Photography clubs capture Rosslyn Chapel in the frame
Campaigners push for council purchase of old railway line
Book your ticket to visit the renovated Palm Houses Ron Mueck’s giant sculpture on show again at Modern One
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Youth Race Team in top gear with over 30 wins
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August 2026
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
IT IS TIME for Edinburgh to come alive for the summer festivals – and for the unitiated there are many of them - from the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) under the guidance of Nicola Benedetti, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (and yes that is the correct name – no variation allowed), the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh Internaitonal Film Festival and the Edinburgh Art Festival.
The EIF features 147 performances with artists from 44 countries. All will be brought together under the theme All Rise, also the title of the symphony composed by Wynton Marsalis the founding director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra who will perform his work in the opening concert with around 200 performers on stage.
The free community led event in Princes Street Gardens inspired by the same theme is bound to be unmissable.
The Fringe programme alone has 3,649 shows in 258 venues, totalling 53,884 performances, with themes tackling some of the most topical issues including artificial intelligence, cults, the manosphere, identity crisis, social class, Y2K nostalgia, the state of the world and resilience and hope.
One Man Poe will be performed by actor and Poe enthusiast, Stephen Smith, (photographed left). He says that performing Poe in Edinburgh is “almost a homecoming”. He added: “So much great literature would not exist without Poe’s writing. And Poe’s writing would not have happened without Scotland.
“Scotland was the source of so many of the ideas, settings, stories and relationships that shaped him. Performing Poe’s work in Edinburgh feels like coming to the wellspring.”
Smith believes that Scotland, and Poe’s Scottish family influences, had a profound effect on his identity, life and writing. All are performed in the atmospheric surroundings of Greenside’s 16th-century Riddles Court complex just off Lawnmarket.
And for the indecisive, just stand as Smith did for this photo on the Royal Mile and wait to be “flyered” by an enthusiastic performer.
IT IS TRICKY to be local when our capital city is about to become an international playground, but we do try to include news of what is happening in Edinburgh that you may have missed. The Powderhall Link is gathering a head of steam and our article on page 5 explains why.
In the last month, a fire has caused considerable damage to the former Debenhams store on Princes Street. The disruption to our bus and tram services is also widespread (yes all the trams were tucked up in bed at one end of the line when the fire broke out). The Council Leader has written an article for us explaining why the street remains closed for the foreseeable future.
Read more on page 6. There are some beautiful photos of Rosslyn Chapel on Page 3 produced by photographers from Musselburgh Camera Club, and just beside this column the photo from Edinburgh Collected features the Ferry Fair. This is one of the galas and fair days in Scotland involving many children and young people – and this year takes place in South Queensferry from 1 to 8 August. The Crowning Ceremony is on 8 August with many events including sports, quizzes and music in the week leading up to the big day.
If you have missed any of our stories, then head over to our website where you can meander through our original journalism to your heart’s content. Our articles online are all free to access, and we rely on advertising and sponsorship to survive. am very grateful to those who subscribe to receive their own copy of this newspaper each month – and if you can then there is a QR code below.
We cover a range of news of Fringe shows to help you choose from the thousands on offer in the Fringe programme, but the man of the political moment, new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham is keeping us hanging on to see if he is really coming to The Stand this August. (and yes it is already sold out).
We really have little room on these pages for any news about the two by-elections being held on 3 September in Southside/ Newington and Craigmillar/Portobello, but we will have interviews with the candidates online. Nominees will be confirmed on 31 July just after 4pm. If you are a candidate then please get in touch. hope you enjoy yourself in Edinburgh this August.
Phyllis Stephen, Editor
A proposal of application notice (PAN) has been submitted for a new two-stream primary school and nursery, at Granton Waterfront, alongside an outline strategy to accommodate future expansion to a three-stream school. An Enhanced Support Base will also be built to support pupils with additional needs. The proposals are part of the wider Granton Waterfront Development Framework, which the council states have been “developed in close coordination with the Phase 1 masterplan to ensure the school is successfully integrated within the emerging urban context.”
The official plans for the school follow a consultation in 2024, with its expected opening date set for August 2029. Its location will be the site 250 metres east of 11 West Shore Road. 26/02763/PAN
A second PAN on the site of the school has requested permission for the development of a a residential development. With up to 275 new homes of mixed tenure with both council homes and private for sale, the site will make up the wider Granton Waterfront Development Framework. The application states the residential development will also
have landscaping, open space, access, drainage and servicing and other external works. 26/02827/PAN
COLINTON/FAIRMILEHEAD
Scottish Water has requested planning permission in principle for the demolition of all existing buildings at the Fairmilehead Water Treatment Works at 55 Buckstone Terrace. The redevelopment of the site will involve the erection of a residential (Class 9/ Sui-Generis) development and other
associated works and infrastructure including car parking, servicing, access arrangements and landscaping. 26/02900/PPP
CITY CENTRE
The Palace of Holyrood House has submitted an application for the replacement of three existing ticket office windows, with new double-glazed timber windows incorporating integrated communication systems, and installation of three retractable awnings. 26/02826/LBC
the Prom at Portobello as three dispensers there have been destroyed by persons unknown at a cost of around £300 a time. We do not propose to replace the dispenser, but are looking for local stockists. If you can help please get in touch. If you would llke to subscribe please use the QR code below. ter.ooo/subscribe
By ROSS CHALMERS
Plans have been officially lodged for the demolition and redevelopment of the Scottish Water offices in south Edinburgh.
By RYAN NIXON
PHOTOGRAPHERS from Musselburgh Camera Club have joined forces with contemporaries from the Mölnlycke Fotoklubb in Gothenburg, Sweden, to produce rare out-of-hours photos of the historic Rosslyn Chapel.
The project, which launched on the Rosslyn Chapel website in July, features 16 exclusive images taken inside the 15th-century building. The private shoot was secured through an
alliance between the two camera clubs, which began when Swedish photographers Helen and Martin Lundén joined the Musselburgh group while living and working in Edinburgh.
After returning to Gothenburg, they maintained the relationship, which led to a reciprocal visit this year where eight Swedish snappers travelled to Scotland. Rosslyn Chapel, which rose to fame after featuring in Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, was at the top of the group’s
travel wish list.
Steven Beard, of Musselburgh Camera Club, said the after-hours access provided an unforgettable highlight for the visiting photographers.
Steven said: “I learned that Rosslyn Chapel was top of their wish list of places to visit and, keen to give them a special highlight, I was delighted when Rosslyn Chapel staff agreed to let them photograph the inside of the Chapel out of hours.
“This exhibition is the result of that visit.”
The move has been forced by “severe structural risks, particularly RAAC” reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete which planners say have made the building unsalvageable. At this stage, only a planning permission in principle (PPiP) has been submitted, but repair costs are considered prohibitive, and planners assert “demolition and redevelopment are therefore the only practical and policy-aligned options”.
The statutory corporation has laid out plans for the redevelopment of the site into a residential development, and they are expected to look for a developer once they have moved into their new offices at the council’s Waverley Court and Fairmilehead has exhausted its operational use.
Scottish Water chiefs also said that, because of changing work patterns and the increasing number of staff working from home, Fairmilehead has gone underutilised.
Plans for what the site may look like as a residential area are in their early stages with no firm schematics laid out.
Instead, planning documents have focused on establishing the principles of the development for a future buyer, and offering justification for the demolition.
Avison Young, who submitted planning documents on behalf of Scottish Water, said: “The structures are no longer viable for retention owing to severe structural risks, particularly RAAC, façade non-compliance, and high future capital expenditure requirements.
“We consider that demolition and redevelopment are therefore the only practical and policy-aligned options.”
A Scottish Water spokesperson said: “The move follows a review of our office estate and changing working patterns. Since Covid, Fairmilehead has been significantly underutilised and is relatively difficult to access by public transport.
“Waverley Court will provide a more modern, accessible and sustainable workplace that better supports how we work today, while maintaining a significant Scottish Water presence in Edinburgh.
“We have submitted a planning permission in principle application for the future redevelopment of the Fairmilehead site.
“Community consultation is currently under way and will help inform future plans for the site.”
They added: “Our move to Waverley Court is expected to be completed during 2026. Customer services will not be affected.” It is expected that Scottish Water will look to sell the site when it is no longer needed for “operational purposes”.