Why Princes Street fire is the wake-up call that Edinburgh desperately needed – Stephen Jardine
Edinburgh needs a grand plan on the scale of the ambition that young James Craig had when he designed the New Town in 1767
Another one bites the dust. Just three years after the blaze in the Jenners building, another historic Princes Street building has been decimated by fire. What are the chances?
This time it was the old Debenhams department store that went up in smoke. The shop closed in 2021 following an earlier fire and was then acquired by Legal and General. They then sold the site to London-based firm Criterion Capital which planned to open a hotel. But, for a while, the ground floor space was rented out to three shabby retail businesses including a candy store and an unofficial merchandise shop.
For a start, we need a new vision for Princes Street. It was one of the world’s greatest shopping streets but since the pandemic the great retail throughfare has been in a death spiral. Walk from one end to another and you encounter bargain basement stores, junk food outlets and lots of empty premises.
READ MORE: Princes Street blaze: Experts explain why historic buildings are at heightened risk of fire
An iconic avenue with an iconic view
Princes Street desperately needs a facelift and a proper long-term plan. At a special summit earlier this month, there was agreement to fix some broken pavements and improve access to the gardens but beyond that? Nothing.
Where is the great vision or grand plan on the scale of the ambition that young James Craig had when he designed the New Town in 1767? Two hundred and fifty years later is Jollibee Fried Chicken and a few phone shops really the best we can come up with to secure the future of this iconic grand avenue?
The cause of the latest Princes Street blaze is still under investigation but after the huge fire in a vape shop which destroyed the historic Union Corner building in Glasgow in March, we need to learn some lessons and fast.
Hopefully this fire will be the wake-up call the city needs. A blueprint for Princes Street would encourage investment and business confidence. It’s still the best address in Edinburgh with an iconic view and excellent transport links but it needs leadership and vision.
Stricter rules
In the meantime, the businesses currently operating in Princes Street must be subject to much tighter regulation. Tax enforcement should be rigorous. Trading standards also need to spend more time in these premises looking at what they sell and where it comes from. We need to make it much tougher for shoddy companies and make it much harder for them to do business.
There is hope. Princes Street is an address with international recognition and a setting that seems to defy the passage of time. With the Johnny Walker Experience open and the revamped Jenners store reaching completion, we have a glimpse of what it could be again. But we are becoming stupidly careless with our wonderful built heritage and history.
We need to safeguard the buildings and agree a bold vision for the future before the wail of fire engines echoes down Princes Street again.
Stephen Jardine is president of the architectural conservation group the Cockburn Association, Edinburgh’s civic trust, which monitors planning applications in the city
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