FRINGE performers have been warned to steer clear of the capital's newest open space – despite almost £3 million of public money having been spent on its refurbishment.
People have flocked to St Andrew Square Garden, in the New Town, since it was opened to the public in April, 238 years after its creation.
But street performers and buskers will be banned from the garden in August under a clampdown by the counci
l-owned company responsible for its maintenance. It has pledged that anyone performing "unauthorised activity" will be ejected from the new-look garden, which boasts a coffee shop, new seating and a "reflective pool".
The Edinburgh City Centre Management Company, which spent years persuading all the property owners around the square to agree to open the gardens to the public, has posted notices around the square outlawing alcohol, skateboarding and rowdy behaviour.
Fringe performers have already been dealt a major blow this year after being told they will have to pay £50 for a permit to perform in the only official entertainment area, in the High Street. Now they are being warned that security guards will be on permanent duty "to ensure that management rules are adhered to".
A spokeswoman said the management rules drawn up for the garden partly reflected conditions of the 50-year lease agreed by its owners.
Ian Broadfoot, City Centre manager, saied: "We're proud of what we've achieved with the opening of St Andrew Square Garden. The success is there for all to see in the number of people using the space.
"Our priority is to ensure the garden remains a haven of tranquillity."
However, Steve Cousins, a regular street entertainer on the Fringe, said: "Other festivals and cities around the world are paying big money to bring over street entertainers, yet in Edinburgh it's the exact opposite."
Gordon Drummond, the general manager at the nearby Harvey Nichols store, said: "The garden does seem to have been a real magnet for people. However, it may be the right thing not have to lots of Fringe performers competing for audiences in there."
A spokeswoman for the Fringe said it had not been involved in any discussions before the decision to ban performers was taken.
St Andrew Square, completed in 1770, is the oldest of Edinburgh's "pleasure gardens". Although no-one has lived on the square for more than 100 years, access was, until April, restricted to businesses and property owners.
The full article contains 411 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
