Too loud, too bright for sensitive site?

Dear Spurtle 


I read with interest your piece on the city constellation with regard to advertising in Edinburgh. I thought it might be good to highlight the use of digital screens that are both out of keeping in their environments and also can make life intolerable for residents. 


I live in the Lawnmarket in the Old Town, where, during the month of August, there is a general feeling of anything goes, with amplified 12-hour busking sessions and silent disco tours etc. But now, the Edinburgh International Festival and Hub have added to the drip-drip effect of noise pollution with audible advertisement for products like Yellow Tail Shiraz and Holidays in Corfu alongside sound bites for their own Festival shows.


Every department of the Council seems to be unclear if permission is needed for this structure, even though it is erected in a listed-building area and in the World Heritage Site. I can’t really believe that this is what visitors and residents want to see or hear at such a focal point at the end of the Royal Mile.


Calim Renton