World Heritage body wants festive market scaled back
The body charged with protecting Edinburgh’s World Heritage site has stepped up pressure on councillors over the city’s controversial Christmas market by demanding it is scaled back because of its impact on historic views across Princes Street Gardens.
Edinburgh World Heritage (EWH) broke its silence on the expanded use of the park to warn: “This must not set a precedent for future years.”
The body has cast doubt over any repeat of the erection of scaffolding on top of the park to accommodate the market by claiming it “clearly disrupts this magnificent environment to a very great extent”.
EWH, which is tasked with monitoring possible threats to Edinburgh’s world heritage status, said any future events in the gardens must be “more sensitive to the exceptional environment”.
However, Underbelly, the events company that has an £800,000 contract with the city council to produce the city’s winter festivals, has insisted that when the market opens on Saturday it will be an event “which both befits the environment and is sympathetic to it”.
The firm also insisted it had a contract in place with the council to run the market on the temporary structure it has erected in the gardens until 2021.
The charitable trust intervened the day after councillors pledged to explore alternative locations for the market, which attracts around 100,000 people a day during its six-week run in the gardens.
However, the possibility of scrapping this year’s market, which is due to open at the weekend, or moving it to a new location for the forthcoming festive season was ruled out.
Underbelly revealed last month that a record 163 stalls would be operated as part of a revamp to protect landscaping project carried out as part of a £22 million project led by the Scottish National Gallery.
However, it later emerged that work was allowed to begin without planning permission for the temporary structure.
EWH’S statement said: “While temporary uses in our public spaces can play an important role in bringing many thousands of people into the city to enjoy what Edinburgh has to offer, this year’s proposal for the Christmas market, with its extended platform over much of the area in front of the Scottish National Gallery of Scotland, clearly disrupts this magnificent environment to a very great extent.
“While it may be too late to prevent the proposal going ahead this year, this must not set a precedent for future years. We call for any intervention to be more sensitive to the exceptional environment.”
A spokeswoman for Underbelly said: “Up to and including the 2021 festival, Underbelly has a contract with the council to produce Edinburgh’s Christmas in East Princes Street Gardens and the new structure is designed and engineered to fulfil that, while protecting the gardens.”