Princes Street and the Waverley Valley

Closes 21 Feb 2025

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C. Princes Streets Uses, Blocks and Buildings

The Draft Strategy provides businesses and developers with planning guidance for Princes Street to support the street’s renewal.

It highlights Princes Street’s historic design and suggests ways to enhance the street’s buildings, and the mix of land uses allowed.

This guidance will inform planning advice and decisions, working alongside the Edinburgh Design Guidance and the Development Plan.

Fitting development in the historic New Town

View of Princes Street from Edinburgh Castle

The New Town's historic design

Princes Street forms the southern edge of James Craig’s New Town of 1767, a competition winning urban grid, inspired by classical architecture.

To protect our World Heritage Site, New Town Conservation Area and buildings of special architectural or historic interest, development should align with the area’s historic design principles, as follows:

  • Buildings on Princes Street should sit below those of George Street as the prime, central street in the First New Town, with buildings of lesser scale again on Rose Street.
  • Princes Street’s role in defining the south edge of the First New Town and its symmetrical grid should be reflected in the treatment of elevations, roofscape, frontage widths and materiality.
  • Roofscape, in particular, forms a fifth elevation and important element of its character in protected skyline views and locally important views.
  • Corner buildings are of particular importance in framing views between the Old and New Towns, including early 19th century buildings, hotels and former department stores.
  • Surviving elements of each block’s historic structure and layout should be retained, including former boundary walls, garden ground and setted lanes.
  • The unique role of each block should be understood to inform development proposals, which must contribute to the regeneration of the block overall without compromising adjacent premises.
8. Based on the section above, do you think it covers the key ways in which development can be expected to fit with the New Town's historic design?
9. Connecting Princes Street and Rose Street

A diagram showing options to connect between Princes Street, Rose Street and Rose Street Lane South

Being able to enter a building on Princes Street and exit on Rose Street, can provide alternative ways to walk or wheel across the city centre. Primark and Marks and Spencer are current examples of stores providing connections between Princes Street and Rose Street.

The Council knows the lanes behind Princes Street are used for deliveries to businesses and is working to reduce the impact of loading and servicing on people spending time in the city centre.

To what extent do you support or oppose the following?
10. Activating the lanes

Photograph of redevelopment at West Register Street, highlighting the potential to activate rear lanes with ground floor uses and to renew the public realm.

Many cities are upgrading their historic lanes. Recent development on West Register Street (as shown in the image above) has improved the street’s surfacing. Whilst the opening up of windows and doors to the street has brought new life to the pavement edge, improving interest and overlooking.

However, the appeal of the historic lanes at the east end of Princes Street (behind Blocks 4 and 5) is reduced by servicing and overshadowing.

Whilst all rear lanes would benefit from improvement, the Draft Strategy suggests that improvements are focussed on Blocks 2 and 3, towards the west end of Princes Street, where this better matches the lower building heights and character of Rose Street.

To what extent do you support or oppose the following?
11. Enhancing Princes Street’s buildings

Photograph of the completed redevelopment at 64 Princes Street, a category B Listed building and home to Edinburgh’s Uniqlo store..

In the Draft Strategy, we outline ways to enhance the quality and look of buildings on Princes Street that can be taken forward by developers and businesses.

While many of Princes Street’s historic buildings are protected as Listed Buildings, replacing unlisted buildings will be considered if it improves the street’s look and variety of uses.

Enhancements can also include upgrading shopfronts, avoiding blank walls or windows, creating inviting entrances and removing previous alterations of poor design quality.

How much do you support or oppose these ideas for improving the appearance of Princes Street’s buildings?

Read more about enhancing building design

Redevelopment opportunities

Most of Princes Street’s buildings are Listed, meaning they are protected for their special architectural or historic interest, with their refurbishment and adaptation a feature of city life. Over the last 15 years, several unlisted properties have been redeveloped to improve the street’s appearance and create a mix of uses.

Redevelopment opportunities could include:

  • refurbishment of existing buildings.
  • replacement of buildings that have little townscape value, with high-quality designs that are more energy efficient, subject to a whole life carbon assessment.

Removal of alterations

Some historic buildings have been altered in ways that don’t match their original design. Opportunities exist to enhance buildings by:

  • removing unsympathetic alterations, such as redundant roof top equipment, poor quality extensions or unsuitable external materials
  • repurposing parking garages and other underused spaces.

Shopfronts and entrances

As Princes Street evolved from a residential to commercial street, most buildings had their basements paved over and shopfronts were extended forwards to the pavement. Opportunities exist to improve the design of shopfronts and entrances include:

  • replacing poor quality shopfront materials
  • ensuring the design of shopfronts tie in with adjacent premises and the full elevational treatment of the building above.
  • projecting signs and banners are not supported. Lighting should be white and static.
  • restore a human scale to the street by breaking up long building fronts, ensuring there is visual interest at eye level for people walking and wheeling on the pavement.
  • reintroducing historic features like awnings and porticos, which provide shade and create welcoming entrances.
  • install high quality sandstone paving at entrances to fit with the wider public realm improvements.
12. Use of upper storeys, roof design and visual impact

Views to Edinburgh Caste and West Register House from the roof terrace of the Johnnie Walker Experience

In the Draft Strategy, we support greater use of Princes Street’s upper storeys and roofscape, while managing impacts on historic buildings and city centre views, including looking down to Princes Street from Edinburgh Castle.

Upper floors, once used for storage and staff areas, can be repurposed for food and drink, offices, or hotels, as they offer appealing views.

In the draft strategy, we outline how sensitive roof design can help the city tackle the climate and nature emergencies.

To achieve this, to what extent do you support or oppose the following?

Read more about upper storeys and roof design

Upper storeys

Upper storeys, once used for storage and staff areas, can be repurposed for food and drink, offices or hotels, as they offer appealing city views.

Where possible, a whole building approach to development should be taken, opening under-used upper storeys and lower ground floors to manage building stock sustainably.

To achieve access to upper floors with a mix of uses, proposals will be required to integrate lift and stair access from Princes Street with entrance lobbies which interface positively with the street.

Roof design

The roofscape of the New Town is an important part of its character and is visible from viewpoints around the city, including Edinburgh Castle.

Building heights which rise above the prevailing roofline will require careful justification, supported by street elevations and visual analysis from a range of viewpoints.

Where a roof terrace is justified, these should be inset within the form of the roof, enclosed by parapet walls. In general, projecting glazed barriers or railings will not be supported.

Managing light spillage

External lighting in the city centre is specifically used to celebrate focal buildings and monuments with dark skies maintained around the Castle and Princes Street Gardens.

Building and rooftop design, through the balance of solid walls to windows and other openings, should be used to manage excessive light spillage from Princes Street’s buildings.

Climate and nature emergencies

Traditional buildings should be adapted as appropriate to support net zero carbon targets as part of a holistic approach to refurbishment.

Proposals involving solar panels or air source heat pumps should be sensitively integrated within the overall form of the building, rather than in additional rooftop structures.

The use of planting as part of a living roof to manage rainwater drainage and enhance biodiversity within less visible areas of roofscape will be supported.
13. A vibrant mix of uses

Photographs showing a restaurant and a coffee shop on the ground floor of Princes Street

Changes to our planning rules made in 2020, now allow cafes and restaurants on Princes Street’s ground floor. We want to know how these changes are affecting your experience of Princes Street.

Read what premises on Princes Street can be used for

 

City Plan 2030 supports Princes Street’s role as an important location for retail, offices and tourism. On the upper levels of a building, office, commercial leisure and hotel accommodation are supported. Residential use is also possible.

In 2020, Council planning guidance introduced greater flexibility for food and drink (class 3), and leisure and assembly use (class 11) on Princes Street, where a change of use requires planning permission. Up to one third of the total number of units on each block can be in non-shop use at ground floor. Previously, the street’s shop fronts were largely reserved for retail.

The Council’s planning service follows this approach where consent for a change of use is proposed, however, it cannot influence the type or brand of retailer or operator.

In 2023, The Scottish Government introduced legislation to support city, town and local centres, including to:

  • Merge shops and financial, professional and other services into one use class (1A)
  • Allow change of use from class 1A to food and drink (class 3) except for premises below or within 1m of a dwelling.
  • Enable furniture outside food and drink premises subject to Roads Authority permission.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following?
14. Pop-up uses and construction

The Draft Strategy promotes ways for Princes Street to look at its best during periods of change. Businesses and developers should consider these methods when premises are empty or during construction projects.

Mural on the construction hoardings during the North Bridge refurbishment. Depicts a crowd of happy people.

Mural on the construction hoardings during the North Bridge refurbishment by artists Christopher Rutterford and Craig Robertson. Image courtesy C Rutterford.

Read the draft guidance on Pop Up Uses and Construction Activities

Photograph of scaffolding wrapped with an image of the former Jenners department store (a Category A Listed Building) whilst undergoing construction works,

In bringing forward development proposals, applicants are encouraged to activate vacant premises through:

  • Pop-up uses;
  • Building wraps; and/or
  • Creative use of street hoardings.

Temporary ‘pop-up’ uses can avoid empty units on the street and provide income for building owners. This could include exhibitions and markets, or space for arts and crafts or business start-ups.

The Council’s Business Growth and Inclusion Team can help match interested parties. Planning, lease, licensing and insurance requirements need careful consideration

To minimise construction impacts, applicants should net scaffolds with scale images of the buildings under construction or refurbishment. Proposals may require advertisement consent and listed building consent.

The use of creative and non-commercial artwork or observation windows on street level hoardings is equally encouraged.

Early dialogue with Council services is advised to consider how design proposals will be constructed on Princes Street, where space for construction access is restricted, with restrictions applying to work next to the tramway. Construction activity should be managed on site wherever possible and hoardings should limit disruption to pavements.

To what extent do you support or oppose the following?
15. A revitalised Princes Street

Read the city’s vision for the area

In Chapter 2 of the Draft Strategy, we set out an overarching vision for Princes Street and the Waverley Valley. This statement is designed to guide the steps the city takes to achieve these outcomes.

The Vision for Princes Street and the Waverley Valley

“Princes Street and the Waverley Valley will be a more welcoming place designed for people and nature with sustainable mobility, liveability, and biodiversity at its heart. It will support a thriving economy with a quality shopping, leisure and cultural experience and enable inclusive access to enhanced Gardens. As part of a rejuvenated First New Town public realm, the status of one of Scotland’s most iconic streets will be restored to offer a fitting and climate resilient setting for our world-renowned heritage.”

Overall, having reviewed the proposals for Princes Streets uses, blocks and buildings, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following?