Following a meeting between the Deputy First Minister and the Edinburgh Council Leader at the site of the Princes Street blaze, there has been a degree of political fallout.
The council leader, Cllr Jane Meagher, said she thought it “shameful” that the First Minister had not come to see the damage for himself. On Wednesday of this week (5 August) The Scottish Government made a pledge of £5 million to be given to the council who would then distribute among businesses which will have to apply for the funds.
Edinburgh’s SNP Group Council Leader, Cllr Lesley Macinnes, has welcomed the funding package to support the complex and dangerous work to secure the Princes Street fire site, but expressed dismay at the way Ms Meagher talked about the funding and The Scottish Government in interviews after the visit.
Cllr Macinnes said: “I am delighted that The Scottish Government was able to support the Council’s full ask based on detailed cost estimates provided by City of Edinburgh Council officers for the securing of the site and the delicate and dangerous work that is being carried out, primarily by hand, to retain the historic façade and get Princes Street re-opened as quickly as possible.
“I am less delighted by the chaotic response from the current Council Labour-led administration which has led some front pages on Thursday morning.
“On the one hand the Council Leader has thanked the Deputy First Minister for a constructive meeting on Wednesday and the fully funded support package but, on the other, immediately made an unfounded assertion that the Scottish Government cares less about Edinburgh than Glasgow and that is it all down to political bias against Edinburgh in favour of Glasgow.
“The Council Leader, recently returning from holiday, complained that it took too long to set up a meeting, that she felt ignored by the First Minister after she wrote to him and that somehow this is all the fault of the big, bad SNP.
“At a time when we should all be concentrating on working together to achieve the very best outcomes for the city’s residents and businesses she has instead put petty party politics at the top of her agenda.
“This is despite the fact that she only returned from her own holiday on Tuesday. The Scottish Government weeks ago indicated support for the city after the fire and immediately asked for an indication of costs which were not provided until Cllr Meagher’s return this week. The Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth also said clearly yesterday that the Scottish Government is very supportive of actions to find early and good solutions and that further funding may be available, if required. Council officers confirmed in a briefing to councillors today that their financial requests have been met by Scottish Government.
“The Council Leader’s desperate attempt to pin the blame on the Scottish Government does not stand up to scrutiny.. Perhaps her administration should look at themselves in the mirror. While council officers and engineers are and those on the fire site are working as fast as they can to secure the site and re-open Princes Street, Labour councillors showing vacant leadership are reducing this to pathetic squabbling. Please do better.”
The SNP have earlier this week called for an emergency summit to include councillors, local parliamentarians, business organisations, impacted organisations, transport providers, representatives of the Festival and Fringe, community groups.
The council has explained this is to ensure that full information about the site progress, the re-opening of Princes Street, the impact on the transport network, the funding package and its purposes and the possible lessons to be learned about improving the city’s resilience in situations like this, are fully discussed and available to all those involved.
An SNP group spokesperson said: “We have not yet received a concrete response from the Council Leader to this proposal.”
Deputy First Minister, Jenny Gilruth, said:“Given that in my constructive meeting with the Council Leader she expressed no concerns and made clear her gratitude for the Scottish Government’s support, it is disappointing to see these remarks when everyone’s full focus must be on recovery rather than politics.
“When the Council Leader wrote to the First Minister on 17 July, which was eight days after the fire, Scottish Government officials and council officers were already in active discussions about the potential support that we could offer. Those talks were requested on 14 July, and they met the following day. On the day the Council Leader’s letter arrived, Ministers were already considering initial advice from officials about a potential support package.
“The expressed preference of the City of Edinburgh Council in discussion with Scottish Government officials was that the meeting with myself should not take place until Cllr Meagher returned from a period of leave.
“My focus and that of the Scottish Government is on making sure that impacted businesses are supported, and that is why I confirmed up to £5 million investment earlier this week. We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the Council to support local businesses and residents.”
