Giant wheel plan for Princes Street
How Edinburghs wheel might look in Princes Street Gardens
A GIANT Ferris wheel is to be built in Princes Street Gardens this summer under radical plans unveiled today.
The Evening News can reveal that the city council is in advanced talks with a private firm that wants to put a 60 metres-tall wheel in East Princes Street Gardens, close to the entrance of the cafe/restaurant at the National Galleries of Scotland.
It is hoped that the wheel – roughly the same height as the Scott Monument – will be in place by May and operate for five months until October, before being dismantled and taken away.
Council chiefs estimate that the attraction could bring £1.4 million of extra spending to Edinburgh over the five-month period, as well as providing a boost to footfall in and around Princes Street at a time when many traders are feeling the pinch.
It will also add to the attractions and festivals on offer in Edinburgh as they compete against the London Olympics for tourists’ money.
It will come at no cost to the taxpayer as private firm Great City Attractions (GCA) will pay all the costs of building and operating the wheel.
Deputy council leader Steve Cardownie said: “We are conducting negotiations with operators of a big wheel about potential sites in Edinburgh. We discussed sites like Leith but they felt there was not enough footfall there and that they needed a city centre site, as other sites they have in cities like Belfast and Cardiff are in the city centre.
“We did not think it would be appropriate to have it on the Princes Street level so they agreed to site it down where the ice rink used to be, and I believe the National Galleries are excited about more people being down at that area.
“It does not take up much footprint and there will be a lot of landscaping work around it. It is a spectacular wheel and the booths are fully enclosed with their own speakers, so it becomes a proper experience.
“Of course, it will be thrilling to go up that high but the additional aspect of learning about the city will make it even better.”
GCA, which has pledged to reinstate the ground and grass when it takes the wheel away, had originally planned a much bigger Ferris wheel of up to 120 metres tall in Edinburgh in 2009, but the Birmingham-based firm announced last July that it had cancelled its proposal because the council’s failure to take the tram line to Leith would have a major impact on its financial viability.
The Princes Street Gardens wheel, which will take up an area of land measuring 25 metres by 20.45m, will require approval by a council committee and may need planning consent as well.
No details of ticket prices have been confirmed yet, but GCA charges £8.50 per adult for a ride on the Wheel of York, next to the city’s railway station.
Discussions are continuing about any fee that GCA would have to pay the council for lease of the land, although the authority may also look for a share of the profit on tickets sold, with money raised going towards city projects.
Councillor Cardownie dismissed any fears about negative impacts on the heritage of the city.
He said: “I’m confident it won’t have a detrimental impact on views of the Castle because you’ll still be able to take photos from The Mound or Waverley Bridge, and people might even want to include the big wheel in their photos.”
IT’S OUR TURN NEXT
FERRIS wheels have sprung up across the UK in recent years as cities look for new ways for visitors to enjoy breathtaking views.
The world’s largest ferris wheel is the Singapore Flyer, with the observation wheel opened in 2008 which reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 metres.
The London Eye, built to mark the millennium and the world’s tallest at the time, takes passengers up 135 metres. Many cities are building temporary wheels for the summer. Great City Attractions operates wheels in Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Plymouth and York.
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Comments
There are 60 comments to this article
Page 1 of 4
Ray Merrall
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 06:26 AMComment removed by moderator
joanlily
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:11 PMComment removed by moderator
dgg
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 09:50 PMComment removed by moderator
Edinburgh resident
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 09:28 PMGet rid of the Edinburgh council staff who make decisions for the city, the wheel is in a ditch, got the worst traffic management system in the world, every bus going through the same street, trams that will be useless and no one in Edinburgh wants.
langtounlass
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:45 PM"other sites they have in cities like Belfast and Cardiff are in the city centre" I believe the one that was outside Belfast City Hall has now been taken away. I went on it in 2008 and it wasn't supposed to be staying there for much longer.
RS here
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:26 PMit makes you laugh when Edinburgh Council talks about Tacky Shops on Princes Street and The City centre being part of Edinburgh's World heritage site..................................................... ..................................................................... yet along comes a fairground attraction and nae probs, you can stick it up..........................,.................................................... ............................................................................................................ but want to change your windows in a conservation area......sorry sir .....its out of character for the area.
broomhouse yank via bermuda
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:10 PMplease dont forget the dodgem cars and the wurletzer and the candyfloss. this is so las vegas and must be stopped.
whosaid
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 07:14 PMNot in favour of this, as others have said, its very naive to think that visitors to our city come to ride on a ferris wheel, tram cables, ferris wheel, tacky souvenirs, what is this Blackpool. One Wheel down, a couple of months later another one up?
Mario Antoinette
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:53 PM49 . Listen to yourself and socialist claptrap. Presumably "we" own all the roads and the museums and everything else and nothing can be done or approved without consulting "the people" first. Persumably putting trams on the road is also illegal in your world. We elect our local government. They do things. Get a grip of yourself. You dont know anything.
Mario Antoinette
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:47 PM49 you take the word gullible to new levels.
I'd rather be on holiday
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:43 PMI find this story hard to believe, and probably shoudn't even take it seriously enough to comment, but how could one badly located ferris wheel possibly "bring £1.4 million of extra spending to Edinburgh over the five-month period" or add anything "to the attractions and festivals on offer in Edinburgh as they compete against the London Olympics for touristsâ money"? Is that what we've been reduced to in Edinburgh - turning one of our biggest assets into a cheap fairground? A tacky ferris wheel in Princes Street Gardens Is so NOT what tourists come here to see!
keyser soze
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:43 PMMario @ 43...... Edinburgh council own nothing.The people of Edinburgh own "things". Edinburgh council have no money to own anything. We own Edinburgh Council. It is our money that has allowed Edinburgh Council to purchase " things" over the years. It is just the same as any goverment. They have no money of there own, only that of the tax payer. Please, Mario, do not be so gullible.
Velv
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:37 PMIt won't be long before one wheel becomes five. Then they'll be painted in the Olympic colours, and Edinburgh will have its giant rings ...
Mario Antoinette
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 05:25 PM46 then i stand corrected. Presumably youre talking about BOS - so its owned by Lloyds ? presumably then , its okay.
grumpyscot
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 05:23 PM#43 - actuallly, these stretch of gardens are NOT owned by the council - they are leased to the council on a 1d a year lifelong lease from a major bank that had its head office nearby.
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