Comments on: Waterfront Maze http://piltonsucks.com/2006/02/14/waterfrontmaze/ You mean it is THIS bad? Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:14:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: John Boyd http://piltonsucks.com/2006/02/14/waterfrontmaze/#comment-17 John Boyd Sun, 19 Feb 2006 18:24:55 +0000 http://piltonsucks.com/2006/02/14/waterfrontmaze/#comment-17 <strong>Waterfront</strong> Waterfront are not giving information to the local community or anyone else because quite simply they are failing to deliver what they were set out to do for the city of Edinburgh and the local residents of Granton, Pilton and the surrounding areas. The remit for Waterfront was to deliver to Edinburgh a, mixed use, high density, urban development in a comprehensive, integrated way where major commercial and business space sits comfortably with balanced and socially inclusive residential communities. The development is not what was originally planned. It now appears to have become a development for the benefit of individuals. Councillor McGinnis is Chairperson for the Waterfront Development. Her job and duty as the local public councillor is to look after and protect the interests of her constituent’s within the new development. Stephen Izatt is the Chief Executive for Waterfront. He is a merchant banker and property developer. His job is to regenerate and develop the waterfront development on behalf of Edinburgh, its Council and Scottish Enterprise and in particular, the local residents and businesses within Granton Pilton and the surrounding areas. A board has been established to steer and manage the project and Stephen Izatt has been charged with leading it. Councillor McGinnis and Stephen Izatt have a very cosy relationship, which extends to hosting very expensive functions and sponsoring rugby with public money. They have weekly meetings to discuss Waterfront plans. However none of this information is passed to the general and local public. Their website has deliberately not been updated since ? However there are some alarming aspects to Waterfront: <ul> <li>The husband of Councillor McGinnis has a consultancy firm based within Waterfront.</li> <li>Jobs & Employment: Waterfronts claim to provide jobs and employment for local people is at odds with what they have actually been doing.</li> <li>They have been strenuously making efforts to have the regeneration site cleared for their own undisclosed plans and agenda. And whilst doing so have been terrorising and bullying existing local business and residents</li> <li>They have used all manner of costly practices including some illegal ones. The area will become more valuable to them if it sold on to a prospective developer (Who?) as a cleared and vacant site).</li> <li>They have denied business from relocating to the area. Companies including major car and media companies.</li> <li>Two well known house-builders have abandoned their development plans and sold their holding (They were concerned with several things including, the development plans, lack of direction and transparency</li> <li>A leading property investor recently described the Waterfront development as having the potential to become the ‘Wester Hailes of the north’.</li> <li>Carbuncle of the year: Nominated for the most embarrassing award.</li> </ul> Ultimately there is a very serious conflict of interest involving Councillor McGinnis and her role as Chair of Waterfront. The Waterfront code of conduct (on their site) has been breached so badly and so often it is meaningless. There are several unsavoury aspects to the way this development is being allowed to proceed, which are rotten to the core. Fortunately they are being investigated by several independent sources. However, Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise have a constitutional right to act decisively before this once flagship development is allowed to degenerate further into a laughing stock for Edinburgh and Scotland. johnboytrinity@yahoo.co.uk Waterfront

Waterfront are not giving information to the local community or anyone else because quite simply they are failing to deliver what they were set out to do for the city of Edinburgh and the local residents of Granton, Pilton and the surrounding areas.

The remit for Waterfront was to deliver to Edinburgh a, mixed use, high density, urban development in a comprehensive, integrated way where major commercial and business space sits comfortably with balanced and socially inclusive residential communities.

The development is not what was originally planned. It now appears to have become a development for the benefit of individuals.
Councillor McGinnis is Chairperson for the Waterfront Development. Her job and duty as the local public councillor is to look after and protect the interests of her constituent’s within the new development.

Stephen Izatt is the Chief Executive for Waterfront. He is a merchant banker and property developer. His job is to regenerate and develop the waterfront development on behalf of Edinburgh, its Council and Scottish Enterprise and in particular, the local residents and businesses within Granton Pilton and the surrounding areas.

A board has been established to steer and manage the project and Stephen Izatt has been charged with leading it. Councillor McGinnis and Stephen Izatt have a very cosy relationship, which extends to hosting very expensive functions and sponsoring rugby with public money. They have weekly meetings to discuss Waterfront plans. However none of this information is passed to the general and local public. Their website has deliberately not been updated since ?

However there are some alarming aspects to Waterfront:

  • The husband of Councillor McGinnis has a consultancy firm based within Waterfront.
  • Jobs & Employment: Waterfronts claim to provide jobs and employment for local people is at odds with what they have actually been doing.
  • They have been strenuously making efforts to have the regeneration site cleared for their own undisclosed plans and agenda. And whilst doing so have been terrorising and bullying existing local business and residents
  • They have used all manner of costly practices including some illegal ones. The area will become more valuable to them if it sold on to a prospective developer (Who?) as a cleared and vacant site).
  • They have denied business from relocating to the area. Companies including major car and media companies.
  • Two well known house-builders have abandoned their development plans and sold their holding (They were concerned with several things including, the development plans, lack of direction and transparency
  • A leading property investor recently described the Waterfront development as having the potential to become the ‘Wester Hailes of the north’.
  • Carbuncle of the year: Nominated for the most embarrassing award.

Ultimately there is a very serious conflict of interest involving Councillor McGinnis and her role as Chair of Waterfront.

The Waterfront code of conduct (on their site) has been breached so badly and so often it is meaningless.

There are several unsavoury aspects to the way this development is being allowed to proceed, which are rotten to the core. Fortunately they are being investigated by several independent sources. However, Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise have a constitutional right to act decisively before this once flagship development is allowed to degenerate further into a laughing stock for Edinburgh and Scotland.

johnboytrinity@yahoo.co.uk

]]>