Relief as Edinburgh's Princes Street reopens seven weeks after fire

Princes Street in Edinburgh is set to fully reopen this weekend, seven weeks after a major fire at a former department store led to its closure. The blaze, which occurred on July 9, involved approximately 50 firefighters at its peak.

Businesses in the eastern part of the city have reported significant losses during the typically profitable festival season due to disruptions to public transport and a subsequent drop in footfall. Bus routes were diverted, and tram services operated only in the west of the city while safety work on the affected building was underway.

Edinburgh council leader Jane Meagher expressed her delight at the thoroughfare's reopening but acknowledged the challenging period for the city. The Scottish government previously allocated £5 million to recovery efforts, helping some businesses offset lost revenue. The reopening of Princes Street comes just two days before the Edinburgh Festival Fringe concludes on Monday.

Alistair Brown, founder of Bellfield Brewery, which operates Nobles on Constitution Street, highlighted the impact of the tram service disruption, noting that regular trams previously brought new customers every seven minutes. While optimistic about the trams' return, Brown stated it was too soon to fully assess the financial damage to his business. He told BBC Scotland News, "I am relieved but still apprehensive. We have lost a lot of business through no fault of our own and it will take time to see how we recover from this. This is our busiest time of year that gets us through the quieter months from January to March but because of the disruption we have been quieter than March. So we will have to wait until next year to see the full impact. I never thought I'd be so excited to hear the ding of a tram. It just shows you don't fully appreciate things till they are gone."

Adam Barclay, manager of Argonaut Books, criticized the City of Edinburgh Council for a month of "radio silence," stating that businesses should expect better from their elected representatives. He remarked, "In what is surely some sort of cosmic joke, the trams will be up and running again just in time for the Fringe to be over - we missed the whole thing. The residents and businesses of Leith have been dealing with 20 minute plus delays on buses, massively reduced footfall and a council effectively asleep at the wheel. It has undoubtedly had a profound negative impact on our trading this summer and it will have knock-on effects far beyond this one month. In what should have been our busiest non-December period, we performed worse than an average month - this is factoring in 16 sold-out book Fringe events." Trams are expected to resume service on Leith Walk this weekend.

Chef Dean Banks, who owns restaurants in the city's west end and on Constitution Street, reported a drop in takings across all his establishments due to the street closure and diversions. He said, "We are obviously delighted that the trams will be up and running again. It will bring business back down to Leith but to the city centre as well. What we found during the Fringe was that our city centre venues were impacted as well because members of the public were avoiding Princes Street and the west end. But in Leith we saw a huge decrease over the Fringe, the revenues were about 50% down." The Masterchef star expressed disappointment with the council's handling of the situation, suggesting more could have been done during one of the city's busiest periods. "It is great Princes Street is opening now but it does feel like it is a little bit too little too late for this time of year," he commented. "It could have been sorted out. I am disappointed with the communication with Edinburgh council and the way they handled it. They were given millions of pounds from the government. They could easily have moved those trams and helped the city flourish during its Fringe which puts Edinburgh on the world stage in August."

The former Debenhams building, which was being converted into a hotel, was severely damaged by the July fire. As Princes Street reopens to all traffic, a section of the pavement directly outside the burnt-out building will remain closed for ongoing work. Pedestrians will be partially diverted onto the eastbound road, which will be reduced to one lane in that section. To alleviate congestion, three bus stops between Castle Street and Frederick Street will also remain closed, though bus services will now run along Princes Street instead of the previous diversion via George Street.

Jane Meagher acknowledged the "incredibly difficult chapter," particularly for businesses at the northern end of the tram line. She stated that the council collaborated closely with Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams to minimize disruption and used dedicated online channels to communicate how the fire affected the city. "This period has further underlined the critical importance and popularity of our tram network, not just to the north of the city but to the whole of Edinburgh," she said. "Whilst their return will be most welcome, we need to consider how we can properly safeguard this vital service to meet the needs and challenges of our growing city." A campaign to support businesses in Leith and Newhaven will be launched in the coming months and extend into the winter festive period. Council officers have been visiting premises in the area to explain the support available.