Edinburgh’s most famous thoroughfare could be turned into a tree-lined boulevard under plans that would focus on one of the world’s most iconic vistas.

A firm of architects has drawn up proposals for Princes Street that would mean fewer shops and more activity taking in the views of the Castle and Old Town.

Richard Murphy Architects (RMA) has produced its alternative vision after comments by community groups who described official proposals as a “shopping list of generic urban planning measures”.

RMA, wants to find a solution that goes beyond what it calls “tinkering” by respecting the original plan for Princes Street which was to encourage residential use and the views over the city.

Over time it became the prime shopping street, with visitors turning their backs on these views. In recent years it has fallen victim to the decline in shopper footfall, the closure of Jenners, Debenhams and even Poundland whose arrival was greeted with horror by those who felt it signified the street’s loss of status.

RMA wants to take the shift from retail further by encouraging more of a dining and outdoor experience. However, a proposal to remove the railings that separate the gardens separating the street from Princes Gardens would be contorversial. There would be concern that it would leave the gardens exposed to anti-social behaviour.

“The rise of Princes Street as the main shopping street for the city was an unpredicted 19th-century phenomenon,” says the firm.

“But it was always hampered by being single-sided; indeed, it’s remarkable that it did achieve such retail pre-eminence. With the re-assertion of George Street and to a lesser extent St Andrew Square as shopping destinations and the creation of St James Quarter and Multrees Walk developments, Princes Street is clearly dying with cheap shops and boarded up properties.

“The views from the buildings lining the street, from the pavements and from the gardens are second to none. The south-facing view is one of the most iconic with a world-famous castle and the classic view and silhouette of the Old Town.

“To many around the world that is the view of Edinburgh. By definition, retail wants people to look at the shop windows and not in the other direction. By contrast, the view, particularly of the castle, increases the values of hotels, restaurants, cafés and indeed residential development.”

There have signs of a revival in recent months with the opening of the Johnnie Walker tourism destination, and restoration work beginning on the former Jenners, Top Shop and Debenhams units and the opening of hotels and tea rooms.

Retail crime rises

One in four shoppers in Britain have witnessed shoplifting taking place, according to research by the British Retail Consortium.

The research shows record levels of retail crime with 20 million incidents of theft last year, and incidents of violence and abuse climbing to over 2,000 per day. 

It says crime cost retailers £4.2 billion last year. This includes £2.2bn from shoplifting, and another £1.8bn spent on crime prevention measures such as CCTV, more security personnel, anti-theft devices and body worn cameras

David Lonsdale, director of the SRC, said: “Abusive or violent behaviour towards shop staff is wholly and utterly unacceptable.

“These stark figures show that seeing such incidents of abuse or indeed theft has become an all-too-common part of the shopping experience.”

New figures also show total sales in Scotland decreased by 0.4% compared with February 2024, when they had increased by 1.4%.