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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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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 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:
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:
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:
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 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:
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 have undertaken public engagement on the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods at key points in the projects' development:
Spring 2021 - scoping local context of traffic, access and place quality
Summer 2021 - Concept design
Autumn 2021 - Corstorphine placemaking design
All feedback reported to us is analysed and then collated into reports. Once completed, these reports are then made available via the 'Related' section below.
All feedback provided is analysed and considered by the project team as we develop the projects. The consultation feedback and project development is reported back at key points to Transport and Environment Committee.
For your views on how public open spaces in Edinburgh, that are controlled by the Council, are used for events and filming.
That you broadly agreed with the key principles for the use of public open space that were recommended by stakeholders, who included event and filming organisers, community councils, resident groups, business groups, friends’ groups, Council officers and interested individuals. You showed strong support for the environment, sustainability and the Edinburgh community and also provided some very useful additional comments.
We are using your feedback and comments to expand on the Key Principles, detailing what organisers need to provide with their application to use public open space for events and filming, and what is required for a successful application.
This will be reported to the Culture and Communities Committee in summer 2022, seeking approval on how public open spaces in Edinburgh, that are controlled by the Council, are used for events and filming.
Every year the City of Edinburgh Council’s Rent Consultation gathers tenant views on their experience of the housing service and presents options for setting the next year’s rent levels. We received 446 responses for the 2022/2023 consultation – 106 through our online survey and 340 using our printed, postal option. This was nearly double the average from previous years, so we were delighted to get such a valuable picture of tenant opinions.
The Council also carries out an annual Tenant Survey, questioning 1,000 tenants across the city. This survey includes the questions in the Rent Consultation, as well as a number of other topics.
Tenants were presented with a range of rent increase options: 1.8%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%. The consultation explained the impact the different options would have on delivery of key commitments, including Net Zero Carbon.
The most popular option in both the Rent Consultation (53% of respondents) and the Tenant Survey was 1.8%.
Therefore, a proposal for a 1.8% rent increase was put forward at the Council’s budget meeting on 24th February. However, a motion from the Coalition for a second rent freeze was agreed at the meeting and this will be put in place for 2022/23.
The council engaged with residents, visitors and organisations to seek views on a proposal to designate the entire City of Edinburgh Council area as a Short-term let Control Area.
Over 3,000 responses to the online survey were received. Three focus groups took place. One session for operators and hosts, a separate session was attended by community groups and residents. A third session was held for visitors.
The questionnaire asked about the principle of the designation and the area of designation.
Further information can be seen in the Planning Committee Report
The designation cannot come to effect without the approval of Scottish Government. A request will be submitted to the Scottish Government requesting that the new powers are implemented in the whole of the Edinburgh area.
In April 2021, we asked residents and businesses what they thought about retaining the Spaces for People measures that have been implemented across the city in response to Covid 19, this included the closure of Braid Road, and its subsequent re-opening to southbound traffic only. This also included the introduction of protected cycleways on Comiston Road.
We reported the findings of this engagement to the Council meeting on 24 June. At this meeting councillors agreed that officers should consider options for re-opening Braid Road to northbound traffic, and options for improving public transport journey times on Comiston Road.
We developed several options which were subject to public consultation during September and October 2021.
Survey participants were asked to rank the following four options for Braid Road in order of preference:
Option 1 was the most popular first preference, Option 2 was the most popular second preference, Option 3 was the most popular third preference, and Option 4 was the most popular fourth preference.
However, it is notable that many respondents – especially within the local area – chose Option 4 as their first preference. Meanwhile, many respondents – especially within the local area – chose Option 1 as their fourth preference.
Survey participants were asked their opinion on two proposed revisions to the Comiston Road scheme layout: The introduction of a Bus Lane, replacing the cycleway, on the northbound approach to Comiston Springs Avenue, and; The removal of Loading Restrictions throughout the scheme to provide improved access for deliveries.
Both measures were supported by the majority of respondents.
A report on the findings was submitted to the Transport and Environment Committee on 11 November 2021. A summary of the monitoring and feedback received is included as Appendix 2 of the report.
We reported your feedback to the meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee on 11 November 2021. At this meeting Councillors decided to implement Option 2 at Braid Road.
We recognised that this was not the most preferred option from the engagement exercise, however it is considered a reasonable compromise position, which retains benefits for vulnerable road users at this location and safeguards the Meadows to Greenbank Quiet Route.
At this meeting Councillors also decided to implement the proposed measures at Comiston Road. However, following subsequent discussions with Lothian Buses it was ultimately agreed that the extension to the bus lane was not required.
Following the experimental period, a further Traffic Regulation Order will be required should the Council opt to make this scheme permanent.
In April 2021, we asked residents and businesses what they thought about retaining the Spaces for People measures that have been implemented across the city in response to Covid 19.
We reported the findings to the Council meeting on 24 June. At this meeting councillors agreed that officers should engage with the local community council and residents on the Lanark Road Scheme with a view to retaining the measures to:
There were 574 responses to the survey. 228 of these were submitted from within the leafleted area. 219 were submitted from the wider EH13 and EH14 area, and a further 127 were submitted from further afield. A meeting was held at the start of the engagement process with representatives from the local community councils to seek feedback on options for the Lanark Road scheme.
A report on the findings was submitted to the Transport and Environment Committee on 14 October 2021. A summary of the monitoring and feedback received is included as Appendix 2 of the report.
At the meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee on 14 October, it was decided that the Lanark Road scheme should be retained throughout an experimental period of up to 18 months, with some revisions to the layout and location of parking in certain areas.
Following the experimental period, a further Traffic Regulation Order will be required should the Council opt to make this scheme permanent.
The council engaged with residents, visitors and businesses to seek feedback on the project which aims to create a safer and more comfortable environment for residents and visitors walking, wheeling, cycling and spending time in the local streets and outdoor spaces of Leith. To meet these objectives, the Council is developing proposals for:
The engagement sought to raise awareness of the two phases of the project, presented concept designs on the cycle route and asked for feedback to inform the design of the low traffic neighbourhood and the potential changes to the area.
Over 800 responses to the online survey were received, together with emailed responses from individuals, businesses and organisations. We also met with a Community Reference Group we have formed for the project and attended a public Community Council meeting.
From the survey responses:
Further information can be seen in the full engagement summary reports:
Leith Connections Stage 1 – Engagement Report Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal Cycle Route
Leith Connections Stage 1 – Engagement Report Low Traffic Neighbourhood
Following consideration of the information gathered, developed design on the Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal cycle route has commenced and proposals for the low traffic neighbourhood are to be presented to the community for further feedback prior to being taken forward.
For feedback on how people currently travel in the area and what barriers and challenges there are to walking, wheeling, cycling and spending time enjoying the street environments. We also asked where these key issues/barriers were located.
The key issues and barriers are around the level of safety on streets for walking and cycling. In relation to this speed and volume of traffic was the most commonly mentioned barrier, with lack of cyclings facitlities, narrow pavements and conditions of roads also mentioned.
Key locations of these issues/barriers highlighted were: Saughton Road North, Corstorphine High Street, Manse Road and St John's Road.
The project team used this information to help inform the development of design proposals, which will be presented back to the community for further engagment on.
We asked for comments on our proposals for major refurbishment works on Newbattle Terrace between Morningside Road and Eden Lane.
Although many respondents were supportive of the scheme overall, the most unpopular aspect by far was the proposal to narrow and signalise the junction of Newbattle Terrace and Pitsligo Road, and to render Pitsligo one-way at its southern end.
We have re-examined the arrangement at Pitsligo Road and have amended the design as follows:
We asked for views on crossing proposals in the vicinity of Stanhope Street and Hampton Terrace as part of the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL) cycle infrastructure project.
The proposals are summarised below:
Option A- Pedestrian and segregated cycle crossing (Stanhope Street one way with motorists entering via Stanhope Street and exiting via Devon Place)
Option B – Pedestrian crossing only (maintain two-way access for traffic at Stanhope Street. Cyclists need to dismount to access and use the crossing)
There were 102 responses to this consultation. Responses were predominately from local residents. There was one response from the local amenity association.
Details of preferences expressed are:
Option A 11%
Option B 89%
The majority of respondents favoured Option B.
Respondents expressed strong concern that closing Stanhope Street to two way traffic would put unnecessary traffic pressure on the only exit point at the east end of Devon Place which is already considered to be a difficult junction. By moving traffic onto the neighbouring cobbled streets this would cause congestion, noise and disruption and impact on air quality. It was also considered that only a small number of cyclists would use the segregated cycle crossing.
Those in favour of option A commented that a segregated cycle crossing would provide a family friendly crossing and a significant improvement to safety. Concerns were expressed that it would be awkward for cyclists having to dismount at a pedestrian crossing.
Following consideration of the preferences given and the comments arising from the consultation, we now propose to progress with Option B as the approved design to be taken forward.
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