Grass was finally restored to the central circle of St Andrew Square Garden yesterday. We think this was 10 days after Underbelly’s planning-consent deadline for restoring the area to its pre-Christmas condition.
Not all areas are perfect yet. Grass in the Garden’s south-east quadrant remains patchy, and appeared to be being reseeded this morning.
Loosely attached fairy lights dangle from the trees here.
Grass beside the path from the north-east gate has been replaced with synthetic turf. (See if you can tell which is which.)
The central area and seating is still roped-off.
Black, grow-through rubber mats now appear to be a permanent and unsightly solution to erosion along parts of the northern path's inner curve.
Bins – often filled to overflowing, and which would surely be better screened behind the coffee pavilion – are positioned on either side of the north-eastern entrance.
Something to look forward to
Meanwhile Essential Edinburgh’s online Events Calendar is oddly coy about upcoming events here this spring and summer.
Whilst indoor gigs and exhibitions are displayed with colourful photographs and large letters, outdoor events in the Garden are exiled to the top and bottom of the page.
Follow the links, and one can piece together an approximate schedule as follows:
- Spa in the City – back ‘for the ninth year in a row’, possibly in late May
- Film in the City – ‘in the beautiful setting of St Andrew Square in the heart of the city centre’, 10–12 June
- Farm to Fork – ‘back by popular demand’ at some point in July
- Stand in the Square and Spiegeltent, ‘once again located in the city centre’s newest and most picturesque Festival hub’, 5–29 August (with set-up on 3–4 August).
‘Picturesque’, my grass.
Round and round in circles
We wondered this morning whether Essential Edinburgh is aware of the opprobrium heaped on it by residents for over-use of – and damage to – what’s supposed to be a green and tranquil refuge.
Would they counter or at least acknowledge public concern in the self-preening meanderings of their spelling-mistake-infested website? We turned excitedly to the Debate section. We found articles on:
- traffic congestion and the UK deficit, dated June 2010
- Edinburgh’s financial institutions, dated September 2010
- a trade waste initiative, dated March 2015.
And that is all. Draw your own conclusions.
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@theSpurtle After another 6 week wait for the turf to properly bed in we might have a full month of June where the park is usable !! :-o
Lorraine Moore Well I for one would love a break from the over-use of the green spaces in the centre of edinburgh. When these events are on - it gets so congested with people that it soon becomes an area of edinburgh to avoid rather than an area to enjoy. Can we have some time for the residents of edinburgh to enjoy the green spaces please?
Neale Gilhooley Will it last till early August?
@theSpurtle every time the 'garden' is 'restored' there is more degradation to the over all condition.
Reg Reid Taken them long enough, they were laying the turf over a month ago!
E-mail from David Jackson Young (India Street): As St Andrew Square Garden continues to suffer like a punch-drunk fighter doing 15 rounds – three minutes of pummelling alternating with 60 seconds of ice-cold water and a rub-down – it’s intriguing to note that among the jolly team at Essential Edinburgh is one Cassandra Ritchie, whose CV highlights include working for ‘a confidential shredding company’ (see: http://www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk/about-us/team/cassandra-ritchie/ ). Could Ms Ritchie’s professional background have anything to do with the treatment of the grass in St Andrew Square under EE’s tender care?
Pamela Dobbie SYNTHETIC TURF? Give me strength!
@theSpurtle @miss3mmbee yup. It spends most the year. Mucky mess. They'll start putting shit on it again soon
@wee_frumpy @theSpurtle really annoys me. Surely there is a better way of protecting it.
@miss3mmbee @theSpurtle I used to like sitting there in nice weather. The man's office is in the sq, so was a nice place to wait. Yuck now