Following the month-long reveal of Summerhall’s part-demolition, frequenters of the venue, artists and performers have been anxiously waiting for a decision surrounding the building’s future.
The development group AMA announced in early October that they planned to transform the valued arts estate into a variety of student housing, hotels, and flats. This hit as an added blow to Edinburgh-based artists as this was the second arts establishment to announce its closure in the past few months.
St Margarets House, a studio based building that hosts spaces for artists and community groups, was announced for complete closure on the 24th of January next year.
In the stress of the change, multiple opportunities both in person and online have arisen for individuals to speak out against the development, receiving nearly 6 thousands signatures in favour of halting the plans for the cultural hub.
Amidst this discussion, many compromises have been promised at a pre-application period, such as a dedicated arts section being maintained. However, questions around affordability for the original staff and hosted artists were brought up to managing director, Dr Ali Afshar, of AMA-concluding that this may not be possible, citing that the grounds would need to close to pursue the proper development needed.
Amongst these developments, locals may expect the demolition of the buildings once used for animal research, as well as the 1940s extension the “Cranked Wing”
Four proposals analysing different aspects of the building and potential plans have been submitted, but as it stands no conclusion has been drawn. In fact, recent surveys are still undergoing within Summerhall- only concluding on the 23rd of October.
