Fringe promoters issue last-ditch plea for St Andrew Square rethink
● New blow as bid to relocate events to George Street is turned down
Edinburgh Festival Fringe promoters have issued an 11thhour plea for a rethink over a ban on shows being staged in a historic New Town garden after city council chiefs rejected an attempt to relocate them elsewhere.
Promoters said they have been left with no other option but to “beg for clemency” from the owners of properties on St Andrew Square who have ordered a clampdown on the use of its garden space.
Owners including Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life have been urged to think again after a bid to close off part of George Street to accommodate the Famous Spiegeltent was turned down.
The city council and business group Essential Edinburgh, which lease the square and maintain it on behalf of its owners, are under mounting pressure to strike a compromise deal to avoid a row over the square’s use overshadowing the 70th anniversary of the Fringe and the 250th anniversary of the New Town.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is in talks with the council over using part of George Street, as it may not have access to all of its normal Charlotte Square Gardens home, while the operators of the Assembly Rooms are also planning to use part of the thoroughfare.
However, work on the St James development is thought to have forced the council to rule out a complete closure of George Street for festival events this summer – it is believed to want to keep traffic flowing along most of the street to avoid the risk of the city grinding to a halt.
Officials are said to have been encouraging the relocation of the Spiegeltent to either Festival Square or Fountainbridge. However, Salt ‘n’ Sauce Promotions, which has used St Andrew Square for the last three years, said the “only serious option” for this year was to “squeeze” onto George Street, but this had been rejected.
The promoter has urged the owners to “dig down into your reserves of civic compassion” and allow Fringe shows to go ahead in the garden for a final year while a long-term alternative is found. Salt ‘n’ Sauce also told Essential Edinburgh the owners could still “walk away from this looking like heroes rather than villains”.
Director Kenny O’brien said: “This event has been hugely popular and has made great progress in helping to bring the Fringe and more people to the New Town, so I’m appealing to any sense of civic pride that may exist among the owners to let us have one last season.”
A council spokeswoman said: “We‘re continuing to work with each of the festival promoters to review potential spaces for August activity. A final plan is yet to be put in place.”
However, Essential Edinburgh chief executive Roddy Smith said festival promoters had “no absolute right to run a commercial event on space they do not own”.
He added: “Essential Edinburgh will work with the council to animate certain blocks of George Street as per our ongoing discussions.”
“I’m appealing to any sense of civic pride that may exist among the owners to let us have one last season”
KENNY O’BRIEN, PROMOTER