The operators of the Spiegeltent have been accused of treating Edinburgh Council with ‘contempt’.
The firm behind the popular Fringe attraction were criticised after they put up the St Andrews Square venue before planning permission was granted.
While legal, the company’s decision sparked outrage, and was seen by many as disrespectful to the planning process and the local community.
Green councillor Ben Parker also said the company behind it has had ‘blatant disregard and disinterest’ in council policies.
He has put forward a motion to the next full Edinburgh Council meeting calling for a review of the council’s relationship with festival venues to “ensure that planning applications are submitted in a timely fashion”.
And he also asked for a report to be prepared on the impact the tent has had on trees in St Andrews Square – and for the council leader to ask a representative of the company to be in attendance when that report is heard.
The firm originally submitted a tree production plan to the council that was prepared by Unique Assembly, another festival operator.
It has said it did not approve the use of its tree protection plan in that way, and that it did not give Spiegeltent International permission to include it in its planning application.
At a recent council meeting, it was revealed that council officers had to expend great effort to work with the company to amend its plans to avoid damage to tree roots in the square.
Councillors also heard that officers had to ask the firm to submit a second tree protection plan, citing a lack of detail in the first one.
SNP councillor and group leader Simita Kumar also put forward a motion on the topic, calling for discussions to be held between the council and venue operators to make sure planning applications are filed in good time.
It asks for organisers to be asked to have planning applications submitted by the start of April, which would give city officers more time to handle them.
The owners of the Spiegeltent applied for planning permission on June 11, and began construction on June 30 – but permission was only granted on August 6.
By that point, the venue had already hosted events for the Jazz and Blues Festival, and was hosting events for the Fringe.
Cllr Parker’s motion also asked for the councillor on the music festival’s board to raise the council’s concerns with the board, and for minutes of a board meeting where the Spiegeltent was discussed to be circulated to councillors.
Under planning law, construction can be started with planning permission – but that comes with the possibility that the council could punish developers if the works are not greenlit.
Councils can serve enforcement notices, levy fines, or in the most extreme cases order that a development be taken down, with the site returned to its pre-construction state.
At the August 6 meeting where the development was approved, council officers said that they had been able to work with the company to amend their plans to avoid tree damage in the 19 days between the application’s receipt and the start of construction.
But they said that the council’s tree officer still had concerns about the possible impact on tree life in the square.
During the meeting, SNP councillor Amy McNeese-Meechan called the application ‘cynical’, which Cllr Parker agreed with.
He said: “A balance, in this case, would be about finding a way to have events in our parks which still have the economic benefits which also work with our environmental policies.
“I don’t think this application does this. I think this application rides roughshod over the tree protection zones we worked hard on making sure were included in the [city plan].”
A number of objections had been lodged against the tent’s construction, with a community council and heritage group both raising concerns about the development starting without planning permission.
At that meeting, councillors approved the tent’s planning permission in a narrow 6-4 vote, with a requirement that it be subjected to regular inspections of the tree life around it.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
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