Grassmarket revamp over but it’s only a reprieve

The multi-million pound Grassmarket revamp is finally complete – though workmen will be back next year.  The first event following the £5m improvement work will be staged on 14 December  when a sea of red Santas will descend on the area.

The finale of the Santa Stroll event marks the end of a 14-month project, though traders will only get a temporary reprieve.

Contractors will also return next year to lay out cobbles to mark where the city’s gallows – once used to execute hundreds of people – formerly stood.

Council chiefs plan to power wash the Grassmarket’s cobbles once the worst of the winter months is out of the way. Any snagging problems with the redevelopment will be addressed in January.

Improvements to make the Grassmarket more pedestrian-friendly have included extending pavement cafe areas, relocating parking spaces and the creation of an events zone.

The project has come in on budget but did face a number of delays because of poor weather, a break for the festivals and a battle over the loss of trees from the street.

Traders welcomed the end of construction work after a difficult year.

Jos Bastiaensen, chairman of the Grassmarket Area Traders Association, said: “If you consider we have had huge water works, the Cowgate fire and the West Port building collapse in such a short period of time then quite a lot has happened to depress trade in this area.

“We are entering the recession from quite a low point but I think this will be a huge boost for all of us. It is not just the physical space that has been changed, I think this will also change the area’s standing in the city.

“It has been a bit of a long haul because it was a complicated project but I think we have a real asset for Edinburgh here – a huge public open space serviced by dozens of cafes, bars and restaurants.”

Among the other improvements was the building of underground recycling facilities, installing decorative direction signs and laying Caithness stone among the trees in the new events area.

Source: Edinburgh Evening News 13 December 2008