The use of GRO in Edinburgh in doubt.

[Forfarian]

Who is/are the ultimate decision maker?

There are basically two decisions to be made. One would be to relocate the National Records and close and dispose of the building. That decision will be made by the Scottish Government.

The other would be to decide what then happens to the building. Any planning applications for change of use would be determined by the City of Edinburgh Council, who may choose to delegate the decision to either the Planning Committee or to council officals. There might be comments on the plans from other entities, for example Historic Scotland, which deals with listed buildings and is an arm of the Scottish Government, and heritage organisations such as the Cockburn Association or the Saltire Society.

There would be little point in contesting a planning application if the Scottish Government had already decided to close and dispose of the building.

[Albanwraig]

Thank you - then it makes sense for me to write to the Scottish Government as I now live outside Scotland.
Helenor Jones

[hdw]

Further to Edinburgh City Council not being worthy custodians of fine old buildings, they don't even know what they own …

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/historic-landmark-lost-by-council-blunder-1-3691381

Harry

[Forfarian]

Further to Edinburgh City Council not being worthy custodians of fine old buildings

It's probably safer in the hands of the Faculty of Advocates then!

[Albanwraig]

Looking at the link given by Harry, I followed by reading an article on the "creeping demolition of the East End" which had been published on 2nd February 2015.

One of the comments was:
Unesco are looking to remove Edinburgh as a World Heritage Site and we seem to be doing everything in our power to assist them. All listed buildings should be safe from greedy developers & an apparently uncaring council. Losing Unesco status would be disastrous for Edinburgh, so to all the people involved who can only see £ signs, I would ask you to think very carefully.

An unsympathetic/ modern development of Register House would no doubt influence any such decision. Perhaps a point to be made in any letter to MSP or Government?

Helenor 

[Guy Etchells]

There are basically two decisions to be made. One would be to relocate the National Records and close and dispose of the building. That decision will be made by the Scottish Government.

The problem is that most of the comments on the petition site agree with the solution being offered by the Scottish government that the records need to be housed in one building.

The problem is the two "Register House" buildings were nearing capacity in the 1980s, that is why Thomas Tomson House was built.

If people want ease of access the records must all be housed in one location which rules out Register House.

The other would be to decide what then happens to the building. Any planning applications for change of use would be determined by the City of Edinburgh Council, who may choose to delegate the decision to either the Planning Committee or to council officals. There might be comments on the plans from other entities, for example Historic Scotland, which deals with listed buildings and is an arm of the Scottish Government, and heritage organisations such as the Cockburn Association or the Saltire Society.

There would be little point in contesting a planning application if the Scottish Government had already decided to close and dispose of the building.

Any change of use for the building should, must be in keeping with the existing structure of the building and its value to the nation as a historic building.
Cheers
Guy

[hdw]

Further to Edinburgh City Council not being worthy custodians of fine old buildings

It's probably safer in the hands of the Faculty of Advocates then!

The same  thought occurred to me. The Edinburgh legal fraternity have an honourable history of scholarship and preserving the best of the past. Lord Cockburn was an outspoken critic of civic vandalism in his own day, and he was the inspiration behind the founding of the Cockburn Association. The Faculty of Advocates library was the forerunner of the National Library of Scotland.

Harry

[Forfarian]

If people want ease of access the records must all be housed in one location which rules out Register House.

It depend what you mean by 'easy access'.

I entirely concur that it is desirable to have all the records stored under one roof, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that access to the records should be provided in a place that is easy for customers to get to.

At the moment I can have any document I like brought to me in a convenient city centre location which happens to be in an inspiring and historic building. In the same building I can also access a huge range of digitised information that doesn't involve physical storage on the spot. That is what I call 'easy access'.

Thomas Thomson House, being far more difficult for customers to get to, can never offer 'easy access', no matter what systems are introduced for handling the material.

[hdw]

At the moment I can have any document I like brought to me in a convenient city centre location which happens to be in an inspiring and historic building.

And when you need a break you can pop next-door to the Guildford Arms, one of the most unspoilt and atmospheric pubs in the centre of Edinburgh (pray God it doesn't belong to the council).

Harry