If you fixate on tourist economy, you forget residents
IN EDINBURGH’S Princes street, vast retail units with magnificent views of the castle sit empty. Terry Levinthal, of the capital’s Cockburn Association, said its decline as a shopping destination mirrored changes in the retail industry.
next and gap once had multiple stores on Princes street. now gap is online only while next is in the new st James Quarter mall.
Department stores such as Forsyths were taken over by Top shop. now that Top shop is no more, its vast, ornate building is being repurposed as hotels and restaurants.
“Princes street has been in decline for decades,” said Levinthal. “Its demise is tied to the demise of traditional high street traders. retailers who didn’t innovate were overtaken by the digital innovators.”
unlike other cities, Edinburgh is an international tourist destination. Many of the abandoned retail units in Princes street have already been turned into food and drink businesses or visitor attractions.
The branch of Frasers at the west end of the street is now the Johnnie Walker Experience.
The city council has relaxed planning laws to allow more restaurants and hotels on the street, which used to be reserved for retail only. Levinthal worries that this strategy might hollow out Princes street.
he said: “It makes sense for hotels to use space on upper floors and exploit the views. but hotel foyers, bars and restaurants are not used by the public in the same way as retail space. They change the structure of the street.
“If you fixate on the tourist economy, you forget about the resident economy. A great city needs to be great to live in as well as to visit.”