'Terrible rules' ruining Royal Mile, says latest trader to quit

ONE of the Old Town's longest-serving independent traders has hit out at the state of the Royal Mile after agreeing to sell up to a charity shop.

Thom McCarthy, who has traded on and around the Royal Mile since 1972, said the street was now dominated by "tartan tat" gift shops, charity shops and multi-national chains, at the expense of specialist independent shops.

The 57-year-old said the council was making life harder for independent traders when it should be offering more support.

He hit out at council initiatives to limit the number of advertising boards and the installing of rails that leave less than two metres of pavement for shoppers.

His concerns were echoed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which said petty legislation was making life a misery for retailers.

Mr McCarthy spoke out as he announced the closure of his Golden gift shop on the High Street, after he agreed to sell his lease to a charity. He said: "We [independent traders] have had to put up with some terrible legislation that has hit us hard.

"They tell us we can't have A-boards a certain size, that we can't paint our shop a certain colour, that we can't carry out certain renovations.

"In all the years I've been here, no-one from the council has ever said 'what do you need as a small business in Edinburgh?'"

He urged the council to look at ways of supporting independent traders.

Mr McCarthy first moved to the Old Town in 1972 when he opened the Cockburn Street Market. He bought Crystal Clear, also in Cockburn Street, in 1997 and Golden in 2001.

Once the sale of Golden is finalised, he also plans to put Crystal Clear on the market.

Graham Russell, chairman of the Edinburgh branch of the FSB, said: "The ongoing problem, especially in the High Street and Grassmarket, is empty properties and for sale signs everywhere.

"Well-known independent establishments are going to the wall and being replaced with poor quality merchandise.

"Some of the rules for things like A-boards are nothing short of outrageous. It's legislation gone mad. Customers like to see things outside shops and it encourages them in. In not allowing it, it seems like they're trying to persecute small businesses and making life a misery for them."

The council introduced rules limiting shops to just one A-board after complaints that the boards were making the Royal Mile too cluttered for pedestrians.

Mr McCarthy's criticism comes after kiltmaker Geoffrey Nicholsby called for more to be done to support specialist shops, saying the growing number of "tartan tat" shops was turning the Royal Mile into "a Scottish Blackpool".

Former city leader Ewan Aitken denied claims his administration had ignored the needs of independent retailers.

He said: "We spent a lot of time talking to business organisations and listening to what they wanted. We have made a lot of changes based on the advice we've been given, so I am disappointed to hear that Mr McCarthy feels he has not been listened to.

"We do not have powers to decide what goes in a shop, only to decide whether a shop is a shop. I'm not a great fan of some of what I see on the Royal Mile but the market seems to demand it."

Andrew Holmes, the council's director of city development, said: "The Planning Act allows us to zone particular areas for retail use, but does not permit us to prescribe the type of products sold there. That's the law and we have to work within the legal framework."