Taste of Edinburgh hijack a public park

Latest news on access situation in Inverleith Park

The Park Rules for Glasgow and Dundee make it explicit that any event charging money needs a Section 11 order.

The Edinburgh Access Forum noted in 2006 that the existing park rules conflicted with access legislation on 10 points.

Four years later, nothing has been done to remedy the situation and the council is still relying on 1982 legislation which, in their latest email to me they claim provides them with the same level of authority to block public acess as is provided for by the Military Lands Acts and the Railway Acts. This is patent nonsense.

What I found interesting was that the police confirmed that they would arrest me for breach of the peace if I attempted to enter the area of the park that Taste organisers have cordoned off. However, when I asked them if they would arrest the Taste of Edinburgh security guards if they attempted to block me in exercising my legal rights, they declined, saying that the organisers had reasonable grounds for enforcing a no payment, no entry policy.