Cllr Joan Griffiths Planning Convener appeals to those living and working in the Capital to help shape the city's future development.
We’re at the very early stages of putting together our next local development plan City Plan 2040 to meet the needs of existing and new residents and the Capital’s growing population.
Our ‘Call for Ideas’ consultation is asking those living and working in the city to help us set its direction and your local knowledge will help us focus on making changes where they are needed. If you’re passionate about how your community will look in the future and how you’d like it to evolve, please give us your views.
We’re looking for proposals on new buildings and how they are used, what facilities and services are needed and homes you think we need. Ideas about how we could reuse important buildings and land would be helpful too. Also, where you think additional spaces for playing, sports or growing food would be helpful for communities and any improvements you think are required to help you get around.
Your idea can be about any area and can be any size covering a whole district, neighbourhood, a single plot of land or building. It would be good to know why you think it’s important and why it would a make a difference.
I’d encourage you to find out what others think by reaching out to local people in the area to find out what is most important to them. You could ask about the changes you are suggesting, what they think about your ideas, and you can point out planning policies you’d like to influence. You could do this through surveys and questionnaires, drop in events, exhibitions and by attending planned local events.
My vision is that you can help us create City Plan 2040 to strengthen communities and make sure that they look after the wellbeing of their residents. We want to build attractive places where people can afford to buy or rent their homes, walk to shops, schools, green space and healthcare facilities, enjoy cultural, community and sporting activities and easily access sustainable transport to visit other parts of Edinburgh.
We’d love to hear from residents, young people, community councils and groups, businesses, social enterprises, the public and private sector, developers and landowners. The consultation is open until 30 September, and every idea will be considered.
We will be using the ideas to help us prepare the Proposed Plan including how we plan sites and areas. It could also help to shape what our planning policies might be and how the places that people value most can evolve. We will be consulting on the Proposed Plan later in the process and we’ll let you know how you can get involved and give your views.