Dear Spurtle
While fully supporting everything else in your piece about the squalor at the top of Broughton Street ['Grotty top of Broughton Street', Issue 261, p. 2], there is one factual error in the story.
It is NOT impossible to install double glazing in the World Heritage Site. With full agreement (even enthusiasm) from the Planning Department, a couple of years ago I replaced eight huge windows in a circa 1820 flat in (if I may say so) an even more precious part of the UNESCO Site. They were previously single panes in each of the sashes. I replaced them with the proper period style of 6 panes top and bottom. This not only looks vastly better (for the whole building, not just my flat) but is also hugely cosier and quieter. They were manufactured by Messrs. Slimlite of Granton, but other suppliers are available.
The only downside is that they are not cheap - the job cost around £12,000 for the 8 windows alone. And sadly, they would not solve the other problems that residents near the top of Broughton Street are suffering.
These problems illustrate why another of your stories in issue 261 – on the objections to the proposal for 50 Broughton Street to be turned into yet another takeaway – should attract the support of all local residents.
Shelley Ross
(Received by email)