Essential Edinburgh manage the

Edinburgh New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

city centre Business Improvement District (BID). The area covered stretches from

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

to the new St. James Centre. Their offices are at 139 George Street. Essential Edinburgh was formed on 1 July 2008, and their contract was renewed on 24 May 2018 for five more years based on a business plan for 2018–2023. They are funded by a levy on businesses within the Business Improvement District, which initially they had difficulty in collecting. In October 2018, they launched a campaign to promote shopping on and around

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

and George Street. Events held in George Street have been controversial because of disruptions to do with noise, litter and access. An 80-metre

drop tower A drop tower is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central tower structure with one or more gondolas attached. In a typical modern configuration, each gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of the tower and then released t ...

was cancelled because of complaints from businesses.

St Andrew Square

Essential Edinburgh manage

St Andrew Square St Andrew Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland located at the east end of George Street. The construct of St Andrew Square began in 1772,Lang, p.124 as the first part of the New Town, designed by James Craig. Within six years of ...

, which was opened to the public on 4 April 2008 after refurbishment funded by the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

and

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise () is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, Business, enterprise, innovation, international and investment agency, investment in business. The body covers the eastern ...

. New paths were built and a shallow, reflective pool. In 2012, they opposed Occupy Edinburgh taking over St Andrew Square. In August 2020, Essential Edinburgh applied for planning to erect a plaque on the

Melville Monument The Melville Monument is a large column in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh constructed between 1821 and 1827 as a memorial to Scottish statesman Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Dundas, the most prominent politician from Scotland of his perio ...

. Descendants of

Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1791 to 1794 and First Lord of the Ad ...

have said this is "biased", "defamatory", and "historically inaccurate".

Board of directors

The Board of Directors includes representatives of the

Boots UK Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists Limited) is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain that operates in the United Kingdom. It also operates internationally, including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand ...

, Creative Cookware, Charlie Miller Hairdressing,

Edinburgh Woollen Mill Purepay Retail Limited, trading as The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, is a British clothing retailer founded in 1946 by Drew Stevenson. It is headquartered in Carlisle, England. In November 2002, Philip Day led a management buy-out of the retailer. Th ...

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols Group Limited ( trading as Harvey Nichols) is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831 by Benjamin Harvey; it is headquartered at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections ...

Marks & Spencers Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

, Montpeliers (Edinburgh) Ltd,

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

, Signaute Pubs, and Standard Life Investments.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
New Town, Edinburgh Business organisations based in Scotland

St Andrew Square

Board of directors

See also

References

External links