Grange Residents Concerned At Cottage Plan

6.25.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 3rd Aug 2007

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Fred Mackintosh has backed residents and community groups objecting to plans to build a cottage in the back garden of a subdivided Victorian villa at 1 Cumin Place. The plans are for part of the garden of the upper villa to be separated off from the rest and for the existing garage to be extended to build a new compact two bedroom home.

Fred Mackintosh said, "Local people are right to be concerned. The spaces between the Victoria Villas in this area are part of its charm and attraction and should not be viewed as potential building plots. It would be terrible if this scheme was approved. I am concerned that it could encourage the wider development of back gardens across the historic suburbs of south Edinburgh.

"The development would damage the setting of the listed building by removing alot of its garden and the plans as initially lodged are likely to be in breach of a the council's Villa Policy which protects the scale and setting of Edinburgh's Victorian suburbs."

The deadline for objections to this scheme was Friday 10th August. The local Liberal Democrat team led by Fred Mackintosh and Councillor Gordon Mackenzie distributed hundreds of copies of a special edition of their newsletter 'The Citizen' to concerned residents. Many local people have sent Fred copies of letters they have sent in.

Related Link:

See the full plans for the development on the council website.