🔗 Share this article

On one of the busiest tourist streets in the centre of Scotland's heritage-rich city centre looms a imposing sight of scaffolding.

For the past 60 months, Radisson's G&V Hotel on the intersection of a key historic street and the adjacent bridge has been a plastic-wrapped eyesore.

Travellers find no available accommodations, foot traffic are funneled through confined passages, and establishments have left the building.

Repair work started in 2020 and was only expected to last a short period, but now exasperated residents have been told the framework could remain until 2027.

Extended Timelines

Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM), the main contractor, says it will be "towards the end" of 2026 before the earliest portions of the structure can be taken down.

The city's political leader a council official has described it as a "negative feature" on the area, while heritage campaigners say the work is "highly inconvenient".

What is transpiring with this notoriously protracted project?

Background Issues

The establishment with 136 rooms was developed on the site of the previous Lothian Regional Council offices in 2009.

Projections from when it originally launched under the Missoni Hotel banner, put the cost of construction at about £30m.

Remedial efforts began not long after the start of the Covid pandemic with the hotel itself shut for business since 2022.

Part of the road and a large section of sidewalk leading up to the corner of the historic street have been rendered unusable by the development.

Pedestrians going to and from the an adjacent district and another locale have been required in a line into a confined, sheltered corridor.

Seafood restaurant a popular spot quit the building and moved to another city in 2024.

In a comment, its management said the ongoing project had obliged them to modify the restaurant's look, adding that "guests were entitled to a superior experience".

It is also home to restaurant chain a pizza restaurant – which has displayed large signs on the structure to remind customers it is operating as usual.

Missed Deadlines

An communication to the a local authority committee in the start of the year stated that the process of "revealing" the façade would begin in February, with a total takedown by the end of the year.

But the contractor has said that will not happen, citing "highly complicated" structural challenges for the setback.

"We project starting to take down portions of the scaffold near the finish of the coming year, with further improvements continuing thereafter," a statement read.

"We are working closely with the relevant stakeholders to ensure we create an better site for the community."

Community and Heritage Concerns

Rowan Brown, lead of preservation association the Cockburn Association, said the work had contributed to the city's reputation of being "leisurely" for development.

She said those working on the project had a "public duty" to lessen inconvenience and should integrate the work into the city's design.

She said: "It causes the experience for those on foot in that part of town really difficult.

"It is perplexing why there is not an effort to bring it into the urban landscape or create something more creative and avant-garde."

Project Response

A company representative said work on "measures to beautify the site" was in progress.

They continued: "We recognize the frustrations felt by local residents and shops.

"This constitutes a long and drawn-out process, highlighting the difficulty and magnitude of the repair work required, however we are focused on concluding this essential work as soon as is possible."

The council leader said the city would "continue to put pressure" on those accountable to finish the project.

She said: "This framework has been a blight for years, and I echo the annoyance of residents and area enterprises over these ongoing postponements.

"That said, I also recognize that the contractor has a duty to make the building safe and that this repair has been extremely complicated."