Do you want the good news or bad on city economy? - Kevin Buckle

News this week that Edinburgh’s economy has resisted the impact of the Covid pandemic better than any other city in the UK was met by equal parts dismay and disbelief by many of Edinburgh’s businesses.

Edinburgh’s economy shrunk by 9.1 per cent last year

Given Edinburgh’s well documented reliance on tourism and how badly that sector has been affected by the pandemic, the findings beggar belief. While Edinburgh’s economy shrunk by 9.1 per cent last year, Glasgow is the worst affected Scottish city with a figure of 10.4 per cent. Both these figures are better than the UK average of 11 per cent.

Edinburgh is said to have benefited from a lower rate of infections and its sectorial mix. However, what businesses really care about now is recovery and there Edinburgh lags behind both Aberdeen, with an expected growth rate of 4.1 per cent this year, and Glasgow, whose figure is 4.6 per cebt. Edinburgh’s economy is expected to only grow by 3.9 per cent.

What is most concerning about these figures is that Edinburgh Council may justify their inaction in supporting business by quoting the good news figures and ignoring the far more important recovery figure.

It is no great surprise that whenever I raise issues concerning Edinburgh’s businesses in my column, generating discussion and comment on social media, the council never engages.

It is far more worrying that recently, when Roddy Smith, the CEO of Essential Edinburgh, writes some interesting pieces on the future for Edinburgh’s businesses post-pandemic, there has been no engagement from the council either.

To be fair, the Conservatives in the council do raise business issues, but sadly that only makes things worse as the administration appears to ignore or object to anything they have to say on principle.

Businesses that were looking to get back to some kind of normal by Easter now simply hope any lockdown has finished by then, and if anything good comes from this latest extended lockdown, it is that any thoughts of bringing back business rates in any form must surely be impossible.

In other news this week, the council decided to remarket the Old Royal High School, denying the hotel developers an extension to their agreement, while also refusing to hand the building over to the proposed music school. So far all discussions have been about what is best for the building, whereas now, according to the council, they are going to “identify the best value option for the city and our residents in the future.”

Getting the balance right between commercial interests and more charitable or arts-related projects is hard enough, but add a dilapidated building and the problems multiply, as the Tron Kirk has already proven.

Even stranger in the council’s statement was the comment that “we know there are a number of interested parties out there”. The council went cool on the hotel when the music school became an option and now it appears both have been sidelined, based on the prospect of new interest.

For the council it appears the grass is always greener on the other side.