson has recommended that councillors give the go-ahead at next Wednesday's meeting.

Although now retired, Lord John Herbert McCluskey, 79, is Scotland's longest serving judge.

An Edinburgh University graduate and a life peer since 1976, he hit the headlines in 1973 after convincing judges in Campbeltown, Kintyre, to let Sir Paul McCartney off with a £30 fine for growing cannabis on his farm, claiming the former Beatle had a genuine interest in horticulture.

In his letter to the council, Lord McCluskey wrote: "My wife and I, resident (in the area) for 25 years, object in the strongest terms to this proposed development.

"(It] is wholly out of character. It is a vulgar, massive and tasteless piece of architecture. This cheapskate hotel, designed to look like an ugly cliff, will seriously inhibit views of the beautiful spires of (St Mary's] Cathedral.

"The Edinburgh Council in its various manifestations has, since the war of 1939/45, allowed the vandalising of much of Edinburgh. For once, let us ask the council and its members to stop and think about our heritage."

Andrew Woodrow, senior planning consultant with CB Richard Ellis, writing on behalf of John Lewis, added: "Our client's concern is that this proposal will have a detrimental impact on the city's retail around Princes Street."

Henderson Global Investors, owners of the St James Centre, also said the Haymarket development should be considered as "outwith the city centre retail core".

In his complaint about the size of the main hotel, Hilton Grosvenor general manager Stephen Hall wrote: "The design of the building is totally unsympathetic to the Italianate style of the surrounding area."

Haymarket development firm's John Nesbitt said: "The design team, led by Richard Murphy, has designed a landmark innovative and exciting building."