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Gate
Many of the closes in Edinburgh’s historic Old Town are currently in a state of disrepair. This portion of Anchor Close has been closed off at one end so that it is no longer a thoroughfare, and, being disused, gradually filled up with debris.
A successful application was made to the millennium lottery fund for an investigation of the history of the close. It culminated in an exhibition and street party, which demonstrated how easily and well the space could be re-inhabited.
Finding the funding and local support to establish a revitalisation project proved to be a bigger problem. As an interim measure, we obtained a temporary road closure order and a new gate was made in collaboration with Gordon Matthew of Duddingston Forge to protect the old close from further mis-use. So, for the moment, it remains a junkspace, and if you look up and behind the buildings of Edinburgh’s Old Town, you will find many of these left over spaces of lost potential. A community based programme of regeneration would make a big difference to the quality of life for residents and would go a long way towards ensuring the survival of this amazing World Heritage Site as a place to live and work
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