The planning permission granted to Underbelly Ltd in 2014 (Ref. 14/03914/FUL) had as a condition that the company should restore St Andrew Square Garden within three months of the removal of temporary structures associated with its Christmas and New Year events.
Our understanding is that the deadline passed yesterday. This was the scene this afternoon.
The Garden has not been fully restored.
City of Edinburgh Council's Enforcement has been notified of a 'possible breach' (Refs 1344701; 1374217).
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Alan Kennedy Will they argue that the current state of the mud pit formally known as St Andrew Square is as a result of the dancing stick men rather than from the Christmas tackfest being there?
Also, is there any will within The council to do anything about such possible breach given they are complicit in ruining the city's green spaces to begin with?
@theSpurtle good to test this...but I'd say this remaining non reinstatement is due to stickmen installation and not the Xmas/Hogmanay stuff
David McFarlane The 'garden' is way over used for commercial uses. It is a garden, not an area for retail hell. The award winning landscaping scheme which was put in once public access was possible cost huge amounts of public money. The underground path side led lighting did not even work for the length of the contractual maintenance period. How much did that bit cost?! Your photo clearly demonstrates the flooding issue which has never been resolved. The drain is higher than the surrounding ground levels and the land is horrendously compacted. Because of the set up machinery and plant driving over it. Therefore there is no chance of proper drainage.
Euan MacGuzzi McGlynn Area of peace and tranquility, that's what we were sold by this disgrace of a council.
Brian McNeil I note the consent is addressed to an agent, who has an address in Edinburgh. But, where are Underbelly actually registered? Won't be SC483235, "Underbelly (Scotland) Ltd" because that was dissolved on March 15th this year with the annual return overdue.
Paul Burgess It's a muddy mess. This garden is nothing but a cash cow to our greedy council there's never any time to sit in the garden and relax it's always got events on. It's been ruined.
Gordon Hastie It;s a midden, as are Princes St Gardens.
Graeme Purves The conditions don't appear to include a get -out clause if there's been an intervening stickman installation.
Broughton Spurtle That was our impression, too.
Charlie Clark @SaltireChazshould never been given contract in first place @FollowTheCow
Lorraine Moore Princes st is still in the process of laying it's turf and it's the middle of April. St. Andrew garden is an eyesore.
So for about 3 months of the year we all enjoy some greenery before summer comes along - and then it starts all over again.
Colin Tate It's very sad that the square has been ruined. It's no longer a garden just a tacky, unkempt event and retail space. They weren't even imaginative in the choice of coffee seller. I mean ... Costa. Good grief. As for the bins, parked cars, worn paths ... Time this was all looked at because they're clearly not looking after it. I wish it had stayed locked. At least it was nice to look at then.
Paul Henni There needs to be a balance to all of these things and it ain't there at the moment. Did the gate on Waverley Bridge at entrance to the Gardens get fixed? I realise that we are mere city inhabitants, but, stating the bleedin' obvious, we live here and they are our council.
Stephen Gordon Sad to see my home city being ruined by bad planning decisions and the impact of these overblown and pretty crass money making events.
I just want to be able to sit out on the grass from time to time. Should that seem so unlikely?
@theSpurtle what are the local councillors saying about it?
Broughton Spurtle @theSpurtle
City Centre: Rankin– silent, sphinxlike, as ever. Doran– not a peep. Mowat– questions, questions, pain in arse for CEC. @papawasarodeo
@papawasarodeo but in a way I wonder why only local cllrs ought to have a say in this. It affects ALL residents of Edinburgh @theSpurtle
@theSpurtle Its a total disgrace. Our City centre is treated like a theme park for tourists, definitely not a living space for residents.
@theSpurtle @EdinburghWH @ArchHist @STVEdinburgh Killjoys & Philistines! Keyframes/Stick man was fab.If only we had more public art as good
@EdinShopHero @theSpurtle @EdinburghWH @STVEdinburgh I liked it. But Mound Precinct, Castle St, Grassmarket etc might've been better.
@ArchHist @theSpurtle @EdinburghWH @STVEdinburgh Why? It's not as if we r using the grass to sit out at this time.of year?
Tom Parnell @ArchHist
@EdinShopHero @theSpurtle @EdinburghWH @STVEdinburgh why not use areas that don't get turned into mud baths?
@ArchHist @theSpurtle @EdinburghWH @STVEdinburgh Just feels like vendetta against art.Spurtle was blasting Keyframes before any mud mention.
Cal Daniels It had such possibilities but the sorry state it's left in most of the year is a sad sight to behold and totally unnecessary.
@papawasarodeo but in a way I wonder why only local cllrs ought to have a say in this. It affects ALL residents of Edinburgh
Raymond Rose After the xmas commercialisation of the garden space a muddy quagmire is still a muddy quagmire no matter how much you try to dress it up with distracting lights, a or so called public art, whose asthetics more readily belong to a tawdry fun fair from the 70's.
Lets face it the whole post xmas clean up was a botched job and no getting away from it.
I feel sorry for the poor custodians of Uluru in Australia a site who's sublime and awe inspiring nature is about to recive the same fun fair treatment, let's hope it remains sublime and awe inspiring dispite the matchstick lights assult.
@theSpurtle Underbelly pays for the reinstatement, but don’t manage it. We too want to see it finished asap, the bad weather hasn’t helped.
.@Edxmas@theSpurtle yes but this is the excuse year after year. We should *expect* bad weather at this time of year.
Tom Hogg
@EdinJag @CityCycling@theSpurtle@Edxmas Get the new grass down just in time for the Fringe, when it gets covered up again. Seems sensible.
@Edxmas@theSpurtle Bad weather is what we get in Scottish winters. That can't be an excuse.
@Edxmas In any case, Underbelly sought the planning consent and got the planning condition. They're responsible.
. @Edxmas Did bad weather in November stop you from building the market? @theSpurtle @GASPurves
BKR @Lunchquest@theSpurtle I know it's empty ranting but I did just "award" this Costa as the worst place for coffee in Edinburgh...http://lunchquest.co.uk/2016/04/worst-10-coffees-in-edinburgh/ …
Fay Young It's good to see discussion about use of St Andrew Square. I have a personal interest in that I was a non exec director of Edinburgh City Centre Management Company at the time the square was being transformed into a welcoming public space. I am also a signatory to the multi-organisation agreement to dedicate St Andrew Square as Edinburgh's Poetry Garden (not many people know that but it was opened by Richard Holloway back in 2007 and Ron Butler, then Makar, dedicated a poem to the space). For a while we organised low profile, light footstep, events in the square – which included planting 'poetry sticks' (cost – zero, clearup – instant, impact – gentle engagement with public) three years in a row. They were quietly popular, so popular that the first installation was nicked, but quickly and easily replaced. http://www.fayyoung.org/lost-world-replaced/
Dominic Berry When it was first proposed to open up St Andrews Square gardens, one possibility was to create a symmetrical, Georgian layout with lawns, wide paths, wooden benches, no water feature, no special lighting, no cafe and no gimmicks, i.e. create something that would have been historically correct. But the Council rejected that idea with contempt: "Edinburgh is not a museum", etc. This is the result.
UPDATE (22.4.16): 
Lorraine Moore Just passed st.andrews square on the bus - the grass in the middle is now there! The grass near the scots monument has still to be laid - but most of the grass is down on Princes st. I prefer grass to commercial units
