Cappucino al fresco? Sorry, not till after 9am

Plus: Big Wheel plan for summer in Princes Street looks dead in the water; and the city firm seeking £1m to boost world wind-power efforts

Top restaurateur leads calls to end ‘outdated’ restrictions on pavement cafes

Tony Crolla outside the Brunswick Book Club. Pic: Tony Crolla.

One of Edinburgh’s best known hospitality figures has hit out at the city council over its treatment of businesses running pavement cafes.

Tony Crolla, owner of the city’s Vittoria restaurants and Bertie’s on Victoria Street, said staff at another of his venues had been stopped from setting up their outdoor seating area 35 minutes before its opening time.

He also revealed charges for a pavement cafe license had increased a mammoth 7,000% over 30 years, with one of his cafes paying £11,000 a year.

“Why does it feel like… the council is the opposition?,” he said in a LinkedIn post which attracted a big reaction. “I’ve got a meeting with them soon and already I feel on the defensive. That’s not how it should be.”

The issue is to be taken up by business leader Catherine McWilliam, director at the Institute of Directors Scotland, in a meeting with city council chief executive Paul Lawrence tomorrow.

Tony is hoping that from the conversation the council will identify an officer to be a “point of contact” for businesses, and a champion for the issues they face.

What is the issue?

Tony Crolla was exasperated after city officers told staff at his Brunswick Book Club that they could not set up their outdoor seating area at 8.25am – despite having a permit which allows him to have outside tables and chairs from 9am till 10pm and costs a whopping £11,000 per year. He added that in the 1990s the cost was £75 for six months.

That represents an increase of around 7,000%. If the cost of licenses had increased in line with inflation, the price of a 12-month permit would be around £380. Despite the soaring costs, Tony’s major issue is with the creation and enforcement of rigid policies which he feels hamper straightforward improved trading for no good reason.

He told the Inquirer the pavement outside the Brunswick Street/Leith Walk premises are more than wide enough to accommodate the outdoor seating area – or it wouldn’t receive a permit.

“We decided to get a year-round permit, and invested in very high-quality panels and a canopy, as well as heaters. But the council insist we have to take it all in by 10pm each night and then take it all out again in the morning. We asked if we could leave the panels in place, as putting them up and taking them down every day takes a lot of time and effort, but we were simply refused. I just don’t understand why it is such a big problem, given that it causes no issues or problems.

“We take great care of the area, we jet wash it every two days. We do everything with great professionalism and care.”

He insists many of his colleagues in hospitality have told him they share his view, that local people and visitors would like the opportunity to enjoy a morning coffee before 9 am as they do in London, Paris and almost every other European capital. Instead, he says, the enforcement of expensive permits is unnecessarily zealous – and the latest issue simply a sign of a greater malaise between the council and the city’s small businesses.

Do people back him?

Judging by the response on LinkedIn they certainly do. Tony’s original post has been viewed more than 43,000 times, received almost 1,200 likes and attracted more than 300 comments - the vast majority of them positive.

As well as Catherine McWilliam, Denzil Skinner, chairman of Essential Edinburgh, was supportive as well as a host of other small businesses. Steve Byne, a director at Benholm Group which hires out plants and shrubs, said: “It must cost the industry a lot in additional labour, wear and tear, and lost revenue from the pre-9am trade.

“From our perspective of providing planting for such spaces, it’s hard work moving all this every night and morning, and it’s not healthy for the live plants to be put inside for half their lives. If council allowed more to be left outside there is more opportunity for the ‘greening’ of the city…”

A wider issue?

Tony maintains the council has lost a great deal of trust from the business community and needs to take action to win it back. “Who is there at the council whose job it is to work with businesses? Edinburgh is a world-class city, and our hospitality sector makes a massive contribution to the life and economy of the city. Outdated policies with a focus on enforcement, rather than collaboration, hold us back.

“Businesses and the council should work together to promote the city, but instead it feels like businesses are simply expected to contribute money and nothing more.”

What the rules say

Pavement areas for cafes and bars are generally limited to the hour of 9am to 9pm, although some have successfully applied for an extension to 10pm.

The rules were put in place to accommodate street cleaning; provide periods of quiet for residents living in the vicinity of businesses; reduce theft and access to items in cases of public disorder; and provide sufficient space for pedestrians walking and wheeling.

What happens next?

The city council says it is always open to engaging with businesses and other key stakeholders about their concerns. Any changes to the policy or the introduction of a potential trial scheme would have to be agreed by councillors on the council’s transport and environment committee.

YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING

BIG WHEEL (DOESN’T) KEEP ON TURNING: The chances of the Big Wheel staying in Princes Street Gardens from June until Hogmanay are starting to look dead in the water. The 46m-high Ferris wheel has proved a popular attraction during the city’s Christmas and New Year festivities, However, following trenchant opposition to the idea of a six-month stay, operators Unique Assembly told the Inquirer they will only pursue an application if the council now encourages them to do so.

Unique Assembly, which runs the city’s winter celebrations, said: “A proposal to discuss the feasibility to present the Edinburgh Big Wheel during summer was submitted through the Public Spaces Application process, but we appreciate there are many factors which need to be considered to see if this is a viable proposition for the city as a summer attraction. As part of our feasibility exercise, we await feedback from the application process (this) week, to see if there is any desire from the City of Edinburgh Council for further dialogue.”

GARAGE ‘FIREBOMBING’: A fire at a garage on Milton Road East near Portobello is reported to be part of a series of gangland firebombings. Edinburgh Live reports that the attacks are linked to jailed drug dealer Mark Richardson.

ROLLERS TRIBUTE: Memorial benches have been unveiled in Princes Street Gardens to two former Bay City Rollers after an online appeal raised more than £12,000. They commemorate founding member Alan Longmuir, who died in 2018, and former lead singer Les McKeown, who died in 2021. (You can read about some of the Gardens’ other benches here.)

FATAL STABBING: A man has been convicted of murder and attempted murder following a knife attack in the city centre. Peter Mullen, 30, died after being stabbed in Leith Street near the Omni Centre at around 7.45pm in evening in June 2023. Dylan Curran, 25, has now been convicted of his murder and the attempted murder of a second man in the same incident. connection with the death. He will be sentenced at a later date.

RARE CANCERS: Edinburgh South West MP Scott Arthur’s Rare Cancers Bill to encourage life-saving rare cancers research has won government backing. The Bill which proposes creating a database to improve access to clinical trials passed its second reading in parliament. Health minister Ashley Dalton pledged her support, saying people living with rare cancers must be “at the heart” of NHS reform.

HAMMER OF THE HIBS: Hearts have acquired the entire memorabilia collection of record goalscorer John Robertson including his Golden Boot for being Scotland’s top scorer in 1989/90. Key items celebrating the career of Robbo, known as the Hammer of the Hibs for his formidable derby scoring record, will go on display at the club museum at Tynecastle next month.

Image: Richard Murphy Architects

OPEN GARDENS: Celebrated architect Richard Murphy and his team have drawn up an alternative vision for Princes Street that would see the Gardens open 24 hours a day and replace lanes of traffic with wider pavements and a cycle lane. One of their ideas is to reduce trams and buses from four lanes to two, with extended laybys for bus stops. “There are many occasions when the four-lane street is virtually empty of traffic,” the say.

UNI PAY ROW: Edinburgh University principal Peter Mathieson has been criticised by unions for taking a second job shortly before announcing significant spending cuts. Sir Peter, who earns more than £400,000 as Principal, has joined the board of Roslin Cell Therapies (CT), a commercial spin-out of the famous Roslin Institute which created Dolly the Sheep. His pay for his second role has not been disclosed and the university said his work for the private company would be carried out in his “personal time”.

HELLO MINISO: Popular Chinese chain Miniso is opening its first Scottish store on Friday on Princes Street. Miniso specialises in household and beauty goods and collectibles including Hello Kitty products.

‘CULTURAL EMBARASSMENT’: The planning application to erect a statue of medical pioneer and suffragist Elsie Inglis on the Royal Mile has reignited the row about Royal sculptor Alexander Stoddart being commissioned to create the work. Natasha Phoenix, a feminist sculptor and campaigner, has described the decision to appoint him and not a woman “a cultural embarrassment”.

THE BUSINESS

Capital technology can help boost wind-power production around the world

An Edinburgh University spin-out company that can help global efforts to create renewable power is looking to raise £1 million from original and new investors.

Reoptimize Systems is transforming wind energy efficiency through breaking technology which optimises turbine performance through data-driven software adjustments, which delivers an average 2.3% increase in energy production with no required hardware changes.

The scale of the opportunity for the company is vast, with over 400,000 wind turbines worldwide and an industry growing at 8-10% per year. The efficiency boost the company’s technology can offer translates into a recurring revenue opportunity worth £1.5 billion globally.

Currently, Reoptimize Systems operates six pilot projects across five countries, consistently demonstrating increased turbine efficiency. The company’s technology fine-tunes turbine power curves, reducing downtime, minimising mechanical stress, and extending operational lifespan. All optimisations are executed remotely, eliminating the need for on-site interventions.

Reoptimize Systems was co-founded by experts in renewable energy, Chief Executive Officer, Juan Pablo Echenique, and Chief Product Officer, Dr. Richard Crozier. Strengthening the leadership team, the company recently appointed Dr. Mike Anderson as Board Chair. Dr. Anderson, a co-founder of Renewable Energy Systems (RES), brings decades of expertise in global renewable energy initiatives.

CEMENT PLANT PLEA: Trade Union GMB Scotland has asked Scottish Government Ministers to intervene to halt potential job losses at the Tarmac cement plant in Dunbar. The plant, Scotland’s only cement-making facility, received a £1.49m grant from Holyrood to expand rail operation sin Dunbar five years ago. Tarmac has confirmed a consultation process is underway with staff as “part of planned changes to the operational structure and practices.”

TRAIN TRIAL: ScotRail has begun trials to use fuel made from vegetable oil. The train operator maintains the fuel reduces carbon emissions by up to 16% and improves air quality by 30%. The trial will last for 12 weeks.

PRESSING ISSUE: Seabass Vinyl, the Tranent based record pressing plant that opened less than two years ago, is celebrating certification as carbon neutral for 2025 by Carbon neutral Britain. The East Lothian business is determined to become the greenest pressing plant, and has sustainability and efficiency build into its design.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

DEATH OF A SALESMAN: Scottish acting royalty David Hayman brings a powerful new stouring production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman to the Festival Theatre from Wednesday until Saturday.

ENJOY THE SILENCE: Silent cinema and live music take centre stage at the historic Hippodrome cinema in Bo’ness this week. HippFest runs from Wednesday until Sunday.

FRESH COLOURISTS: Take a fresh look at some of Scotland’s best loved artists in The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives at the Dovecot Studios until 28 June.

QUICK BITES

SPRING CHICKENS: Fans queued down Princes Street to sample the famous Louisiana style Chicken Sandwich when Popeyes UK opened in Edinburgh at the weekend. The much-hyped New Orleans-style fast food outlet saw more than 100 fans line up before opening.

PIZZA PRAISE: Edinburgh-based pizza makers Civerinos has earned a place on the official list of the best pizzas in the world. According to Time Out’s travel and food writers the New Haven-style pizza is “up there with some of the best.” Civerinos operates from five locations in the capital and one in Glasgow.