Building fire closes Edinburgh's main high street during festival season

ByJames Delaney

BBC Scotland

Princes Street will remain partially closed during the start of Edinburgh's festival season following a fire at a former department store.

City of Edinburgh Council said work to make the former Debenhams store safe and preserve historic architectural features is expected to take "several weeks".

It means the city's main thoroughfare will be shut to buses between Frederick Street and South Charlotte Street into August when hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive for the International Festival and Festival Fringe.

The tram network will only operate between Edinburgh Airport and the West End, with no services along Princes Street to Leith and Newhaven.

Bus services are currently being diverted away from Princes Street to George Street.

George Street is usually closed to traffic during August, when bars and venues are permitted to extend across the road.

BBC Scotland News understands that closure is now not expected to go ahead as planned.

Part of Rose Street and Rose Street South Lane also remain closed.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said an investigation into the cause of the fire at the B-listed building last week was ongoing.

City of Edinburgh Council said a dedicated webpage, external had been set up to provide up-to-date information.

Council leader Jane Meagher described the situation as "ever-changing".

She added: "Our focus continues to be on making the building safe while aiming to retain as many of its historic features as we can. This is a painstaking process and will take time.

"I'm acutely aware that we're now entering the busiest period of the year for Edinburgh, and there will inevitably be disruption in and around the city centre.

"We will continue to work with bus, tram, and other transport colleagues to keep the city moving as best we can."

Edinburgh's population doubles to more than one million during the festival season.

In addition to the International and Festival Fringe events, the Book Festival, Art Festival and Film Festival are all held in the city centre during August.

The Royal Military Tattoo takes place at Edinburgh Castle every night for three weeks between 7-29 August.

Scotland's men's rugby team face Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday, while country singer Luke Combs is due to perform two nights at the stadium at the end of July.

Meanwhile, Heart of Midlothian kick off their Champions League qualifying campaign against Austrian side Sturm Graz next week and Hibernian face a Europa Conference League qualifier on 30 July.

A probe into the cause of the fire was delayed due to structural concerns over the building.

Fire investigators have since been allowed into the former store, which has been largely empty since a previous fire in 2021.

It was in the process of being redeveloped into Scotland's first Zedwell hotel prior to the blaze.

Images from the scene show the roof of the building was completely destroyed, while other parts have been severely damaged.