🔗 Share this article What's Happening with Edinburgh's Scaffold-Wrapped Hotel? The metal framework surrounding the hotel on a major city bridge may not be entirely dismantled until 2027. Positioned on the busiest tourist streets in the heart of Scotland's heritage-rich city centre looms a giant structure of construction framework. For the past 60 months, Radisson's G&V Hotel on the intersection of a key historic street and George IV Bridge has been a covered eyesore. Travellers are unable to reserve stays, pedestrians are squeezed through narrow walkways, and commercial tenants have vacated the building. Restoration efforts commenced in 2020 and was originally estimated to last a brief duration, but now exasperated residents have been told the structure could persist until 2027. Prolonged Deadlines The construction firm, the lead company, says it will be "close to the conclusion" of 2026 before the earliest portions of the scaffold can be removed. The city's political leader a city representative has labeled it a "eyesore" on the area, while heritage campaigners say the work is "very troublesome". What is happening with this apparently perpetual project? Unwrapped - how the hotel is presented without its covering on the hotel's website. A Troubled History The sizeable hotel was developed on the site of the former Lothian Regional Council offices in 2009. Estimates from when it first opened under the a fashion-branded banner, put the development expense at about £30m. Construction activity got underway not long after the start of the global health crisis with the hotel itself not accepting visitors since 2022. A lane of traffic and a significant portion of pavement leading up to the junction of the tourist drag have been left out of action by the project. People on foot going to and from the a nearby area and another locale have been forced one after another into a narrow, covered walkway. Seafood restaurant a well-known restaurant left the building and transferred to a different location in 2024. In a release, its operators said construction activity had compelled them to alter the restaurant's facade, adding that "customers deserved better". It is also home to restaurant chain a chain – which has displayed large signs on the scaffold to inform customers it is open for business. Images show the G&V Hotel being built in September 2008 (left) and the scaffolding beginning in 2020 (right). Slipped Schedules An communication to the a local authority committee in January this year stated that the process of "exposing" the frontage would start in February, with a full removal by the year's end. But SRM has said that will not happen, pointing to "exceptionally intricate" building problems for the delay. "We project starting to dismantle sections of the scaffold close to the conclusion of next year, with further improvements proceeding afterwards," a statement read. "We are working closely with everyone involved to ensure we provide an better site for the community." Community and Heritage Concerns A heritage director, director of preservation association the Cockburn Association, said the work had reinforced the city's reputation of being "protracted" for urban works. She said those working on the project had a "civic responsibility" to minimise disturbance and should blend the work into the city's design. She said: "It is making the experience for those on foot in that part of town really difficult. "I don't understand why there is not an effort to incorporate it within the streetscape or create something more aesthetic and avant-garde." Pedestrians have been obliged to walk down a narrow enclosed walkway on part of the street. Project Response A company representative said work on "solutions to aesthetically improve the site" was in progress. They continued: "We acknowledge the irritations felt by the community and businesses. "This constitutes a extended and complex process, highlighting the complexity and magnitude of the repair work required, however we are focused on finishing this vital work as soon as is possible." Ms Meagher said the council would "maintain pressure" on those involved to wrap up the project. She said: "This scaffolding has been a problem for years, and I understand the annoyance of inhabitants and local businesses over these ongoing postponements. "However, I also recognize that the firm has a obligation to make the building safe and that this remediation has been exceptionally difficult."