Tuesday April 21st 2026
Tollcross, Edinburgh
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
A historic clock pulled from an Edinburgh junction four years ago for health and safety reasons may soon be returned.
The 1901-vintage clock was pulled from the Tollcross crossroads in March 2022, with reports saying it came after an inspection revealed a crack in its base.
Since then, it has sat mothballed storage, with the refurbishment works delayed and plans set out to reinstate the clock during planned junction works.
But according to a report going before the council’s finance committee next week, works to return the clock should get underway sooner as the junction works have now been delayed.
It recommends that councillors approve a spend of £72,572 to have the James Ritchie and Sons clock restored.
Further, it recommends that ‘non-financial’ aspects of the restoration be referred to the city’s culture and communities committee.
If approved by councillors, restoration work could get underway by May, and the clock could be back in place ‘by April 2027 onwards’.
In the report, officers state that the clock should not be restored to its previous position within the junction due to risk of damage to it and additional maintenance costs it would lead to.
Instead, they suggest alternative locations should be explored and agreed by councillors ‘in consultation with local stakeholders’.
In December, SNP city centre councillor Finlay McFarlane made a call for the clock to be reinstated after what had then been three years of its absence.
In a motion to a full council motion that month, he said further delay of putting the clock back was ‘unacceptable’, and recommended a new location near the Bank of Scotland building.
Officers now suggest money should be pulled from the council’s Common Good fund for the restoration work, in line with suggestions made by Cllr McFarlane in December.
Last year, funds from the Common Good fund were earmarked for restoring the Portobello Town Hall clock to its former location, after being down for more than 20 years.
The BBC reported in September last year that work had gotten underway to restore that clock in advance of reinstating it.
The report stated that funding would still need to be found for the reinstatement works on the Tollcross clock, which would be separate from the sum needed to restore the clock.
It adds that a period of restoration between May and August had been provisionally booked in with council contractors, pending the committee approving the spend.
Officers state they would use that time to explore funding sources for reinstating the clock, engaging with stakeholders on its new location, and reporting back to the finance committee.
They added listed building consent may be required in order to move the clock from its previous location to a new one.
In the report, ‘April 2027 onwards’ is listed in a prospective timeline as to when the clock itself may be returned to the area.
The report also states that the damage found at the clock’s base in 2022 was a result of ‘significant deterioration in its condition’.
Photos from the Edwardian era show the clock abutting the Tollcross junction when it was a busy tram interchange.
It was originally a pendulum clock, but was converted in 1926 to a spring-driven mechanism – and again in 1969 to electrical operation.
The changes meant less and less human intervention was needed to keep the clock on time.
Edinburgh Council pulled it from its site in 1974 as part of works to change the junction, but it was put back in place near to its original location after sharp public backlash.
Among the council’s timepieces are 27 public clocks and 25 clocks inside the City Chambers on High Street – though only 24 of the public ones are currently in operation.
One other public clock, which was once sited in Fountainbridge, was still in council storage as of September last year.
Councillors will consider the motion at the next Finance and Resources Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 28.
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