Underbelly gets green light for ‘Circus Hub’ venue on Meadows

Edinburgh Festival Fringe promoters Underbelly have been given the green light to revive their big top circus venue – despite more than 300 objections lodged in the wake of a social media campaign against its return.

Councillors have approved a three-week run of “worldclass” shows at the Circus Hub site on the Meadows after being told that the venue was part of a plan to help Edinburgh’s festivals recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

However the city’s planning committee has signalled that it would “prefer” to see Fringe venues relocated away from green-space sites in future years.

The venue, proposed to host five shows a day, has been targeted by the city’s longest-running heritage group, the Cockburn Association, over claims that it would effectively “partially privatise” part of the Meadows.

Social media posts encouraged supporters to lodge objections to the Circus Hub’s “fenced-off compound," which was described it as an exclusive “hospitality venue” and a “commercial event”.

There were 316 objections, on the grounds of possible long-term damage to the Meadows, the impact on trees, noise disruption, and plans to sell food and drink at the venue.

Other concerns ruled “nonmaterial” included concerns that the venue would affect Covid rates, would fall foul of legislation banning new buildings on the Meadows, and would effectively create a private development.

Underbelly created the Circus Hub venue for the Meadows in 2015 after the use of part of the park for the Fringe was put out to tender.