We Asked, You Said, We Did

We wanted to hear your views on design proposals for restoring Lindsay Road Bridge in Newhaven. The bridge has been closed to all users since November 2021 due to its poor condition.

Prior to its closure, the bridge was used as a link for walking, wheeling and cycling between North Fort Street and Lindsay Road. It was also used in recent years as a community space and outdoor seating area. A community-backed project painted the bridge in rainbow colours in August/September 2021, which led to the bridge being referred to locally as the ‘Pride’ or ‘Rainbow’ Bridge.

A project to design a replacement bridge deck and community space has been funded Sustrans Places for Everyone Fund. The design aims to:

• re-establish a direct, safe and segregated active travel route for commuters, local residents and businesses;
• restore a well-used community space; and
• reinstate an important LGBTQ+ landmark.

To ensure the project meets the needs of the community, consultation on the proposals took place between 22 February 2024 and 4 April 2024. People were invited to share their views via an online survey, two public information/drop-in sessions and a Youth Group Meeting hosted by LGBT Youth Scotland. There were also discussions with a range of consultees and stakeholders.

The consultation was advertised via social media, press releases, local advertising and leaflet drops.

There were 910 responses to the online survey, with 179 people attending the information sessions.

• 77% of the survey respondents felt that they would likely walk or wheel more short journeys due to the proposals.
• There was a positive response to the plans to restore an accessible active travel route, create an improved public realm and maintain the LGBTQ+ artwork and symbolism.
• The bridge continuing to be used as a community space was strongly supported. The online survey highlighted that environmental features (72.97%) and meeting spaces with seating and planting (70.66%) would be valued.
• There were requests for artwork or interpretation boards related to the bridge’s history or LGBTQ+ theme, which could enhance the bridge's aesthetics and functionality. History plaques documenting the history of the bridge were also a popular feature highted by the online survey (73.19%).
• A preferred parapet design option was chosen by respondents to the online survey.
• Concerns of the impact of the pride/rainbow surfacing on users who are neurodivergent or have neurodegenerative conditions were raised. It was also noted that the colour scheme does not match the order of the Progress Pride flag.
• Concerns were raised about the potential tree losses and impact on green spaces due to the project.
• There were also concerns about relocating the sports court to accommodate the amphitheatre/stepped access.
• Lighting was highlighted as an important feature to be included in the design.

Based on the feedback received, we have revised the design proposals. The main changes are:

• Proposed changes to ‘Pride’ surfacing including the corrected colour order.
• Reduced sized amphitheatre/steps, which will reduce its impact on greenspace and avoid the need to relocate the sports courts, while still providing an enlarged community space/seating area.
• A ramp access will not be progressed, which would have had a significant impact on greenspace and result in the loss of several trees.
• Existing ramped accesses can still be utilised.
• The chosen parapet design from the online survey will be used.
• Lighting will be provided.
• Any tree losses will be minimised. Additional planting and environment features such as bird/bat boxes will be included in the design.

The next steps are:

• Complete design of proposals.
• Further consultation with the community, accessibility organisations and specialist agencies to ensure the ‘Pride’ surfacing is aesthetically pleasing and inclusive.
• Further consultation with the community to create interpretation boards, which was a key outcome from this engagement.
• Apply for planning permission for the design.
• Apply to Transport Scotland for construction funding (Expected 2025).

We have been developing designs to improve five junctions along the Roseburn to South Gyle route (Quiet Route 9), focussing on three sites in the Balgreen area - sites H, I and J.

With these improvements we aimed to:

• make the streets safer and easier to use for anyone walking, wheeling or cycling
• connect to other routes in the area, including the City Centre West to East Link and the Roseburn to Union Canal link.

We asked for your views on the proposals to help us shape final designs.

We received 779 responses.

There was support for:

• enhancing crossings for pedestrians and cyclists
• potentially reducing traffic speeds
• enhancing the public realm.

There concerns raised about:

• cost of construction and maintenance
• perceived low priority/necessity of the proposed work
• displacement of traffic to other parts of the neighbourhood
• additional pressure on parking spaces, especially during events at Murrayfield Stadium.

While support did vary, the majority of comments received were either opposed or strongly opposed to the proposed improvements at all three sites.

We have listened to your feedback and taken into account the Our Future Streets: a circulation plan for Edinburgh, which was agreed by our Transport and Environment Committee earlier this year.

With wider plans for improvements along the A8, from Roseburn to Maybury roundabout, we have decided to indefinitely suspend any further work on developing these proposals and re-allocate resources to other projects. The work completed to date will be filed to ensure it is available to support any future developments at these locations.

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.

This year tenants were presented with three rent increase options: 4.1%, 5.0% and 8.4%.  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, we also asked whether tenants would agree with a higher rent ‘premium’ being charged for newly built and/or newly modernised social rented homes.

With many tenants experiencing increased financial pressures as a result of the pandemic and recent cost-of-living crisis, the consultation also asked about tenants’ experiences when seeking advice and support to pay their rents and suggestions for improvement.

We received 1,159 responses through our online and postal survey.  This was the highest number of responses ever received and was a 160% increase from the previous high of 445 received for the 2022/23 budget consultation. 

We also received 1,000 responses through a dedicated telephone survey of randomly selected tenants, who were asked the same rent related questions as those in the online and postal survey. 

After the removal of duplicated entries from tenants who responded through the online/postal survey as well as the commissioned phone survey, just under 2,100 (around 10% of all tenants) responses were considered. It should be noted that not all tenants answered all of the questions.

Of the three rent increase options consulted on, around two thirds of respondents (66%) voted for a 4.1% per year rent increase for the next five years, 25% of respondents voted for a 5.0% per year rent increase for the next five years, and 9% voted for 8.4% per year rent increase for the next five years.

Comments from tenants showed that there was understanding of the need to increase rents to pay for the increased costs. However, financial pressure from the cost-of-living crisis and affordability remained a concern to some tenants. Some tenants felt that rent should only be increased if the standards of homes, repairs and services were improved.

Nearly 60% of the respondents agreed that the Council should consider charging a higher rent for new built homes (26%), newly modernised homes (3%) or both new built and newly modernised homes (29%). While there was general support for continuing investment on building new homes, tenants believed investment priority should be given to improving existing homes.

The rent consultation also found that just over a third (34%) of the respondents had found it more difficult to pay their rent over the last 12 months, but only 42% of them had sought advice or help to assist with paying the rents.  For those who had sought advice or help, the majority (55%) were very or fairly satisfied that the assistance they received met their needs. Tenants commented that it was important to promote the advice and support available regularly and that the information needed to be more accessible.

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget Strategy 2024/25 - 2028/29 was considered by City of Edinburgh Council at its budget meeting on 22 February 2024.

After two years of rent freezes followed by a 3% rent increase last year, officers recommended that rents be increased by 8.4% in 2024/25 (year one of a five-year rent strategy; requiring annual increases of 8.4% for the subsequent four years).  This was in order to deliver the pre-Covid investment plan and ensure the HRA remained in a healthy financial position.

Council agreed a 7% rent increase for each of the next five years in 2024/25 to 2028/29, with an assumption that 7% a year rent increase over the following five years would also be required to achieve the outputs indicated in the draft ten-year capital investment programme – to bring all Council homes up to Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing 2 (EESSH2) standards over the lifetime of the business plan and deliver 3,560 new social rented homes over the next ten years.

Council also approved the continuation of the Tenant Hardship Fund to support tenants experiencing financial hardship, including those who cannot access benefits.

We undertook a consultation to determine the level of support for a range of proposals to be included within the Activity Hub re-development of the disused bowling greens at Leith Links. This consultation also explored feedback and opinions towards transforming the pavilion into a café, toilet and community space. Prior to the survey on our consultation hub we delivered an activity hub consultation day at the bowling greens at Leith Links where we engaged a range of groups and local people and publicised the activity hub development. Some of these organisations and groups based in and around Leith included:

• Community council
• YMCA
• Earth in Common
• Primary and Secondary schools
• Area Councillors
• Local residents

This consultation progresses the original 2022 Leith Links masterplan which proposed the re-development of the bowling greens into an Activity Hub.

We held a public consultation on the proposed designs for the Activity Hub between 6 September 2023 and 21 October 2023.  

• Over 100 people attended our Activity Hub consultation day at the Leith Links bowling greens on 9 September 2023.
• 1082 people responded to our consultation via the hub.
• 92% of responses strongly agreed or agreed with transforming the vacant pavilion into a café with community space and toilets.
• 51% of responses strongly agreed or agreed that the café should have multiple levels.
• 84% of responses supported the proposed designs for the activity hub.
• 90% of responses strongly agreed or agreed that the activity proposals suit a range of user groups of different ages, abilities and interests.
• In addition to the skatepark which was already consulted on as part of the Leith Links Masterplan, the top 3 ranked activities for the hub were a pump track/bike trail, bouldering rocks and roller rink, respectively.
• Significant themes from feedback stressed the importance of incorporating biodiversity elements, including social seating, managing noise and ensuring that the space can be used for adults as well as children.

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the consultation.

We have already considered the comments and how to reflect them in the design. Where this is not possible, we will explore how other areas of the park can be adapted to accommodate some of these suggestions.

Our next step is updating the plans to take to Planning Committee early next year. After planning consent our focus will be on securing funding to take forward detailed designs and deliver the scheme. Further updates on this will be published on www.thrivinggreenspaces.scot

We undertook a consultation exercise on the draft West Edinburgh Placemaking Framework and Strategic Masterplan (WEPFSM).

We asked for comments on various parts of the WEPFSM including what is good about the area; what are the challenges, sustainability; green blue network and landscape; open space, play and recreation; connectivity, access, movement and parking; living well locally; and creating a distinctive place.

The consultation took place for 12 weeks between 12 July 2023 and 4 October 2023.

There was engagement via the questionnaire on the Consultation Hub, a staffed pop-up session, a drop-in exhibition and two online webinars. Young people were engaged at three events in local schools and there was a presentation to Corstorphine Community Council. There were also discussions with a range of consultees and stakeholders.

• 173 people responded to our consultation via the Consultation Hub.
• Over 50 people attended the drop-in information session.
• Over 160 young people were involved in the school engagement exercises.
• There were concerns about the principle of developing the site and the loss of green space.
• The increase in traffic was the main concern and that development will bring further congestion to the area.
• Making sure public transport is there from the start was important.
• Needs better designed and safe cycle paths, walkways and crossings that meet the needs of different people.
• Having a range of local amenities nearby needs to be a priority with overall support for a 20 minute neighbourhood approach.
• Importance of delivering a range of homes that are affordable.
• Needs to be as much green space as possible but they need to be fit for different uses and be inclusive.
• Suggested a range of place names.

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the consultation and attended the events.

We have revised the WEPFSM and we took it to Planning Committee on 19 December 2023 where it was approved. You can see all the associated papers (including the consultation report) and view the webcast of the meeting on our Committee meetings webpage.

We considered all the responses and took them into account when thinking about the revised version of the WEPFSM.

The main changes were:

• Ensuring active travel and public transport remain core to the WEPFSM; and that the roads, path network and connections support this approach.
• Recognising the needs of everyone within the future community in terms of open space, uses and services.
• Adjusting the Airport area so uses such as town centre are not shown within it.
• More developed options for the Gogar Burn.
• Making the WEPFSM more concise and improving the illustrations
• Making the phasing requirements clearer

The WEPFSM is now planning guidance that will shape the future development of West Edinburgh as required by Place Policy 16 in City Plan 2030. It will be a material consideration as future planning applications come forward for the area.

Every year the City of Edinburgh Council’s justice services conducts a Community Payback consultation to gather the public’s views on Community Payback Orders (CPO) which are given by the Court to people as an alternative to a prison sentence, to pay for their crimes. We asked about the unpaid work part of a CPO; this is when an individual who has committed an offence does unpaid work in the community.

We asked about general awareness of CPOs and unpaid work.  

We asked whether you thought unpaid work gave people the opportunity to pay for their crimes. 

We asked for your suggestions about community projects or organisations that could benefit from unpaid work.

We received 105 responses for the 2023 consultation.  The majority of respondents (81%) were fully aware of CPOs, with 16% having some awareness. Just under 3% of respondents had no awareness of CPOs.

There was a high level of awareness of unpaid work with 93% of respondents stating they were fully aware of unpaid work and just under 4% having partial awareness. Just under 3% had no awareness of unpaid work.

42% of respondents thought that community payback gave people who have committed offences the opportunity to pay for their crimes. 41% thought that it partly gave people that opportunity. 17% were unsure or disagreed, believing that unpaid work did not present the opportunity to pay back to the community for crimes committed.

82% of respondents gave answers to the invitation to suggest community projects or organisations that could benefit from unpaid work. 

The level of awareness of unpaid work and community payback is high however from the consultation responses it is clear that there is less confidence amongst the public that those undertaking unpaid work are being given the opportunity to pay back for their crimes.

To help raise awareness of the value of community payback both to communities and individuals as a worthwhile and appropriate alternative to prison, justice services plans to share examples of recent unpaid work community projects and feedback from beneficiaries. From February 2024, working with our communications colleagues, we propose to highlight this positive work across local media channels to further the understanding of community payback and unpaid work.

The suggestions we received from respondents in relation to potential community projects that could benefit from unpaid work have been passed to the team who manage community payback unpaid work projects in the community for their consideration and follow up where appropriate.

Justice services would like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation.

We asked

For your views of the impact, both positive and negative, that busking in Edinburgh has on you.

The survey

Told us that the majority are supportive of buskers and liked to hear them around the City, but are not OK with very loud buskers, or buskers performing the same thing, in the same place, for a long time.

We did

We are using your feedback and comments with the aim to better manage busking. The report ‘Amplification of Sound in Public Places’, including a summary report of the survey, is considered at Culture and Communities Committee on 5 October 2023. You can see the report, Item 7.1 here:

https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=6781

The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Canals are working in partnership to update the Edinburgh Union Canal Strategy.  Originally produced in 2011, we asked for views to help inform the updated strategy.

The consultation received 604 responses, with 599 from the Consultation Hub plus 5 additional responses via email.

• 90% of respondents are using the Union Canal to walk or wheel and 55% to cycle.
• Many respondents are using the Union Canal on a weekly (41%) or daily (36%) basis.
• The most common type of journeys completed are leisure journeys (93%), travelling to the shops (35%), and travelling to work (28%).
• Respondents enjoy the Union Canal due to the access to nature (54%), the path being away from traffic (43%), and that it is quiet (28%).
• Improvements that were most strongly supported: widening towpaths (74%), enhancing vegetation and wildlife (46%), and introducing safety features such as lighting and CCTV (42%).
• The most popular facilities to be integrated are places to sit (60%), toilets (57%), and coffee kiosks (38%). Some flagged that having toilets in coffee facilities would be helpful.
• Respondents would feel safer using the Union Canal given management of cyclist speeds (30%), lighting at night (17%), and widening of the towpath at bridges (11%). Antisocial behaviour in different formats was also flagged as a risk to individual safety.
• 80% of respondents felt that biodiversity along the Union Canal was very important.
• 51% felt the Union Canal’s biodiversity benefited their wellbeing and /or mental health.
• Pollinators (73%), butterflies (67%), and birds (61%) were the most spotted species along the Union Canal.

Thank you for responding to this consultation.

The project team, which is made up of officers from Scottish Canals and the City of Edinburgh Council, will integrate responses and feedback into the refreshed Edinburgh Union Canal Strategy.

Updates and progress will be available in the refreshed Edinburgh Union Canal Strategy as well as on https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/unioncanal.

We created a plan to regenerate six small parks in Leith following meetings, workshops and other events that we held in spring and summer of 2023 with organisations and groups based in and around Leith including:

• Leith Rotary Club
• Three community councils
• Leith Library
• St Marys RC Primary and Leith Primary School
• Area Councillors
• Leith Theatre
• Cables Wynd House Tenants

This project was guided by the actions identified within the Edinburgh Nature Network to create designs to make these parks better places for nature and people. Funding for the design stage of Linking Leith Parks designs was awarded by greenspace scotland.

We held a public consultation on the proposed designs for these parks between 1 June 2023 and 12 July 2023.

• 25 people attended our virtual and online workshops in May and 27 attended in June.
• 34 people responded to our consultation via the hub.
• 69% of responses strongly agreed or agreed that the designs would make the parks a better place for nature.
• 63% of responses strongly agreed or agreed that the designs for the parks would be good for health and wellbeing.
• Significant themes from the workshops and consultation comments stressed the importance of maintenance for the longevity of the designs.
• Comments showed no clear consensus towards the introduction of a segregated area for dog walkers at Dalmeny Street park.

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the consultation.

We have already considered 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. Updates on this will be published on www.thrivinggreenspaces.scot.

We wanted to hear your views on Niddrie Mains Road and the High Street, the public spaces, and local facilities that exist in the Craigmillar local area. The project area is part of the Council’s 20-minute neighbourhood strategy and aims to provide better access to local facilities and open spaces across the city through quality transport and active travel links. We also want to improve local spaces for recreation and socialising.

We received 113 responses where 86% of respondents either live, work, visit, or study in the area.

The main reasons for visiting the High Street on Niddrie Mains Road and local area are:

1. To visit shops, cafes or restaurant (52%);
2. I live in Craigmillar or Niddrie (50%); and
3. To access local services or facilities (49%)

Most people get to the High Street:

• Every day, by walking / wheeling (37%) and driving (22%);
• Regularly, by public transport (32%) and driving (25%);
• Occasionally, by public transport (42%) and cycling (23%); and
• Never, by cycling (44%) and driving (22%).

The top three words to describe how the Niddrie Mains Road area feels were Busy, Traffic, and Congested. Of the 243 words submitted, 14% were positive and the top words associated with this sentiment were Good, Improving, and Comfortable.

When asked about what could improve the experience of spending time on the High Street, most comments were about maintenance, safety, environment, and amenities, such as:

• Better care and maintenance of public realm around shopfronts, more bins, and upgraded street furniture.
• More greenery, benches, better pavement, and less traffic.
• More police presence to deter antisocial behaviour.
• More local shops, family friendly cafes, pubs, and better leisure facilities.

For suggested improvements to make it easier to access the High Street by walking, wheeling, cycling or public transport most commented on road safety, maintenance, wider transport access, and sustainable travel.

The main barriers to movement identified in the area are:

• poor quality of dropped kerbs, pavements, roads;
• lack of provision for cyclists and safe junctions;
• cars parked everywhere; and
• frequent vehicle speeding and traffic jams.

The top greenspaces visited regularly were Craigmillar Castle Park (70%), Holyrood Park (61%), and Hunters Hall Park (27%).

36% of respondents are satisfied with the greenspaces in the local community. Respondents felt strongest about the following improvements they would like to see in their greenspaces: maintenance (55%), trees and planting (48%), spaces and activities for teenagers (44%), community spaces (42%), and places to sit (42%).

About what kinds of cultural opportunities, facilities, and services that respondents would like to see more of in the local area, 50% of participants provided input that support themes and ideas including:

• Community activities: live music, art centres, food banks, youth projects, more evening activities, fairs and markets, nature workshops, outdoor exercise groups, craft / knitting groups
• Cultural traditions: places to build a sense of community and highlight the unique history of the area; conservation work and ‘heartbeat of communities needs to be retained’
• Healthy living: inclusive parks, play areas, sport facilities, locally grown and sourced food, more accessible leisure centre, better support for local charities
• Performance space: a local theatre, community hall, better supported community centres
• Independent cafes and shops: greater range of social spaces and places to eat, family friendly play cafes; community-focused shops; post office

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this survey. The input and comments provided are valued insights which will help the project team develop a concept design of the High Street on Niddrie Mains Road.

Updates on the project will be available on the following webpage: Our 20-minute neighbourhood approach – The City of Edinburgh Council.

We asked for your feedback on proposals to develop our Healthcare Workers Permits (HWP) and to identify if there was support for proposals to introduce parking permits for carers in Edinburgh.

The consultation ran from 6 March till 30 April 2023. 

Healthcare Workers Permit (HWP)

We asked you about the cost, the duration of stay period, the terms and conditions of use and the format of the permit.

Carers Parking Permits

We asked if both paid and unpaid carers could benefit from the introduction of parking permits to help them park when undertaking their caring responsibilities.

There were 554 responses to our consultation.

As well as the online survey, Stakeholders from GP surgeries, community and healthcare organisations were also invited virtual meetings with our independent project team to find out more about the proposals, share their feedback and to ask further questions. Six meetings took place between 22 and 28 March 2023.

Healthcare Workers Permit (HWP)

You said that the price was about right, whilst responses regarding the duration of stay were equally split between those who said the time period was too short and other saying it was just right. You also asked that the terms and conditions of the permit were made clearer and 100% of respondents preferred a paper version of the permit.

Carers Parking Permits

The consultation results demonstrated that both paid (97%) and unpaid (90%) carers supported the introduction of a Carers’ Permit.

Healthcare Workers Permit (HWP)

The price of a permit will increase slightly to £25, to cover administration, such as printing and posting of permits. However, a number of additional benefits will be provided.  These include increasing the maximum stay period while parking with the permit, allowing permit holders to also use pay and display and shared use parking places in the Central Zones and allow parking in permit holders places in Priority Parking Areas. The permit will remain in a paper format.

Carers Parking Permits

We will begin the legal process to introduce two new permit types:

• Professional Carers Permit – for paid carers, visiting multiple patients in a day.  This includes agency workers, self-employed carers and those employed by the Council.
• Personal Carers Permit – for unpaid carers looking after family or friends.  This applies even if the carer is in receipt of carers benefits.

Further information on the permit types and the next steps is available in the Healthcare Workers and Carer Parking Permits report which was approved at the Transport and Environment Committee on 25 April 2024.

We asked for views on proposals to extend 20mph speed limits in Edinburgh and on introducing lower speed limits on our rural roads.  The consultation ran between November 2022 and February 2023.  At the close of the consultation the 20mph survey received 4,056 responses and the rural roads survey received 1,220 responses.

In addition to the online public consultation, we also carried out market research asking similar questions of a representative sample of Edinburgh residents.

20mph

Public opinion appears to be divided on whether to expand 20mph speed limits.  Responses to the public consultation were much more likely to be strongly in favour or against the current balance of streets.

Key themes and impacts

• An increase in journey time (58%), was perceived to be the largest impact from the public consultation
• A safer street environment (54%) was identified as having the largest impact from the market research survey.
• Increases in congestion (56%) and pollution (48%) were perceived to be key impacts associated with extending 20mph from the public consultation.
• The impact of congestion (41%) and the impact of pollution (22%) were rated lower in the market research
• Lack of compliance was identified as having a much higher impact in the public consultation (48%) than in the market research (32%).

Rural roads

• The most common response to the question about current rural speed limits was that they are ‘about right’. However more respondents felt they are too fast than too slow.
• Lack of compliance was perceived to be the largest impact in both the public (68%) and market research (58%).
• Respondents to the public consultation (57%) considered the impact on journey times to be greater than in the market research (32%).
• The impact on safer conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling was considered to be slightly higher in the market research consultation (38 %) than in the public consultation (33%).
• There were some notable demographic factors that may have influenced the results, with more than twice as many male than female respondents to the rural public consultation. In general, male respondents were less likely to agree with the proposals (31% vs 38% of female respondents for the consultation, and 51% of male vs 57% of female respondents for the market research)
• Consultation respondents who lived in the Rural West area were more likely to support some change to rural speed limits (55%) compared to those across the whole city (48%), whilst for market research responses there was minimal difference in support between the two areas (81% for rural west residents’ vs 82% across the whole city).

Responses from the consultation will be used to inform detailed proposals which will be reported back to Committee towards the end of 2024.  The reports will include details on costs, timescales and how the Council would proceed with the formal consultation as part of the Traffic Regulation Order process.

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.

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.

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 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.

• 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Working with the local community and landscape architects the Council’s Thriving Greenspaces Project has funded the development of a 10-year concept Masterplan for Leith Links to progress ideas for the future use and facilities in the parks.

A final draft Masterplan was agreed by the Working Group in March 2022 and using the Consultation Hub, comment and discussion were sought on the plan from the wider Leith community and park users to ensure it represented what people would like to see delivered (funding and resource permitting) to improve Leith Links over the next decade.

We received 789 responses about the masterplan with nearly 70% of people stating that they lived in Leith.  Overall, 90% of respondents thought that the proposals detailed in the Masterplan were positive. Regarding the features presented in the masterplan:

• 86% agreed they would enhance sense of arrival 
• 87% agreed they would enhance sense of place 
• 91% agreed they would increase activity 
• 90% agreed that they would improve provision
• 88% agreed they would enhance Blue/Green infrastructure

We also received over 540 comments about the draft masterplan. Support for a skatepark/wheeled area/plaza (including pumptrack) was overwhelmingly positive with over 200 responses.  The other top-ranked themes that attracted comment included:

• Permanent provision of public toilets 
• Greenspace improvements (including floral meadows and climate change mitigations)
• Improved cycling access and facilities
• Activity Park (including provision of a Multi-Use Games Area)
• Improved pedestrian crossing / traffic calming / road closure 

The finalised concept Masterplan will be signed-off by the Working Group and presented to Culture & Communities Committee for approval. The plan will then form the basis of an improvement plan for Leith Links over the next decade.

We asked for your views on proposals for Phase 3 of the Leith Connections project which would include high quality active travel and public realm improvements along the Lindsay Road to Salamander Street corridor between the Hawthornvale Path in the west and Seafield shared use path in the east. Previous feedback from public surveys, online workshops and meetings with relevant stakeholders highlighted this as an area with poor pedestrian and cycling facilities. 

The proposal seeks to enhance a sense of place while improving provision for those walking, wheeling and cycling through features such as continuous footways, rain gardens, segregated cycling infrastructure, pocket parks and other place making features that are in keeping with the palette of the conservation setting. In addition, 3 new pedestrian crossings are proposed and 2 existing ones will be relocated to be closer to the desire line of pedestrians and cyclists.

To publicise the engagement we delivered leaflets throughout the area and emailed local stakeholder groups. We also promoted the opportunity to give feedback through social media and newspaper website articles. We held two drop in events in the area where proposals could be viewed and you could meet the project team.

72-78% of respondents agreed with the proposed approach to improve walking, wheeling and cycling conditions in each of the six areas presented in the engagement. 67% of respondents said that the proposals would make them more likely to walk or wheel for short journeys. Strong levels of support were received for trees and other planting, seating and cycle parking in the Hawthornvale path and Bernard Street areas.

From feedback in the survey and at drop in events a number of other themes and comments have emerged including:

• suggestions to improve the design of the Lindsay Road junction to make it easier for cycles to make westbound turns from Ocean Drive
• concerns around the impact on public transport
• concerns over the effects of Leith Connections project as a whole may have on traffic congestion
• concerns over vehicle parking along the corridor were raised – including both objections and support for the reduction in on street vehicle parking, comments on the impact of current pavement parking and the need to protect the cycle track from illegal parking
• respondents requesting the addition of more continuous footways

We have now produced a Final Concept Design. We are seeking further project funding to continue with the next stages of design and we will look to incorporate community feedback as the project moves through the next stages of design.

We were keen to hear from the local community about potential ideas for improvements to the streets and landscaping between the Builyeon Road area through Scotstoun Avenue towards Queensferry High School and Dalmeny Station. Our initial study had also identified opportunities to improve the existing routes through Echline and Viewforth towards Queensferry’s historic town centre.

We presented a draft concept design of proposals and sought feedback on these from residents, organisations and businesses.

To publicise the engagement we delivered leaflets within Queensferry and emailed local stakeholder groups. We also promoted the opportunity to give feedback through social media and newspaper website articles.

We held a drop in event in June 2022 for residents to learn more about the proposals and meet the project team.

Proposals across the four areas of the project generally received strong support with 60-70% agreement with the proposals from those that responded to the survey with 11-17% disagreement. From feedback at the drop in event and free text entries in the survey a number of other themes and comments have emerged including:

• ensuring the existing path network is good quality
• concerns about Hopetoun Road and crossings of Bo’ness Road
• concern about the realignment of Builyeon Road
• desire for better access to Tesco
• concerns about traffic from new development

We have now produced a Final Concept Design. We are seeking further project funding to continue with the next stages of design and we will look to incorporate community feedback as the project moves through the next stages of design.

We asked for your views on conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling at the Easter Road/ Albion Road junction and also the path that goes between Lochend Butterfly Way and Moray Park Terrace. We presented proposals in a draft concept design for improving these areas including enhanced public realm through providing seating and planting.

To publicise the engagement we delivered leaflets throughout the area and emailed local stakeholder groups. We also promoted the opportunity to give feedback through social media and newspaper website articles.

Conditions for walking and wheeling at Easter Road/ Albion Road junction were rated good or very good by less than 20% of respondents. Conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling through the Moray Park terrace path were rated good or very good by between 11-30% of respondents. 57% of respondents agreed with the proposals to improve the junction and 61% answered that the proposed improvements would increase their use of the path. 84% of respondent supported plans for providing more planting and improving fencing along the path. Trees and other planting, seating and cycle parking received strong support in the proposed pocket park areas.

From feedback from free text entries in the survey a number of other themes and comments have emerged including:

• concerns that proposals are not sufficient to increase cycle safety
• concerns around the reduction in car parking
• personal security and insufficient lighting raised as a concern
• concerns around the amount of parking near to the junction
• uneven pavement surfaces

We have now produced a Final Concept Design. We are seeking further project funding to continue with the next stages of design and we will look to incorporate community feedback as the project moves through the next stages of design.

We asked your views on our plans to improve the provision and accessibility of sustainable modes of travel for residents and visitors to the Burdiehouse area including proposed changes to Burdiehouse Road and Frogston Road East.

To publicise the engagement we delivered leaflets throughout the area and emailed local stakeholder groups. We also promoted the opportunity to give feedback through social media and newspaper website articles. We held a drop in event in June 2022 for residents to learn more about the proposals and meet the project team.

Of those that responded to the survey for Frogston Road, Kaimes junction and Burdiehouse Road 57-60% supported/ strongly supported the walking, wheeling and cycling improvement proposals. 24-33% opposed the measures. There were stronger levels of support for the proposal of installing a Toucan and parallel pedestrians/ cycle crossings on the two roads.

There were lower levels of support for the relocation of bus stops of around 45%, further development and consideration of impact on bus stops will be undertaken as the design progresses.

General comments and concerns included:

• increased safety at controlled junctions for those walking, wheeling and cycling
• lack of use due to low cyclist numbers in area but other comments said the measures will encourage higher rates of active travel
• concern that measures doesn’t extend the full length on Frogston Rd East
• increased vehicle congestion due to narrowing and one-lane approach
• concern over lack of provision at Straiton Junction
• impact of loss of parking for residents, deliveries etc
• reduced street clutter
• concern over increased congestion when bypass closes

We have now produced a Final Concept Design. We are seeking further project funding to continue with the next stages of design and we will look to incorporate community feedback as the project moves through the next stages of design.