This week in Edinburgh did not start well with a major fire reported at Jenners on Princes Street just around noon on Monday.
Five firefighters were taken to hospital, following the fire which broke out in the Rose Street part of the former Jenner’s store which is undergoing renovation, and one of these was reported to be in a critical condition.
Although the Jenners store closed some time ago, the building on the corner of South St David Street will be known as Jenner’s for some years yet, and we all have a kind of ownership of it. But this tragedy is about more than a building.
Ross Haggart is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Interim Chief Officer. He said: “The fire at the Jenners building in Edinburgh is a very serious and complex incident and regrettably I can confirm that five of our colleagues were taken to hospital for treatment. Four have now been discharged however one remains in a critical condition.
“The families of all those affected have been made aware.
“We currently remain at the scene with a total of 11 appliances and other specialist resources in attendance.”
Streets surrounding the building – such as Rose Street – remained closed on Monday evening.
Save the King’s
Capital Theatres the charity who run the King’s Theatre advise that there is now an urgency to fundraising to save the Old Lady of Leven Street in the next month
The City of Edinburgh Council was unsuccessful in its bid to obtain funding from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund. There is a degree of controversy over the allocation of funds which appear to have been distributed to more Conservative run, wealthier areas than others which are in dire need of extra funding.
A total of £26 million has already been raised by the charity but the remaining £8.9 million must be found in the next 35 days so that the building may be signed over to the contractors and the work begun.
Chinese New Year – what is on?
Chinese New Year took place on Sunday with dragon dancing at The Mound Precinct, but there are many activities to get involved in over the next while
2023 is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Chinese New Year in Edinburgh has become the largest celebration of its kind in Scotland. Since its beginnings in 2019, it has been coordinated by Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) as part of its China Ready initiative, generously supported by Heriot-Watt University.
This year, the programme will be a mix of online and offline events, promotions, outdoor celebrations and exclusive offers – all featured on the dedicated website here.
Warm Workspaces in Kimpton Charlotte Square
Form an orderly queue. Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel has just started its new ‘Warm Workspaces’ initiative, and the luxury hotel now invites the local Edinburgh community to work from its warm spaces during the winter, free of charge.
The hotel explains that with a greater number of people working from home following the pandemic, the Warm Workspaces project aims to help support communities facing increased energy bills.
Throughout the winter months, Kimpton Charlotte Square will offer hot desk sessions in The Garden restaurant as part of the initiative. Users will have complimentary access to a desk and WiFi. Tickets can be booked and are completely free-of-charge, with no requirement to purchase food or drink from the hotel during the session.
General Manager of Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel Kieran Quinn said: “Heartfelt human connections are at the centre of everything we do at Kimpton Charlotte Square, and we believe they can make peoples’ lives better; we care for our employees, guests and the local community around us. It is of the upmost importance to us to do what we can to help everybody through the current energy crisis – so we’d like to extend our welcome to people working from home who are worried about their bills, to enjoy a change of environment in our new dedicated warm workspaces”.
Discover more about Kimpton Charlotte Square’s Warm Workspaces initiative at kimptoncharlottesquare.com/warm-workspaces or book directly via Open Table. T&Cs apply.
Governance Risk and Best Value Committee meets today.
Meetings at the City Chambers are now held in person again in the building. This one convenes at 10am under the Convener Cllr Kate Campbell and you can read the agenda and reports here. All members of the public are invited to council meetings as observers, and may view from the public gallery.
Otherwise you can watch through the Webcast here.
One of the items on the agenda is that the committee will consider the report on the recovery after Covid by the EICC. This is an arms length council owned company which runs the conference centre. From a negative financial return in the year to December 2020, the management has directed a return to a small profit. Part of this comes from the NHS using the EICC as a mass vaccination centre during the pandemic.
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