Buchan wants giant TV switched off due to lack of local content

Fresh calls have been made to switch off Edinburgh’s big screen after city chiefs admitted they have no plans to screen the work of local youngsters.

During a discussion about the work of youth film-making group Pilton Video at the city’s education committee, Tory councillor Gordon Buchan asked if the group’s work had featured on the big screen in Festival Square – and was told it hadn’t.

The screen, installed by the BBC but operated by the city council at a cost of £35,000 a year, has faced criticism for the lack of local content. Cllr Buchan, one of the most vocal critics of the screen, said: “Has anything local ever been on that screen or has it just been used for BBC news and Wimbledon?

“If you can’t showcase local talent then why do we not just turn it off and get the BBC to take it away?”

Last year, the Evening News revealed that the council spent £414 on stewards to police a live screening of a Scotland rugby international – only for the officials to outnumber the spectators.