Story so far: By the end of Part Two, the brutalist Scottish Office has been abandoned. The fate of the St James Centre hangs in the air. Part Three: 2000 - 2020After a decade or so of going nowhere things began to move (slightly) around 2005. In October that year Coal Pension Properties (CPP) put the shopping centre on the market. Six months later it was … [Read more...] about Winners and losers on #MoultriesHill Part 3
New Brutalism in St James Square: #MoultriesHill Part 2
The story so far: In Part One, the vibrant mixed community of St James Square slowly declined under exploitative, ever-neglectful landlords.Part Two: 1955-2000The first stirrings of change came from Her Majesty’s Government.In the mid 1950s, HMG, in the form of the Ministry of Public Building & Works, was looking for somewhere to house Scotland’s fast-growing, … [Read more...] about New Brutalism in St James Square: #MoultriesHill Part 2
The tangled history of Edinburgh St James
Rack followed ruin and ruin begat rack.Edinburgh is held to be among the most beautiful cities in the world. The sweeping curves, terraces and gardens of the New Town an example of inspired urban planning, a masterpiece of symmetry and grace – for those who could afford to live there.Other, nearby, parts of the city have not fared so well. In this fascinating new three … [Read more...] about The tangled history of Edinburgh St James
Scotland still losing the heid
If there’s a phrase that’s guaranteed to chill my blood when I see it in a newspaper’s business pages it’s those three words `tipped for takeover’. Particularly when it applies to a major Scottish-owned, Scottish-based company.The current `tipee’, it seems, is the Glasgow-based Weir Group, arguably Scotland’s last big-time engineering firm. The ‘Sunday Times’ recently ran a … [Read more...] about Scotland still losing the heid
Overloaded, under stress: Forth Road Bridge
Whether it was Robert Burns who penned the notion that 'the best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley' or whether that's a hoary old proverb the idea is sound enough. It certainly applies to the Forth Road Bridge where the scheme was to get the shiny new Queensferry Crossing up and running (circa 2016) before starting repair work on the 51-year-old road bridge.Alas, … [Read more...] about Overloaded, under stress: Forth Road Bridge