Planning for the right choices on our city’s future - Cllr Neil Gardiner

None of us could have known how the world was about to change when we embarked on our ‘Choices’ consultation, we need to make sure the way we accommodate our growing population adapts to future needs.

I think as a nation we’re now embarking on the most significant period of transformation in a generation, the plan we publish for Edinburgh will help us to meet this challenge. Earlier this year we consulted on ‘Choices for City Plan 2030’ and we asked you to tell us what you thought about a number of major issues we face.

We want to make sure we have well-connected communities well-equipped with facilities, where you won’t necessarily need a car to get around. We’ll be linking closely with our ambitious new draft City Mobility Plan, designed to improve sustainable transport over the next decade.

Sustainability will drive every decision me make for our proposed plan. We set out different options for how to make best use of land for future development. Our preference is for development to be concentrated on underused well connected ‘brownfield’ land within the urban area. Mixed-use developments can bring employment and community facilities and high-quality green spaces near to where people live. We also asked whether all new buildings and conversions should meet the highest zero carbon standards, helping Edinburgh meet its ambitious target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030.

When asking you about the rise in short term lets there was overwhelming support for proposed new control areas. If new legislation is implemented by the Scottish Government next spring, Edinburgh will bring forward proposals for control areas where properties being let out will automatically require to have ‘change of use’ planning permission in place. This is in addition to the licensing powers expected to be brought in next year following your city’s successful campaign for new legislation.

We want everyone to live in a home they can afford, we’re already committed to building 20,000 affordable and low-cost homes by 2028. We asked you about our plan to build more affordable housing. Our city will always be attractive to students so we asked you how we manage the growth in student accommodation.

I’d like to thank the nearly 2,000 people who responded with their views and those who attended community events or engaged online. Originally, we were going to consider the proposed plan at committee today but some important technical reports relating to housing, West Edinburgh, transport and flooding aren’t fully complete due to disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s vital we have this information to make sure we propose the best plan to support everyone’s future wellbeing, so we’ll now consider the proposed plan at committee in February.

After this we’ll then move into what’s called the period of representations. We’ll let you know nearer the time how you can get involved in this, as we follow latest health guidance. There are then several other procedural steps to follow and we hope to have an adopted plan by spring 2022, helping our city on its path to building back better.

Cllr Neil Gardiner is Planning Convener on Edinburgh Council