Following the approval of the Parks Levy at the City of Edinburgh Council Culture and Communities Committee on 5 December 2024, a £1 ticket surcharge will apply to the Beltane Fire Festival scheduled for 30 April 2025. This is in addition to a £420 ‘rental’ charge for using the hill. We expect there will be around 8,000 to 10,000 attendees, which would result in a revenue of around £8k to £10k.
The levy will be collected by the council and ring-fenced for spending on Calton Hill. As determined by the City of Edinburgh Council Culture and Communities Committee on 5 December 2024, the Parks Department are asked to “engage and consult in advance on their proposed programme of works” with the Trust. Moreover “significant projects such as rainwater management or combatting erosion linked to visitor numbers should be considered . . . ” eligible for funding.
As explained during our deputation to the 5 December meeting, we hope the Parks Levy income will be spent on returfing severely eroded areas, improving waste management, and disabled access — but not the Calton Hill access barrier entry system which we understand will be funded from other council budgets.