City centre street in Edinburgh reopens after major fire gutted historic building

A street in Edinburgh's city centre has reopened after a major fire gutted a historic building within a busy shopping area.

The 9 July blaze took hold at the site of an old Debenhams store on Princes Street, causing serious damage to the disused B-listed building.

Until Saturday, trams could not cover their full routes and buses were diverted during Edinburgh's festival season.

Barriers were removed in the morning and trams returned to their full routes between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven after a test run shortly after midnight.

Steel beams have been put up to stabilise the front facade of the building, while several tonnes of unsafe stonework and bricks have been removed.

City of Edinburgh Council leader Jane Meagher said: "I couldn't be more pleased that the city is getting back to business as usual."

She went on: "We know that this has had a huge impact on the city and on people visiting the city.

"This happened just on the cusp of one of the biggest arts festivals in the world coming to Edinburgh, so it was inevitably going to have a major impact."

The Scottish government allocated £5m to help support recovery from the fire earlier this month.

A promotional campaign called More By The Shore has also been launched by the council to attract customers to businesses on the northern section of the tram route.

Ms Meagher added: "I'm really grateful to the Scottish government for stepping in because this was an emergency and we didn't have the means on our own to be able to make the building safe."

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No-one was injured in the fire, but residents previously spoke of their sadness over the incident.

Graham Reed, 59, from Edinburgh, said: "It's such a shame. It's an iconic building, and it's such a shame that yet another one's gone up in flames on Princes Street.

"It's just a shame to see it because we lost a couple, there was one down in Jenners as well that went up in flames a few years back. It's a shame it happens."

(c) Sky News 2026: City centre street in Edinburgh reopens after major fire gutted historic building