An Irish traveller family has been ordered to vacate their Edinburgh home immediately to make way for a £100 million Scottish art gallery. A judge ruled that the importance and urgency of the planned cultural development outweighed the family's rights.
The family, consisting of a couple and their 11 children, occupy three caravans at the Waterfront Avenue site, which has been earmarked for a new national art collection venue. Lawyers for the Scottish Ministers sought an order to compel the occupants to remove themselves, their caravans, and all belongings, and to prevent their return.
Lawyers representing the family argued that their removal without a "culturally appropriate" alternative site would violate their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically the rights to family life and non-discrimination. They also cited the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Act 2024.
However, in a judgment this week, Judge Lady Tait ruled in favor of the Scottish Ministers. She acknowledged that the travellers' human rights were engaged by the proposed eviction but concluded that interference with these rights was justified and proportionate. Lady Tait stated that there was no less intrusive measure available than eviction and that the objectives of the project were of greater urgency.
"The importance and urgency of the petitioners' objectives outweigh the severity of the effect of the eviction," Lady Tait wrote. She added that any interference with the children's rights would not be arbitrary or unlawful.
The Art Works, the planned £100 million venue, is intended for North Edinburgh as part of a wider regeneration project. It aims to display approximately 130,000 works of art typically held in storage by the National Galleries of Scotland. The project has received £8.5 million in National Lottery funding.
The court heard that the family and other "itinerant workers" living nearby had no legal right to occupy the site. The father of the family described ongoing struggles to find safe sites and instances of racism. He also noted a lack of basic sanitation and waste collection at the current location, which led to occasional campfires, described as central to traveller culture.
Lady Tait concluded that the children's living arrangements raised safety concerns due to the insecure nature of the site and the need to go outside at night for toilet facilities. She found it was not in the children's best interests to remain on the site. The judge also concluded that Edinburgh City Council has an obligation to provide support to the family following their eviction.