An Update By Councillor Max Mitchell

An Update From Councillor Max Mitchell

City Plan 2030

Another day, another Council consultation! City Plan 2030 is possibly one of the most important statutory documents produced by the Council as it is the new Local Development Plan. This will allocate where can and cannot be developed within the City of Edinburgh, as well as how it can be developed. The plan is a brownfield-led strategy to reduce the need for greenfield use, which is welcome, but includes previously allocated greenfield sites as well as the BioQuarter and International Business Gateway. What is concerning about the plan is that the total number of new homes planned is 31% less than what is estimated to be needed by 2032, the number of new affordable homes proposed is less than half projected to be needed, and only nine of the 91 brownfield sites are presently vacant, which potentially throws up all kinds of problems in terms of deliverability and timescales.

One of the biggest challenges facing this city relates to providing enough homes, especially affordable homes. With the average home costing seven times the average salary, Edinburgh is the most expensive place for housing in Scotland and is second in the UK only to London. Failing to meet the demand of housing will continue to push up the cost, both in terms of prices and rent. In the most pressurised housing market in Scotland, if housing is not delivered it is those most in need of housing who will suffer the most. The current Council ‘Administration’ (the political parties in control of the Council) have only managed to deliver just shy of 42% of their affordable housing target – i.e. not quite 4,200 of the 10,000 target. The consultation opens on Sunday 7th November for six weeks and can be found on the Council’s consultation hub. The Scottish Government will later review the plan submitted by the Council.

Spaces for People, Canonmills

I received several dozen complaints, and continue to receive complaints, about the impact of the Spaces for People measures between Canonmills and Rodney Street. The removal of the second vehicular lane into town has caused vast amounts of congestion in the area with subsequent rat-running in surrounding streets. Much of the Canonmills-Broughton Street scheme has been praised, but this section has not been well received. Indeed, Lothian Buses were reporting frequent delays in their services and some cyclists described it as dangerous. This part of the scheme is to be removed and reinstated as before. This is planned for later in November.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Inverleith Ward councillor Max Mitchell by email, max.mitchell@edinburgh.gov.uk, or by phone on 0131 529 4409, with any local issues or questions.