Exclusive: Summerhall to be sold to housing developer
Multimillion pound deal fuels fears for longterm future of city's treasured arts village
The huge Summerhall arts complex is to be sold to a housing developer in a move which will fuel the fears of supporters fighting to secure its future.
The McDowell family trust, which owns the former Dick Vet School campus, has accepted a significant bid for the site. The property has been operating as an ‘arts village’ for the last 13 years, hosting Fringe and year-round exhibitions and performances, as well as more than 100 creative and tech companies, writes Euan McGrory.
It is believed to be the biggest privately-owned arts complex in Europe.
The complex was expected to sell for around £10 million after it was put up for sale in May amid financial pressures on the loss-making operation. However, the size of the winning offer - understood to be around £3 million more than the next highest bidder - has raised concerns most of land will be turned over to housing to maximise the returns on the investment.
The best hope for Summerhall had been for a philanthropic bidder, keen to preserve the existing arts and creative industries activity on the site, to secure the property.
However, pressure to seal a deal has grown after HMRC brought a winding up order against the company running the complex, Summerhall Management, over a disputed tax bill. The family of Summerhall founder Robert McDowell, who owned the campus through an Isle of Man-based trust, Oesselmann Estate, has now opted to accept the highest bid.
The owners will now pursue more detailed talks with their preferred bidder.
In the meantime, all the existing tenants have been told they can continue operating on site for at least the next three years. The arts charity Edinburgh Palette is in talks to take over the day-to-day running of the site from the financially-troubled Summerhall Management.
The announcement of the sale sparked widespread protests, including a petition signed by more than 14,000 supporters, calling for it to be saved as an arts venue.
City council leader Cammy Day and the Capital’s culture convener Val Walker have jointly written to the McDowell family trust to raise their concerns about the future of the site.
In a letter seen by the Inquirer, the two Labour politicians said Summerhall had become one of the mainstays of Edinburgh’s cultural life and that it would be a “terrible loss to for the wider community” if the site was developed for other purposes.
It is understood the new owners proposals include plans to continue arts activity on part of the site alongside redevelopment.
The level of concern within the council means any planning permission ultimately granted is likely to include stipulations about the space preserved for the arts.
However, similar stipulations were placed on major redevelopment carried out on Kings Stables Road, off the Grassmarket, which eventually became largely student accommodation with a significantly watered-down presence for the arts.
The selling agent Cuthbert White confirmed that a preferred bidder had been chosen and talks were advancing with the prospective new owners as well as Edinburgh Pallete regarding the running of the site.
The prospect of a major housing development on the site is likely to reignite the campaign to save the Summerhall arts village.
Earlier this year, one of its high-profile supporters, singer-songwriter Karine Polwart said “if this becomes student/luxury flats it’ll be an utter travesty in a city that stakes its identity on culture.