Edinburgh’s Summerhall arts venue saved after owners grant new lease

One of Scotland’s most famous arts venues, Summerhall, has won a reprieve after winning a new lease on the eve of its sale by the site’s owners.

Arts and cultural leaders were alarmed about Summerhall’s future, and the future of Scotland’s independent arts scene, after it emerged in May that the building’s owners had put the sprawling site on the market .

With Edinburgh gearing up for the start of this year’s fringe and international festivals this weekend, its owners have confirmed they have offered the arts centre a new three-year lease which is expected to be signed very soon.

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Sam Gough, the chief executive of Summerhall Arts, a charity he has set up to take over arts events at the former Royal Dick veterinary school, said the deal would “secure artistic output at the site” after months of uncertainty.

That deal will cover up to 25 exhibition and events spaces, art galleries and theatres, as well as the on-site pub and beer garden, he said. It would cover “all of the areas which produce arts and culture. That means we can consistently deliver art here for three years, and when the new owners, whoever they might be, decide what they’re doing, we can negotiate a longer term lease.”

Summerhall grew to become one of the UK’s largest independent arts venues after its founder, Robert McDowell, bought the complex 12 years ago, funding its running and repairs costs from his share of a family trust.

But to the shock of the city’s arts community, McDowell’s brothers, who are co-beneficiaries of the Isle of Man based trust, Oesselmann Estates Limited, decided to sell the entire site against his wishes.

He is thought to have spent upwards of £20m supporting Summerhall. Its threatened closure heightened growing fears about the wider sustainability of Edinburgh’s festivals, which are facing steep rises in rental, energy and production costs, and a steady loss of available venues .

The closing date for offers for the 130,000 sq ft site, which includes a church, a brewery, an ice-maker, a tech incubator, the archive for Edinburgh’s legendary arts impresario Richard Demarco, as well as a small cinema and offices rented to the Edinburgh international film festival, falls on 18 September.

The entire complex close to Edinburgh’s Meadows public park has 110 rooms, including former dissection theatres, laboratories and a 1960s tower block. The sale brochure speculates the site could host a boutique hotel, new homes and student housing.

Gough’s arrangement with Oesselmann Estates does not include the Demarco archive or the film festival; Demarco is looking for a new home for his collection. Gough is now fundraising to help cover the costs of taking over the venue, which includes the 45 staff employed by McDowell.

Stephen Kay, from the selling agents Cuthbert White, said: “We have always understood the importance of Summerhall for the culture sector and the city. This arrangement will allow Summerhall Arts the opportunity to keep the legacy alive and give them the time needed to secure a much longer future with any prospective new owners.”