War Memorial to be moved for Tram Works

[Optimus Prime]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8008214.stm

[Mouse]

"Edinburgh City Council said it would "closely supervise" the dismantling of the memorial"

 

 

hardly inspires confidence

[Guest S.U.S.S.]

"Once the tram works are complete, it will return to Haymarket in a prime position."

 

I wonder if their idea of prime and ours will be in the same postcode.

[Optimus Prime]

"Once the tram works are complete, it will return to Haymarket in a prime position."

 

I wonder if their idea of prime and ours will be in the same postcode.

 

I think the plan is to locate it closer to Ryries. On a new wider pavement.

[Guest S.U.S.S.]

I think the plan is to locate it closer to Ryries. On a new wider pavement.

 

Think your right, but we all know how the council changes its plans to suit!

[felix]

The council seem to be handling this sensitively and heeding the view of those concerned , if I'm not mistaken.

Credit where it's due.

[Paolo]

The council seem to be handling this sensitively and heeding the view of those concerned , if I'm not mistaken.

Credit where it's due.

 

It is Edinburgh council though, abnd they are clueless, still plenty of time for the to fek it up.

[Jack Alexander]

It is Edinburgh council though, abnd they are clueless, still plenty of time for the to fek it up.

 

The McCrae's Battalion Trust and HMFC have been keeping in close contact with City of Edinburgh Council on this matter. At the most recent meeting (at which we were joined by the Shareholders' representative, too) TIE assured us that the task of dismantling the Memorial would be handled with great care and respect. The firm responsible for the job will be using some of the personnel who built the Cairn at Contalmaison. I've worked with these guys and I'm confident they know their stuff.

 

The most pleasing aspect of recent deveopments is that (after a bit of a battle toward the end of last year) all references to Atholl Crescent/Coates Crescent and temporary/permanent re-location have disappeared - hopefully forever. After I addressed the Council in October there was a unanimous vote in favour of returning the clocktower to Haymarket. That vote is binding on the Council's officials and (more directly) upon the officials of TIE (who came up with the Atholl Crescent nonsense in the first place).

 

The remaining question now is the precise position of the Memorial after it's returned in time for the 2010 service. The ideal place would be outside Ryries, close to its original home. In practice, TIE still maintain that it may be necessary to replace it close to the spot it occupies now - but on a much smaller island. This question will be the subject of greater discussion in (we're promised) the very near future.

 

In the mean time we're preparing for the 2009 ceremony of Remembrance. That will take place in Grosvenor Street (which is as close to Haymarket as we can possibly get). There will be no expensive temporary stone. We feel that the events are tangible enough to create a gathering point without meaningless lumps of rock. The 'ghost' of the clocktower (and of the men and women who have gathered beside it for the past 87 years) will be more than enough to inspire the correct spirit of Remembrance and respect. It will also make a strong point to TIE that we expect to see the missing Memorial back in good time for the service the following year.

 

That service, incidentally, is already being planned as a grand ceremony of 'Rededication'. It will (as befits a Memorial of such dignity and importance) be a major event, involving (in much the same way as the original Unveiling) a strong theme of national acknowledgement of the football club's unique sacrifice.

[jambojim52]

Jack, Have you had any discissions as to whether or not the trams will stop during future services. I beleive Tie wanted the memorial moved, so as not to disrupt the tram service. If they plan to make the island smaller they will need to stop the traffic( trams too) for longer, to allow people to arrive and leave in safety.

[Jack Alexander]

Jack, Have you had any discissions as to whether or not the trams will stop during future services. I beleive Tie wanted the memorial moved, so as not to disrupt the tram service. If they plan to make the island smaller they will need to stop the traffic( trams too) for longer, to allow people to arrive and leave in safety.

 

Traffic issues are a separate matter, Jim. Cars and buses can be stopped, but it seems (for no reason that we've had properly explained) that trams must continue to move.

 

The Ryries option is preferable. The present position is, I think, too close to the line of the tramway coming down West Maitland Street.

 

We'll just have to maintain the present line of constructive negotiation, and see where that gets us. I must say that most councillors and Council officials have been very much behind the Haymarket option all along. TIE and the City Museums were somewhat out on a limb with their Atholl Crescent proposals. There is actually a great deal of goodwill towards the clocktower - and not just from folk of a Hearts persuasion. I'd like to think that the Memorial will end up in the best position available - which means putting it back to within a few feet of where it was built in the first place.

[piltonjambo]

Great news and once again great work Jack ... many thanks

[Currahee!]

The McCrae's Battalion Trust and HMFC have been keeping in close contact with City of Edinburgh Council on this matter. At the most recent meeting (at which we were joined by the Shareholders' representative, too) TIE assured us that the task of dismantling the Memorial would be handled with great care and respect. The firm responsible for the job will be using some of the personnel who built the Cairn at Contalmaison. I've worked with these guys and I'm confident they know their stuff.

 

The most pleasing aspect of recent deveopments is that (after a bit of a battle toward the end of last year) all references to Atholl Crescent/Coates Crescent and temporary/permanent re-location have disappeared - hopefully forever. After I addressed the Council in October there was a unanimous vote in favour of returning the clocktower to Haymarket. That vote is binding on the Council's officials and (more directly) upon the officials of TIE (who came up with the Atholl Crescent nonsense in the first place).

 

The remaining question now is the precise position of the Memorial after it's returned in time for the 2010 service. The ideal place would be outside Ryries, close to its original home. In practice, TIE still maintain that it may be necessary to replace it close to the spot it occupies now - but on a much smaller island. This question will be the subject of greater discussion in (we're promised) the very near future.

 

In the mean time we're preparing for the 2009 ceremony of Remembrance. That will take place in Grosvenor Street (which is as close to Haymarket as we can possibly get). There will be no expensive temporary stone. We feel that the events are tangible enough to create a gathering point without meaningless lumps of rock. The 'ghost' of the clocktower (and of the men and women who have gathered beside it for the past 87 years) will be more than enough to inspire the correct spirit of Remembrance and respect. It will also make a strong point to TIE that we expect to see the missing Memorial back in good time for the service the following year.

 

That service, incidentally, is already being planned as a grand ceremony of 'Rededication'. It will (as befits a Memorial of such dignity and importance) be a major event, involving (in much the same way as the original Unveiling) a strong theme of national acknowledgement of the football club's unique sacrifice.

It's good news that the company who built the cairn at Contalmaison are involved. I went to Contalmaison when I was in France and they've done a good job. So no worries.

[tel]

I don't know if accidental or not but yet again there seems to be a deliberate attempt not to mention the F.H.S.C were also represented at the meeting, maybe not suiting people's agenda, amazing that the Memorial Service continued for so many years without the Battalion Trust,I just don't know how we managed without the support of such good people.

[Jack Alexander]

I don't know if accidental or not but yet again there seems to be a deliberate attempt not to mention the F.H.S.C were also represented at the meeting, maybe not suiting people's agenda, amazing that the Memorial Service continued for so many years without the Battalion Trust,I just don't know how we managed without the support of such good people.

 

I dislike the sarcastic tone of this posting.

 

The most recent meeting was fully minuted. Not for the first time there was (in fact) no sign of the Federation - in spite of an invitation being extended by the Council. The only agenda that matters here is securing the future of the Memorial clocktower. Everyone has been invited (more than once) to participate fully in this process. It is no business of the McCrae's Battalion Trust if some organisations or individuals choose not to. We've acted in good faith from the start of the negotiations and (I hope) earned the trust of everyone involved for our sincerity, our knowledge and our hard work.

 

It's a wee bit unfair when folk who've contributed little or nothing to the proceedings start sniping away from the sidelines.

[Optimus Prime]

The current proposal will see the memorial situated on a new pedestrianised area outside Ryries. This is part of a huge redevelopment of Haymarket including Tram, the hotel development at haymarket yards and the redevelopment of haymarket station. The tramline will not effect the memorial and there will be a turn back facility at Coates cresent with will be used during the service.

[S.N.T.H.]

Still a ****ing disgrace that it's being moved. Work round it you jobsworth *****.

[Jack Alexander]

The current proposal will see the memorial situated on a new pedestrianised area outside Ryries. This is part of a huge redevelopment of Haymarket including Tram, the hotel development at haymarket yards and the redevelopment of haymarket station. The tramline will not effect the memorial and there will be a turn back facility at Coates cresent with will be used during the service.

 

 

In theory, Optimus. In practice, much less certain. The current proposal (current as of last Thursday) is to relocate the Memorial to within about three feet of its present position. Ryries is no more than a possibility just now - a possibility favoured by most of the parties, but still only a possibility. Apparently there are still obstacles to be overcome - involving land ownership, pedestrian safety and the like. These are subject to discussion - with all interested groups invited to attend.

 

Note also that the big office/hotel development and the proposed work on Haymarket Station have no fixed timeline at the moment and are not absolutely certain to go ahead in their currently proposed form - for funding and/or planning reasons.

 

One of the themes of the ongoing discussions, therefore, has been to try and separate the future of the Memorial from any attachment with these larger scale developments.

 

We've taken the line that the Heart of Midlothian War Memorial is important enough to be considered in its own right and that its future should not be compromised by critical association with other (uncertain) projects which happen to be going on in the junction.

[jamboron]

In theory, Optimus. In practice, much less certain. The current proposal (current as of last Thursday) is to relocate the Memorial to within about three feet of its present position. Ryries is no more than a possibility just now - a possibility favoured by most of the parties, but still only a possibility. Apparently there are still obstacles to be overcome - involving land ownership, pedestrian safety and the like. These are subject to discussion - with all interested groups invited to attend.

 

Note also that the big office/hotel development and the proposed work on Haymarket Station have no fixed timeline at the moment and are not absolutely certain to go ahead in their currently proposed form - for funding and/or planning reasons.

 

One of the themes of the ongoing discussions, therefore, has been to try and separate the future of the Memorial from any attachment with these larger scale developments.

 

We've taken the line that the Heart of Midlothian War Memorial is important enough to be considered in its own right and that its future should not be compromised by critical association with other (uncertain) projects which happen to be going on in the junction.

 

Thanks for the above post & the others as well Jack, it`s always good to hear positive news about both the trust and the removal/replacing & resiting of the memorial & clock.

[Tams bird]

They will probabily lose it or drop bits. Council

[The Treasurer]

This might explain why they've not bothered their A*** to get it working properly over the last few weeks.

I just get the feeling we're going to see an article in the EEN in the future with a picture of what's left of the memorial lying in bits in a council scrap yard somewhere.

[Optimus Prime]

In theory, Optimus. In practice, much less certain. The current proposal (current as of last Thursday) is to relocate the Memorial to within about three feet of its present position. Ryries is no more than a possibility just now - a possibility favoured by most of the parties, but still only a possibility. Apparently there are still obstacles to be overcome - involving land ownership, pedestrian safety and the like. These are subject to discussion - with all interested groups invited to attend.

 

Note also that the big office/hotel development and the proposed work on Haymarket Station have no fixed timeline at the moment and are not absolutely certain to go ahead in their currently proposed form - for funding and/or planning reasons.

 

One of the themes of the ongoing discussions, therefore, has been to try and separate the future of the Memorial from any attachment with these larger scale developments.

 

We've taken the line that the Heart of Midlothian War Memorial is important enough to be considered in its own right and that its future should not be compromised by critical association with other (uncertain) projects which happen to be going on in the junction.[/QUOTE]

 

Jack this proposal is a short term measure. The long term position is the Ryries location. I know Edinburgh Council are not keen to see two movements but i think it will be inevitable given the dramatic change that is likely to occur in the Haymarket area over the next 10-15 years.

 

I respect and admire your stance on the statue location being viewed on its own merit however as i've stated it's one aspect of a wider strategy and needs to be viewed as such. I know all stakeholders are mindful of the importance of the statue and I've no doubt the final location will be fitting to it's importance.