As Director of City Development, Dave is responsible for a range of services that help keep the city a safe, pleasant and prosperous place to live. His department’s strategies guide the sustainable physical and economic development of the city by addressing the challenges of population growth and economic success. He sets the scene through visionary strategic plans, the co-ordination of major development projects and the promotion of new infrastructure, such as the introduction of trams.
Dave manages a gross revenue budget of over £78m and generating an income of approximately £40m. He is responsible for around 700 staff that provide a wide range of services including:
- development planning, building warrants and property conservation within a highly legislated, statutory context. Our service is the busiest of any Scottish local authority with over 5,250 planning applications received every year and over 100 major development proposals which are the subject of extensive pre-application discussions. Over 39 conservation areas, around 20,000 listed buildings and 72 scheduled ancient monuments add to the complexities and pressures of managing developments in a city with a growing population and economic drivers seeking land to accommodate new business space
- empowering economic and tourism development of the city and supporting local employment including an access to employment and enterprise service that has meant 51% of people participating have gained employment and 91% sustaining that employment beyond 13 weeks
- strategic traffic and transport initiatives such as managing the delivery of Edinburgh’s tram network, and implementing road safety initiatives such as 20 mile per hour zones as well as improving the attractiveness of public transport through providing Bus Tracker real-time information at bus stops and concessionary travel schemes
- managing and maintaining Edinburgh’s 444 bridges and culverts, 302 signalised junctions, 217 pedestrian crossings and 1,300 bus shelters as well as over 28,000 on street and on street residents’ car parking spaces in controlled parking zones
- leading emergency planning for the city and planning and implementing public safety measures at all city events
- managing the Council’s corporate property assets including capital building projects and major maintenance works
- providing an emergency service to residents and businesses when people or property are threatened during emergencies.
Personal profile
- Graduated from the University of Stirling, undertook postgraduate studies at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and, later, a Master of Education Degree in Training and Development at the University of Sheffield
- Following various posts in employment and training agencies from 1986 to 1990, Dave was appointed Director of Business and Skills Development, Enterprise Ayrshire between 1991-97 and later became Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire
- Appointed Senior Director of Operations, Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian in 2006, with responsibility for economic development across the Edinburgh city region, a Board Member of Waterfront Edinburgh Limited and Chairman of The Keynote Trust Ltd
- Appointed Director of City Development in the City of Edinburgh Council in 2008
Director of City Development Current salary (2009/10)
£120,513
Back to Guide to Council departments
