Spreading Christmas rides around city would solve a lot of problems – Kevin Buckle

There are good reasons to consider dropping the market and moving attractions out of Princes Street Gardens, writes Kevin Buckle

The main attraction for Edinburgh residents at Christmas is the fairground rides (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

I know I’ve said this before but with both sides unable to remotely agree about the Christmas market and the use of Princes Street Gardens I do think there is a compromise position that will also provide useful information for the future.

I appreciate it is the rides that cause much of the damage but they are without a doubt the main attraction, particularly for locals. There simply is no reason for the generic market stalls and whether or not in previous years there has been an argument that extra food stalls are needed I really don’t think that is the case now.

Even better of course if the rides can be relocated and I don’t think that is as hard as some suggest if a wider area is considered. It is true of course that some folk will prefer to have things in one place but I don’t think it should be underestimated how many would enjoy visiting rides and attractions in different parts of the city. The ice rink in particular always seems to be popular and I honestly don’t think it has to be located in the city centre.

There is no doubt that Edinburgh will be busy for Christmas and Hogmanay whatever festivities are on offer. There is no doubt that shops, pubs and eateries located near any rides and attractions will benefit from the visitors they bring. We can speculate what will happen exactly but by far the best way to find out is to actually try such a layout.

The phrase “bucket list” is used all the time now in relation to tourism in Edinburgh but I really don’t think that it is necessary to make it as easy as possible for folk to tick all their boxes.

There are many different types of tourist and maybe Edinburgh has quantity but to some extent not quality in its visitors – something that never seems to be discussed.

It is all very well talking about economic benefit but more than half of that benefit goes directly to accommodation and the vast majority goes to hospitality, which also includes food and drink. While this is to be expected, specific figures need to be used when talking about retail and how things can be improved rather than this general reference to economic benefit.

Similarly Edinburgh New Town city centre is not the city centre and yet often, as happened this week, figures are loosely quoted in this regard. So much is said about the benefits of the winter festivities and yet nothing whatsoever has been done by the council to analyse the negative effects so often now reported by businesses in the Old Town.

Without a doubt only having rides and attractions and spreading them around the city would solve a lot of the problems, including the overcrowding that caused roads to be closed at weekends. On top of that a fantastic amount of information would be gathered and it could only be to the benefit of local businesses.

I doubt Underbelly would be too happy with this new arrangement but it would certainly be an improvement for residents and local businesses alike and as for the visitors the council would need to get some proper independent feedback commissioned themselves rather than relying on those with vested interests.