The Edinburgh Minute ⏰: Friday 9 June 2023
Airbnb crackdown ‘unlawful’, Leith Festival begins, night market opens, controversy over new bike lane, dinosaurs in Bruntsfield + the city’s best brunch spots
☀️ Good morning Edinburgh. Just a wee note first of all to say thank you to everyone who subscribes. There are 300 new free subscribers since last week. And eight more people decided to pay the optional five quid a month, which is much appreciated and nearly covers some boring admin and ad costs. Thanks again for supporting and have a good weekend ✌️ Here’s Friday’s Edinburgh Minute:
🔑 The council’s bid to regulate short-term lets, including Airbnb accommodation, has been ruled to be ‘unlawful’.
⮑ Council officials had planned a new licensing scheme to ’strike the right balance’, reports Kirsteen Paterson in this neat summary of the case in Holyrood magazine.
⮑ To find full statements from the judge Lord Braid, Living Rent campaigners and self-catering leaders, read this longer report by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter.
⮑ There was ‘absolutely no apology’ in council leader Cammy Day’s response to the ruling.
🚴♀️ A new ‘trial’ bike lane in Leith that sends cyclists directly into oncoming motor traffic on a blind bend is facing criticism. 🔗 Lee Dalgetty spoke to road users and the council in this Edinburgh Live report.
👋 The interim head of council’s adult social care services is to leave the job less than a month since starting, after councillors criticised his £160,000 salary. 🔗 Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, STV News.
🎓 Reportedly low student satisfaction rates have dropped Edinburgh Uni to number 121 out of 128 universities in a new league table. 🔗 Mila Gresham, The Edinburgh Tab.
🎭 The Fringe launched its full programme last night with a party at the Biscuit Factory venue in Leith. The clear message from organisers was: “Please go to shows and take a friend.” With more than 3,000 shows to choose from, knowing where to start is tough. 🔗 Here are ten shows chosen by Barry Didcock of The Herald.
⮑ 🗣 Times are tough, though. It’s expensive for performers, show-goers and organisers. The reality of what actually goes into making the Fringe happen is laid out starkly in this Guardian report by Sev Carrell. Festival chief executive Shona McCarthy does not hold back:
“I think the risk here is that we’re all still smiling, there’s an amazing programme this year but there are very few organisations across the fringe landscape that are not carrying debt from the last three years. Certainly there’s nobody I know of that has any reserves of any kind left. Everybody is hanging on by such a thin thread.”
🎶 Leith Late also launched its festival programme yesterday. It runs from 30 June to 2 July. Organisers say: “This year's theme, ‘Outside the Box’, is a nod to trying new things, shaking up routine, and celebrating the melting pot that is Leith's unique venues and creative scene.”