King George V park
NTBCC Walkabout with members and residents – Broughton / Canonmills
Our third NTBCC walkabout was on Wednesday 30 March, starting and ending at Broughton St Mary’s, and covering East Claremont Street, Broughton Road (to the NTBCC boundary), Dunedin Street, Broughton Road (again), Eyre Place, Logan Street, King George V Park, Scotland Street, and East Scotland Street Lane (with some minor detours en-route).
We picked up litter, checked for blocked drains, poorly repaired roads, and depleted greenery
NTBCC March meeting summary – Peter Williamson, Environment convener
The following sets out the main points of discussion at the meeting of New Town & Broughton Community Council held on Monday 8 March 2021.
The meeting was attended by Community Councillors, local Councillors, those presenting on the George Street Development and members of the general public. The meeting was relayed by Zoom.
Complete minutes of the meeting will be presented in draft at the next meeting of the Community Council and when approved placed on the NTNCC Website.
George Street And First New Town Project
Proposed Demolition / Redevelopment of the Former RBS Site – Summary of NTBCC’s Position
There will be a hearing at the Council’s Development Management Sub-Committee on 17 February 2021 (via Microsoft Teams) on the three interlinked applications related to the former RBS site at Fettes Row / Dundas Street.
The applications to be determined at this hearing are :
- 20/03034/FUL ‘ Demolition of existing buildings and erection of mixed-use development comprising residential, hotel, office and other commercial uses, with associated landscaping / public realm, car parking and access arrangements at 34 Fettes Row’ (including the later revised application). NTBCC submitted an objection to this;
- 20/03661/CON ‘Complete Demolition in a Conservation Area’. NTBCC stated that the case for 100% demolition of buildings on the site had not been made ; and
- 20/03655/FUL ‘Formation of path and associated landscaping King George V Public Park’. NTBCC suggested a lower impact intervention should be considered.
NTBCC (together with other local interest groups and some heritage bodies) will be presenting our views on the proposals as a whole, covering key issues that have been raised in our previously-submitted representations. Links to the full NTBCC responses are at the foot of this article.
NTBCC’s objection to the main application (20/03034/FUL) reflected issues raised by local residents groups (from Fettes Row & Royal Crescent, the Drummond Civic Association, as well as from the recent Applecross development on the corner of Dundas Street & Eyre Place) and also the Friends of King George V Park.
Key amongst the issues we highlighted mirrored concerns raised by Historic Environment Scotland on the proposed heights of the four crescent blocks proposed for the current open ground to the north of Royal Crescent which will have a detrimental impact on the World Heritage site, the New Town Conservation area and the amenity of King George V Park (KGVP). These concerns are exacerbated by the proposed positioning of the northern crescent blocks within a few metres of the boundary of the park. The AVRS (Accurate Visual Representation) as submitted with the application showing the before / after view from within the park looking south can be viewed here and a similar visualisation looking east to the corner of Fettes Row / Dundas Street here. Continue reading
King George V Park: Update to Tree Removal & Replanting Proposal
For those that have seen the ominous white ‘X’s on the trees in King George V Park.
Adapted from an email copied to NTBCC from the Secretary of the Friends of King George V Park to their members.
‘Dear Friends of the Park,
We are picking up an understandable amount of somewhat bewildered concern in the neighbourhood about just what is happening to the trees in the park at the moment, and The Friends’ committee thought it might be a good idea to try to clarify the situation as best we can.
It is obvious that many of the people expressing concern suspect the hand of the developers of the ex-RBS site to be behind the tree works. To a certain extent, it is. Planning legislation makes provision for local authorities to seek from developers a financial contribution to a community, by way of compensation for disruption or otherwise unwelcome change, and the Council has been involved in discussions with Ediston about the form this could usefully take. Parks staff have concentrated on funding for upgrading the paths in the park and tackling much needed tree management.
I have attached a plan as drawn up by the Council’s Forestry Unit which gives details of the work currently in progress or about to start, including the proposed replanting scheme (species & location). You can see the plan by clicking either of these two images.
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The trees conspicuously marked with a white ‘X’ in the park are ailing and are probably appropriate subjects for removal & replacing with new. Sadly they include all the ash trees, which are threatened nationwide by the devastating outbreak of chalara fraxinea.
NTBCC minutes – Monday 13 April 2020
Minutes of New Town & Broughton Community Council’s members-only meeting, held via Zoom on Monday 13 April 2020 at 7pm Continue reading
NTBCC minutes – Monday 10 February 2020
Minutes of New Town & Broughton Community Council’s business meeting, held in Drummond Room, Broughton St Mary’s church, Bellevue Crescent on Monday 10 February 2020 at 7pm
Actions and decisions are red italic. ND (‘no dissent’) means that no-one spoke or voted against a decision. Continue reading