Capital Streets
Public realm impacts on peoples’ sense of urban quality, helps reinforce a sense of place and increasingly has an important role in supporting the economic development of a city, by providing a quality setting for commercial/retail activity and events as streets are reclaimed for the pedestrian. A high quality public realm makes the city centre a more desirable place to live, work and visit. The public realm in Edinburgh demands investment so that it can match and complement the international standards of the built environment.
A framework of projects has been developed since 2001 by a partnership including ECCM, Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian (SEE&L), the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) and the key heritage bodies under the title of “Capital Streets”. The project has attracted significant investment from SEE&L and CEC and a rolling programme of public realm enhancement projects are being delivered. Capital Streets Phase One includes Castle Street, St Andrew Square and the Grassmarket.
St Andrew Square
St Andrew Square Garden
On Friday 4 April 2008, St Andrew Square Garden opened to the public for the first time in its history.
Dating back to 1770 and designed by James Craig as an integral part of his New Town Masterplan, St Andrew Square Garden was previously only accessible to residents and businesses in the surrounding area. Now everyone visiting or working in the city centre can enjoy the tranquil retreat.
David Nicolson, Chairman of Edinburgh City Centre Management (ECCM), the organisation that initiated the proposal to open the Garden to the public says: “The redevelopment of St Andrew Square Garden has created a new high-quality space right in the heart of Edinburgh’s historic city centre. My thanks go to the proprietors of the offices and businesses around the Square for agreeing to the development work and to the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise for providing the funding so that residents, workers and visitors to Edinburgh can now enjoy this tranquil city centre oasis.”
St Andrew Square Garden has been transformed into a haven in the heart of the city centre as part of a programme of improvement works funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian. The Garden now features a striking modern pavilion, which houses the first Coffee Republic Delicatessen in central Edinburgh. The £2.6million refurbishment has included extensive work to preserve the Melville Monument in the centre of the Garden, construction of a network of pathways through the Garden accessed through two existing and two new gates, a reflective pool and new lighting.
Steve Spray, Director, LaSalle Investment Management, which manages Multrees Walk, says: “The opening of the St Andrew Square Garden provides a beautiful public space for everyone to enjoy in the heart of the city centre. I think it will enhance Edinburgh’s attractiveness as a world class visitor destination. It was only possible because the private companies which own the square and the City Centre Management Company shared the same vision.”
Cllr Jenny Dawe, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Good quality public space is so important to the fabric of the city and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to re-open the garden to the public. This fantastic transformation is another milestone in rejuvenating our city centre to ensure Edinburgh is a dynamic, thriving and attractive place to be for many years to come.”
Linda McPherson, Scottish Enterprise’s Regional Operations Director for the East of Scotland, says: “This is yet another important milestone in achieving our vision for the redevelopment of Edinburgh’s city centre. Having a dynamic city centre is vital if Edinburgh is to become one of Europe’s leading capital cities and investing in our public spaces not only enhances Edinburgh’s reputation as an attractive place to visit but also helps to attract businesses and talented people to support our thriving industries.”
Castle Street
The completion of Castle Street heralded the opening of a new concept in street culture - The Eating Place Castle Street’s Fine Food Market, and the launch of an Events Strategy for the exciting new outdoor venue, which Castle Street now provides. A range of exciting ideas have been developed to maximise the use of the street, in ways which are appropriate to its business and residential environment.
Grassmarket
With its mix of residents, shops, restaurants and bars, the Grassmarket is a lively and unique landmark in the city centre. However, in recent years, the reputation of the area as been compromised by increased volumes of traffic and anti-social behaviour. There has been lengthy consultation with interested parties and the key issues identified include: creating a better balance between people and vehicles; making the area pedestrian friendly; public toilet facilities; trees; public safety (CCTV); parking and utilising underused areas of the Grassmarket.
The draft proposals for the Grassmarket aim to make the most of the area for its variety of users while accentuating the area’s historic charm.
However, there are limits to what the project can achieve. Issues such as anti-social behaviour, providing better links between the Grassmarket and the rest of the city and improved refuse collection fall out with the scope of the project, but they are being taken into consideration to find possible solutions.
It is planned that on-site information boards and updates through the stakeholder group will be used to keep the local community informed of developments within this project.
For more information, please e-mail transport-edinburgh@edinburgh.gov.uk