Leith celebrities link up to bring back shoppers

Published on Saturday 2 May 2009 01:42

FORMER boxing world champion Ken Buchanan, pop stars the Proclaimers, writer Irvine Welsh and businessman Sir Tom Farmer have joined a campaign to boost trade for beleaguered shopkeepers in Leith.

The famous Leithers have agreed to help promote businesses down Leith Walk by appearing on huge "I Love Leith" banners.

Images of the "Famous Five" Hibs legends, celebrated pub landlady Mary Moriarty, the long-established delicatessen Valvona & Crolla, and the Royal Yacht Britannia have also been put up along the port's main shopping street

to help brighten up the area after widespread disruption lasting more than a year because of tramworks.

The 10,000 campaign, led by the city council and the local business organisation, also features grainy images of the "foot of the walk," Leith Docks and Newhaven Harbour dating back to the 18th century.

Futuristic images showing how the area will look when the tram system starts running and one showing what trams looked passed through the area in the 1950s are also included in the campaign.

The images, which have also been put in the windows of the former Woolworths store at the foot of Leith Walk, have gone up to coincide with the arrival of a mock-up of a tram in the area and the staging of Leith Festival next month.

It is hoped they will be kept in place for the foreseeable future if they prove popular with shopkeepers and local residents.

A spokeswoman for the city council said: "To coincide with the tram mock-up moving down to Constitution Street in Leith, street dressing has been produced to give something back to the Leith community and to make the area more attractive.

"There are 42 banners on lamp posts featuring 21 images in total celebrating Leith people, places and transport past, present and future. We have also used the majority of the images to brighten up the windows of the old Woolworths building at the Foot of the Walk."

Gordon Burgess, spokesman for the Leith Business Association, said: "This has been very much a joint initiative between ourselves and the council, and we're delighted with the way the banners look.

"They really improve the whole look of the area and we hope they will draw people's attention away from the roadworks in the area.

"Leith has had a lot of bad publicity over the last year or so because of the tramworks. This kind of thing is long overdue but is very welcome and we're hoping we can keep the banners up for a good while."

Council leader Jenny Dawe, said: "Leith is an area rich in character known for many famous people and places throughout the ages.

"The banners do a fantastic job, making Leith even more attractive and encouraging pride in the history of the community."

A few weeks ago, thousands of copies of a free glossy magazine promoting businesses in Leith and the West End, also hit by tramworks, were distributed around the city.