THE QUAICH PROJECT The Quaich Project is a partnership between the Ross Development Trust and the City of Edinburgh Council. The Ross Development Trust is a registered Scottish Charity founded in 2016 to manage the delivery of significant improvements within West Princes Street Gardens. The Gardens are operated, managed and maintained by The City of Edinburgh Council. West Princes Street Gardens is part of Scotland’s Common Good Property and the ownership of the land will never change. The Ross Development Trust is responsible for the development phase of the proposed improvements as well as raising the £25 million capital required. The Quaich Project takes its name from a traditional Highland ‘sharing cup’, inspired by the topography of West Princes Street Gardens which closely mirrors the bowl shape of a typical quaich. The Quaich Project’s vision is to reimagine West Princes Street Gardens as a space for all to celebrate and enjoy in new ways – with improved accessibility, dynamic architectural designs and innovative facilities. The purpose of this public consultation is to give Edinburgh residents and the wider Scottish community the opportunity to feed back on the proposed designs for West Princes Street Gardens.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND TREES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND TREES

The Quaich Project is committed to respecting the biodiversity of the Gardens and to enhancing the health and wellbeing of its visitors. Our vision is to create a space of tranquillity that everyone can enjoy amidst the bustle of the city centre. The Gardens act as the ‘lungs of the city’ – helping to provide a calm place to retreat to and a canvas of greenery. A robust Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted which will inform the design of The Quaich Project and will ensure a gardens-first approach to this unique urban green space. What has been achieved so far:

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening

• An agreement on which areas will be covered by the EIA

• A range of ecological surveys including habitats, bats, badgers, birds and invasive species

• Additional surveys covering archaeology, cultural heritage, landscaping, geology, water environment, air quality, noise and community impact TREES We know how important trees are to you and to the Gardens. We want you to know that trees are extremely important to us too. To find out exactly what we were dealing with, we recently conducted a comprehensive tree survey across the entirety of the Gardens with every tree mapped and assessed on an individual basis. This provided us with some essential information including; exactly where each tree is located, the size of each tree, the age of each tree, the type of each tree and the condition of each tree. This information is essential in aiding how we progress with our design work. We are advancing our designs and plans with full consideration of the trees within the Gardens, they are our first thought, not our last thought when it comes to taking the design forward. If a tree is required to be removed then there will be a detailed explanation as to why it is our only option, what other options we have looked at, what benefit the gardens gain from removing it and how we are mitigating for its loss – we could plant a new tree in the Gardens, for example. We will provide exact details on impact to trees at the beginning of next year as we finalise the design and in advance of submitting a planning application.

EVENTS AND MANAGEMENT As well as maintaining the Gardens, The City of Edinburgh Council is, and will continue to be, responsible for managing events within West Princes Street Gardens. The number and type of events taken place in the future will remain the sole responsibility of the City of Edinburgh Council. City of Edinburgh Council are currently working on delivering a Business Plan for the management of the gardens following the delivery of this project. This information is due to be publicly available in January. The Ross Theatre and West Princes Street Gardens have a long history of hosting free community events, including dances and performances. Between the 1960s and 1980s, regular Children’s Hour shows were held in the Ross Theatre, hosted by “Auntie Moira”. Free community activities such as tai chi sessions, listening to storytelling or enjoying a local school choir or music recital are just a few examples of how the gardens can be better used for the benefit of the community. The Quaich Project aims to provide a space which will accommodate a range of small community-based performances in addition to limited signature events such as Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and the Edinburgh International Festival’s closing fireworks concert that the Gardens are known for. The Council will maintain the new infrastructure within West Princes Street Gardens to a mutually agreed, acceptable standard of maintenance. Modern design and infrastructure improvements means that events will be able to more efficiently accommodated, reducing the impact they have on the public’s use of the space.