Do you, like us, think Gillespie Crescent is a special street? Not just because it is a quiet oasis near the centre of Edinburgh, or because of its mature broadleaf trees, but because its a street of linked up Victorian buildings that haven't been spoilt by development.
We think that the attractive character of our street is threatened by insensitive developments. A couple of landlord owners have subdivided their bay windowed living rooms and plasterboarded the ceilings below the cornice, to form more bedrooms.
All the other Victorian Crescents in Edinburgh have Listed protected status which would prevent this from happening - Warrander Park Crescent, Marchmont Crescent, Grosvenor Crescent, Landsdale Crescent are all B Listed and Gardners Cresent, Atholl Crescent, Randoph Crecent are A Listed.
Other advantages to listing include availability of grants and VAT zero rating on most alterations. This sort of room subdivision is attractive to some irresponsible HMO landlords as it squeezes more bedrooms into flats. Listing should slow down this tide.
Please sign up to our petition to Historic Scotland by adding your comment and help get our street listed ! Follow this link and sign our online petition.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/protect-historic-character-of-gillespie-crescent.html
(Following a recent stair meeting, a group of neighbours resolved to start this blog that could be a way of petitioning for Listed status and also be a forum for discussion and advice about HMO applications. We hope that many benefits will follow from linking up residents in our wonderful street.)
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4 comments:
Getting our street listed is a wonderful idea. I have been living here for 4 years and I have been enjoying it a lot. Our Victorian flats have such beautiful features, as you said Oliver, and destroying them is destroying our Heritage.
I adore living on Gillespie Crescent, to me it's the embodiment of everything that's positive about the quality of life you can have in Edinburgh. There's something about it being a cul-de-sac, the people here know each other, greet each other, lend each other stuff, share lawn-mowers. When the wind blows through the leaves the whole street seems to sigh with satisfaction - we live in the centre of one of the great cities of Europe and don't have to contend with any of the disadvantages. You can have you cake and eat it if you live on Gillespie Crescent. I simply cannot bear the fact that a commercial company can just sail in with impunity and butcher a Victorian interior as they have at number 37 1F2. We just have to get this street protected by the proper authorities as soon as possible.
Gillespie Crescent is a hidden architectural gem in in Bruntsfield. It is an oasis of calm but within short walking distance of so many interesting small shops and cafes which deserve local support. The residents needs protection from unscruplulous development and encouragement to repair and restore these fine buildings. Listing is the answer and is overdue.
Gillespie Crescent is an oasis of calm yet so near the hub of central Edinburgh. As residents for three years we were happy to arrive and sadly also happy to leave. Why ? Well when faced with landlords and tenants who are unsympathetic to how working people have to live their ordinary lives, and who don't see the need to try and fit in, then tensions will arise. It is for this reason that everything that can be done to promote a community in the Crescent is so important, as surely it's through the strength of the majority than the problems of created by a minority can be best tackled. Hopefully one day we'll move back .. until then good luck !
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