And again, with the Gold Brothers...

[unixken]

The Gold Brothers just today bought out ANOTHER property on the Royal Mile... http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotlan...deal-1-1228479

[ASinclair]

Capitalism is a wonderful thing, but sometimes you want to just smack the crap out of the invisible hand.

[Hawk]

I consider this not so newsworthy as it appears from the article that the locals feel it an insult. My condolences to the other local "quality" businesses dealing with the "Kilt" and proper, respectful Scottish attire.

Hawk

[CDNSushi]

Capitalism is one thing, but this just seems to me that the city council is ill prepared to deal with these kinds of issues, and have not developed a good plan or strategy for the future.

Many cities have bylaws that restrict the number of businesses of a certain type that can go into a particular area for precisely this reason. It's hard to be angry at the Gold Bros. any more than it's hard to be hard to be angry at a cat for hunting birds. It's up to the city planners and elected officials to decide whether they want the Royal Mile to be one long strip of souvenir shops or not. Ball's in their court.

[McClef]

I thought that commercial properties had to apply for change of use planning consent, if the council has given this for yet anther tartan tat establishment they simply prove once again that as long as they get their business rates income they do not care two hoots about the Royal Mile.

[Phil]

As a local resident I can't remember the last time I ventured onto the Royal Mile. It really is just a destination for tourists as there is nothing there for locals. I crossed it on Saturday on the way to the museum and it was mobbed with French people passing the time until the rugby started. Never seen so many men wearing berets dressed in what looked like ladies' tartan skirts! Fortunately there were a few genuine looking kilts about in other parts of town.
I wouldn't get yourself too uptight about the Royal Mile as it is rapidly becoming just another theme park. It wouldn't surprise me if Disney put in a bid for it!

[auld argonian]

I thought that commercial properties had to apply for change of use planning consent, if the council has given this for yet anther tartan tat establishment they simply prove once again that as long as they get their business rates income they do not care two hoots about the Royal Mile.

Sounds like what's going on here in Chicago….and every other city where they're hungry for money. I suppose that the best reaction to this is for all of us to resolve to buy our own stuff only from reputable kilt suppliers and to try to do an outreach to inform the….uh…un-informed as to the difference between tartan tat and the genuine article. For some that doesn't matter but most right thinking people will see the point. A couple of friends of mine were in Edinburgh a few months ago and were resolved to get the husband a kilt…they balked because they didn't realize the expense involved in purchasing a REAL one BUT, to their credit, they didn't bother buying a bad replica from some roadside stand.

Best

AA

[Tobus]

I thought that commercial properties had to apply for change of use planning consent, if the council has given this for yet anther tartan tat establishment they simply prove once again that as long as they get their business rates income they do not care two hoots about the Royal Mile.

I'm not defending the Gold Bros in any way, but I'm curious as to what the city council could possibly do about it? What would it look like if they did "care two hoots about the Royal Mile"? Would it involve shutting down an obviously profitable business, or artificially propping up businesses that aren't doing so well?

There's one single reason that the Gold Brothers are successful: they sell stuff that people want to buy. We purists may not like that business model, since it has a lot of other ramifications on the industry and traditions, but those cannot really be considered legal reasons to thwart a successful (and legal) enterprise. The Gold Bros are bringing money into the city's coffers and bringing tourists to the area which will spend money elsewhere as well (especially if they've saved money on their tartan tat purchases). If this business model were run by anyone other than the Gold Brothers (like, perhaps, a more traditional Scottish family), I would imagine that most folks would be congratulating them and saying it's good for everyone.

[Chas]

I'm not defending the Gold Bros in any way, but I'm curious as to what the city council could possibly do about it? What would it look like if they did "care two hoots about the Royal Mile"? Would it involve shutting down an obviously profitable business, or artificially propping up businesses that aren't doing so well?

There's one single reason that the Gold Brothers are successful: they sell stuff that people want to buy. We purists may not like that business model, since it has a lot of other ramifications on the industry and traditions, but those cannot really be considered legal reasons to thwart a successful (and legal) enterprise. The Gold Bros are bringing money into the city's coffers and bringing tourists to the area which will spend money elsewhere as well (especially if they've saved money on their tartan tat purchases). If this business model were run by anyone other than the Gold Brothers (like, perhaps, a more traditional Scottish family), I would imagine that most folks would be congratulating them and saying it's good for everyone.

I agree with Tobus.

The Gold Brothers pay taxes - a lot of taxes. They provide employment for a lot of people, in Scotland.

Taking the moral high-ground is all very well, but I've not noticed it putting bread on the table.

[seanachie]

I agree with Tobus.

The Gold Brothers pay taxes - a lot of taxes. They provide employment for a lot of people, in Scotland.

Taking the moral high-ground is all very well, but I've not noticed it putting bread on the table.

I disagree with this idea strongly. The last time I opined on this someone believed it was an an America vs Europe perspective and I will quickly say nothing could be further from the truth. You can preserve and protect heritage and still put bread on the table but it has to be a well planned and developed strategy with good leadership. I have to believe that Edinburgh has, either on a local or national level, business development officers. You can target the types of businesses you want developed in your urban core and establish partnerships with the private sector business community and in conjunction with carefully crafted planning and zoning regulations be successful about it. I am not pre supposing any knowledge of local planning laws but I am loathe to believe in a democratic country this is not feasible. It does take committed and involved people. I am very involved in my local community and get very frustrated because so many people talk a good game and complain, but then when it comes to going to the Council, attending meetings, speaking in meetings, gathering signatures they are no where to be found. At the risk of offending a whole other constituency I detest Starbucks as much as Gold Brothers. Starbucks is ubiquitous and in some places seem to be on every street corner. However, there are local communities that have restricted them successfully and in other instance forced them into architectural and other changes. I also do not give Starbucks any custom, ah a rather novel idea.

Prove me wrong, but I believe it would be possible to rid the Royal Mile of the tat merchants and make it a more local and tourist friendly area without costing jobs, the local economy and the future of wee children. It just takes a consolidate and determined effort, lead by strong leadership a solid plan and involvement of both the public and private sector. I am not minimizing the task or saying it would be easy or simple but believe it can be done. I also have never desired nor would desire ill consequences for any person, business or interest in Scotland. The local people just need to be as concerned and determined to do something about it.