Front Page in The Times 16/1/14
Ministers warned not to damage historic sites
The Scottish government was warned last night that some of the country’s most
historic sites will be “irrevocably damaged” in a re-run of the planning disasters of the
1960s.
Opponents of a giant quarry near the World Heritage Site at New Lanark echoed the
demand of Sir Kenneth Calman, the chairman of the National Trust for Scotland, for
new rules to ensure “the totality and long-term wellbeing of heritage sites”.
Campaigners fighting for Perth City Hall also endorsed Sir Kenneth’s call, warning
that its demolition would encourage local councils across the country to knock down
under-used but historic civic buildings.
“With heritage you make a mistake once and it is irrevocably damaged,” Mark
Stephens, founder of the Save Our Landscapes pressure group, said. “People used
to complain about the terrible planning decisions of the 1960s. We don’t want to look
back on this decade and think the same.”
James Simpson, vice-president of the International Council on Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS-UK) said that Perth City Hall would prove a landmark case. Demolition of
the Edwardian building was approved last month by Perth and Kinross Council.
“There seems to be a determination to pass planning powers down to local
authorities, which are under- resourced, under-staffed and ill-equipped to deal with
these matters,” Mr Simpson, whose organisation advises Unesco on heritage sites,
said. “There is a continuing need for central government engagement to protect the
national heritage.
“Local authorities are sitting on many redundant civic buildings and have been for 40
years. The likelihood is that if consent is granted to demolish Perth City Hall, there
will be a rush from other authorities to win consent to demolish other municipal
buildings.”
The controversy erupted as the Scottish government continued to consider plans to
extend Hyndford Quarry, near New Lanark. Derek Mackay, the Planning Minister,
was notified a month ago of South Lanarkshire Council’s vote to approve the
development by Cemex, a Mexican-owned multinational, and is being urged by
campaigners to “call in” the proposal.
A decision had been expected yesterday but officials confirmed that it could be at
least another month.
The development — which falls within a Unesco-designated green “buffer zone”
around the historic village of New Lanark — has already received almost 12,000
letters of complaint from 35 countries. Over six years, 3.3 million tonnes of sand and
gravel would be removed, lowering the
landscape by up to 100ft in places. To the horror of campaigners, the quarry
extension was supported by Historic Scotland, the statutory consultee.
Professor Stephens warned that approval would set a dangerous precedent. “We
know from the New Lanark case that should there be one development in the buffer
zone, it would be next to impossible to argue against a second,” he said. “These
things have to be considered cumulatively. ”
While protestors at New Lanark hope ministers can save a heritage site from the
threat of developers, Sir Kenneth directed his fire at the Scottish Government itself,
because of a decision affecting Culloden battlefield.
Highland Council initially rejected an application to build 16 residential plots just half
a mile from the scene of the last battle fought on British soil. The developer,
Inverness Estates, appealed and last week its proposal was approved by Richard
Hickman, the government’s planning reporter.
“While we accept that Historic Scotland and the Scottish reporter worked within the
parameters set for them in coming to this decision, it is clear that these parameters
are wrong and need to be questioned,” Sir Kenneth said. “It seems to us that the
fundamental issue is that there must be better ways to taking strategic decisions
about protecting sites of national importance.
“We must find a way to prevent a piecemeal approach in which many individual,
small-scale permitted developments incrementally join up to overwhelm a heritage
site.”
The Scottish government said both a draft Scottish Planning Policy and an Historic
Environment Strategy were being developed.
“These will provide a framework that will enable the sector to collectively look after
our historic environment for future generations,” a spokesmanadded.
Officials added that a decision over the Hyndford Quarry application would be made
“as soon as possible”.