BURGER KING® UK’s EDINBURGH PRINCES ST RESTAURANT LOOKS BETTER THAN EVER AFTER RECENT GLOW UP
It’s a great day for burger fans in Edinburgh Princes St! After much anticipation, Burger King® UK will officially re-open the doors to its newly designed restaurant in Princes St, allowing hungry locals to indulge in BK classics such as the flame-grilled Whopper®, classic Chicken Royale® and juicy Bacon Double XL once again.
Burger King® UK is celebrating the reopening by giving away 1,000 FREE Whopper® or Chicken Royale burgers* to lucky customers for one day only, on Tuesday 3rd of June.
The newly remodelled Edinburgh Princes St restaurant brings customer experience to a new level, with all-new in-restaurant innovations such as table service and a sensational menu that caters to all customers, whether they’re looking to start their day with a delicious breakfast butty and coffee for just £2.99, enjoy a family feast on delivery, or indulge in a late night snack.
Burger King® UK has also confirmed its extended hours at the Edinburgh Princes St restaurant, which is now open from 08:00 to 00:00. This means customers can make the most of Burger King® UK’s delicious menu from morning to late.
Paul Beach, Restaurant Manager at Burger King® UK, said:“The team and I are thrilled to return and serve our customers in Edinburgh Princes St.
“We look forward to welcoming both familiar faces and new guests to experience the renovated restaurant, and we’re confident they’ll have a fantastic time while enjoying our delicious meals.”
The re-opening of Edinburgh Princes St is the perfect opportunity for Burger King® UK fans to make the most of the tasty deals and discounts available on the Burger King® app. Whether it’s the classic Whopper® or Chicken Royale, customers can make savings all year round!
This summer, the largest ever indoor exhibition by Andy Goldsworthy will take over the National Galleries of Scotland in the heart of Edinburgh.
Featuring over 200 works, the show will include major installations made in response to the iconic Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) building, as well as drawings, photographs, films, sketchbooks and archival items dating back to the mid-1970s and spanning fifty years.
Sure to be one of the most talked-about art events of the year and only to be seen in Edinburgh. Brought to you by the National Galleries of Scotland, Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years opens on 26 July 2025. Tickets are on sale now.
Born in England in 1956, and based in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, for the past four decades, Goldsworthy is internationally recognised for his work with natural materials such as clay, stones, reeds, branches, leaves, snow and ice. Over fifty years, he has created a unique and highly influential body of work that speaks of our relationship with the land. In Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years the land is brought indoors, into Scotland’s capital city.
Working as a teenager on farms near Leeds in Yorkshire, where he grew up, Goldsworthy developed a passion for working with the land: harrowing the fields, bailing hay, picking out and piling stones, feeding cows and sheep.
This is where he acquired many of the skills he uses in his practice today: cutting, digging, gathering, stacking, building. Goldsworthy then studied art at Bradford and Preston, while based in Morecombe Bay. It was there that he began making ephemeral works in the sand, recording what he made in photographs and film.
Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years has been conceived by the artist as a single immersive artwork in response to the space, materials and character of the RSA building. Occupying all of the upper rooms and most of the lower floor, the exhibition is at once beautiful and ambitious in scale.
The interrelationship of humans and the working land is a recurrent theme in Goldsworthy’s art and in the exhibition. He often presents the land as a hard, hostile and brutal place. Fences and barriers feature prominently, in the form of rusted barbed wire stretched across a room, and a massive, cracked clay wall. As in nature, beauty and danger co-exist.
In dialogue with the oak floor, the vast 20-metre-long Oak Passage fills the largest room, with hundreds of oak branches forming a narrow path through its centre. Made from the leftovers of windfallen trees, the passage acts as a reminder that the gallery floor was once a tree, and that a building is part of nature – just as we are.
Another highlight is the floor of one large room which is entirely covered with stones left over from gravedigging – collected from over 100 graveyards in Dumfriesshire. With this new work, Goldsworthy explores the metaphorical correlation between the body and the earth.
When a body is buried, the body takes the place of the stones, and the stones take the place of the body. At the other end of the sculpture court, in contrast, a room will contain 10,000 reeds suspended from a halo on the ceiling. They will appear to rain down from the sky and float above the gallery floor at the same time.
Red Flags was originally created for the main square in the Rockefeller Center in New York and installed there for a month in September 2020. The fifty large canvas flags, individually stained with red earth collected from each of the fifty US states, refer equally to difference and similarity, a work, in the words of artist, ‘that talks of connection and not division.’
The colour red features in many of Goldsworthy’s works in the exhibition, referencing blood and the iron content which makes blood red – another connection between our bodies and the land.
Themes of access to the land and the right to roam have informed Goldsworthy’s work. Another new sculpture, which stretches up the impressive entrance stair at the RSA, is made of sheep fleeces marked with the colour codes of different farmers.
While Andy Goldsworthy is one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary art, his work is seldom seen in exhibitions. He has completed outdoor commissions all around the world, from the Arctic Circle to Tasmania, but the inclusion of his work in museum shows is rare.
Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years is by far the largest and most ambitious indoor exhibition of his work ever attempted. Conceived by the artist specifically for the RSA building in Edinburgh, never seen before and never to be seen again, this exhibition is set to cement Goldsworthy’s position as one of the leading artists of our time.
Andy Goldsworthy, says: “The show has come at a particular time for me. I don’t think I’ve ever had an exhibition that has paralleled the work that I’m making in the landscape here in Scotland.
“That’s because the RSA is not far from where I live, so I have been able to make work in Dumfriesshire alongside visits to the RSA, which has become connected to what I am doing outside. I couldn’t have done this exhibition anywhere else. Actually, describing it as an exhibition seems wrong – it is a work in its own right.”
Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland, says: “Andy Goldsworthy is a unique artist, he has such vision, and his work is extraordinarily beautiful.
“Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years is incredibly special, bringing the land indoors, and only at the National Galleries of Scotland. I’m so excited for everyone in Edinburgh to have the opportunity to visit this wonderful exhibition this summer.”
Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years is a National Galleries Scotland exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy building, opening on 26 July 2025. Tickets are on sale now!
Final share sale ends nearly 17 years of public ownership
Millions of savers and businesses protected during the financial crisis
Taxpayers prioritised through value-for-money sales at market price since this government came to office
The Westminster Labour government has sold its remaining shares in NatWest Group (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS) — ending public ownership that began when it stepped in to protect millions of savers and businesses during the financial crisis.
That intervention prevented the UK economy and financial system from going over the edge – protecting millions of savers, businesses and jobs.
Over 2008 and 2009, the government provided £45.5 billion to stabilise RBS (now NatWest), which at the time was one of the largest banks in the world- with over 40 million customers and operations in more than 50 countries.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “Nearly two decades ago, the then Government stepped in to protect millions of savers and businesses from the consequences of the collapse of RBS.
“That was the right decision then to secure the economy and NatWest’s return to private ownership turns the page on a significant chapter in this country’s history. We protected the economy in a time of crisis nearly seventeen years ago, now we are focused on securing Britain’s future in a new era of global change.”
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds said: “Bringing NatWest fully back into private ownership marks a significant milestone for the UK banking sector following the financial crisis.
“Since coming into government, we have halted the NatWest retail share sale, which could have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions. Instead, we put taxpayers first by only selling NatWest shares at market value— securing more money to invest in vital public services.”
To date, £35 billion has been returned to the Exchequer through share sales, dividends and fees. While this is around £10.5 billion less than the original support, the alternative would have been a collapse with far greater economic costs and social consequences.
The Office for Budget Responsibility are clear on this point: the cost of doing nothing would almost certainly have been far greater than the difference between the capital injected and proceeds returned.
Allowing the bank to fail would have devastated people’s savings, mortgages and livelihoods — and shattered confidence in the UK’s financial system.
Since taking office in 2024, the government says it has prioritised securing value for taxpayers — scrapping plans for a retail sale that could have cost hundreds of millions of pounds due to the need to sell shares at a discounted price to attract retail buyers.
Instead, shares were sold only at market price and when it represented value for money — helping fund the Plan for Change to invest in the NHS, education and defence.
The government has now exited all banking sector interventions made during the financial crisis.
NHS Lothian, and Asthma + Lung UK have praised the benefits of the LEZ, following a year of enforcement.
Experts at the NHS and a leading charity have highlighted the ongoing impact of the LEZ enforcement on air quality and health. In addition, the new rules have incentivised active travel and greater use of public transport.
A LEZ was introduced in Edinburgh on 31 May 2022, along with LEZs in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee, restricting the most polluting vehicles and benefiting everyone’s health. Edinburgh began enforcement alongside Aberdeen on June 1, 2024. Dundee began enforcement on May 30, 2024, and Glasgow on June 1, 2023.
With Clean Air Day (19 June) just a few weeks away too this one-year anniversary is a timely reminder of the importance of the LEZ here in Edinburgh and beyond.
In recent years air quality in Edinburgh has improved, with our monitoring data showing reduced pollution levels, and people getting ready for the LEZ may have contributed to this.
Over the last year, the average amount of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued for non-compliant vehicles entering the zone has been decreasing steadily.
Between June 2024 and January 2025 alone the total number decreased by 56%. There is also evidence of lower numbers of second contraventions. The vast majority of vehicles entering the LEZ are compliant, over 95%. Around 3% of vehicles entering the LEZ are exempted classed.
The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) has also published a study indicating that active travel and public transport use increased within the LEZ during the first six months after LEZ enforcement.
The first annual report on LEZ operation is expected to be presented to the Transport and Environment Committee later this year, including air quality trends and how the scheme contributes to our carbon reduction targets, as well as operational matters such as the number of PCNs issued, costs of maintaining and operating the scheme, gross and net revenue and other key issues.
The Council is working with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) on data collection and analysis of the LEZ and will present a report in the Scottish Parliament that will help inform the national picture of LEZ impact.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson: “I’m proud that alongside Aberdeen, Dundee, and Glasgow we took the bold step of implementing and enforcing a LEZ. We’re sending a clear message that our major cities are united in pursuing a better future for all. Fundamentally, the LEZs are about making our cities healthier for everyone.
“As Scotland’s capital city, we have a duty to lead on the response to the climate and nature emergencies which will define our country for generations to come. Multiple studies show that even low levels of pollution can have an impact on our health.
“Road traffic is one of the main sources of harmful emissions that are damaging people’s health and contributing to climate change, so we have a real responsibility to tackle this.
“The average decrease in PCNs here in Edinburgh show that people are getting used to the LEZ and modifying their habits accordingly. It’s also encouraging to see studies showing a positive shift towards greater use of active travel and public transport.
I look forward to seeing the annual report when it is considered by Committee.
“The LEZ is one important tool to help us achieve our ambitious climate goals, including net zero emissions by 2030.”
Flora Ogilvie, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Lothian said: “It’s great to know that the LEZ enforcement has been in place for a year, helping to improve air quality in the city and protect the health of our most vulnerable residents.
“Improving air quality and reducing traffic levels are also an important way of encouraging more people to travel by walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.
“Travelling sustainably can help improve individual physical activity levels and mental wellbeing, as well as supporting better environmental health for the whole population and planet.”
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland said: “We are pleased that Edinburgh along with Dundee and Aberdeen made the bold move a year ago to ban the most polluting cars from their city and it is a step in the right direction to help improve the air that we all breathe.
“With air pollution cutting short thousands of lives a year, we want to see our cities become far healthier places, where people can walk and cycle and not be forced to breathe in dirty air.
“With 1 in 5 people in Scotland developing a lung condition like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in their lifetime, for them, air pollution can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and flare-ups.
“Children are more susceptible to air pollution as their lungs are still growing, and they also breathe faster than adults. As they grow, toxic air can stunt the growth of their lungs, making them less resilient into adulthood and placing them at greater risk of lung disease in the future.”
77% of all PCNs in the last year were served to light passenger vehicles (private cars) and 21% to light goods vehicles (panel vans) with the remaining 2% being divided among the other classes of vehicle. 62.4% of PCNs are paid within 14 days at the discounted rate.
Income from the LEZ will be used in the first instance to pay for the operation and maintenance of the scheme. Any surplus income will be contributed towards Council projects which contribute towards the wider goals of the LEZ, particularly improving air quality and climate change emission reduction.
Air pollution is associated with between 29,000 and 43,000 deaths a year in the UK. The World Health Organization and the UK Government both recognise that air pollution is the largest environmental threat to our health.
Another key development is that the Low Emission Zone Support Fund has now resumed and is open to new applications. This is funded by Transport Scotland and administered by the Energy Saving Trust.
Single-use vapes will no longer be stocked or sold in Scotland under new legislation which comes into force today (Sunday 1 June).
The UK-wide ban has been introduced to prevent the environmental damage disposable vapes cause and to address health concerns associated with vaping as Scotland moves towards a tobacco-free generation by 2034.
An estimated 26 million disposable vapes were thrown away in Scotland in 2023. Of these, more than half were not recycled properly and around 10% were littered. The batteries used within disposable vapes are difficult to recycle, leak harmful waste and can cause fires in waste facilities.
Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Scotland was the first nation in the UK to commit to taking action on single use vapes.
“It’s estimated that over half of disposable vapes are incorrectly disposed of each year in Scotland – creating a fire risk and littering our beautiful environment. They also contain nicotine which is highly addictive.
“This change to the law fulfils a Programme for Government commitment and will help tackle the threat that single-use vapes pose to our environment as well as to our public health.
“We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes and will continue to work with regulators regarding enforcement once in force.”
Moves to raise the age of sale of tobacco products and regulate the displays, flavours and packaging of reusable vapes, are being taken forward separately through the 4-nations Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
A ban on single-use vapes was recommended in the four nation consultation ‘Creating a Smokefree Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping’ which ran in 2023.
Single-use vapes will be also be banned from the shelves of all shops in England from today ‘thanks to a Westminster government blitz on sale and supply‘.
The new crackdown makes it illegal to sell single-use vapes at corner shops and supermarkets, putting an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets.
The Westminster government’s announcement of its intention to ban the use of disposable vapes has already had real effects – with retailers and consumers shifting away from environmentally destructive single-use options.
New data from charity Action on Smoking and Health shows the number of vapers in Great Britain who mainly use single-use devices fell from 30% in 2024 to 24% in 2025, while the use of disposables by 18-24-year-old vapers fell from 52% in 2024 to 40% in 2025. However, usage among young vapers remains too high and with the coming ban into force tomorrow it will continue to drive these figures down further.
As part of tough enforcement measures, any rogue traders breaking the rules will be hit with a fine of £200 in the first instance, and all products will be seized. Those who show a blatant disregard for the rules and reoffend face being slapped with an unlimited fine or jail time.
Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today.
“The Government calls time on these nasty devices.”
Caroline Cerny, Deputy Chief Executive, Action on Smoking and Health said:“It’s promising to see that many people switched away from disposable vapes to re-usable products well ahead of the ban. This is particularly marked among young people, who were more likely to use disposable products due to their attractiveness, affordability, and heavy marketing.
“This new law is a step towards reducing vaping among children, while ensuring products are available to support people to quit smoking. It will be up to manufacturers and retailers to ensure customers are informed and able to reuse and recycle their products securing a real change in consumer behaviour and a reduction in environmental waste.
“If behaviour does not change then further regulations will be possible following the passage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.”
The Government has worked closely with retailers to ensure they are ready for the ban coming into force. This includes producing clear guidance on the devices they cannot sell or supply, as well as how to deplete their stock before 1 June.
Association of Convenience Stores Chief Executive James Lowman said:“Convenience retailers have been preparing for the disposables ban for several months, adapting their ranges and training colleagues on the products that they can sell.
“We have been working with Trading Standards officers across the country to ensure they know what to look for once the ban comes into force, and support robust enforcement activity to take illegal vapes off the streets.”
Libby Peake, senior fellow and head of resources at Green Alliance, said: “Single use vapes should never have been allowed on the market. They’ve been a blight on our countryside, wasted resources needed for important uses like EV batteries and caused scores of fires at waste sites. And they’ve done all this while having a lasting impact on the health of young people, creating a new generation of nicotine addicts.
“The government should rightly be proud of taking this vital step to get rid of these polluting products and encourage people who want to quit smoking to opt for reusable and refillable options instead.”
Justin Greenaway, Commercial Manager at SWEEEP Kuusakoski, said: “We hope this ban will succeed in reducing the amount of vapes being discarded. Every vape has potential to start a fire if incorrectly disposed of.
“Logically vape unit waste will reduce as single use stops and multi-use must start but it does rely on consumers changing from a disposable mindset to refilling.”
Unrefillable and unable to be recharged, single-use vapes have been typically thrown away with general waste in black bins or littered rather than recycled, contributing to the flood of litter blighting the country.
Even when they are recycled, the process is notoriously arduous, slow and costly, with waste industry workers required to take them apart by hand. Their batteries also present a fire risk to recycling facilities and can leak harmful chemicals into the environment.
With the looming ban already encouraging users to seek alternatives, making the sale of single-use vapes illegal will now prevent these toxic products from littering the country’s streets.
The ban complements the Government’s world-leading Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will further tackle youth vaping and safeguard children’s health.
The way in which offshore wind projects are developed in Scotland is being consulted on, with an updated plan now published for views.
The draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) aims to balance the needs of nature, communities, and other users of the sea.
It will be used to help inform the delivery of offshore wind projects from the ScotWind and Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) seabed leasing rounds.
Proposals in the plan aim to:
use the latest data and scientific evidence to inform decisions on energy developments – such as how projects will impact wildlife and nature
ensure the environmental, social, economic opportunities and constraints from offshore projects are clearly set out to help inform decision making
ensure the interests and views of other marine users, including fishers, coastal and island communities and environmental groups are taken into account
Acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Growing Scotland’s offshore wind sector presents enormous economic opportunities for our country, with the chance to create thousands of well-paid, green jobs while accelerating our journey to net zero.
“Our updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy sets out the opportunities as well as the constraints to developing offshore wind in Scottish waters.
“It seeks to provides clarity, certainty and confidence to investors and other marine users, to ensure development is sustainable and balances the needs of communities, nature and other users of the sea, to deliver for the people of Scotland and nature.
“It is important that everyone with an interest has their say and the Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with the fishing industry, island and coastal communities and other sectors throughout the consultation.”
Crown Estate Scotland Director of Marine, Mike Spain, said: “We welcome the publication of the draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan and encourage all those with an interest in Scotland’s offshore wind sector to engage with this consultation.
“We are proud to have conducted two successful offshore wind leasing rounds and are working in partnership with the sector to enable these projects to deliver maximum value for Scotland.”
Community projects across Scotland aimed at improving lives through local climate action are set to benefit from a share of £5.7 million Scottish Government funding.
Scotland’s nationwide network for Climate Action Hubs encourage and support climate action unique to their own areas from flood mitigation, repair shops and local energy generation to food growing and tree planting.
There is now a Hub covering every area in Scotland fulfilling a previous Programme for Government commitment to ensure people are empowered to act on climate in their own neighbourhoods.
Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin confirmed the funding during a visit to Buckie Thistle Football Club which is being supported by Moray Climate Hub to reduce its impact on the environment and raise awareness of climate change in local schools.
Ms Martin said: “I am very pleased to hear first-hand how Moray Climate Hub has been helping communities in the area support climate action from working with their local football team to identify ways in which they can cut their emissions to setting up a biodiversity garden for adults with learning difficulties.
“Football clubs, like Buckie Thistle, play an influential role in their local community, and their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint will undoubtedly inspire others to do the same, and provide a template for climate action that other clubs can follow.
“Tackling climate change is our collective responsibility and will require collaborative action at all levels. We must also share in the economic and health benefits that protecting our planet for future generations will bring.
“Communities are uniquely placed to play a critical role in shaping and driving forward the transition to low carbon and climate resilient living and we want to empower people to take action in their neighbourhoods that’s right for them.
“That is why we are proud to continue to support our hugely successful framework of regional climate hubs, which provide a vehicle for communities to come together and engage in collective grassroots action.”
Moray Climate Hub Manager (Moray CAN) Louise Nicol said: “We’re delighted to receive continued funding , it means we can keep supporting communities across Moray to take meaningful climate action in ways that work for them.
“Working with Buckie Thistle has been great, and we are both learning so much from each other. Football is more than a game – it’s a community hub, and it’s a great way to open up conversations about the environment.”
Buckie Thistle Football Club General manager, Stephen Shand, said: “We’re very grateful for the support from Moray Climate Hub – it’s helped us get our heads around what we can do as a club to be more environmentally responsible.
“We’re just at the start of the journey, but it’s exciting to learn more and see where small changes can make a difference. The help we are getting to find funding has been a huge boost to the club.”
A total of 24 hubs have been set up across Scotland – fulfilling a 2024 Programme for Government commitment.
The Scottish Government is providing up to £6 million of funding in 2025 – 2026 for its network of Climate Action Hubs alongside a support package for delivery. This is broken down as follows – with some funding still to be allocated:
Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre’s partnership project with Lauriston Farm is continuing next week TUESDAY 3rd JUNE 10.30am-12.30 noon as we bus over to look after the precious crop with Hannah.
We will take a wee picnic over and earth up the potatoes so they grow in abundance
All welcome. Meeting at 10am at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre to take a bus over.
