Edinburgh triggers rethink on staging of major festivals and events in public spaces

The people of Edinburgh are to get a major say on the future staging of festivals and events in public spaces as it emerged they are likely to spread more about the city in future and face new curbs over outdoor drinking.

The Edinburgh Summer Sessions have seen major acts like Sir Tom Jones, Primal Scream, Chvrches and Paloma Faith and Kasabian perform in Princes Street Gardens.

Some parts of the city could play host to events for the city time while fewer major events may be allowed in the heart of the Scottish capital in future under a new blueprint.

The city council insists the rethink was pre-planned before the coronavirus outbreak, but added that the pandemic was “a good time to pause and consider what and to what extent our parks and green spaces should be used for.”

New rules are to be introduced setting out how public parks such as the Meadows and Princes Street Gardens, and other areas like the Royal Mile, Bristo Square, Festival Square, St Andrew Square Garden and George Street can be taken over.

East Princes Street Gardens is normally transformed for the city's six-week long Christmas festival, which has been called off this year due to the pandemic. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Strict conditions on events are expected to be introduced for each part of the city, including new curbs on how long they can be used and for what purpose, throughout the year, with a presumption against events which are “primarily bar focused.”

An early version of the new rules, which the council has begun talks with community groups and event organisers on, said the temporary use of public spaces supported the city’s aims to “attract the best events to Edinburgh” and “strengthen Edinburgh’s position as the world’s leading Festival City.”

However the draft guidelines say it is "increasingly necessary to manage the intensity of activity in concentrated areas of the city and spread economic benefits of additional footfall over a wider area. The council will support and encourage the use of a wider range of spaces for activities and events.”

The draft blueprint states: “There must be periods of time when each public space is free from temporary events and activities, to support the ‘normal’ day to day use of a sustainable, living city.

“The length of time a space should be kept free from temporary events and activities that impact ‘normal’ day to day use will vary, but will reflect the social, physical, historic, and economic context of the space, as well as the impact of previous events and activities.

“Temporary events should not transform a space beyond a single season or festival period.

“No exclusive use, or single type of event, will dominate any one space. The temporary use of public spaces for the provision of a bar only, or primarily bar focused facility is not considered to balance the needs of a wide range of different users of a public space and will not be supported.”

A spokeswoman for the city council said: “A range services are involved in planning, organising and licensing activities which take place in our public spaces.

“We will endeavour to take a more comprehensive, joined up approach. This plan will set out how Edinburgh will manage its public outside space for events, filming and festivals.

“We’re at the early collaborative engagement stage with a full public consultation planned for early next year.

"Whilst not initiated by the pandemic this is a good time to pause and consider what and to what extent our parks and green spaces should be used for”.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director