Haymarket, Edinburgh

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Haymarket
  • Scottish Gaelic: Margadh an Fheòir
  • Scots: Heymercat
Haymarket junction, Edinburgh.jpg
Haymarket junction
Haymarket is located in Edinburgh
Haymarket
Haymarket
Location within Edinburgh
OS grid referenceNT240732
Council area
  • Edinburgh
Lieutenancy area
  • Edinburgh
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townEDINBURGH
Postcode districtEH3, EH12
Dialling code0131
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
Edinburgh
55°56′46.54″N 3°13′0.72″W / 55.9462611°N 3.2168667°W / 55.9462611; -3.2168667Coordinates: 55°56′46.54″N 3°13′0.72″W / 55.9462611°N 3.2168667°W / 55.9462611; -3.2168667

Haymarket (Scots: Heymercat,[1] Scottish Gaelic: Margadh an Fheòir)[2] is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the west of the city centre and is the junction of several main roads, notably Dalry Road (which leads south-west to Gorgie Road and the M8 motorway to Glasgow), Corstorphine Road (leading west to the M8 and the M9 for Stirling and the north), and Shandwick Place (leading east to Princes Street and the city centre). Haymarket contains a number of pubs, cafés and restaurants.

War Memorial[]

The Heart of Midlothian War Memorial at the centre of the Haymarket junction in 1922

In the centre of the crossroads at the heart of Haymarket is a war memorial in the form of a clock tower that was unveiled in 1922.[3] It is principally to commemorate former players of Heart of Midlothian F.C. but also for players from other Scottish clubs who made the ultimate sacrifice; those from Hibernian, Raith Rovers, Dunfermline, East Fife and St Bernard's, were also part of McCrae's Battalion, known as "The footballers' Battalion", who died in World Wars I and II. It was designed by the sculptor Henry Snell Gamley.[4] The memorial was temporarily removed in 2010 to allow construction of the tramway across the road junction. It was replaced in a slightly different position in 2013, in time for the commemoration of the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. The clock was made by James Ritchie & Son, who were clockmakers in Edinburgh.[3]

Transport interchange[]

The newly redeveloped Haymarket railway station[5] is located here and is called at by the busy commuter services to Glasgow and Fife, as well as long-distance services to Carlisle, Inverness and Aberdeen.

Edinburgh Trams' Haymarket stop is located adjacently north of the station for connections to the west of the city as far as Edinburgh Airport and the city centre to the east. The westbound tramway continues off-street at this point via Haymarket Yards.

Lothian Buses are the main operator for local bus connections to and from the interchange stop on Haymarket Terrace, and nearby Dalry Road. Routes to West Lothian, Falkirk and Stirling areas are operated by First Scotland East and Lothian Country (a Lothian Buses brand). Express coach connections from Glasgow are operated by Scottish Citylink.

The taxi rank is situated in Rosebery Crescent.

Redevelopment[]

Plans to develop the former , a former railway site which has been partially derelict and partially a car park for many years were approved by The City of Edinburgh Council on 25 June 2008.[6] Tiger Developments purchased the site from City of Edinburgh Council for approximately £50 million in December 2006. The plans for the site included a 17-storey, 5-star hotel, a 3-star hotel, office buildings, retail space, bars, shops and a small supermarket.[7] However, this approval was overturned by Scottish ministers in October 2009, on the recommendation of a planning inquiry reporter, citing concerns about the impact of the 17-storey hotel on Edinburgh's skyline.[8]

A revised planning application, incorporating a similar mixed use, with a lower skyline, was approved by the Council in December 2010.[9] Work to strengthen the railway tunnels under Haymarket began in 2013 in preparation for the construction of the new £200m development above which is to include a 320-space underground car park.[10] This involves grouting between the tunnel lining and the surrounding ground, and drilling and inserting metal bars within the brick lining. Due to line operations, works access was limited in the north tunnel to between midnight and 5am four nights of the week and in the south tunnel from 1am to 9.30am one night a week.[11]

The Haymarket redevelopment in August 2021

Above-ground construction was scheduled to start in early 2015 and the first phase was expected to be complete by 2016. However, delays in the strengthening of the tunnels and the sale of the project to M&G Real Estate by Interserve[12] delayed the start of construction. The Haymarket, as the development is to be known, will provide new pedestrian links to neighbouring Fountainbridge and The Exchange district. In 2019, M&G appointed Edinburgh property developer Qmile Group to begin the now costed £350m mixed-use development, including new offices (to include a new HQ for Baillie Gifford, hotel accommodation (including a 190-room Hyatt hotel a 172-room aparthotel) and 40,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space designed by Foster and Partners.[13][14][15] Completion is expected in 2023.[16][17]

References[]

  1. ^ List of railway station names in English, Scots and Gaelic – NewsNetScotland Archived 22 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland
  3. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Edinburgh, Haymarket, Heart Of Midlothian War Memorial (237149)". Canmore. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Craigton Cemetery Heritage Trail". Glasgow City Council. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. ^ Haymarket Station officially opened - 19 December 2013
  6. ^ "Haymarket hotel proposal approved". BBC. 25 June 2008.
  7. ^ Richard Murphy Architects Archived 2007-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Skyline is the limit as plans for £250m hotel thrown out - Edinburgh Evening News, 28 October 2009
  9. ^ Planners give new Haymarket gap site proposal thumbs-up - Edinburgh Evening News 3 December 2010
  10. ^ Work to start on Edinburgh's £200m The Haymarket development - 28 November 2013
  11. ^ Haymarket tunnels paves way for 200m development - The Construction Index, 30 July 2014
  12. ^ Delay-hit Haymarket gap site sold for £49 million - Edinburgh Evening News, 5 June 2018
  13. ^ McKenzie, Jamie (5 March 2020). "New images of £350m Haymarket Gap site development unveiled as work begins". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Edinburgh property developer appointed to deliver £300m Haymarket scheme". Scottish Construction News. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Four Edinburgh building projects that will change the city's skyline forever". Edinburgh Live. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  16. ^ "How has Edinburgh's landscape changed in a year?". BBC News. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Baillie Gifford to move Edinburgh HQ in massive boost for £350m Haymarket development". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
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