Scottish government announces £5m Princes Street fire support

Businesses affected by a major fire on Edinburgh's Princes Street will be able to claim part of a £5m package of support announced by the Scottish government.

The city centre street has remained partially closed following the blaze at the former Debenhams store earlier this month.

Buses have been diverted and tram services are only operating in the west of the city, leading to reduced footfall for bars, restaurants and shops in Leith.

A joint investigation into the cause of the fire involving Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is ongoing.

The funding was announced following talks between Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, and Jane Meagher, leader of City of Edinburgh Council.

It will be split between businesses suffering a fall in customers, support to affected sites during Edinburgh's festivals and mitigating building and public transport costs for the council.

The Scottish government previously committed to a £10m package to support Glasgow city centre's recovery from a fire that wrecked part of Union Street in March.

Tram services are currently only running between Edinburgh Airport and Shandwick Place, severing the link with Leith and Newhaven.

The council said moving some trams by road so that they could run between Newhaven and York Place was "not practical".

It comes as Edinburgh prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors for the festival season.

Business owners had called for financial support to offset losses incurred due to the closure.

Vinny Rosario, head brewer at Moonwake Beer, said footfall at their taproom at Tower Street on The Shore in Leith was down about 15%.

He said the funding was welcome, but communication from the council on future planning needed to be clearer.

He said: "The taproom has suffered from the lack of trams, but we've been really lucky with the community around us of local businesses and people supporting each other.

"It would be lovely if there was a contingency plan. The Shore does feel a little bit forgotten.

"It would be nice if there was a plan, or at least clear messaging from the council about what is happening in the future."

Bus services have been diverted away from Princes Street and onto George Street while the road remains closed.

Concerns had been raised over vibrations from passing traffic causing structural damage to the building.

That forced Assembly, one of the city's largest festival operators, to move part of its programme to St Andrew Square.

Lothian Buses announced it was making some alterations to diverted services in response to upcoming "road capacity" on George Street during the festival season.

Those include certain Lothian Country and East Coast services connecting Edinburgh with East Lothian.

The council said a steel frame was being installed to reinforce the 19th Century façade, which would allow vehicles to pass without affecting the internal structure of the building.

That work has been dependent on weather conditions, with low wind needed for cranes to operate.

Meagher said the process was "complex", with experts carrying out part of the work by hand.

The council said the closure was due to last at least three weeks, but Meagher warned the situation was "dynamic".

She said: "What we are discovering every day is that there are new problems attached to this building and, for that reason, it's what we call a dynamic situation.

"Until we can make the building safe enough for that investigation to take place, we'll just have to remain patient.

"It's important to note this is a painstaking process and it changes by the day."

A cordon around the building was reduced last week to allow a branch of Boots to reopen.

The Debenhams store closed in May 2021 after being gutted by a separate fire.

It was in the process of being turned into Scotland's first Zedwell hotel by real estate firm Criterion Capital.

Part of the £5m fund will also be used for the "dressing" of Princes Street, meaning the works will be shrouded in cover in order to "maintain" the thoroughfare's image.

A campaign encouraging locals to use alternative routes and public transport to reach their destinations is also to be launched.

Deputy FM Jenny Gilruth said the fire had been a "challenging" time for the city, but added the funding would help reinforce that the city was "still open for business".

She said: "We know that communities, particularly in Leith and at The Shore, have been affected by this, so it is really important that we can provide that support.

"It gives the council the opportunity to move at pace now.

"We are approaching a very busy time for the city with visitors from all over the world coming."

She added: "We want to celebrate Edinburgh and the council are working at pace to roll out a plan."