Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

Sponsored by bmibaby. Tell the January blues where to go!
Sponsored by
bmibaby
Tell the January blues where to go!
 
 
Thursday, 8th January 2009 Change Date

London from only £11.50 with National Express

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the Edinburgh Evening News site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Sign In
Register

City looks at ways to preserve conservation group's funding



Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 05 August 2008
NEW methods of providing funding for conservation charity Edinburgh World Heritage are to be investigated by the council.
Changes to the council's accountancy practices have meant that it is no longer able to provide EWH with the same level of funding as in previous years, around £617,000 per annum.

Adam Wilkinson, director of EWH, has written to the council asking it to reconsider the changes, which will see the local authority cut grant funding by around £500,000.

In a report to the council's planning committee, Dave Anderson, the council's director of city development, said there were a number of options which the council should explore for funding.

And he stressed the council's commitment to finding funds for EWH.

"The funding of EWH is affected as a result of changes to accounting procedures that imply all funding to EWH must become revenue funding," he said. "This puts pressure on already restricted revenue budgets."

He added that the council would be best to re-examine the funding issue after an ongoing assessment of the management of world heritage sites undertaken by EWH.





The full article contains 191 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 05 August 2008 10:38 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Buttress,

05/08/2008 11:21:31
It would be an absolute disgrace if either or both the council and Historic Scotland cut the funding to EWH. The commitment must be made now, and the funding found.

EWH is carrying out outstanding work in many and varied areas of its remit regarding the WHS, and enabling other organisations also, and this must carry on and be allowed to expand.
2

alex paterson,

edinburgh 05/08/2008 12:53:33
#2
Hear Hear.
3

Buttress,

05/08/2008 13:07:43
I wonder what sort of message regarding the importance Scotland places on having World Heritage Site status for the Old and New Towns will be given to the UNESCO fact finding mission if funding is cut to EWHT?

In my view, a number of planning decisions by CEC is showing it not have the public interest at heart, but that of private developers, and their hangers on - architects, PR companies, all those on the 'regeneration' gravy train.


4

Statsman,

Edinburgh 05/08/2008 13:16:30
The council has given up caring about World Heritage status in order to get as much money as possible for granting planning permission for ugly schemes. The tram cash, effectively for rubber stamping planning applications, matters more than what Edinburgh looks like.
5

,

05/08/2008 13:21:42
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
6

Buttress,

05/08/2008 13:29:38
In the end, it's the government which will have to explain this, and I wonder what sort of excuses it will be able to make?

Caltongate and the Haymarket tower (not in the WHS but in the 'buffer zone' and will affect it badly) are two decisions which were cogently argued against by EWHT at planning meetings, only to be ignored. Ministers should have called in Caltongate and did not. The Haymarket 'call-in' decision has not yet been made I believe.

How Coun Jim Lowrie can reconcile those decisions with his status as a member of the Board of Directors of EWH is beyond me.

The council seems now to ignore the WHS management plan it so heartily endorsed only a short time ago, and a proposed policy on building heights is being quietly downgraded in order that developers can build tall in the WHS.

It's all a disgrace, presided over by the council and endorsed, it would seem, by the Scottish Government.

Historic Scotland cannot say its hands are clean, either.

It really is a deep embarrassment to the nation UNESCO is concerned enough to be sending a mission.



7

Buttress,

05/08/2008 13:32:22
As with so much else Howerd Moon (and your various aliases) you are incorrect.

Do some reserach and then you might talk out of the appropriate orifice.

8

Howard Moon,

05/08/2008 13:33:41
Just out of interest Buttress, what was the official position of EWH regarding the tram line? I assume they spoke out strongly against it? I don't mean to be crass, I honestly don't know.
9

Buttress,

05/08/2008 13:36:40
Why not call and ask EWH? I have no connection with EWH, and suggest that if you seek information you ask in the appropriate quarter.

I am sure it will be able to give you the information, as it is is a fully accountable public body. I would suggest however that transport is not within its remit.
10

Mallory,

Edinburgh 05/08/2008 13:49:02
Simple way out of this - make the developers pay with their applications.

If they stand to make tens of millions they can hand over a few hundred thousands...
11

Buttress,

05/08/2008 13:51:59
As a nation, when we apply for World Heritage Site status, we agree that we will look after it. We sign international agreements. Therefore I consider that promise should be kept, and the funding of EWH should continue. Not only that, it should be given some say in the planning process, which currently it has not.
12

Logie Almond,

05/08/2008 20:57:57
It looks very much like the current LibDem/SNP administration are punishing EWH for daring to criticise the council and the way its "anything goes" attitude to planning is ruining the world heritage site.
At least the previous Labour administration continued to fund EWH even when some of its decisions were criticised by them.
13

Old Town Resident,

edinburgh 05/08/2008 21:38:04
Its not even that its the lib/snp administration, its the big wigs running the show who have told them to pull the funding, Dave Anderson worked for BP before coming to council...the council is the officials behind the scenes, the councillors are the muppet show we get shown only to be distracted with....its a laugh
14

Rap,

Haymarket 06/08/2008 11:32:20
#6 Buttress
The Ministers have not yet made a decision yet for the call in. People who had submitted comments on the scheme were sent a letter 2 weeks ago asking them to submit comments on whether their comments had been dealt with properly. The deadline for thos was yesterday. Now they are in, they will be sent to the Ministers who will make a decision on whether to call the development in for review.

#10 Mallory
Don't you think if developers have to pay for their schemes, to the people who are making a decision about whether to approve their schemes, there may be a small conflict of interest? The Council should not benefit from any appliucations apart from the economic and community benefit achieved a good development only. You can't have money changing hands above and beyond that. Already on the Haymarket scheme, because of it's proximity to the tram line they are having to hand over £4m to CEC, and there are calls of dodgy dealings because of it. I think money is best kept well away from any planning decisions.

I'm not sure if anyone has actually quantified the amount of £ brought into the City because of the way it looks (indirectly because of it's world heritage status and attempts to keep it looking good) but that has to be a way to skim some of that off to fund these organisations to do the advising and policing for us.
15

Buttress,

06/08/2008 12:23:16
After Caltongate wasn't called in, which it should have been, I don't hold out a great deal of hope for anything else, but the UNESCO visit might concentrate a few minds.

There's always UNESCO to write to of course... all concerns will, I am sure, be read with interest.
16

Rap,

Haymarket 06/08/2008 12:37:24
#15 Buttress,
Sarah Boyack (MSP) is already on the case. She hasn't heard anything from the Exec yet so is going to send them info with her concerns.

And already written to UNESCO. Standard response saying they normally only consider developments vital to the sites beauty/history, eyc, but a decision will be made soon. Fingers crossed!
17

Buttress,

06/08/2008 13:34:45
Well, I reckon that it's too tall and will block views into and out of the WHS. It will spoil the historic skyline. It's now no holds barred it seems, where development greed is concerned, aided by the council. The pictures provided by the developer are a farce - it looks so short and benign!

Do send a copy of anything to ICOMOS-UK too!
18

Rap,

Haymarket 06/08/2008 13:37:57
Buttress, I have been told my letter was sent to Icomos for review.

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.