The Herald

Campaigners have criticised a £180m scheme to redevelop the historic heart of Edinburgh's Old Town, which would include the first new street being added to the area since the 1870s. Critics say the so-called Caltongate development is not sympathetic to the medieval surroundings of other buildings in the World Heritage Site. Ian Begg, the architect who designed the Scandic Crown Hotel on the Royal Mile and was involved in the 1950s redesign of the bottom of the street, spoke out before a planning meeting today. Mr Begg said: "I don't believe the development is right for the Canongate, mainly because of the scale of the whole thing. Edinburgh is pretty good at making dramatic statements but it has got to work for the Old Town, which is primarily small scale." The new street, to be called Parliament Way, would connect a revamped Waverley Station with the new city council HQ in Market Street and the Holyrood parliament building. A hotel, offices, almost 200 flats and 100 serviced apartments, a conference centre, and a large new public square are included in the plan proposed by the developer, Mountgrange Capital.