Our city centre feels ABANDONED – stores are boarded up & big name shops have moved elsewhere

VISITORS to Edinburgh have blasted the city's historic Princes Street as "horrendous" amidst a surge in boarded up shops.

The main street was once the home of historic high end department stores like Jenners and House of Fraser.

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But those retail giants have shut up shop.

Many other stalwarts of the high street have also closed their doors or moved elsewhere.

And the once thriving shopping hub is also being blighted by the sight of scaffolding as buildings up and down the main street undergo regeneration.

Shoppers and tourists are frustrated about the way it looks.

Alexander Forsyth, 75, a retired gardener who lives to the west of Edinburgh, but who is a frequent visitor, said: “It’s horrendous - look at it. This is meant to be the main street in the country. Look what they have done to it. They’ve made it a mess.

“I just think it’s such a disappointment when you go to other capitals in Europe. The capital cities there look far, far better because they have still got the old fronts. We have lost Frasers and Jenners, it really is dire.”

Pam Pryde, a retired social worker who lives in Dunfermline, Fife, regularly comes to shop in Edinburgh.

But she thinks the city’s George Street, which is nearby to Princes Street, is now a far more “pleasant” place to shop.

She said: “I think it’s a real shame because it’s a mess. It would be great to see it developed and really spruced up because there seems to be a huge difference between Princes Street and George Street now.”

She said matters are not helped by the move to internet shopping and the economic situation.

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But she thinks making the city centre more attractive for independent retailers might be the answer.

The 70-year-old added: “I still love going shopping.
“I think possibly make it more attractive for independent shops in terms of rates and things like that, just encouraging the new development, making it more of an experience.

“I think a lot of Scottish cities and towns are in the same position at the moment, but where you see improvements it tends to be it’s not huge shops it’s where independent retailers are able to open up and that’s more attractive for visitors as well - something different.”

Matteo De Giuseppe, 53, an engineering director from Milan, Italy, was in the city seeing a concert.

He said he was “surprised” how things have changed since his last visit to Edinburgh. He added: “I came here, I think, fifteen years ago and I remember a different surrounding. It’s strange. The hope is the refurbishment will finish soon and maybe new shops.”

Christina Childs who is originally from South Africa has been living in the city for the last five years and teaches English as a foreign language.

The 22-year-old from the Corstorphine area of the city, said:
“I don’t really like the main street being boarded up because it doesn’t represent like a thriving society in Edinburgh especially.”

She said the introduction of more local shops might help, but said the street was different when she first moved here. She added:
“I don’t think it was like this. It was before Covid. People had more funding to have their shops open I believe.

“I think if you see Princes Street it’s very boarded up, but if you go to other streets it’s fine. I think tourists must think it’s gross - not gross - shameful almost.”

Andrew McRae an independent retailer and cafe owner who is the policy chair for the Federation of Small Businesses, said Princes Street used to be a “point of quite a lot of pride”.

But, he added: “To see the current state if it, it is really a bit of a sorry state.

"Of course, a lot of this is due to redevelopment so at least it’s good to know that money is being invested to try and improve the nature of the street and also the look and feel of it.

“It really is obvious the street has changed a lot in recent years.

"Obviously there has been changes in what consumers are looking for, businesses have moved. Some have not survived. So the current state of all the boarded up shops and the scaffolding, it’s not great to see.

“And obviously, in terms of a first impression, not only for visitors but for locals as well, I really hope to see that this situation can improve in the coming months and years.

“Certainly as a small business owner that’s reliant on people wanting to come to Edinburgh, it is a bit of a worry. You want the heart of the city to be looking its absolute best. Perhaps the question needs to be asked ‘what’s the bigger plan?’”

The St James Quarter, which opened in 2021, saw some big brands move in - pulling them away from the high street.

But ambitious proposals have been announced to revitalise Princes Street.

The plans, put out for consultation last year, suggested the introduction of temporary pop-up premises, building wraps and street art.

It includes space for picnic lunches on Waverley Bridge, a footbridge across the Waverley valley and tree-planting on the roof of Waverley Market.

The plans also propose more pedestrian zones access ramps into Princes Street Gardens and an upgrade for the Ross Bandstand.

In 2023 owners of empty business premises in Edinburgh were hit with a tax hike as part of a drive to bring vacant buildings across the city back into use.

In December the Scottish Budget failed to extend business rates support of 40 per cent offered to hospitality venues.

And last night Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian Sue Webber said: “Iconic shopping areas like Princes Street have been abandoned by the SNP.

“Their failure to pass on much-needed rates relief was a hammer blow to many retailers, which has now been compounded by Labour’s looming National Insurance hikes.

“These parties much urgently change their approach to businesses, rather than repeatedly rejecting common-sense proposals from ourselves to support them.”

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A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scottish businesses are rightly concerned about the impact of the UK Government’s decision to raise employers’ National Insurance contributions and by rising energy costs. We will continue to urge the UK Government to prevent further price rises in April.

“We are committed to ensuring Scotland is one of the best places to do business. That is why our Budget provides a package of non-domestic rates reliefs worth an estimated £731 million, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which continues to be the most generous of its kind in the UK.

“Our Budget also freezes the Basic Property Rate, ensuring that over 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower rate than elsewhere in the UK."