Tag: Queensferry

Council consults on sustainable transport connections across city

Views are being sought on proposals to improve walking, wheeling and cycling, plus public transport links, parks and public spaces, around new and future residential developments across the city.

Plans have been developed for four neighbourhoods identified as significant areas of new residential development in Edinburgh’s Local Development Plan – Leith, Lochend and Easter Road, Queensferry and Burdiehouse.

Amongst the potential measures are walking, cycling and public realm upgrades complementing changes already proposed through the Leith Connections project, pavement widening, dropped kerbs and placemaking improvements around Lochend and Easter Road and segregated cycle lanes and enhanced crossings in the Burdiehouse area.

These have been drawn up in close collaboration with the Council’s public transport team and in discussion with bus operators – improving access to bus stops is an important component of the schemes.

In Queensferry, changes in the Echline Estate, the Builyeon Road development, Viewforth Road, Scotstoun Avenue and Queensferry High School would make it easier and more pleasant to travel by foot, wheel or bike, especially to Dalmeny station and a planned new primary school at Builyeon Road.

A new linear park would be introduced on part of the current Builyeon Road route as well as ‘pocket parks’ and tree-planting.

Proposals support Edinburgh’s City Mobility Plan by encouraging people to make healthier, more sustainable transport choices, and align to our 20-minute neighbourhood strategy. This aims to help residents meet their daily needs within 20 minutes of their homes by walking, using public transport, wheeling or cycling.

Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Over the coming years we’re going to see tens of thousands of new houses built in Edinburgh, and it’s essential that we support residents in these homes, and those living nearby, to make healthy, sustainable transport choices.

“These proposals target areas where new developments are planned or are already underway and look to make improvements or introduce new infrastructure – like cycle lanes, widened pavements and safer crossings – to help people move around their neighbourhood, and further afield, by foot, wheel or bike.

“It’s crucial that we support travel by bus, tram and train as well as active travel, which is why we’ve worked closely with our public transport team and with providers to develop these plans – for example they will significantly improve access to bus stops and will transform travel on foot and bike from the Builyeon Road area in Queensferry to Dalmeny rail station.

“Recent research has shown that most people would walk, wheel or cycle more if they could access local amenities more easily. We need to encourage this kind of behaviour change if we are to achieve net zero goals, healthier lifestyles and a more pleasant city for future generations.

“This is how things used to be, and it is a great way of supporting local jobs. People’s feedback and ideas will be really important as the Council develops these proposals, and I’ll also be working closely with local councillors to ensure your voice is heard.”

Four separate consultations will run until 17 July and feedback will help inform the design process in each of the areas.

Drop-in events, where people can view proposals and provide feedback, will take place over the period of the consultations. Proposals for Queensferry will be on show at Queensferry Community Centre on 30 June (3pm to 7pm) and for Burdiehouse at Valley Park Community Centre on 30 June (3.30pm to 7.15pm). Further drop-ins are being arranged and will be announced in the coming weeks and publicised on the Council’s consultation web pages.

In Leith, proposals form phase three of Leith Connections. Consultations have already been undertaken on recommendations for phase one, a high-quality cycle track between Foot of the Walk and Ocean Terminal, and phase two, a low traffic neighbourhood where through traffic is removed and new community spaces are created.

View the full proposals and take part in the consultations online:

Walk Wheel Cycle Burdiehouse 
Queensferry – walking, wheeling and cycling improvements 
Lochend and Easter Road – walking, wheeling and cycling improvements 
Leith Connections: Phase 3 west – east proposals.

Community support as CALA subits application for expansion of Queensferry community

A DETAILED masterplan for a major mixed-use development between the approaches for both of the Forth road crossings has been submitted.

CALA Homes (East) will lodge proposals for 980 homes, a new primary school, as well as provision for a care home, foodstore, drive-thru restaurants and petrol station, south of Builyeon Road on the southern edge of Queensferry.

The designs have been heavily shaped following engagement from the local community, spearheaded by the Queensferry District Community Council (QDCC) and including a well-attended online consultation event in October 2020.

Identified in the Local Development Plan, the development received Planning Permission in Principle on 15th June 2021. The approval is conditional upon a new Masterplan, and the CALA submission provides the additional details required for full planning approval.

In addition, CALA has submitted two further proposals, including new commercial and retail sites, as well as a care home.

Derek Lawson, Strategic Land Director with CALA Homes (East), said: “We fully recognise that this is a significant expansion of the Queensferry community – and one that has been on the cards for many years.

“With that in mind, the community and in particular the QDCC has been heavily involved throughout the planning and design process. This has helped us to shape and adapt proposals for a mixed use development appropriate to the location of the site within Queensferry.”

Keith Giblett, Chair of Queensferry and District Community Council, said: “We were originally critical of the previous masterplan for the site led by the former landowners. However, since CALA became involved we have seen positive progress, as they have listened to local opinion and taken this on board.

“If the plans are approved, we expect CALA to continue working with the community to ensure that the benefits of development are maximised locally.

“The Builyeon Road site is the culmination of sizeable housing allocated to Queensferry by City of Edinburgh Council, and we look forward to receiving clarification from the Council on how the sizeable financial contributions obtained from the various developments will be spent in our community, providing much needed improvements both diligently and timely such that the community can see the immediate benefits.”

Total section 75 (planning gain) contributions for the Builyeon Road site will exceed £11 million – which in addition to the delivery of a new primary school and local transportation improvements, sees significant contributions put towards other education provision and healthcare within Queensferry.

For more information on the plans at Builyeon Road, please visit: 

www.cala-builyeonroad.co.uk.

Forth Bridge Raid exhibition opens

Areial shot Queensferry Museum picThe story of the first German air attacks to hit Britain, The Forth Bridge Raid, will be chronicled at a new exhibition which opened today at the Queensferry Museum.

The pop-up display features photographs, film footage, and eyewitness accounts of the deadly air raid, which saw German bomber planes attack three ships on the Firth of Forth – HMS Edinburgh, HMS Southampton and HMS Mohawk.

During the attack, passengers on the train crossing the Forth Bridge at the time could witness explosions over the waters. The raid left 24 men dead and 44 injured, and four German airmen were captured and taken as prisoners of war to Edinburgh Castle.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The Forth Bridge Raid was a dark moment in Queensferry’s history. It also struck a chord across the country and people felt the impact of the war in Britain as the losses were reported. It’s important this story isn’t forgotten and The Forth Bridge Raid exhibition is a reminder to those local people who know about the events that took place, and an interactive way to introduce the history of WW2 in Scotland to younger generations.

“Queensferry Museum is free to enter and it’s great to be able to work with local people and organisations like Queensferry Tours to chronicle the history and customs of the local area. We are also trialling a small display called War Time Queensferry in the local library, and should these partnerships prove a hit with visitors we will look at introducing more pop-up exhibitions.”GiffordThe display has been curated by Mark Taylor from Queensferry Tours, which provides historic walking tours through the old Royal Burgh town of Queensferry. Mark was struck by how little isknown and has been told about the Forth Bridge air raid. He said: “This pop-up exhibition will be displayed in Queensferry Museum and I am delighted that the Council’s Museums Service has allowed me to tell the story of the Forth Bridge Raid. For such a landmark event at the beginning of WW2 it seems to me a story that merits re-telling. It was the first time Spitfires were ever used in combat – an important event that should not be forgotten and it all happened here, above our Forth Bridge.”

Edward Thomson, an eye witness who was 10-years-old and travelling by train over the Forth Bridge at the time, said: “I was a passenger on the Dundee section of an Edinburgh to Aberdeen train which had just entered the first arch at the southern end of the bridge. The next stop was to be Leuchars Junction. I was in the corridor with an older boy called Jack Thomas from Edinburgh. We were looking downstream to the right of the carriage and were trying to identify some of the fleet at anchor below the bridge. Almost simultaneously there was a giant waterspout as high as the bridge alongside one of the capital ships and a barge tied up alongside; it seemed to fly up in the air! The German bombers were in plain sight only a short distance away flying parallel to the bridge.”

The exhibition, The Forth Bridge Raid, will be on display until 1 June 2015. The Queensferry Museum is free to enter and open Thursday through to Monday (closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).

Photographs: Queensferry Museum