Leading lawyer takes charge of Princes Street Gardens revamp and hits out at 'scaremongering' critics

One of Scotland’s best-known legal figures is to spearhead a controversial bid for a £25 million redevelopment of Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh.

The Quiach Project would see Edinburgh's historic West Princes Street Gardens 'reimagined.'

John Campbell, QC, who was counsel for the inquiry into the soaring cost of the Scottish Parliament building and who represented Donald Trump in his wind farm battle with the Scottish Government, has become the figurehead of the “Quaich Project”.

He attacked critics of the public-private partnership project for “scaremongering” over “completely untrue” claims that it would lead to over-commercialisation and privatisation of West Princes Street Gardens.

He said he was convinced the project had the backing of the people of Edinburgh, who realised that private finance would be needed to improve the “tired” and “lifeless” facilities in them due to a lack of available council finance.

The new-look West Princes Street Gardens is set to receive planning permission from the city council.

However he admitted it was “intensely difficult” to raise money for the project, which is facing a £19 million shortfall, but insisted this was because the redevelopment did not yet have planning permission.

Campbell, one of Scotland's leading planning law experts, will lead efforts to secure approval for the redevelopment and raise the funding for the project, which would see the gardens’ bandstand and concrete bowl replaced with a new stage, amphitheatre and two-storey visitor centre and corporate hospitality complex.

Campbell, who declared that the project would “reimagine one of the finest urban spaces in Western Europe,” has stepped in following the sudden resignation of the hotel developer Norman Springford as chair, five years after the offered a £5 million donation to the city council to help transform the gardens.

Campbell was previously a legal adviser to the developers behind the controversial bid to turn the former Royal High School on Calton Hill into a hotel, which the Scottish Government is still to make a final decision on.

However he cited his long-time involvement in heritage and conservation bodies, including the Cockburn Association and the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust.

Campbell, who was a trustee of the Quiach Project under Mr Sprinford's leadership, said: “Some scaremongering has suggested private philanthropy is trying to turn the gardens into a commercial space. That’s not the purpose of the project at all.

“At the heart of it is a philosophy of trying to improve what is there already so it is better and more usable for the Edinburgh public.

“It isn’t about building a concert hall for tourists or attracting visitors in the summer. This is principally a project for the city’s residents, to improve their experiences in their gardens.

“The project is about making one of the finest urban spaces in Western Europe even better. What’s wrong with the gardens are the facilities within them.

“My sense of public opinion is that people feel the gardens have been neglected, but they also understand that the public purse is not deep enough to improve them without private assistance.

“When planning permission is in place it will be possible to approach donors, philanthropists, trusts and public authorities and invite them to be part of the project.

“Until then, raising money is intensely difficult. People won't commit.”

Campbell said he had first become involved in the Quaich Project after an approach from the then director of the Cockburn Association, Marion Williams, who agreed to become a trustee after an initially criticising Springford's vision for the gardens.

She left the heritage body to take up a fundraising role with the project, but had left within months of the winner of an international design competition being announced.

The Cockburn Association has led the criticism of the project since the appointment of a new director, Terry Levinthal, in August 2017, the same month the winning vision was revealed.

Campbell said: "Every city needs a Cockburn Association, but particularly a city with a World Heritage Site in the middle of it, as developers will do what they will do and they need to be kept in check by constructive criticism.

"I think there is widespread recognition among its members that the facilities are below par. We've consulted widely across the city and we've seen overwhelming support for the improvement of the poor facilities.

"There will be aspects of the designs of which the Cockburn Association will be critical but these designs are not frozen in ice until the project goes in for planning permission. We're not at that stage yet, but I am hoping we will be within the next three months."

Controversy has flared over the use of the gardens in recent years after large-scale pop and rock concerts in the summer were revived.

The city council recently insisted all-ticket events which restrict access to the gardens would not be permitted on any more than 15 days in future.

Campbell added: “The authorities used to permit events 200 times a year at the bandstand. Bands used to play four or five different times a day.

“We’re proceeding on the basis that the city will allow 15 event days a year and for the remaining 350 days it will be a much-improved open public space.

“Pop and rock concerts should be welcome. They’re not the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, they’re not genteel, but they’re part of modern culture. Are we so insufferably middle class that we can only put up with fireworks and classical music?

“I think the people of Edinburgh want to see these facilities improved so that their councillors can make sensible choices about what type of performances go on.

“If they are really listening to their constituents then there will be pop and rock concerts in the gardens."

Springford resigned as chair days after controversy erupted over leaked fundraising plans for the project, which suggested corporate backers will be able to link their brands to everything from new pathways and seating to the new amphitheatre.

Campbell insisted that there was “absolutely no evidence” to support claims that the gardens would be turned into a “private playground” reserved for wealthy donors and for commercial companies.

However he added: "Any public venue today can attract corporate events where companies want to entertain their guests. There is something on almost every night at Edinburgh Castle."

Donald Wilson; the city council's culture chief, said: "The Quaich Project is providing us with an opportunity to make sure everyone can enjoy the Gardens in the future, particularly those who currently find access difficult, while allowing the bandstand to be restored to its rightful place as a vibrant community hub at the heart of our city centre.

“The incoming chair, John Campbell QC, brings a wealth of experience to the role and I very much look forward to working with him to make sure everyone can enjoy this wonderful asset for generations to come."