Welcome to your midweek edition of The Inquirer.
For today’s long read we return to Summerhall, as developers AMA unveil their plans for the former Royal Dick Vet School.
Given AMA’s failure to deliver on its promises to deliver sports facilities in Cramond, their proposals for the future of the sprawling ‘arts village’ on the edge of the Meadows were always going to be the subject of intense scrutiny.
As they began their consultation at the site yesterday, Jolene Campbell went along to learn more about the plans and how they are going down with those living and working in and around the site.
She also took the opportunity to talk to AMA founder Mike Afshar about the doubts being expressed about his plans and he told her about the “big risk” he is taking.
More on that below, but first your regular midweek news roundup and your cultural highlights for the week ahead.
Your Edinburgh Briefing
CALEY FAREWELL: Demolition work is underway on the former Caledonian Brewery site to make way for its redevelopment as 163 “low-carbon” flats. The brewery closed in 2022 after 153 years in Slateford. Artisan Real Estate is demolishing some buildings and converting others to create a “sustainable neighbourhood” with just two on-site parking spaces.
GRANTON BEGINNINGS: First Minister John Swinney has visited the Granton Waterfront to mark the start of construction work on 847 Net Zero homes, including 387 classed as affordable, and a new primary school. The development, described as one of Scotland’s largest Net Zero housing developments, is part of the wider £1.3 billion transformation of the waterfront to provide 3,500 homes, new leisure facilities and Scotland’s largest coastal park.
WORLD’S FIRST ‘TALKIE’: Historian Marc David Jacobs has uncovered evidence that the world’s first-ever talking feature film was screened in Edinburgh rather than the US. Glasgow playwright Graham Moffat created a 45-minute feature film of his play Till the Bells Ring which was screened in the capital a full year before Al Jolson’s famous 1927 film The Jazz Singer. It was shown at Poole’s Synod Hall, on Castle Terrace, which was demolished in the 1960s.
BACK TO THE OFFICE: The capital’s civil servants have been told they must spend at least 40 per cent of their working hours in the office in a new ‘back to the office’ push by the Scottish Government. Senior civil servants will need to spend spend at least 60 per cent of their time in the office, with all staff required to use a new self-reporting tool to record where they are working from.
OR A BIG PAY-OFF? Senior civil servants are being offered a generous one month’s pay for each year of service (up to a maximum of 21 months) to take voluntary redundancy as part of the Scottish Government’s public sector reforms, Kieran Andrews of The Times reports. The deal is open to officials on C band or above, with starting salaries above £62,000, with pay-off of more than £95,000 needing to be signed-off by Scottish Government Ministers.
Your Pick of the (Cultural) Pops
Greetings, Pop Pickers!
The autumn winds are blowing, and so too are the icy draughts of developer ambition. Word has landed that AMA has applied for a ‘partial’ demolition (and redevelopment) of Summerhall. The cynically-minded might spot the phrase ‘student housing’ in the proposals and anticipate disaster, but hope springs eternal, I suppose. On a lighter note, the celebrity edition of The Traitors has returned to our screens, offering keen-eyed viewers a glorious chance to catch the inevitable slew of dramatic television moments before they are ruthlessly repurposed into panto-schtick later in the year. Yes, indeed!
Inside our auditoriums, this week’s chart is in constant flux. We’ve got revolutionary suffragette hip-hop and slick West End jukebox heavyweights shaking up the established order, an overdue visual arts retrospective finally muscling its way into the upper echelons, and last week’s number one battling to fend off a ferocious wave of fresh contenders.
Right then, pop pickers - let’s count them down!
Honourable Mentions: West Side Story, Bear with Me & Bottom’s Dream
Bubbling just outside the top five, we have some real gems. Our fourth-place finisher from last week, the RSNO’s magnificent West Side Story (Usher Hall, Friday), slips into the honourables today—not through any fault of its own, but due to the strength of incoming shows demanding a place on the chart. Over at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, expect some ursine Scandinavian magic as Bear with Me (Sunday) continues the venue’s wonderful Easy Sundays series, essentially providing a story-filled, easy-going living room for the city every two weeks. Meanwhile, A Play, a Pie and a Pint serves up Bottom’s Dream (Traverse Theatre, October 20th – 24th); it finds writer-performer Martin O’Connor—fresh from reprising his hit Through the Shortbread Tin with the NTS—joining forces with Debbie Hannan, one of the country’s most vibrant directors, to give Shakespeare’s famous weaver a fresh spin.
Falling to Number 5 is... The Steamie (King’s Theatre, until Saturday)
Slipping two spots to number five is Tony Roper’s beloved Glasgow washhouse comedy. You only have a couple more nights to catch this joyful, hilarious celebration of Hogmanay blethers before it packs up the wagons and journeys onto another stage. If you fancy a night of warmth, laughter, and a few tears in the newly refurbished King’s, do not hang about. The curtain comes down on Saturday! By the time you read this, The Quinntessential Review’s Sass MacDonald will have reviewed the show, so if you’re still unsure, go catch her verdict.
New in at Number 4 is... Sylvia (Festival Theatre, October 13th – 17th)
Bursting straight into fourth place is a roving powerhouse. Arriving on a wave of critical praise and boasting the tremendous cast that led its 2023 London premiere - including Beverley Knight reprising her Olivier Award-winning turn as Emmeline Pankhurst alongside Sharon Rose as the titular Sylvia - this hip-hop, funk, and soul-fuelled suffragette musical is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser. Kate Prince’s visionary production turns the battle for women’s suffrage into a gripping family civil war, pitting Sylvia’s fight for working-class women against her mother Emmeline’s militant crusade. Look for this energetic, revolutionary piece of history to become an absolute staple of the UK touring circuit in the years to come - so catch its original form while you still can!
New in at Number 3 is... Jersey Boys (Edinburgh Playhouse, October 12th – 17th)
Snatching the bronze medal is one of my absolute personal favourites. Jersey Boys didn’t spend so many years dominating Broadway and the West End on the sheer strength of the Frankie Valli songbook alone. While most jukebox musicals might lazily dial it in for some easy box-office dough, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s book was groundbreaking when it debuted. It shines a genuinely fresh, gritty light on the Four Seasons’ history while giving the royal treatment to those iconic tunes. If it didn’t tour quite so regularly, it would undoubtedly place higher, but there are some rare confections occupying the top spots this week. Oh, what a night!
Overdue at Number 2 is... Catherine Opie: To Be Seen (National Galleries of Scotland, until November 1st)
Taking the silver medal - and frankly, it should have made it into my rankings back in August when it began - is this spectacularly curated retrospective. I only caught it recently, and boy, is it one not to miss. Opie has been pushing the envelope on who gets to be represented in art for three decades, capturing the spirit of her subjects with a rare gift for the lens and an old master’s instinct for framing. The 13 works Opie has picked from Scotland’s national collection to sit alongside her own photography look perfectly at home with their modern neighbours. Truly exceptional stuff? Not ‘arf!
Staying at Number 1 is... The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Royal Lyceum Theatre, October 2nd – 18th)
Holding fast at the top of the pops for a second week, there is absolutely no avoiding this theatrical behemoth. Muriel Spark’s iconic Edinburgh novel, brought to life by Gayle Rankin and a formidable creative team, is dominating the cultural conversation. By the time I return to tell you all what to see next week, I’ll have formally reviewed it. Can the formidable Miss Brodie survive first contact and retain the number one spot? Time will tell.
And that’s your Top 5!
So whether you’re catching the final washhouse blethers at the King’s, revelling in suffragette funk at the Festival Theatre, singing along with Frankie Valli, or soaking in Catherine Opie’s peerless portraiture before paying court to Miss Brodie, your diary ought to be groaning at the seams.
What’s taking the top spot on your own cultural dance card this week? Think my chart needs a thorough shake-up? Head down to the comments and make your case - right after securing those tickets, of course!
Until next week: Stay bright!
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The future of Summerhall: ‘Arts provision here needs to be guaranteed’
Artists, residents and commnity leaders seek assurances as developers unveil their plans for ‘Europe’s biggest arts village’
by Jolene Campbell
Residents, artists and community leaders have called on developers to “keep their promise” to put arts at the heart of Summerhall as they revealed the first details of their plans to redevelop the site of the arts venue.
Property developer AMA (New Town) Limited launched their public consultation yesterday on their plans for a mixed-use development, comprising arts and community space, alongside food and drink venues, business space, and hotel and student accommodation.
The company say their vision is to retain a “thriving arts quarter” on the site. However, artist’s impressions of the proposals submitted by AMA, appear to show buildings currently housing art and music studios, small businesses and charities, disappearing as part of plans. AMA says it intends to demolish some of the buildings as part of the redevelopment.
One of the architects told The Inquirer there would need to be “some reduction” in the arts spaces, but at this stage there is little detail of what that might look like. AMA founder Mike Afshar in turn told The Inquirer he was taking “a big risk” but was confident he can deliver on the promise of arts provision.
Yesterday’s consultation launch, in the sprawing complex that has been described as Europe’s biggest arts village, was a first chance for the local community to learn more about AMA’s plans and ask questions of the developers.
The background: how we told the unfolding Summerhall story
May, 2024. Why the site was put up for sale: Summerhall, a family divided and a £10m challenge
Oct, 2024. We broke news of developer AMA’s successful bid: Exclusive: Summerhall to be sold to housing developer
Nov, 2024. We revealed the depth of problems on AMA’s Cramond sports development: The Summerhall developer and a promise undelivered after 20 years.
May, 2025. We report on the ongoing arts programming at Summerhall: ‘Just like this building, our aspirations for the future are enormous’
Jan, 2026. AMA’s evidence on the Cramond development is rubbished by councillors: ‘To come along with their waffle, it was absolutely astonishing’
Feb, 2026. More trouble at Cramond: Sports campus plans in trouble as trusted advisor quits
Overall, there was widespread support among those in attendance for investment in the site, particulary the main Summerhall building which recently saw a ceiling collapse after a Fringe show.
However, there was equally widespread scepticism about whether AMA would deliver on its vision of a long-term future for the arts on the site.
The scepticism is fuelled by ongoing problems at AMA‘S Cramond Campus development where promises to deliver community sports facilities have still to be delivered more than 20 years later.
The development plans come amid uncertainty for arts spaces across the city, following the news that more than 200 artists and community groups have been served eviction notices for St Margarets House ahead of its impending sale.
Among those keen to learn more about the plans was local resident Frank Gribben. “Development is good because the site is deteriorating, but I’m sceptical to the point of being untrusting about the arts element of the plans. It looks like a tag on to drum up investment for the commercial parts. So much of the arts is for the more affluent. Why can’t we protect these grittier spaces?” he said.
“In the absence of a credible arts partner, it seems unlikely they will deliver the arts element. There is a risk it could end up being just a hotel and student housing. If they had a national organisation on board, a music promoter or major theatre group, it would seem more real.
“It needs to be insisted upon. Otherwise, this could end up being another major public asset that gets turned into housing for rich people, just like the Sick Kids.”
Luxury housing developers AMA has submitted a pre-application notice outlining its plans for the site, which has become a key Fringe venue since opening in the former vet school campus 15 years ago.
The four development options put forward by AMA.
All four earmark the historic main building as an arts centre.
The open space behind it would be either an “arts courtyard” with a pub facing on to it, or general amenity space.
The TechCube tower at the front of the site would be either a hotel, student flats or offices/commercial space.
The buildings behind them would be a combination of hotel or hotels, student flats, or serviced apartments depending on the option taken forward.
Commerical units would run along the back of the site.
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
City centre councillor Finlay MacFarlane echoed the concerns among the arts community.
“People come here to see shows but what’s at stake is so much bigger. I have friends who use the space and make a living here. It’s a chaotic blend of artists, businesses, charities. There is no doubt changes should be made, like improving accessibility, but I don’t believe PBSA (Purpose-Built Student Accomodation) is right for the space.
“What has already been created here is special and deserves to be protected.”
He pointed to the example of the Filmhouse which was set to be turned into a pub before a wave of public support led to the venue reopening with the support of public fund-raising and a benevolent owner.
“It set a precedent and people in the city were thankful. I hope AMA will do the same. People need to have their voices heard. The arts provision here needs to be a guarantee not just a promise.”
One of the problems at the Cramond Campus development is that planning conditions insisting the sports provision was delivered before all the housing was built was waived by the city council after work got underway.
‘There’s a real synergy here’
Costa Talalaev runs a prototyping company based at the Hack Lab, which would be demolished under plans. He doesn’t know where he would go if the building were demolished. Currently his rent is £360 per month.
He said some of those based on the site are worried that if AMA are successful in getting planning permission for their proposals, they could hike up the rents.
