Princes Street and the Waverley Valley

The Waverley Station place brief builds on Network Rail’s stage one masterplan, which was subject to public consultation and liaison between Network Rail, the Council and Transport Scotland.

The following place principles and supporting plan set out the Council’s key requirements for the masterplan, as follows:

• strengthen interchange with public transport services, including bus, tram (and future tram safeguards) taxi, cycle hire, and provide secure and accessible cycle parking.
• respect the station’s setting and historic assets, its simple roofscape and relationship with the city, including the valley views, outward views from the station, and the passenger experience of arriving/departing Edinburgh.
• within the station, enhance the setting of key component features, such as the Booking Hall and Offices.
• enhance accessibility through multiple step-free entrances and retain the internal civic walking and wheeling link between East Market Street and Princes Street.
• maximise the contribution to the Council’s net zero 2030 and car kilometre reduction targets.
• deliver positive effects for biodiversity within the Waverley Valley.
• bring forward public realm improvements to benefit place and accessibility.
• modernise the station’s retail, food and drink offer, to complement but not compete with the wider city centre.
• set out arrangements for servicing that minimise impacts on adjacent streets and public realm.
• re-use downtakings that contribute to the Station’s character elsewhere on site or within the public realm.
• retain publicly accessible toilets.

The Council’s City Centre Transformation Strategy has already agreed the following principles which are also included in the place brief.

• Waverley Bridge arrival plaza
• north-south walking, wheeling and cycling link across the east end of the valley, maintaining access outwith revenue protection barriers
• enhanced vertical connections with the Old and New Towns.

Scotland’s Railway has a Sustainable Travel to Stations strategy (STtS), which has a mission to grow the number of journeys passengers make to and from local neighbourhoods to the railway station, by healthy and sustainable modes of transport: walking, wheeling, cycling, ion-demand transport and bus.

The STtS sets the following national targets:

• Walking and wheeling: increase walking/wheeling trips to stations from 33% in 2022 to 50% in 2035. From 21 million in 2022 to 95 million trips in 2035.
• Cycling: increase cycling trips to stations from 9% in 2022 to 20% in 2035. From 6 million trips in 2022 to 38 million trips in 2035.
• Bus: increase bus trips to stations from 14% in 2022 to 20% in 2035. From 9 million trips in 2022 38 million trips in 2035.
• Private car: reduce percentage driving/being driven to stations from 27% in 2022 to 10% in 2035.

To reduce carbon emissions and meet the city’s 2030 net zero carbon emissions target, the Council’s City Mobility Plan has targets for different modes of travel and seeks a 30% reduction in kilometres travelled by car by Edinburgh residents over the next decade.

• Land uses should reflect the Old Town and Station contexts, complementing New Waverley and shops and cafes at Sibbald Walk and The Arches.

Buildings should be of appropriate scale to:

• respect the valley landform, grading in layers down from the Royal Mile to Calton Road.
• provide active frontages to Market Street, broken up by public realm and views to the New Town and Calton Hill.
• articulate the roofscape, enhancing views across and along the valley, avoiding large flat roofs with plant housed within the building form.
• create a network of public realm, including civic space, public gardens, street trees and rain gardens.

As part of any future redevelopment of Waverley Market, regard will be given to:

• protection of publicly accessible open space and creation of inclusive public realm.
• legal height restrictions apply to built form. The roofscape of the 1980s Waverley Market building was deliberately kept low to preserve open views from Princes Street’s pavements.
• the role of the civic space as a setting for Listed Buildings and its contribution to designated areas, including the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site.
• retention of open views to and from the site, including outward views to the Castle, Old Town ridge and Arthur’s Seat from Princes Street’s pavements and the roof terrace.
• widening the pavement to the south side of Princes Street and creating a wide set-back to the roof terrace to ease crowding and provide more space for people walking, wheeling and accessing public transport.
• lighting improvements to promote a safe and welcoming space balanced with areas of darkness within the wider Waverley Valley.
• providing a balance of street trees and planting alongside paved civic space, as a contemporary response to the Market’s historic rooftop garden and to further biodiversity.