Princes Street fire: Reopening timetable, buses 'over capacity' and wind delays
Plus: Josh goes for gold; cost of the Crags’ wild fire; and impact of Visitor Levy to be monitored
Princes St set to reopen to traffic “in weeks not months”
The city council is expected to lay out a timetable this week for the reopening of Princes Street “within weeks not months”, as wind-delayed work continues to shore up the shell of the burnt-out former Debenhams building.
The local authority is stressing the city centre remains “open for business”, despite the ongoing closure of Princes Street between Frederick Street and South Charlotte Street to facilitate “painstaking” preservation work.
Loose stonework is being removed by hand and steel reinforcements installed in an operation that is now expected to be able to save the historic facade of the building. The operation is so delicate that “even slight gusts (of wind cause) work to be paused”. You can see the council’s full update here.
That means transport disruption is likely to continue throughout the Festivals and perhaps beyond. The now traditional pedestrianisation of parts of George Street during the Fringe has already been scrapped to accommodate diverted bus services, with entertainment moved instead to Charlotte Square. Meanwhile, there are complaints of passengers being turned away from full buses between Leith and the city centre, as we head towards a fourth week with tram services suspended to the north and east of Princes Street.
Growing confidence: Council leader Jane Meagher said she has been encouraged by the good progress that has been made on site, adding: ”I am now confident that we are talking weeks not months in terms of reopening Princes Street.”
Growing repair bill: The cost of the emergency work to shore up the remains of the old Debenhams building is expected to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. The city council is directing the operation and will seek to recoup the cost from the building’s owner, London property billionaire Asif Aziz, through his company Criterion Capital.
Why not just bulldoze it? That question has been raised by the city’s transport convener Stephen Jenkinson. Responding to calls for more urgent action to get transport moving through the city again, from Tory councillor Jason Rust, Jenkinson posted on Facebook: “Look, if it was down to me I’ll just knock the building down and get the road reopened asap however like most things it isn’t quite as simple as that.”
Heritage organisations have been pushing hard for every effort to be made to preserve as much as possible of the remains of the badly-damaged B-listed Victorian building. That looks to be paying off in heritage terms, which will inevitably prolong the next steps of drawing up fresh plans for its future.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
GOING FOR GOLD: Edinburgh’s twin 1,500m world champions Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman are set to go for gold in what promises to be one of the highlights of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Assuming they come through their qualifying heats on Wednesday morning, the pair will go head to head on Saturday evening. With fellow Scotsman Neil Gourlay also running, some commentators are asking whether Scotland could possibly record a 1-2-3 in one of the Games’ Blue Riband events.
FRINGE TICKET LOTTERY: Audiences will get a chance to land tickets for sold-out shows at this year’s Fringe thanks to a new Broadway-style lottery system. Shows at venues including Shedinburgh, run by Baby Reindeer producer Fransesca Moody, will hold back a handful of tickets for shows to offer on the Sold Out Board website. Venues in Broadway and London’s West End have run a similar scheme for many years.
COUNTING COST OF WILD FIRE: Conservationists fear a colony of rare butterflies may have been wiped out by the recent wild fire beneath Salisbury Crags. Park ranger Matt McCabe told the Evening News it would be next year before the impact on the Northern Brown Argus butterfly would be known. “If this colony has not been entirely lost, it will have been severely negatively impacted,” he said.
META GLASSES BAN: The promoters of the Edinburgh Comic-Con has banned Meta glasses from its events after complaints of “secret filming” of guests and attendees. Monopoly Events said the ban would apply to all “wearable recording devices” and followed a number of guests saying they would be reluctant to appear at conventions after being filmed without their knowledge.
MURDER ACCUSED DEAD: A man accused of murdering his ex-partner at her home in the capital was found dead in HM Prison Edinburgh yesterday. Lee Greenan, 46, had been remanded in custody after being charged with killing beauty business owner Vikki Soloman.
YOU DANCING? Talking Heads star David Byrne has earned a string of rave reviews for his theatrical sell-out shows at the Playhouse, but city-based comedian Phil Jupitus has sparked a debate by complaining about the way dancing was encouraged during the shows. Jupitus said a pre-show announcement saying dancing was allowed in the all-seated auditorium effectively discriminated against people who were disabled or unable to stand for an extended time.
TRACK CHANGES: Engineers at Heriot-Watt University, working with colleagues in Leeds and Europe, have designed a self-levelling railway sleeper that could help reduce the cost of maintaining high-traffic “transition zones” on the rail network. Researchers say the recycled plastic sleepers could help cut costs and improve passenger comfort.
BLACK(ROCK) DAY FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY: The go-ahead for a 544-bed super hostel in the West End, which The Inquirer revealed was connected to the world’s biggest investment fund manager Blackrock, has sparked protests. The developers bypassed the city council to win Scottish Government approval for its controversial plans. Philip Flockhart, a conservation architect and spokesperson for the community campaign against the scheme, said: “There will now be understandable concern that this creates a roadmap for other heavily-financed developers to pursue similarly intensive schemes while bypassing meaningful local democratic scrutiny.”
CYCLE GROWTH: Edinburgh Napier University has partnered with South of Scotland Enterprise to drive the growth of Scotland’s cycling and mountain biking economy – worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year. At the heart of Bike Innovation Scotland is the new Caerlee Mill Bike Campus in Innerleithen, which will bring together businesses, researchers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to develop and test new ideas and products.
‘GLORIOUS HUMAN’: Popular comedian Paul Sneddon, better known to audiences at the Fringe and The Stand as alter ego Vladimir McTavish, has been remembered as “a glorious example of a human being”. His brother, Sandy, paid the tribute at his funeral at Warriston Crematorium, where other eulogies came from broadcaster and comedian Susan Morrison and Stand co-founder Tommy Sheppard.
ONE HOME TO 11 FLATS: A single home in Merchiston and extension would be turned into 11 flats under plans submitted to the city council. Slievemore Development Limited has applied for planning permission to convert the home at 8 Merchiston Crescent and demolish its garage and extension to create 11 flats.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
Edinburgh’s visitor economy being monitored as tourist tax goes live
Businesses in Edinburgh’s hospitality sector - which generates more than £2.5 billion and supports tens of thousands of local jobs - have put the city council on notice that they will “monitor” the impact of the new Visitor Levy, which went live last week with tourists now paying the 5% accommodation tax.
However, city council leader Jane Meagher, expressed satisfaction that the visitor levy – expected to raise £50 million – was now live, and added: “We now have a unique opportunity to invest more in the things that make our city so special. We know that the city’s popularity comes at a cost through the pressure it puts on our services and on the people who live and work here all year round. This small new contribution from overnight visitors will help improve the services and public spaces we all depend on, while better managing the effects of tourism and major events.”
Marc Crothall MBE, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said: “There’s great uncertainty around how visitors will respond … Will it lead to some choosing not to stay over in Edinburgh or to take shorter stays, or will it result in people still coming but spending less in the destination’s restaurants, pubs, shops, attractions, and other local businesses?
“These are impacts we’ll be monitoring over the coming weeks and months, and we will be expecting authorities to do the same.”
No Celebration
Leon Thompson, executive director of UKHospitality Scotland, was forthright in his view: “The UK’s first visitor levy is not a cause for celebration. It’s a landmark moment for all the wrong reasons – increasing costs for visitors, hitting Edinburgh’s local economy and harming our reputation on the world stage. It has not taken long for visitors to notice the price increases that hotels have been forced to pass through.”
Others have adopted a pragmatic approach. Roddy Smith, Chief Executive at city centre BID company Essential Edinburgh, said: “ The key thing from businesses’ point of view is that the money that’s collected needs to be used well and visibly and there has to be accountability for what is delivered…
“We see our job as being a critical friend to this process and holding the council accountable for how they spend the money. The additional cleaning and the additional policing is a really good start, but it is a start.”
Edinburgh employs 36,000 in its food and accommodation sector, 25,000 in retail and a further 20,000 in culture, arts and recreation.
RATES WATCH: Scotland’s pubs and clubs will be looking to the Scottish Government to match new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s decision to cut the sector’s business rates south of the border by 20% from April next year, reports Daily Business.
CHAIR APPROV-ED: Edinburgh headquartered fintech Approov has appointed Silicon Valley veteran Rex S. Jackson as independent chair to succeed Lucio Lanza, who will continue to serve on the board as a non-executive director. The firm is based in the Capital and Palo Alto, California.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
ROYAL RETURN: Take a peek inside the newly-refurbished King’s Theatre, grab a drink in the cafe, gaze at the beautiful John Byrne dome and see what three years of work has created. Pop in and meet the King’s team on its reopening weekend on Saturay and Sunday.
TURNING BACK THE CLOCK: For the first time since 1940, the outdoor amphitheatre in Braidburn Valley Park will host a performance. On Saturday, the Edinburgh Brass Band will host a free concert from 1-3pm.
STRANGE BEAUTIES: The first major retrospective of Welsh artist Gwen John in more than 40 years opens at the Gallery of Modern Art on Saturday. Rarely seen drawings and watercolours features in Gwen John: Strange Beauties which showcases works inspired by her religious beliefs, French modernism, and her surroundings in the Parisian suburb of Meudon.
QUICK BITES
NEW ARRIVAL 1: Asu, the latest project from the team behind Glasgow’s admired Five March, has launched on the Shore at super-trendy venue Brown’s of Leith. Restaurateur Joanna Nethery and her team promise to bring “the vibrant flavours of Asia” to the new restaurant, and executive chef David Cleary has previous, having headed up Michelin recommended Hanoi Bike Shop.
NEW ARRIVAL 2: Specialty coffee company ZeroBars has opened its first pop-up café in Scotland. The new café, which uses an innovative cold extraction process, is located in the main food court at Waverley Market.