Edinburgh must not kill off the golden goose that makes its fortune

The Herald Scotland

03-06-2025

A prominent lawyer and judge, Cockburn was also an early heritage conservationist. In 1849 he wrote 'A Letter to the Lord Provost on the Best Ways of Spoiling the Beauty of Edinburgh' in which he outlined his fears for the future. 'Edinburgh is not exempt from the doom that makes everything spoilable,' he said at the time, urging the citizens of the city to take an interest in their civic surroundings and to hold local officials to account.
The Cockburn Association was formed 21 years after his death to carry forward his concerns and passion for Edinburgh. The success of the Cockburn Association over 150 years lies in what you cannot see.
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Thanks to its campaigning, there is no dual carriageway through the Meadows or skyscraper over Haymarket, no shopping mall beneath Princes Street or high-rise hotel looming over George Street. Civic amenities such as Inverleith Park, Corstorphine Hill and the Water of Leith Walkway were the result the Cockburn's efforts. The demolition of the First New Town was averted and historic buildings like Moubray House in the High Street conserved.
With Unesco World Heritage Site status in place since 1995, the past has been protected, but what about the future?
​I became President of the Cockburn Association this year at pivotal moment for the city.
Recent years have seen growing dissatisfaction about over tourism and creeping development. The population of Edinburgh is rising fast and could soon catch up with Glasgow. Some believe it could reach 750,000 in the next 20 years. But where will those people live and work and how will they move around an Old Town and New Town where history is baked into the cobblestones?
Those are some of the questions authors Cliff Hague and Richard Rodger set out to answer in a new book published by the Cockburn Association. 'Campaigning For Edinburgh' lays out two possible visions for the future.
One has overseas investors throwing up buildings wherever they want as deregulation opens up the city to market forces with a 24-hour party zone attracting even more revellers from all around the world.
In the other, removing VAT from repairs and maintenance leads to a conservation boom with old, empty buildings carefully repurposed based on the wants and needs of the citizens rather than consultants or developers.
Edinburgh already faces a housing emergency with more children in temporary accommodation in the city than in the whole of Wales. The priority for those kids is not architecture or heritage, they just want a home, but it's our job to ensure the myriad housing projects now taking shape around the capital are of the best possible quality and standard for them. Crucially, these places need to be communities with heart and soul and the facilities to live meaningful lives, not just dormitories for workers to eat and sleep.
Edinburgh should not be pickled in aspic, with locals moving about simply as extras in a heritage theme park for visitors. But if the next few years are not carefully managed, progress risks killing the golden goose that attracts people in the first place.
The architect behind the controversial W Hotel project promised it would be 'expressive… and make people happy'. Despite all the objections it went ahead. Once built, it was then named the worst new building in the world. That's not an accolade anyone wants.
The revelation this month that Edinburgh is now the most expensive city-break destination in Western Europe prompted more negative headlines. But the answer is not to relax short-term let restrictions or build more cheap hotels. The solution is to manage numbers and the 5% visitor levy coming next year will help do that.
The revenue also provides an opportunity to invest in the civic realm or to employ an army of workers to clean the streets, remove graffiti and pick up litter… all paid for by the tourist tax.
There is a lot to be optimistic about. Management of the Old Town is already better with short-term let restrictions rejecting 90% of applications. Council plans to cut traffic volumes are also welcome provided they come with continued investment in transport alternatives.
The Cockburn Association is always looking to support what is right for Edinburgh. The reborn Jenners site and the exciting new Dunard Concert Hall are two current projects we've backed with enthusiasm.
More than anything, we need bold vision, based on sound heritage and architectural principles rather than the latest trend on Tik Tok . Princes Street remains an eyesore and visual proof of the decay and death of retail. The ambition that led 26-year-old James Craig to design the New Town is required now to revitalise that key thoroughfare and to guide where we go from here.
Edinburgh has never been more popular but much of that popularity comes down to what has been s0 carefully protected and preserved.
Over the past 150 years a lot of battle have been fought over Scotland's capital and a lot of lessons learned. They should provide the blueprint for the future to protect Edinburgh's beauties for the next generation.
Stephen Jardine, President of the Cockburn Association​, is a journalist, broadcaster and presenter. He has worked for the BBC, Scottish Television, GMTV and Radio Tay.