Princes Street reopens after seven weeks, but businesses count the cost

Edinburgh's Princes Street reopened to traffic and public transport on Saturday, 29 August, seven weeks after a major fire forced its partial closure during the city's peak festival season.

Trams resumed their full route between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven following a test run shortly after midnight, and bus services returned to the thoroughfare after weeks of diversions via George Street.

The blaze broke out in the early hours of 9 July at the B-listed former Debenhams building, which was undergoing conversion into a hotel. No injuries were recorded. At the height of the fire, around 50 firefighters were deployed to tackle it.

Stabilising the building

The City of Edinburgh Council said engineers carried out extensive structural work before the street could safely reopen, as reported by BBC Scotland.

The building's 19th-century façade was secured using steel supports, while the eastern gable was reduced in height by close to two metres. Some stonework and individual bricks weighing up to 850kg were lifted from the site and set aside for potential future use.

Concerns that tram vibrations could destabilise the structure had kept services west of Shandwick Place throughout the closure period.

One section of pavement directly in front of the former store remains closed, with pedestrians partially redirected onto a reduced carriageway. Three bus stops between Castle Street and Frederick Street are also still out of use.

Council leader welcomes the reopening

City of Edinburgh Council leader Jane Meagher told the Press Association she could not be more pleased that the city was returning to business as usual, describing the preceding weeks as an incredibly difficult period given the timing of the closure.

She said the reopening marked a significant step in the city's recovery and that she hoped it would come as a great relief to many.

The Scottish government had earlier committed £5 million to the recovery effort, allowing some businesses to offset losses during the closure.

Businesses assess the damage

Traders in Edinburgh's east end were less sanguine. Alistair Brown, founder of Bellfield Brewery and operator of Nobles on Constitution Street, told BBC Scotland News he was relieved but remained apprehensive.

He said his business had been quieter during the summer than it typically is in January or March, its slowest months, and that the full financial impact would not be clear until next year.

Adam Barclay, manager of Argonaut Books, was more pointed in his assessment. He told BBC Scotland the trams returning just as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe entered its final weekend amounted to a cruel piece of timing.

He said the businesses and residents of Leith had endured bus delays of more than 20 minutes, sharply reduced footfall, and what he described as a month of radio silence from the council.

He said the impact on trading had been profound, with the shop performing worse than an average month despite hosting 16 sold-out book Fringe events.

Chef Dean Banks, whose restaurants operate across the city, said the disruption had affected city-centre venues as well as those in Leith, as visitors had been steering clear of Princes Street and the west end during the festival period.

Edinburgh Bus Users Group had estimated that around 100,000 bus passenger journeys were affected each day the closure was in place, with approximately 260 buses running along Princes Street in both directions every hour under normal conditions.