Construction has begun on a new office block entitled The Cube, locals have registered their dissatisfaction with the scheme.
Protesters say that the glass-fronted building will not fit in with the World Heritage Site and will block views to Calton Hill, Edinburgh.
“The Cube is an architecturally stunning building in the heart of the Capital”, said Cameron Stott director of Jones Lang LaSalle, the letting agent for the office block.
“The scheme is a reflection of the amount of investment and development taking place in the east end of Edinburgh with the likes of the proposed St James Quarter and Caltongate. The Cube will also benefit from its close proximity to Waverley, the trams and Edinburgh Bus Station”, Stott continued.
The six-storey office block will bring around 66,000 sq ft of office space to the Leith St area of Edinburgh and will cost in the region of £20m.
The Cube has been designed by Allan Murray, an award-winning Edinburgh based architect who said the office block “will bring the area to life again”.
The construction phase is expected to take 18 months reaching completion in October 2009.