Underbelly’s is set to open its market in East Princes Street Gardens to the public tomorrow – but a temporary structure was only granted approval yesterday.

The company has already come under fire after it was discovered this year’s plans have not received planning permission, and no application is set to be formally handed over until the market has finished trading in January.

Underbelly published a proposal of application notice (PAN) for its plans on 7 November. However, the submission came with a minimum 12-week period for consultation.

The City of Edinburgh Council has launched an internal investigation into whether the correct processes were followed in approving the event’s extension – while a building standards application estimates the development including the scaffolding and platform is valued at £145,000.

Council leader Adam Mcvey has called for an urgent meeting with all council departments in order to investigate the situation.

An Underbelly spokesperson said: “We look forward to the enquiry that Councillor Mcvey has asked for and to contributing fully to the reasons why we are in the position we are now in. Our previous planning permission ran for four years but expired in January 2018 and we operated under the same conditions.”