Saving Leith Walk: it ain’t over yet …

CAMPAIGNERS have launched a petition to save some of Leith Walk’s most popular cafes and a grassroots music venue from being forced to close. The Leith Depot bar will call last orders in October unless plans drawn up by developer Drum Property Group can be overturned.

Drum wanted to demolish the two-storey sandstone Stead’s Place buildings, currently home to the Depot, Leith Walk Cafe, Cassia community cafe and Punjabi Junction.
Over the past year, the developer has been systematically kicking tenants out when their leases expired.
The Art Deco-style block once housed about 40 shops and small businesses. In January this year, councillors unanimously rejected Drum’s proposals to demolish it and build University of Edinburgh student flats. But Drum says it is determined to clear the building, which sits in a conservation area.
A spokesman for Save Leith Walk campaign, said: “Drum Property Group are hell-bent on shutting some much-loved Leith businesses. The Depot is due to shut in October and Leith Walk cafe in July. We cannot let this happen. 

“We are asking people to sign a petition to show the strength of feeling in our community: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/open-the-shops 

“We are urging Drum Property Group to work with the people of Leith rather than against us. And we hope that the University of Edinburgh – Drum’s partner in this unpopular, discredited scheme – will do the same.

“Time is running out. They are robbing this community of some thriving shops and businesses, and threatening jobs.

“Stop this act of vandalism now. Keep the shops open and work with us on a plan that gives Leith the things it really needs – more social housing, more independent businesses and more green space.”

The petition follows a letter sent by politicians and business owners on March 7 which urged Drum to halt the shop closures and re-open the boarded-up units (link to the letter http://saveleithwalk.org/index.php/2019/03/07/open-the-shops/) .

Fife Hyland, Drum’s communications director, said: “We are currently assessing our options for the site and will not be making any of the retail or studio units available for occupation.

“The entire site will be vacant this year, and given our proposals for redevelopment, our estate management policies and our existing insurance arrangements, it is preferable for us to leave the units vacant, safe and secure.”

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davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer