Edinburgh's Tartan Weaving Mill retail unit on the Royal Mile to be transformed into heritage attraction

The Tartan Weaving Mill at 555 Castlehill on the Royal Mile has had its ambitious plans approved by the council to change it’s current main purpose as a retail unit into a tourist attraction and heritage centre.

The city centre five-floor property is 3351 square metres in floorspace in an important, historic location. It is a category B-listed building which was a former reservoir to the city situated at the top of the Royal Mile.

An artist's impression of the new entrance to the The Tartan Weaving Mill from Ramsay Lane. | City of Edinburgh Councnil

The rectangular building was built in 1849-50 on the site of a smaller reservoir, which in turn was built on the site of an earlier chapel. In 1995, it was converted into the Old Town Weaving Company.

The applicants want to provide many more uses within the building to secure its long-term economic future. A museum/ educational facility will celebrate its importance to Edinburgh as the first running water supply serving the city and the last weaving mill on the Royal Mile.

A number of alterations to the building are required to facilitate these attractions. They include a new pedestrian entrance at the corner of Ramsay Lane and Castlehill with bespoke wrought iron gates.

The new through flow of people entering the building on level three from Ramsay Lane would allow visitors to engage the expert services of a Scottish Clans Research Centre. Here they could enquire about the history of their family name and have parchment paper printouts of the history along with details of their family crest. They will also be able to order hand-sewn and framed family crests.

A Scottish café and a Scottish foods supermarket are also proposed on level three. This area would also include eight small rented retail units for independent traders from the Scottish arts and crafts scene.

A re-designed and revitalised offer on level two will include an exhibition of ‘The Kilt Through the Ages’. Additionally on level two, there would be and expansion to three large booths of the Scottish Photo Experience, that offers a range of handmade period Scottish costumes to dress in and be photographed in front of hand painted backdrops

The Tartan Weaving Mill at 555 Castlehill on the Royal Mile in its current state. | Google Maps

In the planning documents, the applicant said: “The proposals will create an attractive, contemporary museum/ visitor experience that celebrates the building’s rich history and its importance to the city as well as the well-known retail experience. The proposals set out a series of conservation gains for the building.

“The investors, senior management and staff would very much like to see this listed building reach this full potential by radically transforming its accessibility which is integral to the long-term sustainability of the building.

“This will then allow this building to welcome an increased number of visitors and manage their flow around the building.

“The business plan for the building aims to also create a range of museum-type activities within the building and opportunities for the visitor to learn about its history, traditions, Scottish culture, serve as an educational resource with fun things to do, and a sense of adventure with a greater diversity of products on offer.

“The vision and potential of the Tartan Weaving Mill can only be fully realised by significantly improved accessibility to the building that is intrinsically linked to long-term sustainability of the building and the business within it.”

At present the building comprises a five-storey structure that incorporates a currently closed weaving mill in the basement, retail floorspace on four levels above and a café within part of the top floor.

Due to the location of the single public entrance/ exit, the flow of visitors is concentrated through one entrance on the south elevation, onto Castlehill into one of the busiest and most congested parts of the Royal Mile.

Another artist's impression of the proposed revamped Tartan Weaving Mill on the Royal Mile. | City of Edinburgh Council

Explaining more about what the revamped building will offer, The Tartan Weaving Mill added: “From the street level the visitor has no sense of the immense floorspace contained within the building. Getting people to move around the building, based on its restricted and convoluted current layout is a challenge.

“Our focus for the next decade is to enhance the visitor offer in the building, provide a sustainable, heritage-focused vision for the building which will conserve the heritage asset and secure it not only as a successful retail space but also as an important tourist destination/ experience/ museum.

“This will be achieved by re-imagining the tartan weaving mill and museum, bringing the building to life in terms of its water history and improving the flow through the building for visitors to enjoy a pleasant, easy, accessible experience.

“At no point has the story of the building been told to those who visit it or its importance to the city’s public health and development through providing a reservoir with a clean water supply. The alterations and interventions proposed as part of this application will enable all of this to be achieved with minimal alteration to the historic fabric.”

There are presently 70 part and full-time staff in the building. The applicant said these plans will increase this to at least 120 employees.

The approved new attraction will see visitors first encountering attractive new visitor experiences starting with an informative graphic history relating to the original former use of the building as the reservoir building that provided the first clean water supply to the citizens of Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Visitors will also learn about the four springs and the timber water pipes that came from the south of the city. Research on the former reservoir has been provided for use by Professor Paxton of Heriot Watt University.

The planning application, which received five objections and 37 notes of support online, was approved on October 22 by the council’s chief planning officer David Givan.

He said: “The proposals are compatible with the character of the surrounding area and will not result in an unreasonable loss of neighbouring amenity.

“There are no material considerations which indicate that the proposal should be refused. It is recommended therefore that the application be granted.”