Artists and community groups given four months to leave creative hub after being served eviction notices

St Margaret’s House, in north east Edinburgh, with ‘ART’ emblazoned on the side, has been operated by charity Scot-ART since 2008.

The charity began by renting out spaces to individuals and organisations over just two floors of the building, located on London Road, before eventually filling every studio over all 10 floors.

However, tenants received an email on Monday informing them that a notice had been served for them to vacate the building by January 24.

Jen Skedd from Artisan Stitch, a sewing and textile workshop group which has called St Margaret's House home since 2018, said there is concern over where people will go after the 270 units are vacated.

She said: “I just don’t think Edinburgh has the capacity for everyone. It’s pretty much already at saturation point.

“I’m aware of other studios in the city centre of Edinburgh that have limited space, but also the unique thing about this building is that it is so big, it has bigger rooms that most of the other spaces don’t, and it has parking and a big bus service right on the main road.

“And there's a lot of very valuable services, not just artists, that are going to be lost in the community.”

She said that the eviction notice has prompted her to reassess her need for a studio space “a little bit sooner” than she had anticipated, adding: “This is one of the cheaper places in Edinburgh in terms of rent and I know there's other places which are more expensive for much smaller studios and that's only going to allow them to put their rents up as well even more.

“It's a complete disgrace because we're a city which boasts the world's largest art festival but not providing spaces for creative people to work."

St Margaret’s House is owned by Caledonian Trust, which has said the notice has been issued as talks progress with a “preferred party” looking at purchasing the building.

It was initially up for sale in 2021, when a deal with Drum Property Group fell through after a condition of the pre-let deal was not met.

Scarlett Land and Development then brought the building to market in 2025 and highlighted its appeal as a development property for possible future use as student accommodation and residential housing.

Scottish Greens’ culture spokesperson and Edinburgh and Lothian regional MSP Q Manivannan called the upcoming closure of the building “a desolation of Edinburgh’s charity sector”.

A spokesperson for Caledonian Trust said: “We have fully communicated that St Margaret's House has been on the market for some time. We're in discussions with a preferred party, but the process isn't finished and it would be inappropriate to provide any more detail.

“St Margaret's House has been an important home for independent artists and freelancers in Edinburgh and we have been proud to support them. However, the building is decades old and no longer meets the standards needed for its long-term future.

“Scot-ART has held the lease on the building for many years, on very generous terms, and is now serving notice to its sub-tenants. Vacant possession is targeted for January 2027, with plenty of time for people to plan ahead.”

Scot-ART were also approached for comment.