Edinburgh’s Princes Street is set to reopen following a £5 million fire recovery package announced by the Scottish Government to support recovery efforts after a major fire. The blaze occurred in early July at the former Debenhams department store located on one of the city’s busiest shopping streets, leading to the closure of the road just days before the Edinburgh Festivals.

The announced funding will be managed by the Edinburgh City Council and aims to assist businesses and individuals affected by the disruption, as well as contribute to securing the area around the damaged building. Jenny Gilruth, a government official who visited the site, confirmed that the closure of Princes Street will continue for an additional three weeks, a timeline previously set by the council.

Gilruth noted the reopening depends on a variety of factors, including the challenges posed by the structural integrity of the aging building. “The timescales the council has set with contractors, I was talking to them about this earlier on, was three weeks from last week, so hopefully in the next two, two-and-a-half weeks,” she said. However, she cautioned that issues related to making the historic structure safe may affect the timeline.

Despite these challenges, officials remain optimistic that Princes Street will reopen as planned, with the council closely working with contractors to meet the set deadlines ahead of ongoing city events.