Let's be positive on Princes Street

HOW do you solve a problem like . . . Princes Street? Certainly not by consulting Robbie Douglas-Miller. You may recall that his family ran Jenners before selling out – sorry selling it off – to House of Fraser for £46m, when the heat from Harvey Nichols got too much to handle.

This brilliant deal turned the city's last independent department store into a run-of-the-mill shop selling the same stuff you can get anywhere – Fraser's for instance. But his family still owns the place.

Similarly his company owns the Ramada Mount Royal Hotel – the one with the hideous blue glass box out front, which adds extra ugliness to an already unattractive building.

But according to Mr Douglas-Miller, property owners along the supposedly iconic street don't believe there's much point investing in redevelopment, and believe plans to revamp it come and go without any real change, because he says: "I can't think it ever will". Nothing to do with negative attitudes of owners then?

Princes Street is a right old mess, there is no denying that. It's supposed to be Edinburgh's premier shopping avenue, but instead it is a clash of building styles, a rag-tag bunch of retailers, and 85 per cent of upper floor space lies unused. But is that any reason to believe there can never be any change?

While I don't subscribe to the latest "string of pearls" concept which will see it divided into sections, such as high street shopping, boutique stores, al fresco dining and a cultural quarter, it is high time for retailers, owners, business leaders and the city council to put self-interest to one side and work out together what is best for the street and the city as a whole.

Mr Douglas-Miller is of course correct in saying that owners will not want to spend millions knocking down premises and rebuilding, and the idea that the council should compulsorily purchase them is faintly ridiculous. But there should be encouragement from the council or government (given Edinburgh's importance to the Scottish economy and tourist industry) to invest in the buildings to get rid of the constant scaffolding, to ensure buildings are fully used and to lay down strict guidelines on frontages.

The building which replaced the old C&A has been phenomenally successful, housing two major fashion brands plus offices in the space above.

New Look is set to take over the store currently occupied by souvenir shop the Pride of Scotland, so let the city planners and the Edinburgh City Centre management team start there, laying down the law on how it should look. The retailer plans to open three floors, using the space appropriately and giving Princes Street another fashionable flagship store.

When 125a Princes Street – the former Rock Cafe – is sold to a major retailer, let the new owners know that the exterior has to conform to high standards – the good news is that the upper floors are to become flats rather than lying empty.

What is being done to help Sir Philip Green sell the Topshop store at the corner with St Andrew Street to a top class retailer – or even hotelier? The council was quick to try to woo Harvey Nichols.

And there is nothing wrong with attracting more cafes and restaurants to Princes Street. They used to be as big an attraction of going into town as the shops.

So let's stop all the negativity and get Princes Street back where it belongs – as one of the top UK shopping destinations.

Radio Glums
A GROUP of middle-aged to elderly men who drink in Gracemount's Marmion pub are collectively dubbed "the Glums". I know because my father is one. Yet even their conversation is – sometimes – more uplifting than Talk 107.

I never understood why this all-talk radio station relied so much on people phoning in with their views, which left the presenters with hours to fill with their own chat. It made interminable listening.

At last Matt Allitt, station boss, has agreed, saying it had turned into a "pub bore". But without music in the mix, I doubt that discussing entertainment news rather than council stories will lift listener numbers.

Strange about Strang
GAVIN STRANG has changed his mind about standing down as MP for Edinburgh East, despite saying he'd had enough of the Commons. I wonder why? Maybe he didn't like the look of the political wilderness which was approaching or feared SNP gains in his area.

Or could it be that pressure has been applied by his comrades in the Craigmillar, Duddingston and Prestonfield (CDP) branch of the Labour Party, run by former councillor Paul Nolan, his family and friends?

Mr Nolan is a long-standing friend of the MP, but since there's little chance of him regaining political power in the city after financial scandals in publicly funded bodies in which he worked in the late 90s, his last influence lies with Dr Strang MP.

As secretary of the CDP branch, Mr Nolan has tried to interfere in Mike Robb's campaign to replace Strang as candidate at the next election by attempting to stop him becoming a delegate to the Edinburgh East constituency. That didn't work. Then there was the threat of an all-woman shortlist.

So what to do? Get Gav to change his mind before the selection process starts?

No Robb, no women, and most of all, no new broom. Whatever you may think of him, Mr Nolan is a master politician.