More bars and restaurants for Princes Street with planning guidelines set to be relaxed
A consultation is beginning into how the famous thoroughfare can 'move with the times'.
Princes Street could be opened up to bars, restaurants and leisure activities as part of proposals to help the famous destination 'move with the times'.
The city council is launching a public consultation to ask for views on changing strict planning guidance.
Property experts predict around 13 shops will leave Prince Street and move in to the new St James Centre which is due to open next year in the east end.
Coupled with last year’s closure of House of Fraser at the West End and a difficult retail climate, the council is moving to ensure Princes Street 'remains vibrant'.
The proposal would allow planning permission for change of use to 'assembly and leisure' and food and drink trade, 'allowing a third of units in each frontage to be in non-shop use'.
Planning convener Cllr Neil Gardiner said: "Despite pressures from online shopping nationally, Edinburgh has a buoyant retail industry evidenced by the £1bn investment in the Edinburgh St James development due to open in 2020.
"It is important though that we look to the future and regularly review our planning policies to make sure they are flexible enough to move with the times."
A leading business group hopes the changes will encourage other firms to take on vacant units and fill 'unsightly empty premises'.
A spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Edinburgh said: “Central Edinburgh is still a great retail destination but like many shopping strips, Princes Street has found it tough to fill every unit.
"By loosening planning restrictions, we could see some non-retail businesses – like bars or restaurants – take up some hard-to-fill spaces.
"These operators could bring important to footfall to the existing shops while eliminating unsightly empty premises"