THE CITY of Edinburgh Council has decided to close Princes Street Gardens both today and Sunday due to high forecasted wind speeds.
The Met Office has put a yellow weather warning in place for Sunday, from 6am until 6pm.
All of Scotland and Northern Ireland have been warned about high winds, as well as much of the west of England, down to Cornwall.
Locals have expressed confusion at the closure of the gardens, with many believing that the winds are not strong enough to warrant the measure.
Edinburgh City Council posted to social media yesterday, saying: “Due to forecasted wind speeds of over 40mph tomorrow (Friday 21 February) and Sunday (23 February) Princes Street Gardens will be closed to the public.
“Site inspections will be carried out before re-opening to ensure the site is safe.”
One user commented: “This never used to happen. Health and safety gone mad.”
Another asked: “Hi can you please advise if all other public spaces with trees will be open or not on these days?”
A third remarked: “40mph is a breeze. I guess I’ll walk through The Meadows tomorrow instead because, apparently, the trees in The Meadows can cope with a light breeze; otherwise you’d be advising everyone to avoid all green spaces/trees tomorrow/Sunday.”
Another questioned: “But… but… but this is our pedestrian zone.”
And a fifth said: “Pity there isn’t the same care given to all your public parks/gardens, just the ones the tourists go to.”
Similar sentiments were expressed when Edinburgh’s famous Hogmanay celebrations were cancelled by organisers due to yellow weather warnings in place on New Year’s Eve.
Organisers said at the time: “We have been unable to continue with preparations and necessary set-up for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay outdoor events due to extreme weather and forecast conditions.
“Therefore, for safety reasons we, along with our event partners, have taken the difficult decision to cancel all outdoor events.
“We know that this will be hugely disappointing to all hoping to celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh and that people travel from around the world to be here.”
More recently, a red weather warning caused businesses and public transport services to close due to Storm Éowyn which battered the UK last month.
Trees and infrastructure across the city were damaged by 100mph winds, including the tallest tree at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Advice from the Met Office predicts some delays to transport, and potential short-term loss of power with rain accompanying strong winds in some areas.
