It’s easy to forget that the beloved Summerhall is a comparative newcomer to the Scottish arts scene. Though the buildings now occupied by what is reputedly Europe’s largest privately owned arts centre are over a century old, Summerhall itself only came to be after original tenant the Royal Dick Veterinary School moved out in 2010. The site was purchased by the McDowell family, who set about redeveloping it into a complex with over 100 tenants that included a pub, cafe, gin distillery, brewery and seemingly endless performance spaces.
It’s open throughout the year but its national reputation is strongly based around its increasingly important role at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe. After a couple of slightly rocky summers establishing itself, Summerhall emerged as a sort of nexus of cool, a home to basically all the most interesting leftfield theatre at the festival.
Is the dream coming to an end? It seems very likely that Summerhall as we know it is now winding down after it emerged earlier this year that the McDowells had put it on the market. Now, according to the Edinburgh Inquirer newsletter, the preferred buyer is allegedly AMA Homes, a local company that specialises in turning historic buildings into high-end housing.
All bidders – including AMA – have pledged to continue arts provision but whatever this might literally mean, it’s highly unlikely that it will be anything like as much arts provision as when it was an arts centre.
However Summerhall will hopefully continue to function as such for at least two more Fringes, with an agreement reached back in July for Summerhall and all tenants to remain in place for a further three years. In a further bump in the road, however, it was revealed last week that the venue had been served a winding up notice from HMRC over unpaid corporation tax. Robert McDowell, the director of Summerhall (and the only member of the McDowell family who didn’t want to sell) has said he believes it’s a misunderstanding that can be cleared up, but it’s another ominous note in the general music around the centre.
With the writing apparently on the wall, let’s at least pray that the taxman allows us to enjoy the last days of Summerhall as we know it.
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