Donaldson's site: 'Building ban is a vital piece of insurance'

American television once used the magnificent former home of Donaldson's College for the Deaf as a stand-in for Harry Potter's Hogwarts.

And Queen Victoria is said to have been so impressed by its grandeur that she tried to buy it ahead of Balmoral to be her Scottish retreat.

It is the dramatic views of the building across its sweeping lawns that take everyone's breath away when they first see it from West Coates.

We may not yet have found a suitable use for Sir William Henry Playfair's masterpiece since the college moved out in 2003 to a new home in West Lothian.

But it would be sheer vandalism if the legal ban on building on its front lawns was lifted.

Can you imagine the outcry if a modern block of flats sprung up in front of the Gothic splendour of its turrets? That would destroy one of the most photographed views in Scotland.

The reputed 20 million asking price may be stalling any prospect of development right now, during one of the toughest times for the building industry in recent memory.

But when the economic outlook changes for the better, as it undoubtedly will sooner or later, all that will change.

When the time comes to convert Donaldson's to a new use, this 175-year-old rule remains the best insurance against the risk of wrecking one of our greatest architectural jewels.

Lifting the ban would be criminal from a heritage point of view.

Anyone responsible for doing that would surely be haunted by the very unamused ghost of Queen Victoria.

Welcome U-turn

The moment that a hearse was fined for driving through Holyrood Park it was clear that the confusion over Historic Scotland's ban on commercial vehicles had descended into farce.

It is not that the ban itself, or the renewed drive to enforce it, was flawed. Quiet the opposite. It makes total sense to limit traffic through this green oasis in the city centre, while at the same time recognising that cars need to keep using it to prevent gridlock in many of the surrounding streets.

The ban on commercial vehicles is a sensible balance. What never made sense was including taxis in the ban when they are such a vital part of our public transport and gain no real commercial benefit from using the park.

Historic Scotland's U-turn on this is very welcome. All we need now is clarification of the status of hearses.