Please help FLY by making your voice heard on the future of The Ross Bandstand and events in Princes St Gardens. This simple consultation form takes 2-3 mins to fill out.

Q4 - CLICK NO - COPY & PASTE RESPONSE ANSWER BELOW
Q8 - CLICK EXTERNALLY 
Q9 - CLICK YES
Q11 - CLICK YES - EVENT IN SEPTEMBER
Q12 - CLICK - LIVE MUSIC 
Q13 - CLICK YES - LOW IMPACT EVENTS JULY/AUG
Q15 - CLICK NO - WE SUPPORT SMALL EVENTS IN AUG
Q17 - CLICK YES

Edinburgh Council Consultation Form Link - Click Here.
Scroll to the bottom. Give Us Your Views - Click 'Online Survey'

QUESTION 4 - RESPONSE TO COPY/PASTE IF YOU SHARE OUR VIEWS:

The Ross Bandstand has been used by FLY since 2016. It is a perfect location to celebrate youth culture in our city and the event has improved the use of the space which lies empty for the vast majority of the year. I do not think that turning the park into a building site for 3-5 years to flatten and rebuild this historic venue is an appropriate use of council funds or time when the FLY event has clearly demonstrated that award winning concerts can take place here for up to 6,000 people. The bandstand should be used more frequently and I support the council's short-term suggestions of two large events per year. One event in May showcasing things such as heritage live acts or family entertainment. One in September to celebrate youth culture. Then small, free community led activity during the summer months - this would provide access to culture for people of all ages across the city while not over-commercialising one of Edinburgh's premier parks and green spaces.

FLY has championed a park levy scheme where funds from large events can be re-invested directly back into the bandstand and schemes such as these could also be used to support small, free, community led activity during periods of non-use such as: open air school choirs, Six Nations Screening, Scottish country dancing, pipe band displays etc. We understand that this type of use is possible in bandstand as FLY has demonstrated that for a number of years. The bandstand itself has access to grid power and has been redeveloped inside so this city asset which is usable is being greatly underutilised. It was built in 1921 for the people of the city to host concerts, shows and more so if local event organisers are proposing use then this should take place rather than remaining empty as that will lead to deterioration and cost.

To reiterate, I support the short-term proposals to see two large events in May + September with smaller community activities taking place during the summer months. The longer term proposals of flattening this historic open-air amphitheater and turning the space into paved landscape seating would see the death of any major large event being able to take place due to the restrictions this would create through capacity reduction, accessibility and crowd control. A large event in August in our opinion would be unwise and potentially see kickback from community groups due to over commercialisation and damage caused to the park when the city is already bursting at the seams with the fringe. During this time period the park is one of the only places for peace and tranquility in the city which smaller, community activities would not disrupt.

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