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Find out how to get information on consultation and engagement activity in a different format.
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.
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.
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.
The Council engaged with all relevant stakeholders to seek their opinions ahead of the re-procurement of the contract for a festival event in Inverleith Park during the month of August. 2019 was the third and final year of the existing contract.
There were 99 responses received in total and just over half agreed with the general proposal to hold a ticketed event in Inverleith Park in August.
In terms of the length of time that the event would be on-site (10 days inclusive of set up and de-rig) again, just over half agreed with, or had no opinion either way that this was an acceptable length of time.
The majority of respondents favoured a donation to general park improvements, closely followed by donations to new infrastructure such as play or exercise equipment.
We have fully considered the responses from stakeholders and sought further feedback from elected members. As there was no overall majority for either of the questions asked, we will be proceeding with the current specification.
The final contract will be awarded following assessment of a competative tender, in line with the Council procurement policies and procedures.
The Council engaged with all relevant stakeholders to seek their opinions ahead of the re-procurement of the contract for the Festival Event in The Meadows which came to an end in 2019 after three years on-site.
There were 191 respones in total with over half of respondees agreeing with the proposal to host a ticketed event on The Meadows.
The length of time on-site proved the most contentious question with just under half of respondees opposed to the current 33 day event period.
Nearly three quarters of respondees favoured a donation towards general park improvements as their preferred community benefit option.
We have fully considered all the responses from stakeholders and sought further feedback from elected members.
As there was no overall majority one way or the other regarding the questions that were asked we are proceeding with the current specification as it stands.
The final contract will be awarded following assessment of a competitive tender, in-line with Council procurement policies and procedures.
The consultation period for the Draft Strategic Plan was between 16 April and 12 July 2019. People and organisations could take part by filling in the online questionnaire, attending one of the drop-in sessions organised by the Partnership, or request that someone go along to established meetings to talk about the Draft Strategic Plan. In total around 450 people participated. We received 106 online responses and attended 27 groups and meetings.
We asked questions about:
Respondents were broadly in favour of the direction of travel proposed in the Draft Strategic Plan. Around 75% agreed with our vision and values, the principle of home first, the development of an Edinburgh Offer and the implementation of the Three Conversations model. However, people wanted to hear more about how it would be implemented. They felt that when developing the Edinburgh Offer especially, ongoing, transparent and easy to access engagement with all stakeholders was essential. People also wanted to see more detail about specific communities of interest such as learning disability, mental health and carers.
The plan was approved by the Integration Joint Board on 20 August 2019. Read the final plan.
Every year we ask Council tenants for their views on how their rent should be spent to inform the Council housing budget for the following year and a five year investment plan.
In 2018 tenants expressed strong support for building more affordable homes and for modernising and improving existing homes. Tenants particularly supported moves to make homes more energy efficient, and therefore, more affordable to heat.
We used the outcome of the consultation to inform the 2019/20 Housing Service budget and rent levels. At its budget meeting on 21 February 2019, the Council agreed a 2% rent increase for 2019/20, which will fund the housing service and support a £870 million capital programme over the next five years to invest in new and existing homes.
For your views on the proposed design for walking and cycling improvements on Arboretum Place, between Inverleith Park and the Royal Botanic Garden west gate.
A total of 301 people completed the survey. The majority were in support of the aims to make a change to the layout that would provide a better space for pedestrians and cyclists. There was support for the proposed design, with comments focussing on disabled parking provision, crossing points, the number of trees and the surfacing.
The feedback provided through the survey will be used to develop and improve the next stages of the design process.
You to tell us how to simplify the Edinburgh Partnership's governance arrangements and improve community participation in it's decision making.
A summary report of the consultation responses can be found here.
The Edinburgh Partnership Board discussed the consultation responses and have agreed a new governance structure. Papers that detail the new structure can be found here. It will be implemented on 1 April 2019.
British Sign Language
Find out how to get information on consultation and engagement activity in a different format.