{"id":792183,"date":"2026-02-27T08:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T08:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/792183\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T08:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T08:58:15","slug":"notorious-eyesore-square-to-be-revamped-as-part-of-edinburgh-visitor-levy-old-town-clean-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/792183\/","title":{"rendered":"Notorious\u00a0\u201ceyesore\u201d\u00a0square to be revamped as part of Edinburgh visitor levy Old Town clean-up"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE City of\u00a0Edinburgh Council\u00a0<\/a>is set to sink millions earned from the tourist tax into a raft of projects\u00a0focused on cleaning up\u00a0Edinburgh\u2019s Old Town<\/a>, which is under increasing strain\u00a0from\u00a0tourism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRevolutionary\u201d funds,\u00a0raised directly from tourists through Edinburgh\u2019s\u00a0new visitor levy<\/a>,\u00a0will be used by the council to clean up darkened closes, fix cobbled streets, and undertake a \u00a33m revamp of the notorious\u00a0Hunter Square<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ideas for the revamp of Hunter Square centre on a general\u00a0opening up\u00a0of the area, with the raised platform potentially levelled off and communal tables and chairs introduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The council agreed upon the first wave of visitor levy spending plans at a special meeting last week, and local councillors\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0Old Town\u00a0Community Council<\/a>\u00a0have expressed\u00a0excitement at the positive changes the \u201crevolutionary\u201d funding could bring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Finlay<\/a>Finlay McFarlane says he feels as if it is his \u201cmission\u201d as a councillor to ensure visitor levy funds are used constructively in the Old Town (C) Deadline News<\/p>\n

The council agreed to bring in a visitor levy at the start of 2025 after legislation from the Scottish Government empowered them to do so.<\/p>\n

Public consultation and industry engagement, as well as advice from the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Advisory Forum, has shaped spending plans, with Hunter Square emerging as a priority.<\/p>\n

Hunter Square in Edinburgh\u2019s Old Town\u00a0has had a less-than-stellar reputation for\u00a0years and\u00a0is often described as a hotspot for anti-social behaviour\u00a0and drug use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Homelessness charities undertake outreach to help homeless people and drug users who frequent the area, but\u00a0the\u00a0square\u2019s\u00a0architecture\u00a0is also thought to be at the root of the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The square is built up from the ground level, with stairs leading up to an open platform with sparse seating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For SNP councillor Finlay McFarlane, who\u00a0represents\u00a0the City Centre ward at the council, this creates multifarious problems, chief\u00a0among\u00a0them\u00a0a lack of\u00a0accessibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While taking a walk around the Old Town, he explained: \u201cThe first problem is that this is not level access, there\u2019s steps leading up to a raised platform, which obviously means\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not accessible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also pointed out a secluded, infrequently travelled passage just behind the raised platform,\u00a0commenting that: \u201cIt feels uncomfortable forcing people into this secluded passage\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The passage did serve a purpose once upon a time, however, as access to the underground public toilets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These toilets were never exactly\u00a0pristine, but concerns around cleanliness eventually became so\u00a0pressing\u00a0that the council was forced to seal them off years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The passages underground have now become\u00a0infamous for\u00a0fly-tipping, with rubbish and detritus filling the stairwells.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Complaints<\/a>Complaints have frequently been made about anti-social behaviour and discarded needles in Hunter Square (C) Deadline News<\/p>\n

McFarlane added with a wry smile that someone from the council has to go down there\u00a0occasionally\u00a0with a hazmat suit to clean the disused stairwell up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Advice from the police to the council said that the \u201craised stage\u201d\u00a0area created a walking and wheeling \u201cblack spot\u201d which forces people to\u00a0walk around.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Scottish Historic\u00a0Buildings\u00a0Trust (SHBT), which manages the Tron Kirk that\u00a0backs onto Hunter Square, has reportedly expressed\u00a0an interest in working with the council on the redevelopment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This could see the overall footprint of the church expanded\u00a0into Hunter Square and to\u00a0the east and west.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another idea which has been mooted for Hunter Square is a\u00a0Grassmarket-style table and chairs arrangement if the raised area is eventually levelled off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McFarlane\u00a0said that the \u201creal prize\u201d \u201cwould be the SHBT taking the lead on the wider project\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll voices in the area\u00a0deserve\u00a0to have their say on how Hunter Square will look like and what will happen,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in this area deserve better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Old Town Community Council, in a statement, pointed to the need to give people a reason to stop and appreciate Hunter Square,\u00a0which is at the centre of a UNESCO World Heritage Site,\u00a0rather than rush through.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They said: \u201c\u00a33m for Hunter Square is a rare opportunity to fix a crossroads that has felt \u2018lost for decades\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be lively and vibrant again, instead of grey,\u00a0dirty\u00a0and ignored. It sits right next to the Tron Kirk, but it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0benefit\u00a0from that energy at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMirroring elements of the market with outdoor stalls,\u00a0murals\u00a0and simple reasons to linger could help the square feel connected rather than overlooked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

They described the area as an \u201ceyesore\u201d which people tend to avoid, rather than serving as a focal point for tourists and people in the area:\u00a0\u201cThis\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0need to be flashy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving people a reason to stop rather than rush through would already be a huge improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0an eyesore many residents avoid, while also functioning as a social anchor for people with very few other places to go \u2013 and that balance needs to be carefully considered before any change is made.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, the square needs a bit of care and imagination to work for the whole community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Barriers<\/a>Barriers installed after the 2017 London bridge attacks to prevent HGV vehicles being used for terror attacks could be replaced with more reactive security-rated bollards (C) Deadline News<\/p>\n

On the anti-social behaviour issue, McFarlane said he is keen to avoid talk of \u201cclearing people out\u201d\u00a0and instead wanted to work with homelessness charities on outreach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cObviously, anti-social behaviour and making people feel unsafe is not acceptable, but I want to resist talk about clearing people out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOften these people have nowhere else to go, and they\u00a0actually feel\u00a0safer here because of the high visibility in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, this\u00a0project should be about designing a better built environment rather than brushing people away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edinburgh\u2019s Old Town has been under increasing strain from tourism in recent year, with peak season now stretching year-round.<\/p>\n

It is now hoped, however, that visitor levy funds will be able to mitigate the harsher impacts of tourism and make the area more liveable for locals and attractive to visitors.<\/p>\n

Security barriers, installed at the behest of the UK Government on the Royal Mile due to a terror risk, could also be removed and replaced with more modern, security-rated bollards,\u00a0retractable underground,\u00a0such as the ones which were installed at the\u00a0Lawnmarket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cProhibitive\u201d costs have prevented these bollards form being installed elsewhere on the Royal Mile, but visitor levy funding has now changed the picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Funding for \u201cSetted\u00a0Streets\u201d will also allow more proactive street repairs of cobbled streets in the Old Town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly,\u00a0millions of pounds of\u00a0\u201csustain\u201d funding\u00a0will provide more resources for the thinly-stretched street cleaning teams, allowing more regular cleaning of city streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The long-shelved \u201cTwelve Closes\u201d project, which aimed to see the Old Town\u2019s darkened closes, which can be dark and\u00a0sometimes unsafe at night,\u00a0lit up will be resumed, and the six remaining closes will be lit up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

City centre ambassadors, who can act as authorities for tourists and point out issues to the council will also be introduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edinburgh\u2019s visitor levy is set to come into force\u00a0on 24 July 2026 and is expected to raise more than \u00a390 million over three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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