A CAMPAIGN has been launched by businesses residing in Edinburgh's Summerhall arts venue over fears of losing their homes when the site is redeveloped.
More than 120 companies and artists have come together to form a campaign group, called #MadeinSummerhall, to highlight that the building is not solely a public entertainment venue.
The group formed following the news that the main performance and exhibition spaces will be retained for three years thanks to a lease deal, but the long-term future is in doubt.
However, there are fears for the businesses, artists, science and tech innovators using studio spaces, offices and workshops that their homes will disappear once the site is redeveloped.
Summerhall, which is one of Scotland’s most famous arts venues, was put up on the market in May by the building’s owners Oesselmann Estate Limited.
The building was advertised by the Isle of Man-registered company for redevelopment options including residential, boutique hotels, offices and student housing.
Earlier this week its owners confirmed they offered the arts centre a new three-year lease which is expected to be signed soon.
The deal is expected to cover up to 25 exhibition and events spaces, art galleries and theatres, but private residents who occupy 60 per cent of the 130,000 sq ft city centre site have been left uncertain of their futures.
Lindy McNair (below), owner of Modern Prints, one of the resident businesses at the arts venue said: “It is terrific news that the public-facing venues will continue at Summerhall for the next few years.
“However, that is just the tip of the iceberg – and beyond that are literally dozens of businesses and artists who together have evolved over 13 years into an entrepreneurial arts and science-based ecosystem right in the heart of the capital.
“It’s like a small, vibrant, cultural village.”
Another Summerhall tenant, commercial and creative photographer Peter Dibdin, said the potential closure of private workshops and studios feels like “hollowing out the city’s cultural core”.
He said: “The cultural life of a city needs more than its venues – in fact it would be nothing without the creators and makers who make Edinburgh a city of culture and innovation.
“It is vital that places like these remain in city centres – more than 95 per cent of Summerhall residents travel here by foot, bicycle or public transport and it would be a loss to the city if this highly integrated ecosystem were dispersed to remote workshops on the periphery.
“It feels like hollowing out the city’s cultural core.”
