Edinburgh Council insists Christmas market consultation starts from 'blank sheet' despite gardens move ruled out

Council bosses have moved to reassure the public that the future of the winter festivals will start from “a blank sheet of paper” amid fears that moving the contentious Christmas market out of Princes Street Gardens has been ruled out.

Underbelly's Christmas market will take place at Princes Street Gardens again this year

Edinburgh City Council is set to launch a widespread consultation with the public over how the Capital celebrates Christmas and New Year – with the public to be asked for their views this spring.

The authority’s culture and communities committee considered a report by officials following a motion by Green Cllr Alex Staniforth to investigate moving Underbelly’s Christmas market from East Princes Street Gardens this year. But officials said there are no suitable alternative sites to do so – despite a list of almost 20 potential sites being drawn up.

Opposition councillors have raised concerns that the decision to rule out any changes to this year’s event could prevent any alterations in future years.

Conservative Cllr Phil Doggart said: “The one things that does puzzle me slightly is that we have lots of reasons why other venues aren’t appropriate, but we are going to go out for consultation when the consultation is that all these other venues are inappropriate.

“That does seem to be slightly strange in that it appears to be leading us to a particular conclusion.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr Hal Osler added: “We have gone into why it can’t move elsewhere. But what is really fundamental is how are we going to protect the gardens, going forward.

“The problem with this is we can’t remove it – it’s going to have to stay there. What guarantees are we going to be given residents that the issues that have obviously been very clearly highlighted are not going to be repeated in 20/21 and 21/22 going forward.”

But the council’s director of place, Paul Lawrence, confirmed that any future arrangements for the events will be informed by the public consultation.

He said: “The consultation is genuinely to start with a blank sheet of paper.

“What this report genuinely is to say, is there a way we could move the Christmas market in 2020, effectively under the existing contract. We don’t think there’s any obvious alternatives.”

Mr Lawrence was also asked by city centre Cllr Karen Doran if the rides and the market stalls for the 2020 event could be separated out and provided from two separate locations in a bid to soften the impact on the gardens.

He said: “If we could renegotiate the current contract to separate out the Christmas market and the rides, there would be no reason stopping us to do so. As this report sets out, there’s not an immediately obvious alternative location. There’s no contractual reason why they couldn’t be separated, as long as they had agreed with the contractor because we’re in a contract with them.”

The council’s culture and communities convener, Cllr Donald Wilson added: “We are about to engage on a widespread consultation the nature of the event itself.

“Obviously, what we might be producing might be different. So it’s good that we at least have this information as we go forward. It gives us a good starting point.”