Christmas Market safety is not being considered fully - Kevin Buckle

It is about this time the Christmas Market is in full swing so finding a route through the crowds is not easy. There used to be three or four stewards on the corner of Princes Street and Waverley Bridge as the crowds looked to enter the market. Now however with the entrance moved further down there is just one person with a recorded message coming from a megaphone telling people that they need to make their way further down Waverley Bridge if they wish to enter the market.

Locals and tourists queue on Waverley Bridge to visit the Edinburgh Christmas markets

What has never been addressed is the crowds on the pavement on Princes Street as they make their way to the Christmas Market. Such are the numbers that there is always a line of people walking on the road. When I used to get the bus home along Princes Street it amazed me that nobody was ever hurt as careful as the bus drivers were it would only take somebody to slip for there to be an accident.

The irony from my viewpoint is that couriers are not allowed on

the Waverley Bridge to deliver to Waverley Market From 10am to 10pm on the basis that in the short distance between the barrier and the entrance to the centre somebody might get hurt by a slow moving van. Imagine my surprise when last Saturday a large white van was parked outside the centre loading wooden pallets at 10.30am. It then weaved its way through a crowded Waverley Bridge to be let out by the person manning the barrier by removing part of the obstruction.

I asked the person who was manning the barrier how this was allowed only to be told that Christmas Market vehicles were allowed in at any time. On further investigation the next day it transpired that the Christmas Market were allowed to nominate vehicles that could gain entry with authorised drivers. At the same time the important safety aspect of driving through people walking on Waverley Bridge was being ignored.

Without doubt the lack of stewards to deal with the crowds and the lack of concern for health and safety along Princes Street is an accident waiting to happen and it is clear that the understandable concerns on Waverley Bridge leading to its closure are then simply ignored when it comes to Princes Street on the basis that to close such a major thoroughfare would be both difficult and expensive.

Certainly Edinburgh Council and the Christmas Market operators need to increase their budget considerably when it comes to ensuring the safety of the public and given the amount that is charged for a stall and the consequent sky-high prices people are charged at the Christmas Market it certainly looks like they are both more concerned about profit than safety.

Given the difficulties the Christmas Market causes on several levels there really does need to be serious thought about whether there needs to be a rethink about its location as currently it is clearly not a space that can be kept safe.