Princess Street bandstand rebuild plans to come before Councillors

Initial plans to renew the historic park include the opportunity of a new Ross Bandstand, the restoration of the city’s 140 year-old Ross Fountain, landscaping and new visitor facilities.

The multimillion pound vision has been developed by city hotelier Norman Springford, who has offered to be a major benefactor for the project, in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council.

The shared ambition is to renew the Gardens for the year-round benefit of communities and visitors through fundraising and in consultation with heritage bodies, festival producers and residents.

Council Leader Andrew Burns, convener of the corporate policy and strategy committee, said: “Connecting the Old and New Town halves of our UNESCO World Heritage Site and in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, West Princes Street Gardens offers one of Scotland’s most beautiful and iconic locations.

“Scores of famous acts have graced the Ross Bandstand stage and while it remains a key venue for the city’s famous Festival Fireworks and Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens, it is more than 80 years old and is nearing the end of its useful life. It has been a long held ambition of the Council to create a new facility as part of major renewal of the Gardens but is not, in the current financial climate, a project we could undertake alone.

“We are extremely grateful to Mr Springford for his personal commitment to the project. Princes Street Gardens are a major source of residents’ pride in the city and it is important that we get any changes to the park right. There are a lot of considerations, from the fact the area is Common Good land to the implications of building in public parks, and so there is still much work to be done.”

Norman Springford said: “Whilst it has been a personal ambition to see redevelopment, the opportunity for this to become a reality arises from a real spirit of public/private co-operation. I’m sure we are all looking forward to being given the chance to deliver a project which the city can have pride in. “

Members of the Council’s Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee will be asked to consider the legal and technical landscape and feasibility of the project. Should it be progressed, a further report detailing the project’s stages, decision points and timescales would be published in June for consideration by Full Council.