Old Royal High School building must not be left in limbo after hotel plan's rejection – Steve Cardownie

I wrote in a further column that the developers would be hard-pressed to win an appeal – and so it transpired.

They were hardly earth-shattering predictions as amongst the objectors, who numbered in the thousands, were the New Town Broughton Community Council, Edinburgh World Heritage and the Cockburn Association as well as other heritage groups, all of which have a fair bit of clout when it comes to matters such as this.

I suppose it was inevitable that the developers would press ahead with their proposal given the money they had invested in it so far and the money that would be generated if they were successful. So the incentive was there to have a last throw of the dice. However now that Scottish ministers have thrown out the proposal, surely the time has come for them to throw in the towel and admit defeat.

The old school should not be left in limbo any longer and proposals befitting the site and its setting should be brought forward as soon as possible. Plans have already been drawn up for the provision of a music school and have found support within the city’s cultural sector with the provision of adequate funding appearing to be one obstacle to be overcome.

Maybe other interests will declare themselves now that that particular hotel development has bit the dust – we can only wait and see.

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