Trees and benches banned for 'cluttering up' Usher Hall

Published on Thursday 19 November 2009 21:55

IT IS a multi-million-pound project to help promote some of Edinburgh's major cultural venues.

Live music and theatre performances are expected to spill out on to the street outside the Usher Hall, Royal Lyceum and Traverse next summer when work on a new culture quarter is completed.

But a row has broken out after designers of the 3.5 million scheme decided to ban trees or benches from the area.

Plans revealed by the city council, which owns the Usher Hall, show how traffic will be banned from the main culture quarter area to encourage a more continental-style atmosphere.

However, critics are warning the capital could be left with a "cold and sterile" area and an eyesore like Festival Square, opposite the Usher Hall, which is regularly panned by design experts.

Angry scenes erupted at a meeting to unveil the plans on Wednesday night, with local residents and community groups said to be split over how the new-look area is taking shape.

Trees and various pieces of "street furniture" that were a feature outside the Usher Hall for more than 20 years were removed to make way for a 25m revamp of the building, due to be finished in January.

Architects insist the area must be kept free of "clutter" to allow live music and theatre to be staged outside. But they have admitted new advertising hoardings are to be erected in the area to help promote events.

Colin Ross, project manager at LDN Architects, said: "All of the old clutter, such as seating, lamps, railings and the trees, has been removed from outside the Usher Hall to allow the refurbishment work on the actual building to go ahead.

"It was a bit messy before and the idea is that there will now be a completely clean area. We felt it was important to leave it as open and calming as possible to encourage performances."

Anne Wigglesworth, secretary of Tollcross Community Council, said: "A lot of people are expecting these benches and trees to go back. It's difficult to see how they'll encourage people to use this area if there's nothing there. There's a danger it will become cold and sterile, like Festival Square. We hope it's not too late to get things changed."

Jane Jones, 63, one concert-goer at the meeting, said: "The city seems to have created a lot of these horribly sterile areas over the years, particularly around the financial district. Creating this culture quarter is a great idea but I don't think they're going about it the right way."

A spokeswoman for the council said: "The landscaping works were subject to lengthy public consultation and went through the full planning process."

Peter Wilson, a design expert at Edinburgh Napier University, said: "The city has spent a fortune creating new spaces in areas like Castle Street, where benches were introduced that no-one now uses. I'm sure this area will be much better than Festival Square."