Council halts pilot project to promote street in Old Town

Published on Monday 15 March 2010 09:03

SUNDAY markets, outdoor concerts and other events will not go ahead in the Grassmarket due to a lack of public funding.

Last year's pilot programme was designed to promote the area as a "family-friendly" events space, following its 6 million revamp.

Unique Events organised the high-profile events thanks to 300,000 of Scottish Enterprise funding. These included The Dancin', a popular music and dance showcase, and regular arts and craft markets.

Organisers were keen to promote the newly pedestrianised area and ditch its reputation as a drinking den.

But the city council has said it will not be organising any events this year due to budget restrictions. There had also been some concerns by residents about noise and disruption in the area.

Organisations, such as the Jazz and Blues Festival, can still apply to host their own events.

The summer Mardi Gras celebration has already become an established part of the city's calendar, while the Edinburgh Film Festival also used the Grassmarket last year.

Councillor Joanna Mowat, who represents the city centre, said: "I think the original hope was that events would create more events. Obviously with the financial situation, there isn't any money for the council to be funding a programme.

"Some things really don't work for the residents, if they use big PAs and amplified sound systems. Last year was a pilot project, and some things were more successful than others. Within a residential area, it's quite difficult to get the balance right."

Nick Cumming, a resident and member of the Grassmarket Forum, said many local people would be pleased by the news. Although they had welcomed some of the smaller-scale events, he said others were inappropriate for a residential area.

He said: "When The Dancin' was on, they started rehearsing with amplified music at around 7am.

"It really was very disruptive. Most people here didn't choose to live in an events space.

"The communication with residents could have been a lot better. We were given very little information about what was happening."

But some shopkeepers and business owners were disappointed by the news.

They said the programme had helped raise the profile of the area, bringing in thousands of extra customers.

Bill Cowan, owner of Costume HaHa and a member of the Grassmarket Area Traders' Association, said: "There were several good events last year, and I thought there was a lot of hope for the idea.

"I thought the markets had great potential. They weren't very good last year, but you have to give things time."

Councillor Steve Cardownie, the city's festivals and events champion, said: "Although there is not a planned programme of events taking place in the Grassmarket this year, organisers are welcome to apply to hold events through the usual channels.

"Since its improvement, the Grassmarket has proved a very popular public space with traders, residents and visitors alike."

Pete Irvine, director of Unique Events, added: "We very much enjoyed working on the Grassmarket project last year, and felt that all of the events, including the open-air cinema, the big dance weekend, the jazz weekend and the markets, were really popular and showed what we could do.

"But we have fulfilled our commitment and have no plans to do anything in the Grassmarket this summer."