Is the city getting tough with its Christmas Markets?
Plus: Fireworks ban enforcement underway; and tributes to 'creative' hotels entrepreneur
Christmas Markets plans face being thrown out over concerns for impact on Princes Street Gardens
The Capital’s Christmas Markets face being curtailed this winter with plans for extra stalls expected to be thrown out over concerns they will damage Princes Street Gardens.
Winter Festival organisers Unique Assembly want to extend the market across the lower lawn in East Princes Street Gardens this year, alongside the usual attractions in the upper parts of the park.
However, councillors are being urged to reject the proposal when the local authority’s development management sub-committee meets on Wednesday, with city officials warning it is likely to leave the Gardens damaged.
The Christmas Markets are hugely popular with tourists and residents, but have been the subject of complaints in recent years about the impact on the Gardens and a lack of effective oversight of commercial operations by the council.
Grotto move: The festival operators also want to move their Santa’s grotto, known as Santa’s Stories, and market stalls and fair ground rides into West Princes Street Gardens. The grotto has been based in St Andrew Square Gardens in recent years, but the businesses which own the park decided against hosting Christmas attractions this year. City officials are recommending the move to the West Gardens is approved on Wednesday, on the grounds that the benefits of maintaining the attractions in the city centre will outweigh any detriment to the Gardens.
Work is already underway on preparing the Christmas Markets, including installing the Big Wheel, ahead of their opening on Saturday, 15 November. Operators Unique Assembly say that only involves those attractions which have already been approved by the council as part of a three-year deal, such as the main festive markets, the Big Wheel and fair ground rides.
What might be rejected? Council officials are recommending thirteen market stalls proposed for the lower lawn, which is overlooked by the main entrance to the National Galleries, are refused planning permission. They say the damage it might cause to the lawns isn’t justified by any additional benefit they might bring.
A change of tack? The recommendation comes after Unique Assembly were refused permission to bring the Big Wheel to the Gardens during the summer. Together, the two moves may indicate a slight hardening in the council’s approach to managing attractions in the Gardens.
All so last-minute: The Cockburn Association conservation charity are frustrated the issue is being debated so late in the day, after raising a similar complaint about plans to erect the Spiegeltent venue in St Andrew Square in the summer. James Garry, the Cockburn’s assistant director, said it “appears to repeat a familiar pattern in which planning approval lags behind on-site activity, limiting both public scrutiny and councillor oversight. This undermines confidence in the process and in the commitment to treat large-scale, commercial events in public parks with the same procedural rigour expected elsewhere.”
£200m economic boost: Research published by Unique Assembly suggests the city’s winter festivals, covering Christmas and Hogmanay, generate around £200 million for the city economy and attract more than 2.8 million people, with a large proportion being residents.
Unique Assembly say: “The careful transformation of Princes Street Gardens has begun only in those areas for which planning permission is in place. We will not start building any potential new elements unless we receive a positive decision on planning permission. We have over 30 years of experience delivering events in Edinburgh and are committed to working responsibly with the council and residents in order to create something that truly benefits the city and brings people joy.”
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
FIREWORKS BAN: Police have started using their dispersal powers in the Capital’s firework control zones ahead of Bonfire Night. A group of youths were dispersed after fireworks were set off in Moredunvale Road, between Little France and Gilmerton, on Friday evening. The city has nine control zones this year - in Balerno, Calton Hill, Corstorphine, Gracemount, Longstone, Moredun, Niddrie, Seafield, and Sighthill - after serious disturbances, including police being attacked, in recent years.
Permit plan paused: First Minister John Swinney has confirmed plans to limit the sale of fireworks to people with a permit have been put on hold due to concerns about the cost of introducing the licensing system. The move came to light after the issue was raised by Edinburgh Eastern MSP Ash Regan.
MUSIC PARK BOOST: The transformation of the old Royal High School on Regent Road into the National Centre for Music has been boosted by the award of £4.5 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Work is underway on the £70m project - which includes the first new city centre park in more than 200 years - and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. The Scottish Government, which recently awarded an extra £20m to the city’s Dunard Concert Hall, and Edinburgh City Council, which owns the building, will asked to make a “modest contribution” to help meet the final cost.
QUEEN ANN: Ann Budge, the successful entrepreneur who played a critical role in saving Hearts from bankruptcy, has been named the football club’s honorary president. The 77-year-old is stepping down as the club’s chairperson next month. She will be succeeded by businessman and Hearts fan Calum Paterson, co-founder of the investment firm Scottish Equity Partners.
HOSPITAL DATA BREACH: A woman has been charged after up to around 100 patients had their records inappropriately accessed at NHS Lothian. Those involved have been contacted after the data breach was discovered during a routine audit.
MOTH SOLD: A unique glass mosaic Moth, made by Leith-born Sir Eduardo Paolozzi for Tottenham Court Road underground station in the 1980s, was sold by Edinburgh-based auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull for £12,600 at their Modern Made sale in the Mall Galleries in London.
EURO-WARNING: Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, speaking in Edinburgh at the annual dinner of the European Movement in Scotland has warned of the rise of the political hard right across the globe, Russia’s territorial aggression, growing competition from China and India and the disruptive consequences of unpredictable American trade, defence and foreign policies. He called for moderate political forces in Europe to respond as “a haven for free men and women, for decent values and the politics of partnership and cooperation”. Arts impresario Richard Demarco was elected Scottish European of the Year at the dinner at the Royal Scots Club.
ROUTE NEWS: American Airlines is reintroducing its summer service to New York JFK, which means it will operate two transatlantic routes from Edinburgh in summer 2026. The JFK service joins the route to Philadelphia, which resumed earlier this year. The daily New York JFK flights will operate for the full summer season between 8 March and 24 October, while the Philadelphia service will see its season length extended in 2026, operating between 28 March and 24 October.
FOOTBALL STAR TRIBUTES: Tributes have been paid to Edinburgh-born former footballer Willie Young following his death at the age of 73. Young, who grew up in Heriot, in the Scottish Borders, made his name at Aberdeen in the 1970s, before becoming an FA Cup winner with Arsenal and starring for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
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THE BUSINESS
Tributes flood in for renowned hotel entrepreneur
Tributes have been made to the renowned hotel entrepreneur and financier Sandy Orr, whose career was forged largely in Edinburgh, who passed away at the weekend.
His son David, with whom he was in business, announced his passing on social media by saying his father had passed “in the care of the very special teams at Chelsea and Westminster hospital.”
Mr Orr had co-founded Macdonald Hotels with Donald Macdonald, and was perhaps best known for his co-founding with Donald MacDonald (no relation to the above) of the boutique finance firm MacDonald Orr, which backed many successful hotel ventures including City Inn.
The hospitality community in Scotland was quick to pay tribute. Peter Lederer CBE, former chairman of VisitScotland, said: “He was an inspirational and visionary leader. My thoughts are with you and the family.”
Professor Joe Goldblatt, Emeritus Professor of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University, said Mr Orr had been “talented and creative.”
Neil Ellis, Chair of Edinburgh Hotels Association, also passed on his condolences, while Jamie Lovie, MD of Intelligent Mobile – the multi-award winning digital agency in which he had taken a keen interest – said: “He was an incredible man and it was a pleasure to know him.”
RISING CONFIDENCE: Business confidence in Scotland rose 15 points during October to 54%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland. The Business Barometer surveys 1,200 businesses monthly.
Companies in Scotland reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 16 points at 61% which, when taken alongside their optimism in the economy being up 12 points to 46%, gives the headline confidence reading. A net balance of 63% of businesses in the country expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up six points on last month.
GROWING RITUAL: The luxury wellbeing brand Rituals has opened a second location in Edinburgh. Their new 285 sq metre store is at Fort Kinnaird, stockings the firm’s range of bath, body and home products, follows the opening of their shop at the St James’ Quarter.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
SHORT FILMS: This year’s Edinburgh Short Film Festival gets underway on Friday. Catch award-winning shorts from the Toykyo and Locarno film festivals, as well as nominees from Cannes and Venice, alongside city-made mini-movies. The programme runs at the Filmhouse until Sunday, 16 November.
FRENCH FILMS: Movie fans are being spoiled this week as the 33rd French Film Festival UK starts on Thursday. Four city venues - the Filmhouse, Cameo, Institut Francais d'Ecosse and McDonald Road Library - will host 35 screenings of eagerly awaited French language films and rarely seen classics over the next seven weeks.
ARDAL RETURNS: Long-time Fringe favourite Ardal O’Hanlon returns with a career-sweeping retrospective of a stand-up tour. Ardal O’Hanlon: Not Himself is at the Queen’s Hall on Saturday at 8pm.
SAFE FIREWORKS: If you are looking for an organised fireworks display, you can find details of five across the city - in Morningside, Craigmillar, the Grange, Currie and Myreside - in this Evening News round-up here.
QUICK BITES
HIGH PRAISE: Two Leith restaurants are amongst the new additions to the influential Michelin Guide in Scotland, further adding to the area’s stellar gastronomic reputation - tasting menu restaurant Dùthchas and chef Barry Bryson’s first solo venture Barry Fish which has already won a swathe of positive national reviews for its menu of fish and shellfish.
CALEY BAR REOPENS: The Caley Bar in the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh has re-opened after following a series of refurbishments by Hilton at the property as part of its upmarket Curio Collection.