Princes Street to reopen seven weeks after building fire

Edinburgh's Princes Street is to fully reopen on Saturday, seven weeks after a major fire at a former department store.

The thoroughfare was partially closed for almost the entirety of the city's festival season after the blaze at the B-listed former Debenhams in the early hours of 9 July.

Bus routes were diverted away from the area and tram services were only operating in the west of the city while work to make the remainder of the building safe was ongoing.

City of Edinburgh Council said "several tonnes" of debris had been removed from the site, and tram links would resume subject to "testing" on Friday.

A number of businesses and hospitality venues in the east of the city said they had suffered reduced footfall due to the closure.

The Scottish government previously committed £5m to the recovery effort, allowing some businesses to offset lost business.

Part of the pavement directly outside the former store will remain closed while remedial work continues.

Pedestrians will be partially diverted onto the eastbound road, which will be reduced to one lane at that section.

Three bus stops between Castle Street and Frederick Street will also remain closed to reduce congestion.

Bus services will run along Princes Street, rather than the current diversion along George Street.

Council leader Jane Meagher said the reopening marked a "significant step" in the city's recovery from the fire.

She added: "I'm sure it will come as a great relief to many.

"This has been an incredibly difficult few weeks for the city, not least given the timing, and I'm pleased that we can now turn our attention to getting Edinburgh back to normal."

Meagher said council teams and engineers had carried out "painstaking" work in order to make the site safe.

The council said the building's 19th Century façade had been "fully stabilised" with supporting steel beams, while the eastern gable was reduced in height by almost two metres in order to make it secure.

Stonework and larger bricks, some weighing up to 850kg, were removed from the site and have been stored for future use.

Tram services had been running between Edinburgh Airport and Shandwick Place while the closure was in place.

They 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 an estimated 100,000 bus passenger journeys were impacted by the closure every day.

EBUG said about 260 buses operated along Princes Street in both directions every hour.

Sarah Boyd, chief executive for Lothian and Edinburgh Trams, said the reopening was "encouraging" but urged passengers to check for the latest information before setting out on their journey.

She said: "Our teams are now focused on reinstating bus and tram services along one of the city's most important transport corridors and we encourage customers to check the latest service updates and allow extra time for travel.

"I would like to thank our customers for their patience, understanding and support throughout this period of continued disruption.

"We are also grateful to our colleagues, whose professionalism, flexibility and commitment continued to keep Edinburgh moving during a particularly challenging time."

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

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

About 50 firefighters were tackling 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.