Super-duper exascale computer - and a university financial crisis
Plus: Library for homeless under threat and Visitor Levy set for go-ahead
New hope for Edinburgh supercomputer - as university warns of major cash crisis
The £800m exascale ‘supercomputer’ which Labour dropped from government spending plans after winning the election looks like it is back on the agenda.
Scotland Secretary Ian Murray has said he is “hopeful” it is on its way with UK Government officials reportedly in discussions about placing a state-owned supercomputer at Edinburgh University.
The move comes as principal Sir Peter Mathieson said the university is facing financial challenges “greater than in any recent times” and warned of “difficult and potentially painful” times ahead.
The university warned its staff last year that compulsory redundancies may be unavoidable as it looks to make cuts in its “unsustainable” £120m a month running costs.
£31m ‘white elephant’: The university built a £31m wing at its Advanced Computing Facility at its Easter Bush Campus in Midlothian to house the supercomputer before the project was axed. It is currently sitting empty.
‘Science’s HS2 moment’: The unexpected cancellation - which the Labour government put down to a lack of funds being allocated by the Conservatives - led to warnings the country was risking its position as a world leader. It was described as “science’s HS2 moment” by John Womersley, a former executive chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, who is now a special adviser at Edinburgh University.
Exascale? Exascale supercomputing is defined as the ability to produce a billion billion operations a second.
What would it do? Fifty times faster than any current UK computer, it would aid research and development in AI, drug discovery, advanced engineering and climate change. Edinburgh would be one of the few places in Europe to host such a powerful computer.
What next? The new supercomputer plan could be confirmed as part of the government’s detailed spending plans for the coming years, due to be announced in June.
What about the financial crisis? In the university’s annual report, Sir Peter has warned: “Our outgoings are consistently growing faster than our income. We are therefore taking a series of steps to change our operating model to ensure that we remain financially sustainable.”
Growing income: The university’s total income rose to £1.434billion in 2023/24, an increase of 4 per cent from the previous year, driven by higher research income and increased returns on investments.
So what’s the problem? Like other Scottish and UK universities, Edinburgh is facing a series of challenges, including falling international student recruitment, growing staff and utility costs, and what the university describes as “the continued inadequate levels of funding for Scottish domiciled and other UK students”.
What next? With a voluntary redundancy programme still ongoing, industrial action cannot be ruled out at this stage. The Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) has described the situation as "deeply worrying" and promised to “fight to defend every job".
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
SAVE THE STREET LIBRARY: An inspiring charity which provides library books for people experiencing homelessness in Edinburgh is facing closure after being served with an unexpected eviction notice. The Streetreads Library, which also offers a communal space in Nicholson Square for up to 200 people a week, is operated by the Simon Community at a cost of around £75,000 a year. The charity is urgently searching for a new home to ensure it can continue delivering the service.
VISITOR LEVY: The Capital’s Visitor Levy plans have been approved in principle by councillors, who rejected calls from the SNP and Greens to increase the charge from 5% to up to 8% of accommodation bills. All the city’s accommodation providers - from hotels and guesthouses to campsites - will have to start applying the charge to advance booking from May, for stays from July next year onwards. The plans are now expected to win final approval from the full council on Friday.
Legal warning: The council’s lawyers have warned a potential legal challenge to its levy plans could result in an 18-month delay. The Scottish Tourism Alliance has warned “several unanswered questions” remain over “some of the complexities around the role of third parties in collecting the Visitor Levy, including destination management companies, tour operators and online booking platforms”. It says a legal challenge can’t be ruled out.
SWIFT FASHION: A fashion chain popular with celebrities including Taylor Swift is to open on George Street. Free People is set to move into the unit currently occupied by designer clothes shop Cruise.
TRAM RECORD: Edinburgh’s trams carried more than 12 million passengers for the first time in the course of a year during 2024. Record numbers were expected as it was the first full year since the opening of the extension Newhaven. Taylor Swift helped though, as nearly 250,000 journeys were made on the days of her Edinburgh shows, with many Swifties taking the tram to and from Murrayfield.
OPIUM HOUSE: A mansion where Sir Walter Scott lived and is said to have smoked opium with William Wordsworth is up for sale. Barony House in Lasswade, Midlothian, could be yours for offers over £1.8m.
ZOO WHAT? Edinburgh Zoo is offering private ‘feed the tigers’ experiences to visitors with prices starting at £2000.
TOP TOILET: After last week’s news that Murrayfield Stadium’s loos were the worst in the Six Nations rugby championship, we are delighted to bring you news of a shopping centre that is, ahem, flushed with success. The toilets at The Centre in Livingston have been named the best in the UK at the Loo of the Year Awards, otherwise known as the “Toilet Oscars”.
SPORTS COUP: Olympic steeplechase medallist and former Nike coach Mark Rowland is swapping working with Canada’s elite runners to take up a post with Edinburgh University. The UK 3000m steeplechase record-holder hopes to establish the university at the cutting edge of international distance running within the next five years.
BIOSCIENCE BOOST: A five-storey bioscience centre is to be built at Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings campus after being approved by the city council. The New Darwin block, which will replace the existing Darwin Tower, is part of a £200 million university redevelopment.
NEW FLATS PLANS: New proposals for an 80-bed student flats complex have been brought forward for the site of the former Murrayfield Bar, in Westfield Road, by developers EH1. The plans include new flood management measures designed to address concerns which led to the previous application being rejected. Maurice McCann, acting on behalf of EH1 and the landowner, said: “Helping deliver student accommodation is a win-win that also helps tackle the city’s ‘housing emergency’ as it helps free up flats to return to the general rental market and helps to boost the regeneration of the wider Georgie/Dalry area.”
BACK THE BRUNTON: Nearly 5000 people have signed a petition in support of replacing the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh with a new theatre and arts complex. Campaigners will use the show of public support as evidence of community support when East Lothian Council consults the public on future provision.
THE BUSINESS
Chamber wants action to tackle slump in business sentiment
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce – along with the rest of the chamber network, is calling on Government to take action in three areas to ease “a pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes” which has led to a slump in business confidence.
The Chamber wants to see a speeding up of reform of business rates to create a system that incentivises investment; accelerated investment by Government in critical infrastructure; and help for exporters through improved trading arrangements with the EU.
Their ask follows the largest poll of business sentiment since the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget shows that concerns round tax, including national insurance, has seen business confidence and plans for investment slump.
The latest British Chambers of Commerce quarterly survey shows that tax is now a top concern to 63% of businesses, up from 48% the previous quarter. Around 4800 companies took part in the survey.
NOVEL WAVERLEY PLANS: Edinburgh’s Waverley Market shopping centre has submitted plans to the city council for new leisure facilities including mini-golf, arcades, bars and a 10-lane bowling alley in one of the centre’s two-storey units previously occupied by Jobcentre Plus and the NHS Scotland vaccination clinic.
BANK JOBS THREAT: Lloyds looks set to close its office in Dunfermline next year, as part of an ongoing review of its consumer relationships operations The Dunfermline office houses 1500 staff, with many expected to be asked to work from home or relocate to the Citymark building in Edinburgh. Around 1000 jobs are expected to be affected nationally.
VERTICAL FARM: A £1.8 million vertical farm has opened at the King’s Buildings campus of Scotland’s Rural College – the first Higher Education institution in Scotland to operate a commercial sized vertical farm as part of its commitment to global food production.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
ESPECIALLY FOR YOU: Jason Donovan returns to the Playhouse tonight until Saturday to star as Frank N Furter in Richard O’Brien’s camp classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Especially for You singer was a hit with audiences when he starred there in Priscilla Queen of the Desert six years ago.
POP-IN TO THE PLAYHOUSE: If you prefer your musicals to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, then Mary Poppins, with Australian stars Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers, is at the Festival Theatre from Wednesday until 15 February.
BURNS IT UP: As you would expect, there are plenty of Burns Night celebrations going on in the Capital this week. Perhaps the pick of the bunch promises to be Conrad Molleson and friends at Leith Depot stage on Saturday. Burns Turns it Up. is sure to be a wildly creative night of songs and poems written or inspired by the life, love and spirit of Scotland’s Bard.
QUICK BITES
CANNY AWARD: The renowned Canny Man’s on Morningside Road has been named amongst The European Bar Guide’s Top 100 Bars in Europe for 2025. The pub, established in 1871, is family run and earned high marks on a variety of criteria including choice and quality of drinks, atmosphere and character, and style and décor.
COFFEE FIRST: Renowned coffee chain Blank Street is to launch its first Scottish store on Victoria Street on Saturday. The chain, which began in Brooklyn, will also open its second store on Princes Street in February.
BURNS ON MENU: A week of Robert Burns-inspired dining and events will culminate in a free ceilidh for up to 400 guests at the Bonnie & Wild Food Hall at Edinburgh St James on January 30th. The Food Hall’s festivities kick off on Burns Day on Saturday with special menus designed to show off Scottish fare across the venue’s variety of outlets.
Hi Doug,
Thanks for your kind comments. We’re suitably embarrassed by that 😳 Now corrected. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
EM
I am very much enjoying reading the Inquirer - quality journalism focused on things that interest me. However, today there is a minor point, but an aggravating one if found in high quality journalism - the difference between "principal" and "principle"! The wrong one has been used in the piece on Visitor Levy 🫣😟😔