£20million contract for George Square renovation awarded
On Friday it was announced that the contract for the works, which also includes Avenues work on North Hanover Street, George Street, West George Street, Cochrane Street and St Vincent Place; has been awarded to Rainton Construction.
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The contract is worth £20.499m and work will be done in two phases, with George Square, St Vincent Place and West George Street due for completion in August 2026, and Cochrane Street and the sections of George Street and North Hanover Street to be complete in the Spring of 2027.
The first phase of the work, which will involve removing the 11 bronze statues in the square for conservation and restoration, will take place between May 11 and 23.
The contracted work to transform the square will then get under way the following month.
The new design for the eastern part of the Square responds to the formal uses connected with the City Chambers and the Cenotaph; and a further raised green area will be created in front of the Cenotaph.
The western part of the Square will support more informal uses with space for cafes to spill out on to, and a generous paved area for events.
The new tree species to be planted in George Square and the surrounding Avenues through this project include 'Robin Hill' Pink Juneberry; 'Frans Fontaine' Hornbeam; 'Forest Pansy' Redbud; Oleaster; 'Autumn Gold' Gingko; Burgundy Sweetgum; a couple of Rowan species; a number of Flowering Cherry species; and Pin Oak.
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The Herald Scotland
25-06-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh council chief: Tour de France decision 'was inappropriate'
He said: 'We should have used committee as a place to get that formal commitment.' It comes after a row broke out last week over allocation of the funding from the local authority's reserves. Unaudited annual accounts tabled in the City Chambers on Thursday, June 19 asked councillors to sign-off the spending - just 11 days before the deadline to sign a formal hosting agreement for the event. An internal memo to councillors the day before suggested leaders of political groups had 'made a decision' to set aside the £1.7m at a private discussion with senior officers last October ahead of formal approval by the council, SNP councillor Kate Campbell said at Thursday's meeting. However, group leaders said while the opportunity to host the Grand Départ and associated costs to the authority were discussed in October, no decision had been made and there had been no further discussions since then. 'We've had no notes to councillors, no notes to committee, nothing to tell us anything about how much, what the value we'd be getting out of this £1.7m to the Tour de France,' Councillor Campbell said. 'Spending £1.7m bringing a huge global event to Edinburgh in the middle of July, to the city centre, is not going to create additional value because that's the time when tourism is most buoyant in Edinburgh and most people agree we are over-touristed at that time.' Read more: Conservative city councillor Phil Doggart delivered a scathing critique of the officers' actions which he said "got me really agitated and really angry". He said: 'There has been zero governance around this. 'The group leaders are not a decision-making body, and for the second time in the last couple of years group leaders have taken a decision which is the responsibility of council. 'It stops now.' Doggart asked who took the decision and why it was taken without councillors being informed, saying it should have at the least been put before the finance committee when it met a week earlier. 'This is unacceptable,' he added. 'We are the council. So let's take back control of the council from the officers.' Councillors referred approval of the £1.7m to the finance committee when Doggart grilled officers on the process followed. He asked them three times 'who took the decision about the Tour de France'. Responding first, Gareth Barwell, executive director of place, said there had been a 'non-binding heads of terms, but no contractual signing, hence the reason we asked members to approve the signing to ring-fence a reserve'. Doggart replied: 'I will try that again, and with an extra clause at the end of it, why was that not brought to councillors, this committee, under [private] B agenda?' Mr Lawrence said: 'It's the view of senior officers and certainly my view that that was a mistake and that should have happened in that process. The report sets out how we are going to remind all colleagues including myself actually that that was inappropriate and should have happened.' Still dissatisfied with the response, Doggart said: 'I still don't think I've got an answer to my not very difficult question: who made the decision?' Mr Lawrence said: 'Councillor I'll try again. Myself and other officers - but myself primarily - were approached around the Tour de France. We consulted with group leaders because of the timing of trying to say are we into this? But we were absolutely clear that consulting with group leaders was not a decision of the council. 'However, given that we had a positive steer I felt we were able to proceed with the ongoing discussions. 'But when a decision needed to be made we needed the resources set aside hence the process that we went through. I now regret and feel we should have either come to culture and communities [committee] before that or this committee [...] but the decision signing on the dotted line, no officer has made such a decision because we haven't set the resources aside to do so.' He added: 'We should have used committee as a place to get that formal commitment. But I think because I felt there was broad cross-party support we could get on with it, set the money aside and come back and talk about the event in detail.' Officers said they hoped the £1.7m could eventually be covered by income from the city's upcoming visitor levy, or 'tourist tax', as they expect the event to generate extra revenue. In March it was announced that Edinburgh would host the start of the 2027 running of the men's Tour de France race. More from our Edinburgh Correspondent: The council has been working with EventScotland, Scottish Government and UK Sport to develop plans for the Grand Départ, but due to 'the commercial sensitivities around the development of these plans,' all discussions have been governed by non-disclosure agreements, a report to Tuesday's meeting stated. It added: 'It was not possible to report to the council [...] while the non-disclosure agreements were in force (prior to 19 March 2025). 'Since 1 April 2025, the council has been preparing its final accounts for 2024/25. As part of this process, officers have been discussing the potential for council reserves to underwrite the financial commitment of the Council to the Tour de France Grand Départ 2027. 'While neither of the committees could have approved the allocation of reserves for the purpose of the Tour de France Grand Départ 2027 (with decisions on the allocation of reserves only able to be taken by the council unless specifically delegated by it), officers recognise that information could have been presented to either or both on the event and the requirement to seek approval for a provision for this to be made in the council's budget.'
The Herald Scotland
25-06-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh Royal Mile tourism office secured for next 25 years
Councillor Mandy Watt, Finance and Resources Convener, said: "While more and more visitors are planning their trips to Edinburgh online, you can't beat a warm Scottish welcome face to face. "We believe there remains an appetite for this type of in-person experience for visitors, particularly with the draw of a shop and a café, so I'm pleased that we've been able to secure the visitor information centre's future. "This will prove invaluable as we encourage tourists to visit all parts of the city in all seasons as part of the city's tourism strategy, and as we introduce Edinburgh's Visitor Levy next summer. The lease will also support us to raise income worth £3.5 million over the next 25 years. 249 High Street is to the right of the arches in front of the City Chambers (Image: Google Maps) "Cobbs is well established throughout Scotland with the family nearing 40 years of tourism experience and we're looking forward to welcoming them into the space." Fraser Campbell, Managing Director of the Cobbs Group, said: "We're well established in Scotland as the Cobbs group and we proudly operate 35 sites across the country. Opening a tourism office in the heart of Edinburgh is a dream and we're excited to take over the lease. Right in the heart of Edinburgh's festival action, it is the ideal site for showcasing everything the city and Scotland has to offer. 'We're particularly keen to highlight local experiences and 'Made in Scotland' items where we can and I'd urge makers and crafters to please get in touch so that we can offer a unique and authentic range for tourists to enjoy on Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile.'
The Herald Scotland
24-06-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh Council chief: Tour De France decision "was inappropriate"
On Tuesday, he said: 'We should have used committee as a place to get that formal commitment.' It comes after a row broke out last week over allocation of the funding from the local authority's reserves. Unaudited annual accounts tabled in the City Chambers on Thursday, June 19 asked councillors to sign-off the spending - just 11 days before the deadline to sign a formal hosting agreement for the event. An internal memo to councillors the day before suggested leaders of political groups had 'made a decision' to set aside the £1.7m at a private discussion with senior officers last October ahead of formal approval by the council, SNP councillor Kate Campbell said at Thursday's meeting. However, group leaders said while the opportunity to host the Grand Départ and associated costs to the authority were discussed in October, no decision had been made and there had been no further discussions since then. 'We've had no notes to councillors, no notes to committee, nothing to tell us anything about how much, what the value we'd be getting out of this £1.7m to the Tour De France,' Councillor Campbell said. 'Spending £1.7m bringing a huge global event to Edinburgh in the middle of July, to the city centre, is not going to create additional value because that's the time when tourism is most buoyant in Edinburgh and most people agree we are over-touristed at that time.' Read more: Conservative city councillor Phil Doggart delivered a scathing critique of the officers' actions which he said "got me really agitated and really angry". He said: 'There has been zero governance around this. 'The group leaders are not a decision-making body, and for the second time in the last couple of years group leaders have taken a decision which is the responsibility of council. 'It stops now.' Doggart asked who took the decision and why it was taken without councillors being informed, saying it should have at the least been put before the finance committee when it met a week earlier. 'This is unacceptable,' he added. 'We are the council. So let's take back control of the council from the officers.' Councillors referred approval of the £1.7m to the finance committee on Tuesday, June 24, when Doggart grilled officers on the process followed. He asked them three times 'who took the decision about the Tour De France'. Responding first, Gareth Barwell, executive director of place, said there had been a 'non-binding heads of terms, but no contractual signing, hence the reason we asked members to approve the signing to ring-fence a reserve'. Doggart replied: 'I will try that again, and with an extra clause at the end of it, why was that not brought to councillors, this committee, under [private] B agenda?' Mr Lawrence said: 'It's the view of senior officers and certainly my view that that was a mistake and that should have happened in that process. The report sets out how we are going to remind all colleagues including myself actually that that was inappropriate and should have happened.' Still dissatisfied with the response,, Doggart said: 'I still don't think I've got an answer to my not very difficult question: who made the decision?' Mr Lawrence said: 'Councillor I'll try again. Myself and other officers - but myself primarily - were approached around the Tour De France. We consulted with group leaders because of the timing of trying to say are we into this? But we were absolutely clear that consulting with group leaders was not a decision of the council. 'However, given that we had a positive steer I felt we were able to proceed with the ongoing discussions. 'But when a decision needed to be made we needed the resources set aside hence the process that we went through. I now regret and feel we should have either come to culture and communities [committee] before that or this committee [...] but the decision signing on the dotted line, no officer has made such a decision because we haven't set the resources aside to do so.' He added: 'We should have used committee as a place to get that formal commitment. But I think because I felt there was broad cross-party support we could get on with it, set the money aside and come back and talk about the event in detail.' Officers said they hoped the £1.7m could eventually be covered by income from the city's upcoming visitor levy, or 'tourist tax', as they expect the event to generate extra revenue. In March it was announced Edinburgh would host the start of the 2027 running of the men's Tour de France race. More from our Edinburgh Correspondent: The council has been working with EventScotland, Scottish Government and UK Sport to develop plans for the Grand Départ, but due to 'the commercial sensitivities around the development of these plans,' all discussions have been governed by non-disclosure agreements, a report to Tuesday's meeting stated. It added: 'It was not possible to report to the council [...] while the non-disclosure agreements were in force (prior to 19 March 2025). 'Since 1 April 2025, the council has been preparing its final accounts for 2024/25. As part of this process, officers have been discussing the potential for council reserves to underwrite the financial commitment of the Council to the Tour de France Grand Départ 2027. 'While neither of the committees could have approved the allocation of reserves for the purpose of the Tour de France Grand Départ 2027 (with decisions on the allocation of reserves only able to be taken by the council unless specifically delegated by it), officers recognise that information could have been presented to either or both on the event and the requirement to seek approval for a provision for this to be made in the council's budget.'
