Choices for a future generation: building a more sustainable Edinburgh

By 2030, Scotland’s Capital will be a sustainable city which supports everyone’s wellbeing. Its residents will live in homes they can afford and won’t necessarily need to own a car to move around, while having every opportunity to share in their city’s success … (AYE, RIGHT! say Edinburgh residents!)

But this is how Edinburgh could be in a decade’s time, if it responds fully to the twin challenges of a rising population and the climate emergency and in the manner set out in a radical plan for future growth.

‘Choices for City Plan 2030’, published earlier this week, will be discussed by the Council’s Planning Committee on 22 January. It sets out bold options for the public to consider and comment on about how we manage future development so Edinburgh can adapt and flourish during a time of major change.

The wide-ranging document sets out options for how to the make best use of land for future development. It also addresses how the Council could tackle short term lets through new planning policies, in addition to the new regulatory powers announced last week by the Scottish Government following Edinburgh’s campaign to seek national legislation.

Views will also be sought on planning for and building more affordable housing, managing the growth of student housing, and whether all new buildings and conversions should meet the highest zero carbon standards to help Edinburgh meet its ambitious target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030.

In each section, the Council gives its preferred option for development as well as other alternatives.

If the ‘Choices’ document is agreed by committee, an eight-week public consultation will begin on 31 January.

Residents and other interested groups will have every opportunity to have their say with 17 public sessions and six themed events for stakeholders planned. Copies of the document will be available in libraries and online, where feedback can be left via the Council’s consultation hub.

‘Choices for City Plan 2030’ links closing with the Council’s ambitious draft City Mobility Plan, designed to improve sustainable transport over the next decade.

Cllr Neil Gardiner, Convener of the Planning Committee, said: “Edinburgh is a vibrant city, with a great quality of life. We have a beautiful green and historic environment, a thriving economy and numerous cultural attractions to be enjoyed.
“But, like many cities, we have increasing levels of poverty and health inequalities in our communities, rising housing costs and in some areas, traffic congestion and poor air quality.
“We also need to adapt our city to meet the needs of an aging population, address the increasing impact of climate change and ensure growth is sustainable.
“We need to have an open conversation with our residents, businesses and other stakeholders about how our city grows and changes to meet future needs where this growth takes place. City Plan 2030 is about us making the right choices now so that our residents can make reasonable and informed choices about how and where they live and how they get around in the future.
“We’re embarking on one of the most significant periods of transformation in a generation and we need to rethink the way we expand to accommodate our growing population. We’re already committed to building 20,000 affordable and low-cost homes by 2027 but the city needs more housing, with particular emphasis on affordable homes.
“The plan we finally publish will affect us all to some degree and it’s important that we hear from residents on this journey to accommodate future needs. The history of Edinburgh is about successfully adapting and evolving – now it’s our turn to come together to think about how we can plan most effectively for the future.”
Vice Convener, Cllr Maureen Child, added: “To meet our ambitious climate change targets, we must develop differently in the future and all houses and other buildings will need be much more energy efficient.
“We will work with our partners in the industry to ensure we make the best use of the limited space we have and, going forward, we’ll be asking developers to think more carefully about location, density and design. Where historically you may have built a supermarket on a brownfield site, we need to think of a mix of opportunities and uses for the site, including housing.
“Of course, connectivity is central to this and our Transport and Environment Committee today agreed an ambitious new draft City Mobility Plan, designed to improve sustainable transport over the next decade, while enabling the type of growth we’re aiming for in City Plan 2030.”
The proposed City Plan 2030 will be published by the Council for representation before being formally examined by the Scottish Government before the Council can consider adopting it.

Leith Walk consultation sessions

The city council are holding a series of public consultation events on the future of a development site at Leith Walk / Halmyre Street. The site area is shown on the plan below although the surrounding area will be considered in the consultations. Continue reading Leith Walk consultation sessions

City for Sale?

The commodification of our public places

One of the defining issues currently in front of the City of Edinburgh is how we value our public places. Should Princes Street Gardens be an oasis of green-ness and tranquillity, or should it be the city’s performance hub, the Go To place for happening events and Festival activities?

Should civic spaces be open for the unrestricted access of City dwellers and City visitors alike; or should they be a gated venue accessible only to ticket holders and promoters?

How we value public space is how we value the city overall. The Cockburn Association has been increasingly concerned about the commercialisation of our squares, our parks and our streets. We are concerned about the erosion of public investment in public places.

We are concerned that the voice of residents is decreasingly heard. We are concerned that this view is shared by many. Is this right?

As the city prepares numerous strategies and policies including City Plan 2030 (a new Local Development Plan) and a new Tourism Strategy, now is the time to galvanise opinion.

On Wednesday 22 January 2020, we will hold a Public Summit in the Central Hall, West Tollcross, open to all who share our concerns (and those who don’t too).

Save the Date. Further details will be available in early 2020.

Terry Levinthal

Director, The Cockburn Association

Edinburgh Civic Trust

 

Leith Walk SAVED!

VICTORY FOR COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNERS

The Leith community is celebrating news today that the Scottish Government’s Reporter has upheld the city council’s decision to reject Drum Property’s development plans for Leith Walk. It’s a huge victory for people power and in particular Save Leith Walk’s energetic grass roots community campaign. Continue reading Leith Walk SAVED!

Images reveal University’s plans for world-class sports village

Plans for a pioneering new sports complex have been unveiled by the University of Edinburgh. Proposals will see the sports village built on the University’s existing facilities at Peffermill Playing Fields. Continue reading Images reveal University’s plans for world-class sports village

£314 million City Centre transformation plan submitted for approval

A “game-changing” £314m plan to transform Edinburgh’s city centre over the next 10 years has been submitted for approval.

The Edinburgh City Centre Transformation Strategy (ECCT), which has been developed by the City of Edinburgh Council, already has full funding in place for the first five years. It is estimated the strategy will deliver £420m of benefits over a 25-year period through investment in improved public spaces, inclusive access and prioritisation of travel on foot, by bicycle and on public transport. Continue reading £314 million City Centre transformation plan submitted for approval

Councillors back Botanics’ Biomes project

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has won the backing of city councillors to proceed with an ambitious £70m initiative to safeguard Scotland’s priceless national plant collections and future proof its status as a world-leading centre for plant science, education, horticulture and conservation.

State-of-the-art facilities will underpin the Garden’s core activities, while the visitor experience will be greatly enhanced through the refurbishment and extension of the popular public Glasshouses. Continue reading Councillors back Botanics’ Biomes project

Leader sets out council’s six month programme

Council Leader Adam McVey describes the Capital Coalition’s programme for the next six months, which aims to deliver substantial progress for Edinburgh …

As we pass the midpoint of another bumper festival season, our focus rightly remains on making the case for new powers, such as a visitor levy, to support future investment and to manage the impact of tourism in the city – as well as a licensing regime to regulate short term lets.

There are now 12,000 Edinburgh properties listed on AirBnB alone and, earlier this summer, our enforcement team found a lettings company running 40 unauthorised residential lets in one block in Western Harbour.

Put simply: we need more power to take stronger action.

Major public realm projects like the re-imagination of George Street and its surrounding streets – which just scooped a fantastic £20m in Sustrans funding – as well as the City Centre Transformation, City Mobility Plan and proposals for Low Emission Zones are hugely ambitious and will move substantially ahead as we move towards Christmas.

As well as transforming the way we get around and spend time in our city, we also need to move with the times and respond to changing retail trends. Towards the end of the year we’ll report back on our ongoing major consultation on the future of retail in the city centre, including Princes Street, which aims to make sure we’re making the most of our world famous thoroughfare.

Autumn sees the Transport Bill reach its final stages in Parliament, which amongst other things, will give local government the power to decide on a Workplace Parking Levy.

We believe that these powers, which have been used to such great effect by Nottingham Council, will allow us to invest in better and more public transport, reduce congestion and help to improve air quality – all contributing towards achieving our super-ambitious (but achievable) target of becoming a net-zero carbon Capital by 2030.

Tackling poverty and inequality are also vital to enabling everyone to share in this great city’s success. The Poverty Commission, which we brought together late last year, is already taking great strides in its work and is due to bring back its final recommendations early next year. There is no doubt these will be challenging for us as council – just as they will be for the city as whole.

We are continuing to invest heavily in our young people and in the buildings where they learn. Over the summer we’ve carried out extensive repair and maintenance across our school estate alongside work on other Council facilities and buildings. And later this month we’ll see spades in the ground for a brand new primary school in Broomhills – Edinburgh’s first new primary school in a generation.

In Early Years, we’ve got 3,000 pupils already receivng the additional hours and have recruited 360 new staff to help plan for the full rollout of 1,140 funded hours next August, with 79 partner providers on board and five forest kindergartens up and running by late October to add to the mix.

Meanwhile, work is due to get under way on the new Castlebrae High School towards the end of 2019, and four new classrooms at Queensferry Primary School will open next month, when we also expect to hear if we’ve been successful in our bid for funding for the next wave of of new schools, with Currie top of the list.

Health and Social Care services and the way they’re delivered are set for a shake-up with the rollout of a bold new vision that is modern, sustainable and tackles inequality. The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board’s ‘Strategic Plan’ aims to take our health and social care services to a place where, for the first time, we have our own ‘Edinburgh Model’ of health care, best suited to our people and our communities.

Our ambitious house-building programme is delivering results across the city and along with our housing association partners we currently have 2,300 affordable homes under construction. This autumn, we’ll submit a masterplan to create an exceptional new neighbourhood on the land around the new Meadowbank Sports Centre, comprising mixed tenure housing with a minimum of 35% affordable homes for social and mid-market rent.

Before Christmas, we’ll consult on a pivotal strategy to inform the city’s future development – the City Plan 2030. Starting in December, the Choices for City Plan 2030 consultation will gather residents’ views to help shape a sustainable, inclusive and successful Edinburgh for generations to come.

Planning ahead for Edinburgh’s future, while simultaneously driving up service standards in the here and now is critical for us. It’s vital we get the basics right and we’re continuing to drive up performance in waste and cleansing services and in our roads. Meanwhile, we’ll work to improve further on our best road condition score since 2014; major roads resurfacing schemes this financial year include £2m worth of investment in Lothian Road, Gilmerton Road, Portobello Road and Liberton Gardens.

Our 2050 Edinburgh City Vision will launch later this year having had the highest response of any previous engagement activity ever conducted by the Council with nearly 55,000 distinct visions were received from residents and organisations.

So, the next six months will be busy. A new vision for the city, substantial progress on the delivery of our Programme for the Capital and further improvement in the core services that we all rely upon. We remain committed to ensuring all residents can all share in its success with an inclusive economy and City.

As we move towards the half way point of our administration, we’ve not lost sight or drive in delivering on that agenda.

The council leader himself will be absent for part of that six months, of course. Adam and his partner have adopted two boys and Councillor McVey, Edinburgh’s youngest ever council leader, is taking a six-week paternity break from council duties – he’ll be back in October.