Stockbridge traders and residents have vowed to fight Edinburgh Academicals’ latest plans to upgrade their Raeburn Place home. The rugby club wants to build a new 5000 spectator venue – but it’s their plans to add up to nine retail units as part of the redevelopment that’s causing consternation in Stockbridge.
The club has been tried unsuccessfully to upgrade it’s situation for ten years now. Edinburgh Accies and Festival Inns finally got planning permission in 2005 following a three year planning impasse but that development fell through. Then in 2010 new plans were tabled for a clubhouse and 52 bed hotel but these also came to nothing.
The latest plans for a ‘sensitive redevelopment’ would see a modern sports centre with boutique-style outlets fronting on to Comely Bank Road, with a series of clubhouse suites and function rooms as well as tiers of seats constructed above the units to face on to the pitches. A new rugby museum would also be created in adjacent Portgower Place.
At a packed public meeting organised by Stockbridge Inverleith Community Council to discuss the plans on 18 July, Edinburgh Accies insisted their latest proposals are necessary to secure the club’s future, but assurances that the club will work with the local community were dismissed by some participants as ‘pure spin’ The packed meeting in LifeCare House was clearly divided on the club’s plans – many are in favour but just as many seem implacably opposed.
Frank Spratt, executive chairman of Accies, said the development should be seen as an opportunity for the local area and will bring benefits to both the club and the wider community. He said: “Edinburgh Accies is as proud of being part of Stockbridge as we are of our role in the history of Scottish rugby. Our proposals are one are be one of the most ambitious proposals made by any community enterprise in Edinburgh. They will secure the future for EAFC in Stockbridge; creating jobs as well as enhancing Stockbridge as a tourist destination with a new museum of rugby. We are delighted to work with the local community to deliver the highest quality proposals possible for enhancing the area.”
However Ann McLeod, a founding member of Save our Stockbridge, a group created to fight the proposals, said: ’Our group is for everyone who is against a 5000 seater stadium being built in Stockbridge in the centre of Edinburgh. The stadium is to be built over the historic rugby grounds at Raeburn Place. These are the oldest rugby grounds in Scotland and the site of the first ever international rugby match. The area is surrounded by beautiful Victorian and Georgian buildings. It has a unique skyline across to Inverleith Park and beyond to Botanic gardens. I fear that a monstrosity of glass and steel would destroy this skyline and blight this historic area.”
She continued: ‘The current pitches are well used and well-loved by the community. The proposed stadium will require thousands of parking spaces and room for the structure itself, so one of the two historic rugby pitches would almost certainly be lost. Retail outlets are planned as part of the stadium. The Stockbridge area already has empty shops. I believe this massive development would destroy the character of the area. I believe this would adversely affect local businesses and reduce property prices. The chaos generated on the main road by the thousands of cars coming out of the stadium does not appear to have been considered. The drunken hospitality nights would also be unpleasant; there is already a problem with this. There is also concern about the historic walls and protected trees around this ground. This development is madness and totally out of proportion – Edinburgh Accies need to think again.’
Following public consultation, a planning application will be submitted. If this is approved by the city council’s planning committee, Edinburgh Accies hopes to complete the project by summer 2014.
The controversial proposals were on the agenda at Stockbridge Inverleith Community Council meeting on 15 August, but no decision could be made. Community Council chairman Steven Brennan explained: “Frank (Spratt) stated that the Accies application will be another three weeks, so we need to see the final proposal before we take a view on it. We will let you know when the application is submitted so people can form their own opinions.”
Edinburgh Accies is Scotland’s oldest rugby club and their Raeburn Place home was the venue for the first ever Scotland v England rugby international in 1871. It seems that hard-fought battles will continue for some time to come – and perhaps in committee rooms as well as on the pitch.
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I agree with Fino Hood that the proposed development will be good not just for the continued support and growth of rugby and sporting provision in north Edinburgh, but also for Stockbridge as a whole. I’ve lived in Stockbridge for a long time and do the majority of my food shopping in the local, independent shops. I wouldn’t support any development that I believed would threaten the survival of these shops. In my opinion, rather than threatening these shops, the Accies’ proposals will probably help them by increasing the number of people who shop in Stockbridge.
Ms McLeod is clearly upset by the plans and she is entitled to her opinion. However, she should be certain of her facts when being quoted in the media. The planned stadium will seat 2500, NOT 5000. There will be capacity for another 2500 spectators at the ground, but the stadium will hold a maximum of 2500. This information is available for everyone to see in the plans. The plans do NOT include “thousands of parking spaces” as the majority of people will travel to the ground by foot or public transport. Equally, the proposed design will not impact on the existing skyline views from Inverleith Park as the stand will be lower than the existing buildings on the opposite side of Comely Bank.
I really hope these proposals come to fruition as I believe they will breathe new live into Stockbridge as well as ensuring that sport continues in the midst of our community.
As a North Edinburgh resident, I feel that the Accies redevelopment is a positive thing for the whole of North Edinburgh and doesn’t just affect the immediate Stockbridge area.
It would be interesting to see where Ann McLeod found her points from. Firstly, thousands of car spaces is a gross, gross exaggeration. Many people find alternative transport to RP because there aren’t the parking spaces available. So thousands of cars in Stockbridge isn’t likely. If I’m going into Stockbridge, I walk, for example.
Secondly, the function suites are something that Stockbridge has been sorely lacking for a long time, and could be used by the community (possibly to house future community meetings!). They aren’t exclusively available to Accies or deemed only for official Edinburgh Accies use. They can (and would be) used for dinners, children’s parties, charity events etc.
Talking about how the, “monstrosity of glass and steel would blight this area” as well as “destroying the character of the area” is quite incredible, given that there is a plethora of brightly coloured retail outlets on Raeburn Place itself. It is quite clear from the various mock-ups that the skyline that we all hold dear would be unaffected.
With a bigger capacity stadium, we allow the opportunity for more people to come and visit Stockbridge. It’s incredibly sad that the area is now a shadow of what it was when I was a child, currently choc-a-bloc with charity shops. If the retail units are empty, it could be due to lack of footfall which a bigger capacity stadium actively tries to rectify. If people do not like the retail units within the development plans, the simple option is to not use them. Starve them of your business, but don’t deny the silent majority the choice of whether or not to use these retail outlets.
Yes, unfortunately one pitch at Raeburn Place would be lost as a result of the development. However Ms. McLeod fails to mention that Edinburgh Accies would upgrade, improve and maintain 2 pitches in Inverleith Park at their own expense, for the community’s benefit.
Dare I question the independence of this article? You gave significantly more “column inches” to the anti than the pro. Perhaps you would like to write an article about why this development is a good thing for North Edinburgh?
Stockbridge will end up becoming a sleepy, insignificant part of Edinburgh if we don’t revitalise. This development could really benefit the WHOLE community and could attract a whole new generation of people to the area who have forgotten how amazing a place Stockbridge can be.