Plans lodged to keep Edinburgh's Christmas big wheel in Princes Street Gardens for most of the year

Unique Assembly, which already has planning consent to erect the 46-metre-high Ferris wheel in East Princes Street Gardens over the festive period, is now hoping to install the city centre attraction in June, with the ride then in place until the Christmas markets close in January.

The events company told the Evening News that the attraction would be operational between July and November. It would then close for a short period before reopening for the Christmas markets, which usually run from November until early January.

An application for Edinburgh’s Big Wheel to return in summer are in ‘early stages of discussions with partners’ | Supplied

It is understood Unique Assembly submitted the plans to the council’s public spaces events department in the last week, with plans ‘in early stages of discussion’. The City of Edinburgh Council is now carrying out community engagement with local stakeholders, including community councils and residents groups, on the company’s behalf.

A decision is expected to be made by the end of the month and if successful, the application will then go to the planning department where it will be available for the public to see via the council’s planning portal. It remains unknown however if the application will go through a public consultation.

The council’s guidelines state that: “If the event proceeds via the public spaces application process, it may also require other council permissions, permits or orders and therefore doesn’t necessarily have full permission to proceed until all necessary requirements are in place and agreed.”

A spokesperson for Unique Assembly said: “The Edinburgh Big Wheel has become a key feature of the Edinburgh skyline during Edinburgh’s Christmas, welcoming over 185,000 locals and visitors annually to enjoy spectacular aerial views of the city.

“We are currently in early stages of discussions with partners to present the Edinburgh Big Wheel for a period this summer and believe this would be a hugely popular summer attraction for Edinburgh, presenting the capital in a completely different light and helping generate much-needed income for the city.”

Culture and communities convener Val Walker said: “An application has been received from a third party, and we are currently engaging with local stakeholders as part of our public spaces event process. A decision is expected to be made by the end of the month, and if required it will be referred to the Culture and Communities Committee.”