Festival cavalcade to face axe after shops outline tram worries

Published on Tuesday 17 February 2009 09:13

IT has been the colourful opening fixture in the Capital's festival season for decades.

But the city's 512 million tram project looks to have sounded the death knell for this year's Festival Cavalcade.

City leader Jenny Dawe today revealed that some of Princes Street's big retailers are keen for tram works on the busy shopping street to continue through a planned August embargo in a bid to avoid any danger of their lucrative Christmas trade being hit by over-running works.

That means the cavalcade – which can attract crowds of up to 200,000 and around 3000 performers – would not be able to go ahead on its traditional route through the city centre, and police chiefs are unlikely to allow it go on anywhere else.

And it is understood that even if tram works on Princes Street are suspended during August, the area would still be considered a building site and would not be suitable for the cavalcade.

Council chiefs today said no decision on the embargo will be made until the Princes Street closure, which begins this weekend, and associated traffic diversions have bedded in. But David Todd, director of the Edinburgh Festivals' Cavalcade, hit out at the loss of the free event, which is now in its 34th year.

He said: "I think the people of Edinburgh would be left terribly disappointed if, for the first time in 30 years, the cavalcade doesn't happen and all for keeping the tram project in budget and on time.

"We have sat down with both the council and police – it is clear that the route we have just now is the only option for parade of this size and popularity.

"The retailers are important but you have to consider the impact that the festivals also bring to the city's economy.

"What sort of impression will it leave visitors if Princes Street is closed and full of roadworks?"

The Act of Parliament behind the tram project states that the cavalcade must be catered for by tram firm TIE but only once the line is up and running, currently scheduled for 2011.

City leader Jenny Dawe said: "The soundings we have had from the larger retailers are that they would be keen for the work to continue through the August embargo because Christmas is a far more important time to them.

"There are options, such as finishing the Mound work ahead of August and opening that section, but a final decision will not be taken until we speak to more stakeholders and also see how this weekend's closure plans go."

An eight-month closure of Princes Street to traffic gets under way on Saturday.

A council spokesman added: "We want these events to go ahead and, as we do every year, we are actively looking at the cavalcade route. If works stop and Princes Street is opened, we will make sure that we do everything possible to have the cavalcade back there."

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