Dozens of businesses in central Edinburgh are closed following a large fire in a derelict former department store in Princes Street.
Firefighters were called to the scene at 2.50am and continue to deal with the aftemath of the blaze which has gutted the building previously occupied by Debenhams. Shop units in the building were also vacant.
Princes Street and Rose Street, which runs behind it, are both closed, along with Frederick Street and Castle Street until further notice.
Retailers would have been expecting strong footfall today with the warm weather encouraging more people into the city centre.
Bus services were being diverted and trams from the airport are terminating at the West End stop in Atholl Crescent. Tram tickets will be accepted by ScotRail between Edinburgh Gateway and Edinburgh Waverley and on Lothian bus services between West End and Newhaven.
Debenhams closed in May 2021 and Legal and General planned a £50m investment in a 207-room boutique hotel and “hospitality hub”, but this fell through.
The 116,500 sqft building over nine floors was then bought by Criterion Capital, the development company headed up by billionaire Asif Aziz for an undisclosed sum.
He planned to turn it into a Zedwell hotel, which would be the first in Scotland. The neighbouring building has already been demolished.
The fire is the latest in a series of blazes in Princes Street. The former Jenners store was severely damaged in 2023 while the former Palace Hotel at the corner of Castle Street was demolished after a fire in 1991.
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