‘Capital’s most famous street needs a vision’

PRINCES Street may run it close, but there can be little doubt that the most famous and instantly recognisable street name in the Capital is the Royal Mile.

Any other city in the world would be proud to boast a single road which had the domineering Castle at one end and the splendour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the other.

But, of course, you can’t walk ten paces along the Royal Mile without admiring another gem, from the historic magnificence of St Giles’ Cathedral to the radical modernism of the Scottish Parliament.

In between there’s the Assembly Hall, George IV Bridge, the Storytelling Centre, the World’s End pub, Canongate Kirk – the list itself is a mile long.

But every local knows that – like Princes Street – the Royal Mile has its problems.

Not least of these is the slow erosion of its unique character by the emergence of “tartan tat” shops and global chains such as Starbucks.

While recent improvements will have made local boozers such as the White Horse and Kilderkin more fluid, there’s no doubt that they have also changed the make-up of the street.

But shopkeepers will tell you the biggest current threat to their future is increases in rents, especially in properties owned by the city council as it seeks income more in line with what the market will pay.

So we welcome the fact that the council is taking the lead in a consultation on where the Royal Mile goes from here.

Residents and businesses are meeting expert advisers today to kick-start this process, and it is to be hoped they will come up with a workable vision to take forward our historic and most famous street.

It’s Christmas . .

As the bobbles are packed away for another year and the last of the pine needles are finally removed from the living-room floor, the last thing we want to be thinking about is Christmas.

But planning for the next festive season is exactly what city chiefs are now doing, an indication of what a major draw and economic boost the winter festivals have become.

We welcome the fresh ideas revealed today to revitalise the celebrations, especially moves to protect the taxpayer from any future losses.

Moving the famous ice rink to St Andrew Square also seems like a great plan and would help spread the footfall boost around the city centre.

Let’s just hope, of course, that the garden is only occupied by festive cheer by then . . .