Edinburgh business owners say they are being plagued by anti-social behaviour and harassment in a city centre tourist hotspot.
A number of owners and workers around Hunter Square and the Royal Mile have come forward with complaints of incidents that are affecting their businesses on a daily basis.
The central square located on North Bridge has been a hub for drug and alcohol misuse fuelling anti-social behaviour for years with police attending the scene often.
Many businesses have reported their windows being smashed, customers being shouted at and witnessing locals overdosing, drug dealing and drug taking in broad daylight regardless of who is around.
A source who works with a number of premises told Edinburgh Live: “I work on the Royal Mile, I’ve worked up here for about five years now on the retail side of things.
“Generally working in the Hunter Square area, I have noticed a lot more anti-social behaviour.
“Businesses are struggling right now as well, struggling to recruit staff as it is, struggling to get tourists and obviously the behaviour at Hunter Square is a daily basis thing and it’s gradually getting worse.
“Businesses are struggling, people don’t want to shop there or hang about there. People are having meals and drinks outside and they are having to watch people fighting, open drug dealing, drug taking, alcohol abuse, violence and its on a daily basis.
“We are really struggling to get any help from the council or Police Scotland. When they do turn up they are usually too late or when they leave the problem starts again.
“The problem is left behind because no one gets moved on or arrested, staff are getting assaulted from different shops, vandalism is really bad.
“If you walk down anywhere on South Bridge you will see all the smashed windows of the stores. This is on a weekly basis, attempted break-ins and ambulances attending so the NHS are having to deal with it as well.
“I’ve dealt with a number of pretty serious first aid instances from overdoses to assaults. When the police do help they come down and blitz it for a couple of weeks then they fade away again.
“Obviously it’s different when the Fringe is on there are loads of police, but we’ve had problems then too and the police vans are sitting where the incidents are happening but they are empty and the officers are away dealing with something else.
“There is not enough focus on the area and businesses are ready to shut their doors, it’s just not worth it anymore. “
Conservative Councillor Jo Mowat said: “It’s heartbreaking for the businesses after a really tough 18 months to come into this really difficult situation that is affecting their staff and the things they are having to see.
"I'm in regular contact with businesses who are really concerned about the situation.
“It’s not appropriate in a public place and needs addressing, regular overdoses and alcohol abuse should not be happening.
“Police inspector Mark Hamilton is trying to establish a plan and there is funding in place to do the extensive work but it is not ready yet.
“Having to witness stuff like that is not acceptable, especially in a public place. The square shouldn’t be used as a social club, we clearly haven’t moved quickly enough to deal with this.”
A Council spokesperson, said: “We’re working with Police Scotland and other partners to address issues of anti-social behaviour in this area.
"The public toilets were closed in 2017 as part of the measures taken to tackle issues of anti-social behaviour.
"We continue to take incidents occurring in the Square very seriously as the area is a prime public space in the centre of our beautiful city and we want to make sure it’s accessible and inviting to all.”
Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.
