Festival venues join forces to create ‘calm leafy oasis’ in Edinburgh city centre

A THREE-strong alliance of festival venues is to join forces to help bring the crowds back to Edinburgh’s New Town - by creating a “calm leafy oasis.”

• Festival promoters will create “calm leafy oasis” by way of new “green corridor” in Edinburgh’s New Town

• Corridor will be “the greenest project ever undertaken in the Fringe”

Yew hedges, outdoor cafe-bars, acoustic music & book readings, and the festival’s first dedicated bike hire scheme will take over the middle of George St from Wednesday.

The book festival, the Famous Spiegeltent and promoters running the Assembly Rooms have joined forces to create the new “green corridor” between Frederick & Hanover streets.

They say it is planned to be an antidote to the “ugly aluminum building sites” around Edinburgh Uni’s main campus, where there has been a huge growth in venues in recent years.

It is hoped the bike hire scheme - which will include racks at both the book festival and Spiegeltent arena - will reduce traffic congestion around major venues, with diversions and road closures expected to accommodate tramworks over the next month.

The venture is said to have been mirrored on the book festival’s al fresco arena in Charlotte Sq, while Assembly Rooms promoter Tommy Sheppard claims it will be “greenest project ever undertaken on the Fringe.”

The council has given permission to divert traffic away from the middle section of George Street, despite closing off York Place to all traffic except buses for tramworks until September. Motorists are currently facing lengthy diversions through the New Town.

Mr Sheppard has been given the contract to stage shows at the Assembly Rooms while Famous Spiegeltent founder David Bates will be running shows in his famous venue outside the front door of the Georgian building.

Meanwhile Mr Sheppard will be programming acts for the acoustic music and spoken word stage, which will be located next to the main bar in the outdoor arena.

Mr Bates, who had previously run the Spiegel Garden in George Square, said: “For 16 years, The Famous Spiegeltent has been the eye in the festival storm. Now it has become the oasis of calm in the middle of the city - a green, chilled-out environment like no other.

“Linked with beautiful Charlotte Square Gardens by bicycles on demand, this will be a very cool way to experience the festival.

“You can relax at The Famous Spiegelterrace with a book, newspapers, coffee or a spritzer and the festival will come to you.”

Mr Sheppard added: “I think we’ve got the greenest project ever undertaken in the Fringe.

“We have recycling schemes for our waste, the bike hire scheme, and the perimeter of terrace will be built using living yew hedge in over 200 wooden box planters.

“Not only will this look much nicer than the ugly aluminium building-site fences that other venues use, but it means it can be used again and again.”

Both the book festival and the Spiegeltent will be running late-night cabaret shows, while the book festival has also agreed to line up authors for readings at the George Street site.

Andrew Coulton, administrative director of the book festival, said: “For audiences, cycling around our compact festival city not only reduces their carbon footprint, but will allow them to avoid the inevitable stresses of congestion and parking and instead take in the unique festival atmosphere and World Heritage Site.”