City Development

Waterfront & Maginnis… more accusations

By The Basa ⋅ October 8, 2006 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

EdinburgSucks.com and it’s associated basas have been neglecting this site and of course it’s readership. We hope that this will not be a regular occurrence but it is nice to see that in our absence our friends over at http://www.PiltonSucks.com have been keeping Edinburgh up to date in the goings on at the Waterfront.

Some recent and interesting comments which mirror some of the stuff that has been coming into the inbox of EdSucks.

Waterfront-gate

Silence is imperative for Waterfront because they are involved in highly questionable activities and there is an election soon for the Chair Councillor McGinnis.

• A substantial legal case is currently being prepared against Waterfront by local business. The allegations include intimidation, threats bullying.
• Aggrieved and dismissed staff have been paid large sums of money despite illegal wrongdoing.
• Former key Waterfront staff have disclosed that they were directly instructed and ordered by their boss and Chief Executive Stephen Izatt to put pressure on local businesses and to harass them in order to get them to vacate the premises.
• The objective was to ensure that the property was cleared and available for Waterfronts own housing and property developments.
• Certain businesses were to be subjected to bullying threats, verbal abuse and various methods to restrict their business activities.
• Tenants and businesses are to be removed by whatever means necessary including intimidation.
• Councillor McGinnis personally wants the land and building earmarked for a waterfront replacement for the Queens Hall.
• Further Waterfront redundancies are to be made.
• As the heat turns up Waterfront is applying for a job elsewhere.
• Waterfront is 50% owned by Scottish Enterprise and 50% by Edinburgh Council and is chaired by Councillor Elizabeth McGinnis. There is evidence that this has done with the approval of both these bodies.
• Neither SE nor Edinburgh Council will discuss these allegations.
• There are no plans for any business development of the Granton and North Edinburgh area. Aspects of the development such as a thistle shaped island are purely there to help make the project appeal to Scots.
• Caroline Park house is not as previously stated to become a ‘Botanic Garden’. But wanted for a development of luxury flats.
• Funding is problem.
• Councillor and acting Chairman Fitzpatrick is described by the CEO as clueless and easy to manipulate. ‘Just give him a bottle’.
• The Waterfront website is not to be updated and all outgoing correspondence.
• Information about the development is to be suppressed and North Edinburgh News (NEN) is to be ‘utilised’ for giving out information.

and

I am filled with horror when I realise that very shortly that Councillor McGinnis could be the leader of Edinburgh Labour Party. Her tenure at Waterfront clearly demonstrates that she is not a person capable of leading any organisation.let alone this city. At Waterfront in her role of Chair she has presided over a catalogue of events which are a dreadful indictment of her leadership.

• Serious allegations to do with her conflict of interest as local councillor and Chairperson of the Waterfront Property development
• Accusations of cronyism involving her husband friends.
• Allegations of serious misconduct amongst senior Waterfront staff resulting in ex-gratia payments.
• Accusations of Secrecy as to how Waterfront is run and operated.
• Allegations of financial mismanagement in respect of entertainment puchases
• Sponsorship of Rugby with public funds
• The housing of Security and guard dogs in substandard and illegal conditions
• Low morale amongst staff
• Very high turnover of staff as a result of appalling work conditions and treatment
• Pending claims of unfair dismissal
• Pending legal claims against Waterfront.
• Failure to bring. Despite grand claims.
• Failure to implement the vision of Waterfront including employment and business to the local area.
• Waterfront development being nominated for ‘Carbuncle of the year’ and labelled as a hopeless and poorly thought out project.
• Rare attendance of her ward meetings.

hmmmm.

Is anyone in the Council going to have a look at this project before we spend in excess of seven hundred thousand pounds of taxpayers money on a tram system which is really only being built to serve the waterfront.

Random Posts you may have missed

• January 21, 2008 -- CLD front line services to be slashed
• April 24, 2005 -- Fury Over Lord Provost Jewish Ban
• May 26, 2007 -- Seemingly we called it wrong again – Tango Tommy not charged yet.
• February 18, 2006 -- Screw the tourists, Council says.
• October 2, 2007 -- Bunty’s crowning glory – a fcuk-up

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