East Princes Street Gardens to open to public after months of repair work

One of Edinburgh’s most treasured and historic outdoor spaces is set to reopen fully to the public after months of reinstatement work.

Damage to grass in Princes Street Gardens after the Edinburgh Christmas market. Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS

East Princes Street Gardens has partially reopened to the public but the main section of the park is still out of bounds.

The park has not been fully open to the public for around 20 months and it was left looking like a mudbath after the Capital’s annual Christmas Market.

Organisers Underbelly used its grassy sections as the base for their ‘space deck’ construction which supported the majority of the Christmas Market’s stalls.

Beginning construction in October, the structure was subject to intense criticism from the public including its size and scale. However the full impact of the structure was not seen until it was taken down in January.

At that point it was clear the structure had caused significant damage to the garden, causing it to flood in the heavy rain experienced by the city at the start of the year.

In April, council chiefs decided to put a new drainage system in as part of their overhaul in the wake of the controversial market.

Specialist contractors were called in to drastically alter the drainage facilities in the lower gardens two months after they became badly waterlogged due to prolonged bad weather which prompted jokes that the Nor Loch had reappeared in the city. However, the gardens were returfed in late April and early May, a process delayed by social distancing measures.

Although Underbelly pay to hire the gardens and meet the costs of reinstating the gardens, the cost of the new drainage system is to be met by the council because it is related to bad weather. In April, the local authority said it had “taken the opportunity to do drainage works which will a long-term benefit within the gardens”.

The gardens have not been fully open since work on a revamp of the Scottish National Gallery, including relandscaping a large part of the park, began in the autumn of 2018.

Work to re-soil and returf newly-created embankments on the north side of the gardens also needs to be complete before the revamped gardens can be enjoyed properly.

The scene could be repeated again this year if the council goes ahead with the Christmas Market despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. Underbelly’s annual £800,000 a year contract with the council to deliver the event in the gardens lasts until the winter of 2022, but the structure they constructed last year still does not have planning permission.

In April, the events company said that their application was due to be submitted “very soon” however the council is still yet to receive the application.

Heritage groups have demanded the Christmas Market is scaled back in future years due to its impact on thegardens, which date back to 1771.

The council is set to have a review of the Winter Festivals in the coming months.