Consultation and Engagement Hub

Welcome to the City of Edinburgh Council Consultation and Engagement Hub. This site will help you to find and participate in consultation and engagement activities that interest you.

Featured activities

  • Actions to deliver Edinburgh’s City Mobility Plan

    We approved the City Mobility Plan for Edinburgh in February 2021. Our vision is for people, goods and services to be able to move into and around Edinburgh in a way that is safe, sustainable, efficient and can benefit everyone. We have an ambitious 2030 target to lower the number of kilometres travelled by car in Edinburgh by 30%. Edinburgh also aims to achieve Net Zero by 2030. We understand that some people will still need to make certain journeys by car and for...

    Closes 9 July 2023

Forthcoming activities

  • Community Payback Consultation 2023

    We want to hear your views on Community Payback Orders (CPO). These are given out by the Court to people to pay for their crimes as an alternative to a prison sentence. In particular, we want to know what you think about the unpaid work part of a CPO, which...

    Opens 19 June 2023

Closed activities

  • Dreach Plana Gàidhlig 2023-27 / Draft Gaelic Language Plan 2023-27

    Fo Achd na Gàidhlig (Alba) 2005, tha dleastanas reachdail air Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann taic a chumail ris a’ Ghàidhlig tro leasachadh Plana Gàidhlig gus dèanamh cinnteach gun lean a’ Ghàidhlig a’ soirbheachadh. Is e seo an treas plana aig a’ Chomhairle, a’ mìneachadh na h-ath ìre de dh’obair...

    Closed 6 May 2023

  • Essential users and carers parking permit consultation

    Essential Users Permit (EUP) Holders If you’re an existing EUP holder we want to know your views on how the scheme currently operates and if you have any suggestions on how it could be improved. Carers Whether you’re a paid or unpaid carer we’re proposing to introduce two new...

    Closed 30 April 2023

  • Portobello - Living Well Locally

    We are seeking your views on the streets, public spaces and local facilities that exist in Portobello town centre and the local area. Do they look and function as well as you would like? This project is part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s 20-minute neighbourhood strategy which is...

    Closed 14 April 2023

  • Taxi Fare Review 2023 - proposed tariff

    The City of Edinburgh Council reviews taxi fares every 18 months and must consult on any proposals to change the taxi fare tariff. The suggested new taxi tariff includes the following changes: an increase of 20% on Tariffs 1 and 2; and an increase of 15% on Tariffs 3 and 4.

    Closed 5 April 2023

  • New Newcraighall Primary School

    PAN Application Public Events A new Newcraighall Primary School, which will replace the existing Newcraighall Primary School, is currently being developed on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council. The following information responds to the Planning Regulation requirements for major...

    Closed 31 March 2023

We Asked, You Said, We Did

Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes

We asked

Every year the City of Edinburgh Council’s housing rent consultation gathers tenant views on their experience of the housing service and presents options for setting the next year’s rent levels. 

Tenants were presented with three rent increase options this year: 0%, 2.5% and 5%. The consultation explained the impact the different options would have on delivery of key commitments, including meeting Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing 2 (EESSH2) and our ability to build new homes.

In addition to these this year we also asked more detailed questions on cost of living difficulties and what issues were most affecting our tenants.

You said

We received 1,040 responses for the 2023/24 consultation – 40 through our online survey and 1,000 through a dedicated telephone survey of randomly selected tenants asking the exact same questions as in the online survey.

Just over half (53%) of the respondents supported a rent freeze for a third year in a row. Almost 70% of those who voted for a rent freeze get help with paying their rent through benefits. Therefore, any increase in rents would be covered through a proportionate increase in benefits (assuming tenants’ circumstances have not changed). 47% of tenants agreed that rents should be increased in 2023/24, with almost a third (31%) of respondents voting for a 2.5% increase and 16% supported a 5% increase.

Around 10% of tenants felt that rents were not value for money. 64% of respondents were aware of the previous two-year rent freezes.

35% of tenants surveyed said they were finding rent more difficult to pay for. Around a third (31%) sought additional help, with over half of those tenants speaking to their housing officer. The second and third most popular places for support were the Council’s Income Maximisation Service and Citizens Advice Bureau.

The majority of respondents highlighted that food (70%) and energy bills (77%) were becoming increasingly difficult to pay for. 23% of tenants said they had been consciously reducing their energy usage to save money. 31% of tenants also commented that their home quickly becomes cold once their heating has been turned off.

We did

The Housing Account (HRA) Budget Strategy 2023/24 - 2032/33 was considered by City of Edinburgh Council at its budget meeting on 23 February 2023.

After two years of freezes, any increase in rents would be a positive step in getting the business plan to a position to be able to deliver Council commitments, whilst keep rents affordable and any increases well below inflation.

Council agreed a 3% rent increase in 2023/24 and noted that based on 3% rent increase per annum over the next ten years, around 86% of existing homes could be brought up to Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2) over the lifetime of the business plan and that c.2,400 new social rented homes could be delivered. Council also agreed to set up a Tenant Hardship Fund to support tenants experiencing financial hardship, including those who cannot access benefits.

We asked

We created a masterplan for regenerating Inch Park following meetings, workshops and other events that we held from summer 2021 with organisations based in and around Inch Park including:

  • Inch Community Association
  • Inch Park Community Sports Clubs
  • Gilmerton and Inch Community Council
  • Liberton and District Community Council
  • Bridgend Farmhouse

We also worked with local councillors and reported on the proposals to the Fair Work, Housing and Homelessness Committee on 23 June 2022.

We bid for funding for the proposals from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund in summer 2022. On 19 January 2023, the UK Government announced its decisions. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful.

We always intended to bid to other potential funders to regenerate Inch Park and House and at time of writing are considering the next steps.

We held a public consultation on the draft masterplan for Inch Park between 3 August 2022 and 31 October 2022. The documents for the consultation including the masterplan can be found here.

You said

  • 148 people or organisations gave views on Inch Park masterplanning via the Hub. A further 9 people gave views by email.
  • Over 87% of all participants said that overall, their thoughts on the draft Inch Park Masterplan were very positive or positive. 
  • Of the more than 112 commentaries received, many were detailed and most were expressed as positive suggestions, in line with the overall pattern of responses.
  • A significant overall theme in comments was on the need for careful and thoughtful design in the next masterplanning phase to get the right balance and placing of different elements.

We did

We will provide a more detailed update on the outcome of the consultation on this website early in the New Year. In the meantime we would like to thank everyone who responded to the consultation.

We are already considering the comments made with a view to taking account of them in the next phase of the project. If in time we are successful with funding bids, we will be able to move to a detailed design phase.  Depending on how things develop, it may be necessary to make a formal planning application at a later stage.

We asked

The City of Edinburgh Council’s (CEC) 2030 Climate Strategy was published in December 2021 after a live version of the strategy was agreed by city partners to enable priority actions to be progressed as part of the council’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency. The Council was required to publish a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of this strategy and to consult on both the strategy and the SEA.

You said

All comments received from the Consultation Authorities and the response to these comments were published by City of Edinburgh Council’s Policy and Sustainability Committee on 17 November 2022.

We did

There were no new, removed or significantly altered actions as a result of consultation responses to the Strategy therefore there was no requirement to revise the Environmental Report on this basis. More information about what was said and what actions are planned is available in sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the SEA Post Adoption Statement - a download link is included below.