Princes Street fire: Structural engineers say top floors of former Debenhams store must come down
‘I don't think anyone can predict what's going to happen with the site’ - Roddy Smith, Essential Edinburgh
The top two floors of the former Debenhams store on Princes Street will have to come down following the fire which ripped through the building in the early hours of Thursday, officials have said.
Structural engineers called in to assess the safety of the burnt-out property have said the upper floors must be removed as soon as possible. Other floors could also be at risk, but the top two storeys must be removed “as a minimum”.
A further assessment is to be carried out on the gable walls and the facade.
A source told the Evening News it was clear there were immediate health and safety concerns about the building.
The source said the structural engineers had "firmly stated" that the building must have "as a minimum" the fourth and fifth floors "completely removed asap".
The former store, which closed in 2021, was due to be converted into a new Zedwell hotel and pod hotel with 328 bedrooms plus 345 “capsules” and shops on the ground floor.
But Roddy Smith, CEO of Essential Edinburgh, which runs the city centre Business Improvement District, said the future of the site now looked uncertain.
He said: "I don't think anyone can predict what's going to happen with the site. It's a really important site for the city and it's disappointing because we were all looking forward to the new Zedwell hotel getting under way, so we just have to wait and see what happens.
"The original plans for the Zedwell hotel were to redevelop the Debenhams building and I'm no expert but it looks to me like a lot of the Debenhams building is no longer there."
The fire comes as a host of other buildings along Princes Street are being redeveloped.
Mr Smith said: "If you look along Princes Street you've got the Jenners building, which is well under way and hopefully will be open in the next 18 months or so. But the two big sites down the other end of the street are the Debenhams site and the new Ruby Hotel next to it, where the previous building has been demolished already.
"So it's a very large site in a very prominent area with great plans and two good hotels coming in. As quickly as we can, everyone needs to work together - the developers, the city and the planners - and move on.
"It's such a shame that such a historic old building with some great architectural features has suffered a fire like this."
He said he was pleased no-one had been hurt in the fire, but it had caused significant disruption in the city centre.
"A lot of the businesses have had to close. All those between Castle Street and Frederick Street are shut, Rose Street is shut and Frederick Street itself is shut, so there will be significant business disruption for a number of our retailers and hospitality businesses."
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.