Edinburgh's Princes Street to fully reopen by end of year

The remaining part of one of Edinburgh's busiest streets is set to be reopened by the end of December, according to a council report.

Princes Street was partially closed for seven weeks after a fire ripped through a B-listed building in the early hours of 9 July, causing widespread disruption to buses, trams and businesses.

The road reopened to pedestrians, vehicles and trams in late August, but part of the pavement remained closed while contractors continued work to secure the building.

In a report to the City of Edinburgh Council's transport and environment committee, which meets on Thursday, officials said most of the pavement should return to normal use by the end of the year.

The report said a small section of the pavement would remain occupied but it was not expected to cause a "significant obstruction" to pedestrians using the area.

The road closure forced buses onto neighbouring streets and suspended tram services between the city centre and Newhaven.

Trams were unable to run along Princes Street due to concerns over the effect of vibrations on the stability of the building.

Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG) said about 260 buses operated along Princes Street in both directions every hour.

Businesses in the north and east of the city previously told BBC Scotland News the travel disruption had caused a fall in customer numbers.

The council report said the road closure had "significant consequences" on surrounding streets and the wider city, and had "exposed" the limited capacity of alternative routes on the bus network.

It also said the closure had highlighted the "vulnerability of operating without alternative secure and protected operational maintenance facilities" of the trams.

Officials said work had started with bus and tram operators to examine how similar incidents could be better managed in the future.

The B-listed former Debenhams building was in the process of being transformed into Scotland's first Zedwell hotel by real estate firm Criterion Capital.

It bought the site after it was gutted by a previous fire in 2021.

About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze at its height earlier this year.

An original Victorian staircase and the stained-glass window memorial to former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, dating from the 1880s, survived the blaze.

A joint investigation into the cause of the fire involving the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland is ongoing.