‘Racism, toxicity and twerking‘: What is going on at Historic Environment Scotland?
Plus: AirBnB not set up for city’s Visitor Levy; and junior doctors' strike threat
Chief exec suspended as heritage quango dogged by ‘toxic’ working environment complaints
The chief executive of the heritage agency responsible for Edinburgh Castle has been suspended amid a series of complaints about a “toxic” working environment.
Katerina Brown arrived at Historic Environment Scotland with a glowing reputation having helped steer the National Trust for Scotland through the pandemic and its aftermath.
A year later, she has been suspended from her £145,000-a-year post with a formal investigation into complaints about her behaviour ongoing.
Her suspension comes after months of controversy with some HES staff complaining about unfair and high-handed treatment by senior management. A string of damaging and embarrassing incidents have been leaked to the press, including one director being forced to apologise over an apparently racist remark.
Another senior official has been reprimanded for inappropriate behaviour at a boozy function, including “twerking”, in front of celebrity guests Martin Compston and Penny Lancaster.
The Scottish Government agency manages around 300 historic properties, including Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Park and Craigmillar Castle, and employs around 1500 staff. Its head office is in the former Longmore Hospital building in Newington.
High hopes: Brown was seen as a strong appointment after she oversaw the regeneration and reopening of a number of National Trust properties post-Covid, including the Newhailes estate at Musselburgh. Just last month, Culture Secretary Angus Robertson described her and newly-appointed HES chairman Sir Mark Jones as a “formidable team”.
Staff in revolt: Some HES staff are deeply unhappy, complaining of high-handed treatment by senior managers, who one described as “behaving like they own castles”. There was widespread anger when directors agreed an 18 per cent pay rise for themselves while the organisation faces a £3 million budget shortfall.
Racism row: Some staff are also angry that operations director Craig Mearns has not been sacked after admitting to pointing at some Edinburgh Castle visitors and telling another staff member “look at those chocolates”. He has since apologised to in an all-staff call, but the incident has reportedly damaged relationships with some academics pulling out of projects working with HES.
Failed return: Brown, who has been off work on health grounds since May, has reportedly been suspended for failing to meet conditions of her return to work. The investigation into her conduct continues.
‘Twerking’: One senior manager has been reprimanded after allegedly getting drunk during a work reception at Edinburgh Castle, sitting on a guest’s knee before ‘twerking’ in front of him and Martin Compston. She is also said to have posed for a photograph with Penny Lancaster and referred to them both as “two dumb blondes together”.
‘Extreme concern’: Scotland’s Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has expressed “extreme concern” at a “wide range of issues of concern relating to the senior management of Historic Environment Scotland”.
Knight in shining armour? Brown’s former National Trust colleague Sir Mark Jones was appointed chair of HES last month, following the earlier than planned departure of his predecessor, Dr Hugh Hall, and two other board members in recent months. Much now rests on his shoulders as he seeks to improve the culture and morale within the organisation.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
PRINCES STREET APARTMENTS: A series of semi-derelict townhouses which have lain empty on Princes Street for several decades are set to be converted into 24 luxury serviced apartments. A planning application has been made to convert the B-listed buildings on the corner of Princes Street and Hanover Street into the apartments and an office headquarters for the property management company behind the scheme, Destiny Scotland.
LADS’ INSTITUTE: A proposal to demolish the former Causewayside Lads’ Institute building to make way for student flats has been refused by the city council. Acting on behalf of the developer, 56three Architects had submitted proposals to demolish the Ratcliffe Terrace building to replace it with 66 flats. The council said the plans had not done enough to protect and enhance features of the building, which dates back to 1907, that were worth preserving.
PROSTITUTION BILL: Ash Regan has quit the Alba Party in order to concentrate on her efforts to change the law on prostitution in Scotland. The Edinburgh Eastern MSP is promoting a Bill based on the so-called “Nordic model” which makes it an offence to pay for sexual services. Regan was defeated in her bid to become Alba leader earlier this year.
JUNIOR DOCS’ STRIKE THREAT: Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are to be balloted for strike action across Scotland. Their union BMA Scotland said this was in response to the Scottish Government’s failure to make “credible progress” on agreements to increase their pay.
BAD MORNING SCOTLAND? BBC Radio Scotland’s flagship news programme Good Morning Scotland is facing the axe after losing 50,000 listeners in a year. Presenter and journalist Martin Geissler may be brought in to front a more magazine style programme, but concerns have been raised about the new format losing some of its focus on news, business and analysis.
ACTIVE FOUNTAINBRIDGE: New walking and cycling routes feature in active travel plans for Fountainbridge which have been put out for consultation by the city council. One of the key aims of the plan is to improve connections between Telfer Subway and the Union Canal as well as make the area safer and more welcoming for active travel.
STATELY FILM STAR: Gosford House has taken a starring role in Guillermo del Toro’s much-anticipated take on the Frankenstein story. The stately home on the East Lothian coast, near Longniddry, provides a spectacular backdrop for the cinematic action. Frankenstein has a limited cinematic release from Friday, followed by Netflix streaming from November 7. (See That’s Entertainment below for details of Edinburgh Filmhouse’s special preview screening)
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
Renewed protest over “rushed implementation” of Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy
Edinburgh’s smaller providers of visitor accommodation are incensed that they are being left to deal with a big increase in administration – and therefore costs – by the city council’s imposition of a Visitor Levy.
The latest issue to arise in the rollout of Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy – the first local authority in Scotland to take advantage of Scottish Government legislation allowing councils to raise funds through taxing overnight accommodation – has seen providers largely dependent on major booking platforms Airbnb and booking.com discover that the platforms cannot comply with the requirements to add a 5% surcharge which came into force on October 1 for stays taking place from July next year.
A report in The Herald said that Airbnb has told its users to manually add the charge to bookings, while booking.com has told its accommodation providers that it cannot cap the surcharge at 5 nights, as required by the council, and they may have to overcharge visitors and then individually calculate refunds.
Sector organisations including the Scottish Tourism Alliance and the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers are now calling on the Scottish Government to reform its bill to provide greater simplicity and clarity, and that implementation should be paused meantime.
Marc Crothal of the STA posted on social media: “Our ask is very clear and simple; work together, don’t seek to political point score as we need the reform to the bill to be taken forward with haste to avoid any more reputational damage being caused and more mental stress and cost being put on to business owners and third party operators and Local Authorities.”
Fiona Campbell of the ASSC said: “Let’s be clear: this cannot be laid at the doors of the platforms such as booking.com or Airbnb. They can only operate within the legislation they’ve been given and the technical infrastructure that exists. This chaos lies squarely with the Scottish Government legislation and City of Edinburgh Council’s rushed implementation - despite knowing full well that it was heading for disaster. The result? Responsible accommodation operators are now left at risk of criminal prosecution for circumstances entirely outwith their control.”
Business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce have also raised issues with the implementation of the new charge, calling for more and better guidance for operators.
However the council maintains that information and guidance has been made available by both the local authority and VisitScotland, and that council officers are continuing to engage.
LAND SALE: A portfolio of almost 350 acres of land in Midlothian – including a well-known golf course – is on the market. Specialist rural property consultants Davidson and Robertson have listed the Lawfield Estate portfolio, including Newbattle golf course, at offers over £2.67 million. Closing date is 23 October.
BOARD FIRST: The appointment of Louisa Raistrick, Head of Estate Agency at Coulters, as a Non-Executive Director to the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre board will make a little bit of history in the Capital when it is ratified at the ESPC Annual General Meeting in November. Louisa will be the first non-solicitor estate agent to join the ESPC Board, with her term due to commence on 1st January 2026.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
SKY’S THE LIMIT: You may not know his name, but you will know some of his pioneering images, including one of the most famous ever taken of Edinburgh (above). Discover the world of Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer at the Portrait Gallery from Saturday until 19 April.
MONSTER HOT TICKET: Tonight, Edinburgh Filmhouse hosts a special preview screening of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. However, if you haven’t grabbed tickets yet, you may well be disappointed.
LOVE ME TENDER: Shawn Klush has been declared The World’s Greatest Elvis in the BBC One contest and Elvis Presley Enterprises’ first Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist. Alongside fellow pretenders to be The King, Cody Ray Slaughter and Moses Snow, you can catch him in The Elvis Tribute Artist World Tour at the Playhouse on Sunday at 7.30pm.
QUICK BITES
CASTING SPELLS: One of Edinburgh’s most renowned restaurants has been named one of the world’s top ten fine dining spots in the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice awards. The atmospheric The Witchery by the castle has been named as one of the places which has left visitors most impressed, and the only one from the UK to make the top ten.
NEW BREW: A former bank branch at 206 Bruntsfield Place, on the corner with Montpelier Park, is to become a Black Sheep Coffee shop after gaining planning approval.
Why city’s ban on fossil fuel ads misses the mark
Last week’s long read from Joe Coroneo-Seaman on how Edinburgh has adopted the UK’s toughest ban on fossil fuel ads sparked plenty of debate.
Here we share one of the most considered responses, from former city council leader Donald Anderson, who argued that the ban adopted by the city council is misguided.
“I’m all for getting to Net Zero, and thankfully we’ve reached a tipping point on renewables where increased energy demand has been met by renewables rather than fossil fuels - and has at last overtaken coal. That’s a historic moment. This year has been a game changer for renewables and China - despite all its faults - is what has changed the game by making renewables so cheap.
“The views on Leonardo are just wrong too. I’m all for stopping war crimes in Palestine, but F-35’s are still a keystone of the west’s defence in uncertain times. Stopping the input of some of the best engineering skills on the planet wouldn’t be a smart move.
“The old Ferranti used to be the largest employer in and around Edinburgh. Those days are long gone, but the skills that are left in engineering and design are world class and should be preserved. Not simply because they bring work and wealth - though they do - but because they’re still needed for our defence.
“Airline fuels account for around 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. It’s the hardest fuel use to replace and we live in a world where air travel has become an integral part of our lives. I often fly away for holidays, but I try and reduce emissions in other ways.
“Until we find a better alternative for air travel (and sadly batteries are nowhere near being viable for it), we will still need to use oil. Alternative fuels developed have been little or no better than oil, so we will need to continue to accept air travel for many journeys, albeit we should use alternative modes of transport when we can.
“I share the ambition to get to Net Zero, and that should be a focus of public policy, but that’s probably best achieved by concentrating on 97.5% of emissions generated by means other than air travel. Fascinating read as ever on The Inquirer, but I can’t agree with all of it.”