Save Swanston

Edinburgh is a wonderful city, with the Pentland Hills and the picturesque village of Swanston to the South. This particular area of tranquil beaut y, part of which holds outstanding conservation area status, is under threat from developers who intend to scar the hillside with mountain bike trails, zip wires with associated pylons, three campsites, a commercial centre (perhaps the real reason for the development?) and a large car park.

Midlothian Council is already planning to upgrade the existing ski facility to

include some similar activities. We already have wonderful mountain biking trails in Glentress Forest near Peebles, not to mention many opportunities for cycling on tracks in the Pent lands, so is this further development, changing the use of the old Lot hian burn Golf Course largely from horse grazing, really necessary?

A great many walkers, young and old, and casual visitors from near and far, daily pass through the village, not to mention horse riders, all of whom come to enjoy the peace and beauty of the hills and the village. Do they not matter?

To sum up, I can do no better than quote from Ed inburgh Council’ s Swans ton Conservation Area Character Appraisal:

“The village itself has an incredible charm and sense of place... In some par t, in a world increasingly dominated by technology and rational method, it is also due to a sense of time having stood still and to the portrayal of a rural idyll which the village appears to offer.”

Once destroyed, this will never come back!

ELAINE MCLEOD Swanston Village, Edinburgh