‘Is St Andrew Square a park or an event space?’ tweeted @speybaysoul this morning. ‘May as well just pave it.’
As she suggests, the available evidence now clearly points to St Andrew Square being an event space, on this occasion themed around the Ryder Cup from 23–28 September.
By our estimate, this will be at least the ninth major project hosted here so far this year.
The situation stems from City of Edinburgh Council’s decision in 2008 to offload the (privately owned) garden to Essential Edinburgh as part of a business improvement district. Essential Edinburgh is essentially a glorified traders association. It reflects the priorities not of the general public but of its own levy payers.
Quite naturally, it interprets the area less as the picturesque, tranquil, green refuge James Craig designed it to be in 1768, and more as a footfall magnet or additional commercial space. Essential Edinburgh's most important measures of success are economic.
To phrase this more palatably in the business improvement district's own terms, two of the organisation's core objectives are:
- Area Promotion: Attracting key target audiences to come, stay, spend and return.
- Facilitation: Providing a united and informed voice to influence on levy payers' behalf and give them direct benefits.
- Clean & Attractive: Ensure a noticeably improved environment to give an enhanced experience.
The fault here is not Essential Edinburgh’s but the Council’s. CEC should have done more to protect public aspirations for this central space under private management. It should have realised that one cannot make friends with a crocodile and expect it to eat mung beans.
A growing number of individuals and the New Town & Broughton Community Council have been expressing concerns for months. Now is the time for elected representatives to take note and do something.
To be perfectly clear, the aerial shot of St Andrew Square above was taken in January 2014.
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@theSpurtle St Andrew Sq. also ponged of bleach yesterday afternoon, providing olfactory unpleasantness to accompany the visual hideousness.
@theSpurtle and it won't be long before the @edxmas takeover either!
@edinspotlight @theSpurtle *GROAN*
This from @theSpurtle about St Andrew Sq. I agree completely. http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/st-andrew-square-%E2%80%93-snapped-yet-again …
Frankly, @theSpurtle is the only paper worth reading anymore. CEC does it again. RT St Andrew Square discontent http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/st-andrew-square-%E2%80%93-snapped-yet-again …”
Corporatisation of public space or pay off for opening square to public? "@theSpurtle: St Andrew Square discontent http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/st-andrew-square-%E2%80%93-snapped-yet-again …"
@theSpurtle the garden may not be used as James Craig intended but neither is the rest of St Andrew Square.
@theSpurtle Youngson reckons Craig would may have been disappointed by the buildings on the square. It was no Place Stanislas...
@theSpurtle and I could argue that while the New Town may look lovely it wasn't designed or built for public pleasure...
@theSpurtle but for the pleasure of those in power. And so it remains.
@papawasarodeo If you're right, & it pleases only commercial taste of those now in charge, surely good reason for CEC to assert new style?
@theSpurtle CEC leases it from the proprietors who presumably support the management company so power remains with the proprietors
@papawasarodeo Surely more adept management could combine fewer more popular events with less disturbed publicly accessible private space?
@theSpurtle Of course it "could".
@papawasarodeo You don't sound optimistic.
@theSpurtle I think that Essential Edinburgh will continue to use the gardens to enhance commercial activity within the BID.
@theSpurtle Spurtlites can always enjoy the bucolic charms of Bellevue or King George V (slumming it for @NewTownFlaneur)
@theSpurtle or walk a further 100m to the currently event free East Princes St Gdns (a challenge in velvet slippers I know)
Few velvet slippers in most of Spurtleshire. Just hoping to keep our clogs mud-free on outings to the city centre.
