Nearly 500 people responded with many reminiscing about the days when flagship stores decorated Princes Street - notably Jenners , Debenhams and House of Fraser. Having fewer tourist shops was recommended by a number of residents with another person joking that it should be ‘illegal to play the bagpipes in and around the city centre.’ Others criticised the cleanliness of the streets and pavements, called for more public toilets and see the return of more independent shops.
A series of luxury hotels in the city centre are currently in the works, including a 100-room hotel at the Jenners building which will also include a dedicated retail area. And although Princes Street has seen big developments in recent years with the arrival of the Johnnie Walker Experience and more recently Japanese retailer UNIQLO , several leading brands have now relocated to the St James Quarter. Here are the top 11 recommendations Evening News readers would like to see in the city centre to improve the shopping scene Several residents wanted to see a better range of shops in Princes Street along with improvements to the street as a whole.
One said: “Princes Street needs a revamp, perhaps a developer to come in to modernise or update the shop fronts and make it more attractive for retailers wanting to open shop branches there" | Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Many said parking charges put them off coming into the city centre. One said they would not fork out ‘nearly a tenner an hour to park’ with another suggesting restaurants and some larger shops should be able to reimburse parking charges for up to a few hours. Last year the council increased parking charges by around 22 per cent, with accrued income being reinvested into Edinburgh’s roads and transport infrastructure | Lisa Ferguson Photo: Lisa Ferguson There are a range of craft fairs and artisan markets dotted around Edinburgh along with relatively new food markets, with Edinburgh Street Food opening last year and the latest incarnation of The Pitt set to open in the coming months.
But some residents would like to see more retail markets under one roof in the city centre. One resident said they would like to see ‘an indoor market with lots of pop-up retailers who otherwise couldn’t afford a city centre lease.’ Another added they wanted a ‘market type place with local produce, local people with stalls, alternative clothing and handmade items' | Neil Hanna Photography Photo: Neil Hanna Photography There was strong feeling towards tourist shops in Princes Street.
One resident said: “I dislike tartan tat shops intensely, I suppose we have to have some as the tourists spend their money there and that's to the City's good, but please not every second shop!” Another joked: "Wouldn't mind a few more souvenir shops, sometimes I have to walk almost 10 yards before I find one" | Google Maps Photo: Google Maps.
