We are deeply concerned about the fate of Panmure House, Lochend Close, which has been placed on sale by Edinburgh City Council. The closing date for the sale is set for Friday, April 4th, 2008. This beautiful, historic building was the last home of Adam Smith from 1778 to 1790. Panmure House, in which many figures of the enlightenment met regularly with Adam Smith, is the only surviving substantial building personally and directly associated with him (his home and school in Kirkcaldy, and his professor's house in Glasgow University, were demolished long ago). Consequently, Panmure House has important associations for anyone interested in the history of Edinburgh, in economics, or in the Scottish enlightenment.

Adam Smith is possibly the Scot who possesses the greatest international reputation and who has had the most impact upon the world. In a recent move to recognise Adam Smith's contribution to human knowledge and understanding, the Bank of England newly-issued £20 notes now bear his profile. The decision to place his former home on the open market has achieved national and international attention, with articles published in The Economist and Spain's leading newspaper El Pais as well as in local newspapers such The Scotsman and The Evening News (for original articles, see http://panmurehouseproject.googlepages.com/).

We are aware that the Council needs to achieve good value in the sale of any of its property. In particular, the receipts from the sale of Panmure House will go to support the Council's work with children, which is of the highest importance. We are also aware that Panmure House's listed status provides protection from demolition or unsympathetic redevelopment.

However, it is unclear to us whether the Council has distinct public benefit criteria beyond financial considerations. It is our understanding that the main policy document on this matter is "Children and Families / Fit For Future 2 Property Strategy", The City of Edinburgh Council, 20 December 2007. The document suggests that the Council considered the disposal of Panmure House to a specific charitable organisation. The document further states that "there is of course a requirement that the Council need to attain best value in respect of the sale of its properties. It is proposed that the District Valuer be requested to provide a valuation on the Lochend Close property to allow negotiation on the final purchase price to proceed." Furthermore, the document stipulates that "should this arrangement not proceed the property will be marketed."

However, from the fact that Panmure House is currently marketed by Rettie and Co as a "development opportunity", we infer that the arrangement with the charitable organisation mentioned in the Report did not proceed.

That is, the Council was willing to consider a sale to a not-for-profit organisation, on the basis of the wider benefits to the city and its people that this would bring, subject to a fair price being paid. This contrasts with the current situation where the property is apparently being sold to the highest bidder, irrespective of the implications.

Since the Council's document leaves out entirely the important association of the House with Adam Smith, and, as it is currently offered for sale as a "development opportunity", it is possible that the Council may have overlooked Panmure House's heritage, and has no developed clear distinct public benefit criteria to evaluate prospective "bids" for the property beyond financial considerations.

All we ask is that the Council considers the wider benefits of the proposals it receives as well as the cash price offered. Naturally, we think that there would be particular benefit from a scheme with a viable and self-financing educational or research use. This would reflect Panmure House's heritage and its important associations with Adam Smith.

Szvetlana Acs, economist, Stirling, UK
Vera Afanassieva, actuary, Toronto, Canada (*)
Paul Allanson, Economist, Dundee, UK (*)
Galina Andreeva, Lecturer in Management Science, Edinburgh, UK
Erik Angner, economist and philosopher, Birmingham, USA
Loukas Balafoutas, PhD student economics, Edinburgh, UK
Annabelle Barlow, Administrator, Edinburgh, UK
Tim Barmby, economist, Aberdeen, UK
Ariel Bergmann, economist, USA
David Black, architectural writer, Edinburgh, UK
Juergen Bracht, Economist, Aberdeen
Sean Brocklebank, PhD student economics, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Colin C C Brown, Edinburgh, UK
Vivienne Brown, Professor of Intellectual History, Open University, UK (*)
Robin Burgess, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, UK
Norman E Butcher, geologist, Edinburgh, UK
Susan Carpenter, political economist, Edinburgh, UK
Claire Carrigan, conservation biology student, Aberdeen, UK (*)
Graciela Chichilnisky, UNESCO Professor of Mathematics and Economics, Columbia University, USA (*)
Simon Clark, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Paul Cockshott, Reader in Computer Science, University of Glasgow, UK (*)
Simon Coke, retired Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh, UK
Guido Cozzi, economist, Glasgow, UK
Jonathan Crook, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Kay Cruickshank, Gullane, UK
Janet Currie, Chair, Department of Economics, Columbia University, USA
Vladislav Damjanovic, Lecturer in Economics, University of St Andrews, UK
Mike Danson, Professor & Associate Dean, University of the West of Scotland, UK
Stephen Darwall, philosopher, University of Michigan, US (*)
Lord Meghnad Desai, Emeritus Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, UK
Padma Desai, Economist, New York (*)
Tanvi Desai, academic data manager, London, UK (*)
Weili Ding, Assistant Professor, Queen's University, Canada
Sheila Dow, economist, Dunblane, UK
Paul Downward, economist, Loughborough University, UK (*)
Emma Dowson, Calton Road, Edinburgh, UK
Ray C. Fair, Professor of Economics, Yale University, USA
Alasdair Fairbairn MA, retired businessman, Edinburgh, UK
Julian Fennema, economist, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Michael Finus, economist, University of Stirling, UK (*)
Sam Fleischacker, Professor, President of the International Adam Smith Society, USA (*)
Giuseppe Fontana, Professor of Monetary Economics, University of Leeds, UK (*)
Heather Gemmell, Social Economy Advisor, Glasgow, UK
Donald George, economist, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Andreas Georgiadis, academic economist, Athens, Greece
Dipak Ghosh, economist, Stirling, UK
Muhammad Akram Gilal, PhD Student economics, University of Glasgow, UK
Angelica Gonzalez, economist, Edinburgh University, UK
Amanda Goodall, Research Fellow, Warwick Business School, UK
Olga Gorbachev, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Maia Guell, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Knud Haakonssen, Professor University of Sussex, UK (*)
Ryan Patrick Hanley, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Marquette University (*)
Fred Hansen, Melbourne, Australia (*)
Indra Hautekiet, administrator, Edinburgh, UK
Dang Thi Thu Hoai, PhD student in Economics, Glasgow, UK (*)
Richard Holt, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Ed Hopkins, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Alan Hutton, economist, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
Hans K. Hvide, economist, Aberdeen UK
Piotr M. Jaworski, Lecturer in Economics, Napier University Business School, UK
Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Assistant Professor of British History, University of Chicago, USA (*)
Alexander Kadow, PhD student economics, Glasgow, UK
Kohei Kawamura, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Tom Kerr, Management Consultant, Edinburgh, UK
Matthias Klaes, Professor of Commerce, Keele University, UK
Richard Kleer, economic historian, Regina, Canada
Gavin Kennedy, Emeritus Professor, Heriot-Watt University, UK
Gary Koop, economist, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland
Tatiana Kornienko, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Anne Sofie Laegran, Research Development Advisor, Edinburgh, UK
Laurence Lasselle, economist, St Andrews, UK
Frederic S. Lee, economist, University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA (*)
Steven Lehrer, Assistant Professor, Queen's University, Canada
Hector L MacQueen, Professor of Private Law, University of Edinburgh, UK
Douglas Mair, Emeritus Professor, Heriot-Watt University, UK
Chris Malcolm, computer scientist, Edinburgh, UK
Alan Marin, Senior Lecturer in Economics, London School of Economics, UK
Donald McIntyre, Professor, Perth, UK
Andrew Keith McIntosh, Retired Army Officer, Edinburgh, UK
Giorgio Melloni, professor, SUNY, USA
Stephen Merrett, Economist, London, UK (*)
John Moore FBA, Professor of Economics, Edinburgh, UK
Christina Napier, administrator, Edinburgh, UK
Charles Nolan, Professor of Economics, University of St. Andrews, UK
Brendan O'Flaherty, Professor of Economics, Columbia University, New York, USA
Margaret Ogrodnick, political theorist, Winnipeg, Canada
Alex Orr, Leith, UK (*)
Andrew J Oswald, Professor of Economics, University of Warwick, UK
Nick Oulton, economist, London School of Economics, UK
Georgios A. Panos, economist, Aberdeen, UK
Nikos Pappas, Researcher, University of Strathclyde, UK
Jeremy Peat, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Nicholas Phillipson, historian, Edinburgh, UK
Euan Phimister, economist, Aberdeen, UK
Christopher A Pissarides FBA, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics, UK
Maria Porter, Economist, University of Chicago, USA (*)
Andrea Prat, Professor of Economics, London, UK
Gina Reddie, administrator, Edinburgh, UK
Stephen James Redding, Reader in Economics, London School of Economics, UK
William Reid MBE, Paisley Avenue, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Colin Richardson, economist, Imperial College London, UK (*)
Frédéric Robert-Nicoud, Lecturer in Economic Geography, London, UK
Alison M. Robertson, Ross Gardens, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Reverend Charles Robertson, Minister-Emeritus Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Jose V. Rodriguez Mora, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Ian S. Ross, Professor of English Emeritus, University of British Columbia, Canada (*)
Donald Rutherford, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Jozsef Sakovics, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Bernard Salanie, Professor of Economics, Columbia University, New York, USA
Santiago Sanchez-Pages, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Roger Sandilands, Professor of Economics, Strathclyde University, UK (*)
Stuart Sayer, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Erika Seki, economist, University of Aberdeen, UK
Dmitriy Sergeyev, Ph.D. student in Economics, Columbia University, New York, USA (*)
David Simpson, Deputy Chairman, Water Industry Commission, Edinburgh, UK
Eric Schliesser, Research Associate, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (*)
Fiona Scott Morton, economist, Yale University, USA
Valerie Sigal, Accounting Manager, New York, USA (*)
Andy Snell, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Konstantin Sonin, economist, NES, Moscow, Russia
M.A. Stewart, Professor in the History of Philosophy, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Stephane Straub, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Kitjawat Tacharoen, PhD student economics, London School of Economics, UK
Bruce Teubes, PhD student economics, Edinburgh, UK
Dugald Tinch, economist, University of Stirling, UK
Jonathan Thomas FBA, Professor of Economics, Edinburgh, UK
Thomas Torrance, economist, Edinburgh, UK
Alex Trew, economist, University of St Andrews, UK
Gloria Vivenza, University of Verona, Italy (*)
Paul Walker, economist, New Zealand (*)
Julian Wells, Senior lecturer in economics, Kingston University, UK (*)
Duncan Whitehead, PhD student economics, Edinburgh, UK
Donald Winch FBA, Emeritus Professor, University of Sussex, UK (*)
Maoguo Wu, MSc student economics, Edinburgh, UK (*)
Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, New Economic School, Russia (*)

To maximize the impact of the letter, the first batch of signatures was sent to the Council Wednesday April 2, 2008 at 12 noon to ensure that the letter will be read by the Councillors and the staff before the closing date for the bids, which was Friday, April 4th, at 12 noon.

All signatures received after April 2 11:00 am and April 7 11:00 am were added to the current list marked with an asterisk (*). The second delivery of the letter to the Council was made on Monday April 7th.

The letter was sent to the following Councillors and members of staff:

• Jenny Dawe, Leader (see the response of Councillor Jenny Dawe)
• Steve Cardownie, Deputy Council Leader
• Marilyne MacLaren, Convenor, Education, Children and Families Committee
• Jim Lowrie, Convenor, Planning
• Gordon Mackenzie, Convenor, Finance Committee (see the response of Councillor Gordon Mackenzie)
• Tom Aitchison, Chief Executive (see the response of Tom Aitchison)
• Gillian Tee, Director of Children and Families (see the response of Gillian Tee)
• Dave Anderson, Director of City Development (see the response of Dave Anderson)  
• Donald McGougan, Director of Finance

The letter was also sent to John Jenkins, Business Manager; Andrew Holmes, ex-Director of City Development; Kevin Moore, Senior Projects Officer; and the Council Secretary.