Three-day clean-up ordered for capital’s run-down Royal Mile

A THREE-DAY clean-up of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile has been ordered in the wake of concerns about the state of the historic thoroughfare.

City council officials have agreed to co-ordinate a major overhaul of the street, which runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace, next month.

Dozens of volunteers will be urged to help council workers tackle run-down closes, unnecessary signage and other clutter, unsightly graffiti, ugly flyposting and broken-down lights.

The idea was floated at a “Royal Mile summit” last month, which also heard plans to draw up a tough new “charter” which businesses, tourism operators and council officials will be asked to enforce.

Plans for the “spring clean” from 6-8 March emerged after concerns from Edinburgh World Heritage and the Cockburn Association about the upkeep of the Royal Mile and the quality of the visitor experience compared with other European cities. Tom Buchanan, the council’s economic development leader, said: “We aim to involve as many local residents, businesses and other stakeholders as we can. This is not just a short-term examination of the street - it will be an ongoing project.”

Marion Williams, director of the Cockburn Association, said: “If we could deal with freeing up the pavements, keeping on top of waste management and removing clutter we’d be a long way forward.”

BRIAN FERGUSON