The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest [1] architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. [2]
The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner to protect and enhance the beauty of Edinburgh, notably resisting construction of new buildings on the south side of Princes Street. The association was founded in 1875 to continue the legacy of his work.
Since 1991, the organisation has been responsible for Edinburgh's annual Doors Open Day scheme.
The first major campaign by the association was to resist the removal of trees at Bruntsfield Links and the association has campaigned for the retention and improvement of Edinburgh's open and green spaces ever since. The association successfully resisted plans to build an inner city motorway system in Edinburgh in 1965. [3]
Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1830 and 1834.
Sir Patrick Geddes was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and sociology. His works contain one the earliest examples of the 'think globally, act locally' concept in social science.
An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland, established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is a charitable non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in the Republic of Ireland. It considers itself the oldest environmental and non-governmental organisation in the country, and is somewhat similar to the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland but based more directly on the National Trust for Scotland. Its first president was the prominent naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger.
The Civic Trust of England was a charitable organisation founded in 1957. It ceased operations in 2009 and went into administration due to lack of funds.
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street, facing Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town across the geological depression of the former Nor Loch. Together with the West End, the New Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Old Town in 1995. The area is also famed for the New Town Gardens, a heritage designation since March 2001.
Colin McWilliam (1928–1989) was a British architecture academic and author.
The Old Town is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-century New Town, and West End, it forms part of a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dame Harriet Jane Findlay, Lady Findlay, DBE was a British political activist and philanthropist.
The Scottish Civic Trust is a registered charity. Founded in 1967, and based in the Category A-listed Tobacco Merchant's House in Glasgow, the Trust aims to provide "leadership and focus in the protection, enhancement and development of Scotland's built environment". It often comments on planning applications. From 1990 to 2011 the Trust maintained the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland and delivers the popular Doors Open Days programme in Scotland. The current director of the Trust is Susan O'Connor.
The Old Royal High School, also known as New Parliament House, is a 19th-century neoclassical building on Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh. The building was constructed for the use of the city's Royal High School, and gained its alternative name as a result of a proposal in the 1970s for it to house a devolved Scottish Assembly.
Leeds Civic Trust is a voluntary organisation and registered charity established in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England in 1965. Affiliated to the national charity Civic Voice, its stated purpose is "to stimulate public interest in and care for the beauty, history, and character of the city and locality, to encourage high standards of design, architecture and town planning; [and] to encourage the development and improvement of features of general public amenity".
Malcolm Fraser is an architect from Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the founder of Malcolm Fraser Architects, a firm of architects based in the Old Town of Edinburgh from 1993. The company entered liquidation on 21 August 2015 and Fraser worked with Halliday Fraser Munro Architects before setting up anew with Robin Livingstone as Fraser/Livingstone Architects in January 2019.
The West End is an affluent district of Edinburgh, Scotland, which along with the rest of the New Town and Old Town forms central Edinburgh, and Edinburgh's UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area boasts several of the city's hotels, restaurants, independent shops, offices and arts venues, including the Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the Caledonian Hotel. The area also hosts art festivals and crafts fairs.
Civic Trust may refer to:
George Square is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for Edinburgh's better-off citizens. In the 1960s, much of the square was redeveloped by the University of Edinburgh, although the Cockburn Association and the Georgian Group of Edinburgh protested. Most but not all buildings on the square now belong to the university. Principal buildings include the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh University Library, 40 George Square and Appleton Tower.
In England and Wales, an amenity society is an organisation which monitors planning and development.
The Bridgend Farmhouse Community Project in Edinburgh, Scotland is a community-owned and community-run charitable organisation. The project restored an 18th-century farmhouse to provide a community meeting place, café, garden and workshops. The project runs classes, workshops and training courses in a variety of crafts and skills aimed at all age groups. It also provides facilities for performances, gatherings, talks, entertainment and small conferences. Given charitable status under the title Bridgend Inspiring Growth (BIG), the project was one of the first in Scotland to achieve community ownership in an urban setting. In 2018 it became the first organisation in Scotland to transfer from a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) to a Community Benefit Society with charitable status.
The Dunard Centre is a planned concert hall to be located in the city centre of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The proposed venue is currently being designed by David Chipperfield Architects, with a variation to the existing planning application scheduled for 2021. The Dunard Centre is being designed to be a world-class venue with the very best in modern acoustics and will be a venue for all kinds of music and performance: from orchestral to jazz and from pop to folk, welcoming chamber groups, soloists, bands, choirs, comedians and dance ensembles. It will be an informal cultural hub with education and community outreach central to its vision.
This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.
Caltongate is the largest city centre redevelopment project in Edinburgh since the 18th century. First proposed in 2005, it took 9 years to be given the go-ahead by Edinburgh Council, after disruption caused by the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The name Caltongate combines Canongate and Calton Hill, as the area lies on Canongate, and faces directly onto Calton Hill. Caltongate lies within the Old Town, Edinburgh, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. Construction began in 2014 and is yet to be completed.