WIN
EDINBURGH EDITION
FREE
October 2015
RISE festival tickets
P33
COME HELL OR HIGH WATER Riverside digs plan stirs up tensions SOPHIA FRANKLIN
JOY FOR JACKSON: Political campaigner the Rev Jesse Jackson flashes a smile after accepting his honorary degree from Edinburgh University. He said he was ‘honoured’ to receive the award, which recognises his decades-long efforts to improve civil rights in the US
PROPOSALS have been put forward for a student village catering for hundreds of residents on the banks of the Water of Leith. The scheme, which is thought to be targeted at Heriot-Watt and Napier students, would see a complex built on either side of the river, providing housing for about 250 people. But the plans, which would also see the demolition of the Blue Goose pub, are likely to stir up further tensions between students and other residents – particularly in the wake of an
50% OFF WHEN YOU SPEND £15 OR MORE
announcement to relax planning rules that currently limit student numbers to no more than 30 per cent of the population. Ed Cooke, 22, a student at the University of Edinburgh, said knocking down the pub would do nothing but ‘create resentment among residents’. He added: ‘That would be a shame, as relations between locals and students are far better in Edinburgh than in many other university towns.’ The plans, which were submitted to the council by Lanark Road Living Limited and Rick Finc Associates, also include
24-hour reception areas and 200 cycle spaces. But Steuart Campbell, from Longstone Community Council, said the riverside was ‘not the right place’ for the project. He told the Edinburgh Evening News: ‘I don’t think it’s a very appropriate place to build student housing. It’s a very congested area.’ The move follows proposals to relax planning rules that would see the cap on student numbers raised to 40 per cent of the population in areas such as Leith Walk and as high as 50 per
turn to p5
EDINBURGH FOUNTAINBRIDGE - 0 1 3 1 229 7979
114 Dundee Street EH11 1AB
EDINBURGH NEWINGTON - 0 1 3 1 668 11 22
12 South Clerk Street EH8 9PR
PAPAJOHNS.CO.UK Terms and Conditions apply. Use offer code STUDENT50. Minimum order for delivery £10.99