11-07-2025
Fed-up Edinburgh residents take a stand against 'eyesore' abandoned pub
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Edinburgh residents who have become 'fed-up' of a city pub that has been 'left to rot' gathered on Thursday.
The group branded The Busy Bee pub in Saughton Mains a 'blight on the local community' as they begged for the structure to be replaced. The once popular boozer shut down in 2016, and has featured in the Trainspotting sequel.
Since then, residents who live near the structure have claimed the abandoned building 'affects their daily lives with vermin thriving on the site'.
The pub was once the original home of the local Hearts FC supporters club before they merged with the Cross Keys, and has gone down in folklore among Jambos who used the place as watering hole before and after games.
It's understood to date back to the '50s, after being built as a church by Reverend Stanley Perkins and was called Saughton Mains Congregational Church.
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Pat Carr, Chair of Stenhouse, Saughton Mains and Whitson Community Council said: "The Busy Bee has become a blight on our local community with the state of the building reflecting the lack of basic care shown by the leaseholder and the owner.
"It appears for years now that financial gain has been placed above the well-being of local residents. Following our meeting today we have found that the general consensus amongst residents is to replace the existing building with a new structure that better serves the needs of the community.'
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Independent councillor Ross McKenzie added: "Many of the local residents who came together today are really angry that this site has been left to rot in the middle of their community.
"For those who live next to it, this affects their daily lives as vermin thrives on the site. We're asking the landowner and leaseholder to find a solution."
