Summerhall Arts, the charity that runs the arts programme at Summerhall in Edinburgh, has asked for the building to be repaired rather than partly demolished. The call follows early-stage proposals from the developer AMA for a mixed-use scheme on the site, which would remove several of the building’s best-known rooms. Summerhall is one of the city’s main arts venues and a regular home for Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows.
AMA set out its ideas at a community consultation meeting the week before last and plans to submit a full proposal to the City of Edinburgh Council. The scheme includes a hotel, retail units, a venue space, co-living accommodation and student residences. Parts of the building earmarked for demolition include the Anatomy Lecture Theatre, the Dissection Room and the Royal Dick pub. Sam Gough, chief executive of Summerhall Arts, said Tech Cube 0 is also on the list. The proposals are at an early stage, and the full application has not yet been lodged with the council.
The charity says those spaces are central to the identity of the site and that losing them would have consequences for the arts in the city. It wants repair and renovation examined first, and says any plan must be financially realistic and workable to run. It also wants enough affordable, usable space to keep supporting artists and audiences throughout the year. In a statement, the charity said: “Summerhall is far more than a building.”
Summerhall has more than 100 tenants, among them artists, small businesses, Barney’s Beer and Pickering Gin Distillery. The charity says it needs space for that community and for audiences all year round. Leases in the building expire in April 2028, before any development would begin. Gough said Summerhall intends to stay and work with AMA, but that he had “not seen anything” to show the developer understands the value of the building. He has previously warned that the Fringe could end up anywhere without a solid base in the city.
Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, criticised the proposals last week and said she was frustrated by the options on offer. AMA was contacted for comment. Gough has urged members of the public to take part in the consultation and give their views while the plans are still being drawn up. Any final scheme will need approval from the City of Edinburgh Council before work can begin, and existing leases run until spring 2028.
