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George Street

COUNCIL BOOST FOR OUTDOOR HOSPITALITY THIS SUMMER

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If hospitality firms reopen as planned on 26 April, Edinburgh Council will help them by waiving fees for outdoor area occupation permits and making additional space available in a largely pedestrianised area between Charlotte Square and Frederick Street.

The Scottish Government’s restricted hours for hospitality mean that up to 6 adults from 3 households will be able to be served alcohol until 10pm, and/or food without alcohol indoors until 8pm. Council-assisted outdoor bevvying will continue until ‘at least 30 September 2021’.

GEORGE STREET FINAL CONCEPT DESIGN

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The regeneration of George Street’s public realm has entered a new phase with the launch of a final Concept Design. The plans are available for scrutiny on the Council website here (use the menu toggle top-right for more detail). There’s a virtual helicopter ride here.

The proposals are budgeted at £32M, with £20M coming from Transport Scotland via Sustrans.

GEORGE STREET A GHOST TOWN

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George Street was quiet yesterday afternoon. Eerily quiet, even for a Sunday.

There was only the occasional car. Otherwise the city-centre soundscape consisted mostly of crows rattling from rooftops, the occasional chimes of St Andrew’s and St George’s, and other people’s conversations clearly audible across four empty traffic lanes and a central reservation.

GEORGE STREET WILL NOT GO DIGITAL

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Nine applications to populate George Street with double-sided LCD advertising screens have been refused by City of Edinburgh Council. 

As described here in October, JCDecaux wanted to use bus stops and freestanding monoliths – laughably described as ‘community information panels’ – at various locations along a thoroughfare which needs no such beautification. 

In a crushing report to the Development Management Subcommittee, CEC officials concluded: 

NEW REPORT OUTLINES FUTURE FOR GEORGE STREET

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As last reported here on 10 March, new principles for the layout and uses of George Street have reached an advanced stage. They will go before the Transport and Environment Committee for approval on 7 June. 

That report is available as a pdf at the foot of this page. As far as it goes (precise timetabling, materials, designs and budget are not yet available), we think the document is helpful and admirably clear. We therefore don’t see a need to paraphrase it at length. 

JAW-JAW ON GEORGE STREET

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Stakeholders and Council officials met today in a public meeting to discuss the latest visitor research findings on the George Street experimental lay-out.

The figures were compiled by interviewing 100 people each month in March, April and May this year.

Attached below are the raw data presented at the meeting, and a presentation by CEC’s Iain MacPhail.

Summarising what had been learned from the trial so far, MacPhail highlighted:

GEORGE STREET ON HER MIND

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Local resident Caroline Roussot attended the latest George Street stakeholders’ meeting on 17 March.

It’s a quarterly coming together of those interested in the street’s future as the CEC-run 12-month experiment to determine its possible future uses and layout continues.

On each occasion, figures are produced to try and gauge what effect the scheme is having and how a cross-section of the street’s users feel about the result. We attach the latest such presentation unedited at the foot of this page.

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