Heritage groups unite to warn over hotel scheme

Four leading heritage groups have joined forces to warn that allowing one of Edinburgh’s prominent landmarks to be turned into a luxury hotel for “elite” travellers would damage forever the historic heart of the city.

Council leaders have been warned they will “destroy Edinburgh’s credibility for stewardship of its World Heritage Site” if it backs a bid to turn the former Royal High School on Calton Hill into a new hotel for the Hong Kongbased Rosewood chain.

The chairs of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, the Cockburn Association, the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and the Scottish Civic Trust have written to the city’s Lord Provost, calling for the council to respect the “overwhelming” weight of public opinion on the issue.