Keir condemns development plan delay

‘There was chaos over Local Development Plan 1 and now the same thing is happening over LDP2’ – Colin Keir MSP

cammoEdinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir has accused the city council’s planning convener of incompetence following news that the City Of Edinburgh Council has deferred decisions relating to the Local Development Plan (LDP2). 

The announcement that the decision on the Local Development Plan, which was due next week, has now been put off until after the General Election in May has been received with anger in Edinburgh Western – which contains the contentious Cammo and Maybury development sites along with other controversial development proposals at South Queensferry.

Mr Keir said: “There are serious questions to be asked of Convener of the Planning Committee Councillor Perry and senior planning officials. There was chaos over LDP1 and now the same thing is happening over LDP2.

“Thanks to Councillor Perry’s actions, my constituents particularly those in Cammo, Maybury, Corstorphine and South Queensferry, can look forward to even more uncertainty due to an avalanche of presumptive planning applications which are sure to follow the non-determination of LDP2.

“Councillor Perry has either shown a serious lack of competence and leadership on this or he is playing party politics with the daily lives of residents and the prosperity of the city. Where is the joined up thinking, what discussions have there been relating to transport and pollution management? These are questions residents need answers to. It’s time for Councillor Perry and the Labour Party to come clean with residents of Edinburgh West and the city as a whole”.

Mr Keir has consistently opposed the proposals to develop green field sites at Cammo and Maybury. He has also raised concerns over the number of new developments proposed for South Queensferry which were only introduced into the LDP last year.

The LDP process has been in development since 2011.

Keir concerns over Local Plan

‘I fear traffic gridlock, major health issues and the holding back of the economic potential of our capital city and nation’ – Colin Keir MSP.

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Edinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir has written to to Cllr Lesley Hinds, Convener of Transport & Environment at the City of Edinburgh Council, to express his fears over the latest Local Plan.

Mr Keir raises concerns over the ability of the existing roads network to cope with all of the proposed housing sites being released for development and also expresses fears over pollution and air quality.

In his submission Mr Keir states: “The city of Edinburgh is an economic driver for Scotland. We know that every town and city must grow. The difficulty our city has is that there is no connected vision between development and methods of sustainable transport that anyone is aware of in relation to the west of the city.”

The city council is expected to make a decision on the Local Development Plan on 26 February.

Lesley Hinds LDP letter