Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 3:56 pm on 13 September 2007.
It is a pleasure to welcome Shirley-Anne Somerville to Parliament. I wish her well in serving the people of the Lothians.
I cannot get involved in the debate about the particular development that she mentions, but I reiterate what I said in my statement: we cannot have development just at any price. Our purpose as a Government is to encourage more sustainable economic growth, but that cannot happen just at any price. In my statement I referred to the importance of protecting our natural and built heritage, which contributes formidably to Scotland's strength, reputation, prestige and attractiveness. We should undertake our development activity in that context.