Edinburgh's Roseburn traders set to win compensation battle over major construction works

Edinburgh council expected to agree to payments

Shopkeepers in Roseburn who lost up to 70 per cent of their trade because of a major cycleway project being built in front of their premises look set to win their battle for compensation.

At today’s full council meeting, Lib Dem, SNP and Conservative councillors are to back payments of up to £3,000 per business provided they are independent retailers who have been operational for at least a year before the work started, derive most of their revenue from customer footfall and have had works within 10 metres of their door, for at least three months. The three parties combined would give a comfortable majority for the compensation scheme, estimated to cost £100,000. The money would be taken from the Edinburgh Discretionary Business Support Fund, which was provided by the Scottish Government during the Covid pandemic and still has a residual amount of £257,000, which the government has said can be spent on economic development.

Businesses in Roseburn Terrace say they have been “devastated” by the works on the cross-city cycle route City Centre West East Link (CCWEL) since they began in early February. Customers could find nowhere to park and barriers associated with the roadworks made access to the shops difficult. In March, before this year’s council elections, a motion calling for a compensation scheme was defeated. When a fresh attempt was made in September, councillors agreed to consider a scheme, but in November officials said there was no money available to fund such a scheme.

The Roseburn traders say they have been 'devastated' with customers finding it difficult to get to their shops.

However, a new report for today’s meeting sets out how the scheme could work and where the money can be found. Nevertheless it warns that if councillors agree to pay comepnsation “there is a high risk that other businesses will seek financial support from the council for past, current and future infrastructure projects”. And it adds: “This could also result in a legal challenge (or challenges) from businesses who perceive that their business has been impacted equally, or more than, CCWEL at Roseburn.”

The report also notes that around 60 businesses will be impacted by the next phase of CCWEL at Haymarket Terrace, Randolph Place and York Place. “It would therefore be difficult to justify business support at Roseburn in isolation. Using the same approach for the whole of the CCWEL programme would require a further (up to) £180,000.”

Officials said if the council wants to introduce a wider compensation scheme for businesses affected by major construction projects it would be difficult to establish generic criteria for payments and it should be considered on a project by project basis.

Corstorphine/Murryafield Lib Dem councillor Euan Davidson, who proposed the Roseburn compensation scheme in September, said: “The businesses and community of Roseburn have been hammered by almost a year of constant roadworks. Many of these small businesses had struggled through the pandemic and were immediately hit by massive loss of business directly caused by the council’s decisions. I hope that councillors across the chamber recognise the impact this has had on our community and back the long overdue support package for Roseburn’s small businesses.”

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