Edinburgh Sucks! | Bung or no bung

City Council

Bung or no bung – You Decide!

By The Basa ⋅ August 21, 2005 ⋅

When we are constantly being asked by our politicians to believe in them and they are only doing the best for the city, it is surprising that the council turns down Â£2 million from one company for a piece of land and accepts Â£600,000 from another one.

The “ransom strip” at Kinleith Mill, Currie, was last week snapped up by Treetops so it could gain emergency access to its planned 158-home site, amid concerns over the environmental impact of using the walkway as a temporary road. But it has emerged that the council was offered Â£2m by rival developers Applecross – an offer which the company claims was ignored by officials.

How is this better for the citizens.? Frightening!

Council chiefs say they ruled out the bigger offer because Applecross would have been able to charge Treetops even more money to use the land, a move that could have stalled the housing development.

When did the council get the remit to help housing developers to get a good deal from the world. You decide whether bungs have taken place in this instance.

Applecross has written to the council’s development chief blasting the move. In a letter to city development leader Andrew Holmes, Applecross director Colin Cumberland said: “What you now appear to have done is to refuse our offer of over Â£2m for your interest in the ransom strip, while accepting an offer of Â£600,000 for, in effect, the very same thing.”

City development chiefs claimed the decision was based on the fact that the land was only worth Â£600,000 – so that’s alrighty then. Even we have to admit that this time a bung of the size required would be hard to hide by any councillor or council official. Would a cluster-bung be more appropriate?

More Info: Cut-price Water of Leith land deal sparks row