Judge backs city in community centre dispute

A LONG-RUNNING legal battle over a community centre which city chiefs want to turn into offices has moved a step closer to being resolved after the Court of Session ruled in favour of City of Edinburgh Council.

The stand-off over the Craigmillar Settlement has been going on for more than two years since the council pulled funding for the Capacity Building Project (CBP), which has managed the building since 2002, and tried to evict the groups.

While the lease on the community centre ran out on March 31, 2009, its tenants have refused to leave and have continued to use the building despite the council’s desire to turn it into social work offices.

The dispute was taken to the Court of Session by CBP, which wanted to get the council’s decision to terminate the lease quashed.

However, Court of Session judge Lord Malcolm has ruled that CBP does not have “any legitimate complaint” regarding the termination of its lease and said he will not quash the decision.

However, in his decision, Lord Malcolm was sympathetic to some of the CBP’s main concerns, including the lack of consultation and the loss of an important community facility in the area.

The judge said: “It is obvious from the contemporary documentation that little, if any, thought and consideration was given to the question of whether, and especially given its history, the building should remain as a community centre.”

In his conclusions following the three-day hearing, which took place in November, Lord Malcolm said: “In all the circumstances I do not consider that the petitioners (CBP] have any legitimate complaint about the termination of their lease.

“They accepted a substantial amount of public money as a contribution to their winding-up costs.”

However, the Court of Session will hear again from both parties next month regarding the equalities impact assessment and future plans for the building before the case is concluded once and for all.

The CBP, which will remain in the centre in the meantime, is considering its legal options.

David Walker, secretary of the CBP, said: “Lord Malcolm is very critical of the council and the way it has gone about the whole thing, so I was surprised that, having said all that, he has come down in favour of the council.

“We will be meeting our legal team again at the end of the week because we are going to appeal the decision.”

The Evening News revealed earlier this year that the legal battle has so far cost taxpayers more than £50,000.

Councillor Jason Rust, economic development spokesman for the Conservatives, said: “While the end decision may be in favour of the city council, the judgment highlights the half-baked approach of the council to this matter which has ended up costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds to date.

“Lord Malcolm’s decision makes clear that material considerations were overlooked by the council and he has upheld the concerns of the local people involved.

“The decision recognises that no consideration was apparently given to the loss of the community centre, nor to neighbourhood implications, which is frankly astonishing.

“This decision casts the council in a very poor light and no doubt if there is an appeal we will see yet further costs to local council taxpayers.”

A spokesman for the city council said: “It would be inappropriate to comment at present because the court has asked to be informed of the outcome of the council’s plans for the building in light of an equalities impact assessment.”