TENANTS in nine homes in Edinburgh will benefit from major energy upgrades to improve living standards and lower energy bills.
The homes, located in the southeast of the city, boast an Energy Performance Certificate ‘B’ rating after a series of improvements including External Wall Insulation (EWI) and window upgrades.
They are now undergoing monitoring to assess energy consumption, tenant comfort, and overall performance. Data gathered from the homes will provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of these measures and help determine the feasibility of rolling out similar upgrades across other Council housing stock.
Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron said: “I warmly welcome what’s been achieved in collaboration with our partners, AtkinsRéalis and Anderson Bell + Christie, on this transformative retrofit project.The energy improvements are already delivering real benefits for tenants – lower energy bills, increased comfort, and more sustainable homes.
“The data we’re collecting will be instrumental in scaling up this work to happen across other Council homes in Edinburgh, contributing towards our Net Zero 2030 target. While the work involved is complex, the long-term benefits – for our tenants, communities, and our city’s environment – are undeniable.”
Anderson Bell + Christie Director Jonathan McQuillan said: “This project signals a real shift change in how Scottish social housing landlords are approaching their obligations to improve the energy and quality of homes ahead of the Scottish Government deadline – taking a co-ordinated, architectural viewpoint to ensure the measures put in place and undertaken are tailed to each and every building to ensure its effectiveness for many generations to come.
“The City of Edinburgh Council have been pioneering in their thinking and as a result of the pilot, on which we spent two years investigating and garnering the right data, the majority of their stock can now be retrofitted with confidence.
“The improvement works support future measures such as district heating systems, making them ‘net zero-ready’.”
The project adopted a ‘whole house approach’ to implement advanced retrofit standards for the nine pilot homes. The properties were selected following an in-depth review of 52 building types which involved comprehensive surveys, including asbestos checks, air-tightness testing, and extensive energy modelling.
There’s still time to share your views on council plans to revitalise Princes Street, the Gardens and area around Waverley Station.
The survey closes at midnight TONIGHT – Friday (21 Feb). If you work, live, shop, enjoy visiting or just travel through the city centre, this survey is for you:
Councillors agree record spend on primary schools and extra support for social care
Millions of pounds will be spent on protecting and improving schools and crucial frontline services in Edinburgh.
Setting Edinburgh’s budget today (Thursday 20 February) councillors identified a £1.8bn spending programme focused on investing in services for children, older residents and those most in need of support.
Labour’s Budget plans were passed with Conservative and Lib Dem support.
An increase in Council Tax rates will be used to balance the budget and to increase spending on frontline services like education, social care and road safety around schools; in direct response to calls from local residents during extensive budget consultation.
Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “Together we’ve been able to deliver a balanced budget and prioritise spend on the areas residents have told us they care about most, while staying true to the Council’s core commitments of tackling poverty and climate change and ‘getting the basics right’.
“We’ve updated our plans at every step, taking stock of the thousands of responses gathered during our public consultation calling for us to invest in our frontline services.
“Residents and community groups have been loud and clear that people want spending on schools and roads to be protected, sharing concerns about the local impact of the national social care crisis, and that they’d be willing to see Council Tax raised to make this happen.
“We’ve listened and we’ve gone further – agreeing record spend on over a dozen new and existing school buildings, specific funding for road safety around schools and substantial extra money for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership.
“We’ll be tackling Edinburgh’s housing and homelessness emergencies and investing in our communities, including money towards roads and a new Blackhall Library.
“For all that, we have had to make many difficult decisions to make substantial savings and I’m grateful to all Councillors for their input. We remain the lowest funded local authority in Scotland, and I will continue to call for fairer funding for Edinburgh.”
Finance and Resources Convener Cllr Mandy Watt said: “Residents are aware of the financial challenges we face following years of underfunding, and they’ve told us in their thousands that they want to see vital services protected and enhanced. I’m pleased that we’ll be able to use the £26 million raised from an 8% increase in Council Tax to protect and improve these services.
“Huge pressures on health and social care and housing remain unaddressed nationally and while this Budget does everything within our power to protect local services, we need greater action to be taken at a government level.
“A huge amount of work has taken place to consider our budget options, with detailed proposals reported to Committees and tweaked in the months leading up to today’s final decision. I’d like to thank Council officers for all their work on this.”
Lib-Dem votes ensured the Labour budget was passed. Group leader Cllr Kevin Lang said after the meeting: “Very proud of what the LibDems on Edinburgh Council have just achieved.
“Thanks to us , cuts to teachers and pupil support have been stopped, there’s a record budget for road safety projects and SNP plans to cut money for road and pavement repairs have been blocked (again).”
The SNP criticised the administration’s budget as lacking any vision for Edinburgh. SNP group leader Simita Kumar said before the meeting: “It’s pretty damning.
“Labour are just rubber-stamping officer proposals without adding any political direction, what’s the point of them being in power? Zero accountability, zero vision, and zero leadership.”
Substantial spend on schools
In the highest spending on school buildings in recent years, £296m will be invested towards five new campuses (Granton Waterfront, Newcraighall, St Catherine’s, Gilmerton Station and Builyeon), five extensions (Hillwood, Queensferry and Frogston primaries, plus Castlebrae and Craigmount high schools), plus a replacement building for Fox Covert.
The council will invest an additional £30m towards upgrading special needs schools, with improvements designed to allow as many pupils as possible to see their needs met locally.
An additional £6.6m will be spent on road safety, particularly around schools. A further £0.5m will be used to drive improvements in educational attainment and £1m will be invested in Holiday Hubs, with options to make this scheme more sustainable to be explored.
Funding will also be protected around enhanced pupil support bases, pathways for pupil support assistants, transition teachers and devolved school budgets.
Extra support for social care
Up to £66m will be spent on Health and Social Care facilities in light of increasing demands for services, a growing and aging population and the rising costs to the EIJB of delivering these services.
As part of this, councillors have agreed to set up a new Innovation and Transformation Fund – subject to match-funding by NHS Lothian – to leverage additional capital investment worth up to £16m.
Additional funding will provide support for Adult Health and Social Care worth £14m plus £5.6m will be put towards adaptations, to help people to live in their own homes independently.
Up to £2.5m from a Reform Reserve will be allocated to third sector support, plus income maximisation of £1m, following challenges with reduced funding available to charities and voluntary organisations from the EIJB.
More budget spent on roads
Responding to the results of the council’s budget consultation – where people said they’d like to see money spent on roads, Edinburgh will spend £40m on roads and transport in the year ahead.
Focusing on areas identified by a Women’s Safety survey, where certain parts of the city were described as feeling unsafe, as part of this spend the council will invest £12.5m this year and next improving roads, pavements, streetlights.
A further £6.6m will be invested in Safer Routes to School and travelling safely.
Prioritising our communities and climate
Councillors have committed to climate remaining a key priority and over the next 12 months and an additional £2.9m will support actions with city partners to address Edinburgh’s climate and nature emergencies.
Supporting a Just Transition, affordable, net zero housing including 3,500 new, sustainable homes in the £1.3bn transformation of Granton Waterfront will be taken forward.
An additional £15m is planned to sustainably replace Blackhall Library, which has been closed due to RAAC, while £0.5m will be used to increase enforcement to keep the city cleaner and safer. Around £0.5m will also be used to create better data to support local decision making.
Focused poverty prevention
Councillors have committed to accelerate the work of the End Poverty Edinburgh Action Plan, tackle the city’s Housing Emergency and review the way the council supports the third sector in Edinburgh.
Councillors agreed to continue to support the Regenerative Futures Fund which will help local communities to lead poverty prevention and deliver change.
The council will invest £50m in purchasing and building suitable temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
Following agreement of the Housing Revenue Account budget, Edinburgh will continue work to retrofit high rise blocks and spend £14.8m towards new affordable housing and upgrades to void properties, to get them back into use as homes.
Council rents will be raised by 7% to raise much needed new funds to upgrade housing, with Councillors also agreeing to increase the city’s Tenant Hardship Fund by 7% in line with this rent rise.
Changes to Council Tax
All Council Tax rates will rise by 8% from April 2025 to allow the above investment to take place. The new rates will be:
Edinburgh Libraries have held the official launch of a new recycling programme aimed at promoting sustainability and digital reuse across the city.
The service secured £23,000 in funding from the Public Library Improvement Fund, awarded by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), which supports innovative initiatives in areas such as digital upskilling, sustainability, and inclusivity.
This funding will allow Edinburgh Libraries to collaborate with Edinburgh Remakery to introduce Tech Donation Boxes to 15 libraries, these boxes will provide Edinburgh residents with an easy, welcoming, and accessible way to donate their old devices. Donated tech devices will be repaired and reused when possible or responsibly recycled when necessary, contributing to a circular economy and reducing electronic waste.
The programme was officially launched at Craigmillar Library this week (Tuesday 18 February), where attendees were introduced to the project and had the chance to participate in various activities, including a Making Jewellery with Recycled Materials workshop (featuring old computer parts, circuit boards, and more), a Climate Fresk Quiz, and an exhibition showcasing children’s crafts made from recycled materials.
Councillor Val Walker, Culture and Communities Convener said: “In 2023 Edinburgh Remakery tech boxes were hosted within two libraries – Central Library and Wester Hailes Library. The response from the public was fantastic, and the library service was successful in securing an award from Edinburgh Remakery for the high volume of donations received.
“Thanks to this new funding, we’re able to extend our partnership with the Edinburgh Remakery, working across 15 public libraries to host Tech Donation Boxes and expand the role of our libraries in promoting sustainability throughout the city.”
Elaine Brown, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Remakery, said: “At Edinburgh Remakery, we are passionate about giving old tech a second life, and this partnership with Edinburgh Libraries is a fantastic step towards a more sustainable and digitally inclusive city.
“By making tech donation easy and accessible, we are not only reducing electronic waste but also ensuring that more people can benefit from refurbished devices. Together, we are creating a future where waste is minimised, and resources are maximised for the benefit of our community.”
From January to October 2025, the boxes will be installed in batches of four:
January to March: Central, Craigmillar, South Queensferry and Oxgangs
April to June: Morningside, Portobello, Wester Hailes, Corstorphine
June to August: Muirhouse, Piershill, Fountainbridge, Newington
Businesses in Edinburgh are being invited to engage with dozens of Council services and business-facing partners face to face.
A Meet the Council event will be held on Tuesday 11 March at the Assembly Rooms on George Street between 10:00am and 2:00pm.
Local businesses are encouraged to register in advance to secure a space to the drop-in, with opportunities throughout the day to meet with key Council teams and hear about opportunities for business growth.
Offering a single point of access for business support, the event will bring together Council officers from:
• Building standards • Business Gateway • Commercial property • Cultural events • Economic development • Edinburgh Convention Bureau • Environmental health • Film Edinburgh • Forever Edinburgh • JET (Jobs, Education & Training) • Licensing • Non-Domestic Rates • Parental Employability Support • Planning • Procurement • The Edinburgh Employer Recruitment Incentive • The Edinburgh Guarantee • Trading standards • Visitor Levy
Throughout the day, external partners will also be on hand to present and share their expertise, including:
• Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, an independent membership organisation which supports over 1,000 organisations who employ more than 120,000 staff in the Capital • British Business Bank, a government-owned economic bank specialised in helping businesses in the UK access financial support • Federation of Small Businesses, a non-profit organisation that helps small businesses and the self-employed • Capital City Partnership, the anchor delivery body for Edinburgh’s employability strategy, working together to tackle inequality and poverty • Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network, which works to create opportunities for Edinburgh’s Social Enterprise community to develop and thrive • Forth Green Freeport, Scotland’s largest opportunity to deliver a just transition to net zero, to attract significant inward investment, to build international trade and export capability, and to create high quality and well paid jobs.
Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Edinburgh continues to have the strongest local economy outside of London and the highest number of registered Living Wage employers in Scotland.
“The entrepreneurialism, success and resilience of Edinburgh business owners contributes hugely to what makes our City of Edinburgh a unique and special place to live and work.
“We would like to work much more closely with the business community in offering meaningful support, understand more fully the views, concerns and aspirations of business owners and work jointly in securing a vibrant, sustainable, and resilient economic future for Edinburgh.
“We recognise that the current economic climate is challenging, and in working together with businesses and other partners, there is much we can do collectively to grow and sustain Edinburgh’s economy, promote the benefits of Fair Work, and become a fairer city for all. That’s why the Council is hosting this opportunity for businesses to meet us face-to-face and engage with our staff teams across a variety of services which support business.
“Whether you’re looking for advice on funding, navigating licensing, or exploring how we can support employers, this event is an ideal place to connect directly with the right people, who can provide the advice and support you need.”
The Meet the Council event is designed to support Edinburgh’s business community and help foster a thriving, greener, and fairer economy – as outlined in the Council’s Business Plan 2023-27.
Seafield to become ‘new environmentally friendly neighbourhood’
The city council is inviting residents to share their views on the regeneration of Seafield to make sure it responds to the needs and wishes of the local community.
As a key site for delivering the goals set out in the Edinburgh City Plan 2030, plans for the narrow stretch of land include a new promenade, GP surgery and opportunities for new shops and workplaces.
The coastal site could also include as many as 2,700 new homes, with 35% of homes being affordable, to address the Capital’s housing emergency. Future residents will benefit from the provision of a heat network which will help keep energy bills down whilst contributing to the city’s net zero targets.
The consultation, which closes on Wednesday 30 April 2025, will build on the first two stages of engagement and consultation carried out to date. Residents can attend a drop-in session to discuss the plans, or they can take part in an online survey via the Consultation Hub.
Planning Convener James Dalgleish said:“Our draft plan to transform Seafield into a new environmentally friendly neighbourhood will take us one step further to tackling our housing emergency and reaching net zero by 2030.
“This is a chance for residents to shape the future of the area – whether it’s about improving transport links, preserving green spaces or introducing new community facilities and we’re eager to hear everyone’s ideas for a Seafield that serves the whole community.
“I’d encourage everyone to share their views with us by filling in our online survey or coming along to one of our consultation drop-in events.”
The in-person events will take place on the following dates and times:
As part of the ongoing refurbishment of North Bridge, there will be a northbound closure for six weeks from Monday 17 February.
During this period traffic will only be permitted to proceed southbound (from Princes Street towards South Bridge).
The six-week closure is to undertake resurfacing on both the southbound approach to the bridge (both lanes outside Waverley Gate toward Princes Street) and the southbound departure of the bridge (both lanes from the entrance to the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton on North Bridge to the junction at High Street).
The wider work on North Bridge has included refurbishing the cast iron bridge facades, grit blasting and repainting structural steelwork, repairing and improving the footway paving and underdrainage amongst a host of other improvements. A full list of the improvements and the wider project benefits is on our website.
The council is targeting the end of this year for the end of major repair works.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson said: “I appreciate this temporary closure will be frustrating for our residents and businesses. I want to thank them for their continued patience as we carry out these essential works.
“These works are part of the wider project to restore this crucial link between the north and south of the city – and of course preserve it for future generations.
“I’m conscious that this work is taking longer to complete than we had initially anticipated, but this is this a hugely complex project, with the historic nature of the bridge requiring painstaking and specialist work to restore it to its former glory.”
It’s been over half a century since community councils came into existence in Scotland in 1973 – and in that time, we’ve seen over 1,200 established across the country (writes Culture and Communities Convener CLLR VAL WALKER).
These bodies are groups of residents who are passionate about their communities and play an important role in grassroots democracy.
Here in Edinburgh, the election period for our community councils has begun. Last week nominations opened to stand for election as a community councillor, this closes on 27 February. Following that we’ll hold an election only if there are more people nominated than places on the community council.
This is your chance to take a lead in your local area and make your community a better place. From campaigning on key local issues, organising meetings, chairing debates, looking out for vulnerable individuals and groups, to liaising with local and national representatives and much more – the life of a community councillor in the Capital is never ordinary.
I’m continually inspired by the stories I come across of community councils. In Lady Nairne, the Northfield and Willowbrae Community Council worked tirelessly to ensure that a solution was found when the previous 69 supported bus service ceased operations several years ago.
Following extensive engagement with ward councillors and Council officers a new route was implemented just in time for Christmas last year, which I know was a welcome gift to those residents who had long campaigned for its reinstation.
We’ve also seen Longstone Community Council lead a campaign to erect a new bridge to link their community to the Hutchison/Chesser community, as part of a new active travel project.
Initially a bridge was not part of these plans but following successful meetings with their ward councillor, Council officers and the developer some £170,000 worth of contributions were earmarked to support the delivery of the bridge. This will now go to consultation as part of the as the Longstone Link project.
These are just a couple of the many examples of the excellent work community councils are doing across our city every day. I’d encourage all residents to consider standing as a community councillor.
“From Pilton to Portobello, Muirhouse to Morningside and beyond, Edinburgh draws its strength from its people, and we need their views, ideas and expertise to move forward together.
Find out more about community councils and how to stand for election on CEC website.
Local Scottish Green MSP Lorna Slater is calling on Edinburgh to bid to be one of the first councils to sign up for the expansion of free school meals for thousands more S1 – S3 pupils.
The Scottish Greens have recently secured money for the expansion of free school meals to thousands of S1-S3 pupils who receive the Scottish Child Payment (SCP), starting with eight council areas in August 2025.
This builds on the ongoing rollout to P6 and P7 pupils who receive SCP and the previous extension to all P4 and P5 pupils, both of which were secured by Green MSPs during past rounds of budget negotiations.
Edinburgh currently has a child poverty rate of 20.4% and around 4,500 of S1-S3 pupils who receive the Scottish Child Payment, a support payment for families on low incomes.
By signing up to be one of the first councils to receive more free meals for pupils, thousands of local children and families will benefit.
Eight councils will be chosen for the initial rollout and the Scottish Greens will be pushing the Scottish Government to extend the project to all 32 council areas as soon as possible.
Lorna Slater the Scottish Greens MSP for Lothian said: “Children can’t learn if they’re hungry. Problems like classroom hunger simply should not exist in a country as wealthy as Scotland.
“As a result of this work by Green MSPs, thousands more pupils in S1-S3 will now get a free school meal. I hope Edinburgh will volunteer to be one of the first areas to provide these lunches.
“The Scottish Greens have always championed free school meals. This high school expansion builds on the work we’ve already done to provide more meals in primary schools.
“No pupils should have to learn on an empty stomach simply because they cannot afford a school lunch. Each and every child in Scotland should have what they need to do well at school, including a free and healthy lunch.”
