Quaich Project plans including 'central access point' to Princes Street Gardens to be handed over in spring

Proposals to revamp West Princes Street Gardens will be handed over to planners by the end of April - with bosses insisting that the iconic green space will become accessible for all.

Proposals for the Quaich Project at West Princes Street Gardens

Bosses behind a proposed revamp of West Princes Street Gardens are set to table official plans for their vision in the spring – amid concerns over a lacklustre access to the iconic green space for disabled people.

David Ellis, managing director of the Quaich Project, says his team will address the current accessibility barriers to West Princes Street Gardens ahead of handing over his proposals to planners.

The Quaich Project, being brought forward by the Ross Development Trust alongside the council, would see the existing Ross Bandstand be modernised, a two-storey visitor centre and hospitality complex overlooking Edinburgh Castle and a permanent cafe near the Ross Fountain.

Last week, Edinburgh City Council’s culture and communities committee put the authority’s management plan for the gardens on hold fo more information to be handed over by council officers – but the Quaich Project will not be delayed by the move. Community campaigners raised concerns over more large-scale events taking place in the revamped Ross Bandstand, but council bosses insist the 15 event days is no change from the current set-up.

Mr Ellis said: “Nothing is being changed this year. There have been criticisms of the council in the past for calling a series of events, such as the Summer Sessions, one event. That’s probably not the best way to do it, so credit to the council for making it clearer going forward.

“Ultimately, we want to create a space that can be used by the community all year round. That space has regularly been used in the past but now there’s just a handful of community performances in the summer holidays.

“We are not trying to get rid of major events as tens of thousands of people enjoy these events – but we don’t want to be shutting the gardens off to the public for any period of time.”

The council’s outline business case, which was put on hold, highlights a key aim to “make the gardens accessible to all”, with a new lift, access slopes and customer facilities “to comply with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requirements”.

The council’s vice-convener of culture and communities, Cllr Amy McNeese-Mechan, called for assurances that the gardens will be transformed into a space that everyone can enjoy.

She added: “To be frank, it’s a frighteningly steep slope”.

Mr Ellis told councillors that accessibility for all was central to his organisation’s vision of the Quaich Project and that his group regularly meets with the Edinburgh Access Panel.

He added: “We are engaging with them to make this space the most accessible as possible. Their primary ask from us was to create one central, safe accessible access point to West Princes Street Gardens and that’s effectively what we have done.

“One of the things we have looked at doing is trying to make the gardens feel more welcoming – at the moment they feel quite closed off. They have small narrow gates and a fence line along the entirety of the space. That has heritage implications and an important feature of that space – but that goes back to the days where this was a private garden and not publicly accessible.

If we’re saying that we want to be a modern go-ahead city that’s encouraging inclusivity and accessibility, surely in our prime area of green space of public land in the city centre, we have to make something that is accessible t o the public.”