The desire to protect heritage can go too far

As the economic crunch continues yet another heated debate has sprung up between retailers and a local council. This time the trouble is brewing in the historic city of Edinburgh. It is understandable that those charged with preserving and promoting the historic beauty of Edinburgh – and in particular the World Heritage Site – feel very protective towards it. To that end few would disagree that the rules relating to what should, and shouldn't, be allowed to happen in the Old and New towns must be carefully monitored. In keeping with this objective strict protocols have been established to prevent the general feel of the areas being ruined. Quite rightly then quality and size of signage is strictly controlled.

So now a row has erupted, the main bone of contention being advertising "A boards" placed on pavements. Businesses say they want them because they encourage trade, but conservationists and planners have long argued they create unnecessary street clutter. As a result, a list of strict regulations as long as an arm were drawn up to govern their size and positioning and each business was restricted to a single board. It seemed a sensible compromise as environmental wardens were empowered to deal with rule breakers.

But it would appear that the council may not be prepared to honour this agreement any longer and proposals have been drawn up for a blanket ban on all boards. Unless they can produce compelling evidence of the dangers they pose this seems a step too far.

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