Swinney denies wrongdoing over Duany appointment
November 11 2010
Swinney wrote that it was “entirely wrong” to suggest that they had breached EU rules, adding that the government had “no architect of choice.”
In the letter Swinney admitted that a total of £100k in grant funding had been handed over to Duany’s firm to run three public consultations, known as charettes.
However he distanced the Scottish Government from the payments, stating that they were the sole responsibility of the respective local authorities. Swinney said: “The Scottish Government has never commissioned Mr Duany for a project, nor paid a penny of his or his firm’s professional fees.”
Umbrage has been caused over the lack of competition for the job with Duany drafted in without the contract being offered to other architects with similar consultation experience.
Read next: Elder & Cannon submit Artto Hotel plans
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Who then decided DPZ was the right firm for the job of running the three charrettes?
Who is now monitoring if the money was wisely spent?
Then there is the fresh issue of Chief Planner MacKinnon and the Edinburgh charrette for Sir David Murray's possible planning application. Was his speech at the launch, which seemed to support this scheme on greenbelt land (see Malcolm Fraser piece in Urban Realm from last week), on behalf of the government he represents, or did he appear in a personal capacity?