Square deal is great for Edinburgh

IN CHARLOTTE Square, in a quiet part of the day, if you half-close your eyes and tune out the traffic it is easy to imagine what it must have been like to live in Georgian Edinburgh.

The neo-classical proportions of the Adam buildings and the elegant layout of the square – thanks to the planning genius of James Craig – mean it is one of the architectural gems of Scotland’s capital city.

But at its centre it is lifeless. The square of grass, with the equestrian statue of Prince Albert at its centre, is usually locked to the public and only used once a year for the book festival. During these few days it becomes a pleasurable oasis in the heart of the city’s West End, with many visitors wondering why it cannot be put to good public use at other times of the year. Why indeed? So the news that Charlotte Square is to have £1 million spent on it to make it more usable for events at other times of the year is most welcome. St Andrew Square, its mirror image at the other end of George Street, goes out of its way to be a public space, with its walkways, pools, benches and tastefully designed coffee shop. As such it contributes greatly to the vibrancy of that corner of the city in a way that could easily be replicated at the west end.

Any opening up of Charlotte Square needs to be done carefully to ensure it is appropriate for a space that has been preserved with such care over centuries.

But as a place to linger on a summer’s day, with a book or a lunchtime sandwich, enjoying the calm feeling of order that good architecture can provide, it promises to be a superb addition to the delights of the New Town in particular, and Edinburgh in general.