Jenner’s Department Store

Posted on: March 4, 2022

Overall, the Cockburn is strongly supportive of these proposals to bring back to life one of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings.

Cockburn Response

The Association has studied the plans for the redevelopment of the former Jenner’s Department Store and wishes to give its full support the proposals developed by AAA United A/S with David Chipperfield Architects.

Over the past year, the developers and their professional teams have engaged fully with the Cockburn at all stages and shared their thinking as the proposals emerged. This open, positive and constructive discussion gives us the confidence that scheme proposed is well-considered, sensitive and respectively of this iconic building but also creative and exciting in both ambition and vision.

In terms of use, we are delighted with the retention of retail on basement, ground and first floor levels. The restoration and re-use of the main hall or Grand Saloon as the premier retail space is particularly welcome.

We have no objection to the hotel use, noting the original dormitories for staff in the original building as a possible precedent for this change of use. Again, the proposals are sensitive to the historic fabric and make good use of spaces in more modern interventions. Our one issue here is the use of Rose Street as the main entrance into the hotel with the potential for vehicular conflict on a pedestrian retail and hospitality street. This is not an insurmountable problem but will need special attention.

In terms of elevational treatment, we support the remodelling of the later Princes Street elevation, which will open up the glazing to create a ‘double-height’ shopfront and support the change from a curved to straight window head. Similarly, the major works to the Rose Street building involve the adaption of an already insensitive building thereby improving its presentation to the street. We were particularly impressed by the response by the architects to this part of the development, taking a strong lead from the building itself.

We are confident that the design team will deliver sensitive stonework repairs to the highly decorate facades. In terms of elevational alterations, the most controversial element is the new turret at the corner of Rose Street and South St David Street. This will be highly visible across St Andrew’s Square and nearby environs. Like Historic Environment Scotland, more could have been borrowed from the existing facades, but we have confidence in the architects to prepare a well-proportioned, coherent intervention here.

Overall, the Cockburn is strongly supportive of these proposals to bring back to life one of Edinburgh’s most iconic buildings.

Further Details Here

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Proposed installation of a telephone mast in the Morningside Conservation Area

Posted on: February 25, 2022

The Cockburn Association supports stakeholders’ objections to the installation of a telephone mast in the Morningside Conservation Area

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn OBJECTS to this application.

This application has been brought to the Cockburn’s attention by concerned local stakeholders. The proposed telecommunications equipment would result in excessive visual clutter within the streetscape.

The proposal would have a harmful impact upon the visual quality of the wider street scene and so detract from the amenity and special character of the conservation area and from residential amenity. It is our view that the application is not consistent with Policy Env 6 Conservation Areas – Development as it does not preserve or enhance the special character or appearance of the conservation area.

This application should certainly be refused if it is determined that the benefits of the proposed installation are deemed not to outweigh the harm caused to the conservation area and if there is insufficient evidence that alternative sites or mast sharing opportunities have been adequately explored.

We understand the essential requirement for modern telecommunications infrastructure in our city and its importance to residents. However, we believe that, in consultation with local stakeholders, the proposed apparatus should be located in a more inconspicuous location or disaggregated into smaller, less conspicuous arrays if this is achievable.

Further Details Here

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Portobello High Street Telecoms Mast Installation Application

Posted on:

The proposed telecommunications equipment would result in excessive visual clutter within the streetscape.

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn OBJECTS to this application.

Further Details Here

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Internal and external alterations relating to Forth House

Posted on: February 10, 2022

The Cockburn believes alternative uses should be pursued before a change of use to a hotel is considered. We do not support this application.

Cockburn Response

The Association has studied the plans to convert Forth House into an apartment hotel. In examining the plans in detail, we can see some merit in the proposals but believe that alternative uses should be pursued before a change of use to class 7 is considered. As such, we do not support this application.

There are two main components to the site, the listed buildings on Forth Street and the modern intervention in Broughton Street Lane. The useful Heritage Statement makes clear the significant if not total removal of the historic fabric of the Georgian buildings which were essentially gutted in 1970 for a warehouse development. This included the removal of two entrance doors and associated platts on Forth Street.

Forth Street contains a mixture of use comprising mostly residential with small scale commercial/office use which is generally compatible with its domestic scale. Playfair House is a modern 1970s office block with little architectural merit.

Whilst on the face of it an apartment hotel seems a reasonable new use, the immediate area already has a proliferation of hotels and hotel proposals suggesting that it has reached a saturation point for such accommodation. Broughton Street Lane with its very narrow pavements and constrained access points at Union Street and Broughton Street make it unsuitable for any substantive increase in traffic. The proposals suggest all servicing and most customer access will be from the lane, which does not seem appropriate.

With regard to Playfair House, we appreciate the proposals to rework the structure as opposed to complete demolition. However, its scale and form remain alien in this narrow mews lane. The recent housing to the north of the site sits far better in terms of scale and mass. As such, we argue that the existing height of Playfair House should not be taken as the benchmark for new development. Instead, a reinstatement of a mews scale building would offer fair greater potential to preserve and enhance the character of this part of the New Town Conservation Area.

Preferred approach

The Cockburn suggests that a residential approach would be a more suitable us for this site. The loss of historic features and fabric within the listed building provides opportunities for new housing to be inserted creatively to the existing building. The internal reinstatement of individual feus widths on Forth Street with reintroduced entrance platts would enhance the character of the street and Conservation Area and reinforce its domestic use and scale.

There is considerable merit architecturally and in conservation terms for the removal of Playfair House and its replacement with mews buildings of a similar scale to the original buildings to the west and the new dwelling houses to the east.

Given current land values and the demand for housing in the city, such a scheme would be commercially viable and profitable.

Further Details Here

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Slavery and Colonialisation Review Consultation – Comments 19 January 2022

Posted on: January 19, 2022

Our response to the Council’s Legacy of Slavery and Colonialism consultation exploring Edinburgh’s slavery and colonialism legacy.

Cockburn Response

The Cockburn Association welcomes this review and the work of the review group chaired by Professor Geoff Palmer.

This is a complex and challenging subject and has, in part, been driven by debates on the role of Henry Dundas, Lord Melville played in the abolition of slavery in Scotland and the international Black Lives Matters campaign fuelled by the killing of George Floyd in America. The events in Bristol with the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston and subsequent trial has highlighted many issues associated with subject. However, here in Edinburgh, the issues are much wider and more contemporary than the case of Dundas.

Furthermore, we also need to acknowledge that slavery, in all its modern-day forms, continues. British companies and institutions may still be exposed to current slavery practices in their operations and supply chains both at home and abroad, the most common of which in contemporary society are forced labour, child labour and debt bondage.

The Review should aim to set in place a process that fills in gaps in the received history of the city, and in doing so reconciles past and present by recognising the contributions to Edinburgh’s development and prosperity made by people who were enslaved or colonised. Equally, it is important to recover and celebrate the voices of those who contested the institutions and individuals that sustained the injustices. The legacy of slavery and colonialism is multi-faceted and enduring, and the Review should be seen as a way of beginning to engage fully with it.

The Cockburn is also aware of other related challenges in the interpretation of people and events. The stellar work the Witches in Scotland group highlighting the huge miscarriages of justice, and the writings of Sara Sheridan on the lack of public commemoration of women in Edinburgh are but two. Therefore, we believe that the Slavery and Colonial Legacy Review should be considered as a catalyst for a new wider and inclusive reflection of the history of the city.

The Cockburn comments in the review consultation will concentrate on the wider principles and processes. An evidential approach focusing on awareness, communication and education about the history and key issues is the best way forward. In doing so, we will not address individual or specific issues regarding particular monuments or place names other than to argue that any proposed changes should be subject to a public consultation and education processes supported by a strong evidential basis.

In all of this, the need for recognition of the positive contribution to Edinburgh that many persecuted individuals and groups have made should be an objective. This is a forgotten and hidden history and the lived experience of the many, many individuals who through slavery and colonial oppression were forced to contribute to the development of Edinburgh, and wider Scottish society, remains, for the most part, deeply buried. In fact, the ways in which this forgotten history has been hidden and suppressed, and the reasons for this, are also something worthy of examination and exposure to contemporary scrutiny.

To facilitate this ongoing process, we suggest the following as our contribution to this current consultation:

Establish a centre of research and reconciliation supported by CEC and academic institutes to carry the work forward looking not only at major individuals, events, networks and institutions based in the city, but also at ways in which the general public were impacted by slavery and colonialism. An additional role should be to monitor current trends in the city to ensure that all citizens are benefitting from what Edinburgh offers.
Create a museum / interpretation centre on the theme of justice, preferably by reusing an existing building that had links with slavery and colonialism, such as the Custom House in Leith. It would highlight slavery and colonial issues, as well as other societal issues such as witchcraft, historic abuse of women and children etc., while also recognising those resisting such practices, and highlighting their relevance today.
Work with schools to help learners become aware of these issues.
If the current consultation and subsequent Review Report suggests there is a case for changes to monuments and/or place names, views should also be sought from local community and civic groups as well as any other representative or specialist groups, recognising practical issues that might be involved (e.g. changing a street name will have consequences for postal addresses, etc). Similarly, where monuments or buildings have listed or scheduled status, consideration will need to be given to whether that status needs to be reviewed or amended.
An interpretation policy using all modern techniques to highlight the issues and injustices should be established. This would need to include a prioritisation system (which is a major challenge).
Host an international conference/online event connecting Edinburgh to places overseas that were linked to the city through slavery and colonialism, to better reveal the legacies.

In summary, the Cockburn would encourage the Review to recommend a number of practical steps designed to fill gaps in past understandings of Edinburgh’s history by promoting rigorous research, and to identify ways to share that new understanding widely.