Edinburgh is such a nice place to live because commerce is good for the city – Donald Anderson

I was put on the spot last weekend. One Edinburgh worthy who cares passionately about the city posed the question, “Donald, what do you say to the many residents who feel the historic city is being damaged by the council and commercial interests?”

The sun sets over Edinburgh's Princes Street last week (Picture: Donald Anderson)

The question was raised in response to someone saying they were fed up with the city and were moving out.

So, what’s the answer? Well, Edinburgh is an amazing success, and that success has been built on partnership between the public and private sectors.

There are now vanishingly few buildings on the official ‘At Risk’ register in the city centre and that’s because they’ve been refurbished and repurposed by that public and private partnership.

The last remaining significant complex of buildings on the ‘At Risk’ register in the city centre (the Old Royal High School) is being rescued by a commercial venture – a music school, and by funds raised from a donation from a charitable fund whose income comes from an energy company. Commerce is good for the city centre and for all of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh carries out the largest residents survey of its kind in Scotland. The results in the last major survey showed that 95 per cent of residents were satisfied with Edinburgh as a place to live, up from 89 per cent in 2014.

So, people’s satisfaction with the city has risen despite any concerns about commerce. If there’s a city that scores higher, then perhaps people could consider moving there, but for now Edinburgh is still the place to be in my book.

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