Dalkeith-based Cipher Games Ltd has applied for permission to convert office space at the Category C-listed 3 Queen Street into an ‘Entertainment facility’ (Ref. 15/03421/LBC).
The nature of the entertainment is not clear, but plans reveal three Game Zones of three rooms each on the ground and basement floors.
We strongly suspect the concept entails an ‘escape-the-room game’ where groups cooperate or compete in solving a series of puzzles and/or maze-like challenges.
After preliminary discussions with the Council, proposed new partitions on the ground-floor’s front room will now only extend to 2.4m high, and original cornicing will remain unchanged and visible from the street.
Cipher Games is a relatively new company which changed its name in April from Adventure Games Ltd, established on 24 February 2015. Directors Craig Douglas and Sara Marchionni have not yet posted accounts.
‘Escape-the-room’ games of this kind are proving popular around the world, particularly for those running corporate team-building exercises or seeking to push personal relationships with a loved one on a night-out past breaking point.
Scotland’s first such venture – Escape Edinburgh – began on St Colme Street in early 2014, and has since expanded with additional venues in Glasgow, Newcastle and Dublin.
Signs still point to Tesco arrival
Tesco appears to have moved closer to trading at 30–30a Dundas Street.
The long delay since it gained consent to convert the premises into an ‘Express’ store last September, combined with its announcement of poor trading figures and the phased closure of Royal Bank of Scotland offices nearby, had led some locals to suggest the supermarket would not after all move in.
There was even speculation that Morrison’s was lined up to take over instead.
Now, though, Tesco’s new application for signage shows the ailing retail giant’s plans for the New Town remain on track (Refs 15/03033/ADV and 15/03091/LBC).
It proposes ‘halo illuminated’ brushed stainless-steel pinned-off lettering above the main door, and internally applied 130cm x 60cm vinyls on the panes to either side. Frosted ‘blips’ (parallel rows of hyphens) across the open glazing at shoulder level are presumably intended to alert customers not to walk into or through the glass.
The latest plans appear relatively modest and respectful of the property’s Category B-listed status within the Edinburgh World Heritage site.
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