Edinburgh Street Food pink neon sign deemed a safety hazard is granted planning permission by council

The controversial Edinburgh Street Food sign at the top of Leith Walk has been granted planning permission by the council, 11 months after it was installed.

Edinburgh Street Food (ESF), which launched in February 2023, erected the neon pink sign outside the OMNi Centre to advertise the venue but was later told to remove the sign after the council said it had been installed without planning permission and was deemed a health and safety concern.

This week, council planners have reversed their earlier decision and granted permission to the delight of the ESF owners provided that the shocking pink sign is relocated away from the stairway and tactile paving outside the OMNi Centre and is situated within four metres of the “existing canopy development.”

Writing on Instagram, the team behind Edinburgh Street Food said: “Well would you look who’s staying. This ‘incongruous feature in the streetscape’ (also containing a giant foot and a tv screen the size of a tennis court) just received planning consent - do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight!”

They added: “We need to move it a few strides back towards our heated and covered beer garden, but those shocking pink neon lights will still guide you to heaven. As the Don would say… BOOM. MAKE LEITH STREET GREAT AGAIN.”

Last year council planners deemed the ESF structure “an unacceptable intrusion into the streetscape” and said the illuminated sign would “compromise pedestrian safety in terms of fall-risk at the steps” adding the sign was located on top of tactile paving and has “the potential to impact negatively upon persons who are visually impaired.”

But following an appeal, the council has now granted planning permission for the pink sign for a five-year period. The council decision, which was validated on January 10, stated that “consent is granted for a period of five years from the date of consent”.

The report added: “While the Council's non-statutory guidance states that there must be exceptional circumstances for freestanding outdoor advertising to be supported, in this specific case the proposal is appropriately sited and designed within its context and it is acceptable.”

With regards to public safety, council planners said the new location “means the proposal will not be an obstacle in the public realm, and its position approximately 1.8 metres from tactile paving north of the proposed signage is acceptable in terms of retaining an appropriate pedestrian environment.”

The ESF social media post gained several supportive comments with one suggesting it would be inconsistent to remove the illuminated sign after a 166-metre squared LED screen outside the Omni Centre was granted planning permission. Dubbed Scotland’s largest LED installation, the gigantic screen overlooking Picardy Place caused controversy when it was turned on in October 2023.

Responding to the ESF, one said: “Finally they saw the light. The pink neon light” whilst another said the potential removal of the shocking pink sign would be 'ridiculous' when compared to the “five million foot wide thing on the Omni that got permission”.