Relief for businesses in Edinburgh after Princes St reopens seven weeks following huge fire

Edinburgh’s Princes Street has fully reopened seven weeks after a devastating fire tore through an old department store building.

Businesses in and around the iconic thoroughfare have felt the impact of lower footfall because of bus and tram services being diverted while work went on to make the site safe.

It comes during what is normally a busy period for traders, pubs, bars and restaurants in the city with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival taking centre stage.

Andy McCreath runs Castle Street Flowers, he told STV: “I’ve noticed a massive difference in overall footfall today.

“We tend to sell to a lot of people who work in the city and that’s people who have been most affected by it with all their bus routes being changed.

“There’s been a massive fall in footfall over the past seven weeks and there’s a lot of regular customers who we have not seen in a while as well. I’m so happy to see it back open, it’s a pity it took so long.”

Dougie Cameron has been documenting the restoration of the site since the fire and was one of the first people to board a tram after they started running again this morning.

He said: “It feels great. I’ve been really interested in the fact that a lot of good has come from something that was bad for the city.

“The guys have been working on 109 Princes Street, really professional and they had a lot to do. I had a lot of doubts, I was the one complaining a bit but it just shows you what can be done.

“It’s amazing that first of all the building wasn’t pulled down and it was preserved and we’re back to normal now.”

Edinburgh City council leader Jane Meagher said: “I’m so excited to see the trams and buses back along the length of Princes Street. It’s brilliant.

“The work that has gone on has been remarkable. I take my hat off to the work people who have been suspended from a crane in a cage working painstakingly to remove huge pieces of masonry some weighing up to 850 kilos and it’s all done by hand.

“Work will carry on behind the scenes now the facade is safe. There’s a massive amount of rubble and debris. We will be looking at the future of the building itself and continuing negotiations with the owners.

“It’s an iconic street with fabulous views across to the castle and we’re keen to use the powers available to us to bring the building back to its former glory but, importantly, in good and productive use.

“We absolutely don’t want to the buildings to be left empty too long, that would be completely unacceptable.”