Few people in Scotland would have heard of Koichiro Matsuura before last week. There may be people who still have no inkling who he is. But this esteemed visitor from Japan appeared among us for two days and nothing has been the same since.

His first stop was Edinburgh which, frankly, had other things on its mind.

With festivals in mid flow, along with flood- alert-type rain and bewildering tram works, the city was not exactly looking its best.

That’s what Unesco’s director general thought, too. Edinburgh, warned Matsuura, casting his eye about, was in danger of losing its World Heritage status if it went ahead with several aesthetically dubious construction projects.

The United Nations cultural attaché mounted an investigation into the capital following concerns over a council-approved plan to redevelop the former bus depot in the Old Town. Further proposed “improvements”, in Haymarket and the St James shopping centre, will also be inspected and if Matsuura and his team remain unimpressed, Edinburgh will be placed on an at-risk list.

He has recommended that, until he passes judgment, all major works in the city be halted. You can imagine the city fathers’ response to that. Not only the council, but the Scottish government and Historic Scotland have been involved in taking the monumental decisions which are gradually defacing our skyline, not to mention our heritage, and they are outraged by Matsuura’s cheek.

His lack of understanding “ beggars belief”, said officials. If he had his way, all development in Edinburgh would be suspended for a year. Graham Birse at the Chamber of Commerce asked incredulously: “Is he seriously suggesting that developments that have been subjected to the full rigour of our planning process should be stopped in their tracks?”

To which the answer is: yes. And for which I would like to say, on behalf of all the ordinary people of Edinburgh, a big thank you to Mr Matsuura. We have watched our most lovely landmarks, our once navigable roads and even our beautiful Botanical Gardens wantonly despoiled by the “full rigour” of the town planners.

But then we are merely residents and taxpayers and have no say in these matters. If it takes an outsider to put things right, so be it. We couldn’t agree more with the Unesco chief’s pronouncement; what he says is music to our ears. And talking of music, when Matsuura was through with Edinburgh he went west, where he had more fun — and found more favour. Glasgow, he decreed, would be named as one of Unesco’s culturally distinguished cities.

The announcement follows a concerted campaign by Glasgow and, unlike the news in Edinburgh, was greeted with unbridled joy, kicking off a party at the city hall and prompting exaltations from the Lord Provost and the culture minister, Linda Fabiani.

The culture minister wasted no time in claiming Glasgow’s achievements for her cause, declaring: “This signals to a world- wide audience that Glasgow is a centre for cultural excellence. I welcome its success

as we build towards the Year of Homecoming 2009, ensuring a true celebration of Scottish culture on the international stage.”