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1) ROLLING NEWS UPDATE 2026

  • sillertonhill
  • 4 days ago
  • 28 min read

Updated: 18 hours ago

For latest City of Edinburgh Council news, go to https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news

GPCC presently has 12 members, appointed by public election in March 2025. The principal responsibility is to represent local residents' expressed opinions on their neighbourhood and city environment, from 'place and space' to 'amenity and well-being'. Get in touch if you want to help here.

GPCC meets on Wednesday 16 September, 21 October, 18 November and 16 December 2026, at Cameron House Community Hub, 34 Prestonfield Avenue, EH16 5EU, at 18.45.



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3 Jul: Licensing: Civic New Licence Notice # 585083: Skin Piercing / Tattooing

3 Salisbury Place, Newington, EH9 1SL, in name of Ms Denise Harris. Mon to Sat, 09.00 to 20.00.

"Anyone wishing to object to the grant of a licence must lodge a written objection or representation specifying the grounds of the objection or the nature of the

representation to the City of Edinburgh Council, Licensing Service, 249 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ, by the 31st of July 2026. The objection or representation must specify the name and address of the person making it and be signed by that person or an agent."

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2 Jul: Cllr. Pauline Flannery Community News Update

Southside Newington By-Election on 3 September; canvassing underway. / St Patrick Square 16 June e-bikes collision with pedestrian triggers demands for tougher local enforcement against illegal, anti-social use of e-bikes and scooters. / Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Connection – Two traffic filters along Cluny Drive are removed and two junctions returned to their original layouts. / Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust annual report: ELGT 2025-26 Impact Report / Edinburgh by Numbers report – ‘Capital in good health, latest numbers reveal.’: Edinburgh by Numbers / Trams from Granton to the BioQuarter – Consultation and Market Research Report: Trams Report 18 June 2026 

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1 Jul: Event: Peffermill: Edinburgh 7s Rugby, Friday 10 to Sunday 12 July

This is a big annual event. Peffermill Road will be protected on Saturday 11 by a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order to secure ambulance and bus routes. Private vehicles should be removed from the controlled areas. A security team will handle the flow of visitors. There will be music on until 10pm on Friday and Saturday, 9pm on the Sunday.

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1 Jul: CEC Consultation: Firework Control Zones

The Council is considering extending November 2026 Firework Control Zones (FCZ) to streets in a number of other areas in the city. A FCZ is already in place for Niddrie. Now, Gracemount, Liberton and Moredun are under consideration. Check the detail and respond to the Council consultation here: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/firework-control-zones The consultation closes on 5 August 2026.

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17 Jun: Traffic: Living Streets Edinburgh, AGM

GPCC Member, Peter Jones, brought back the following summary report from the 11 June AGM: Living Streets is making steady progress in promoting local schemes for safer walking and ‘wheeling’. One recent success is the improvement of pavement quality in Broomhouse. On a broader front, there is general criticism of the size and width of cycle lanes, where pavement space is often compromised and where lane layouts and shape make for pedestrian confusion (e.g. in Leith Walk). Tree-planting would offer better delineation than ‘zig-zag’ painted lines. There was support for the idea that the Visitor Levy proceeds should be used almost exclusively for pavement repair and upgrade. Removing trip hazards and putting real effort into promoting ‘Easy Walking’ initiatives for folk who can’t get around easily should be the essential priorities.

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15 Jun: Traffic: Rankin Drive: Parking Restrictions TRO/24/34

The Traffic Regulation Orders Sub Committee (TRO SC) approved on 12 May new parking restrictions at the ‘loop’ in Rankin Drive. We are advised by the Council’s Network Management and Enforcement Unit that restrictions are likely to be implemented by end-September. GPCC notes the clear opposition to the statutory regulation, citing a range of reasons, voiced by a sizeable number of Rankin Drive residents, to Elected Councillors and to the Convener of the Transport & Environment Committee. During the public advertisement stage of the TRO process, GPCC called for a pullback of the tabled proposals, to offer a balanced and proportionate solution to the challenges of the road layout at the ‘loop location’, and to recognise the practical needs of immediate residents for adequate parking provision. The approved restrictions run counter to GPCC’s assessment of what is actually needed.

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14 Jun: Traffic: New Pedestrian Crossing Assessment Framework

The Road Safety Unit at the Council advises that a request for a pedestrian crossing can now be made using an online mapping tool Request a Pedestrian Crossing . Here, members of the public can indicate the location where they would like a crossing to be installed. (This includes signalled crossings.) The map will be left open all year round.

Requests will provide the Road Safety Team with a list of suggested locations. Officers will collate and assess the requests on a quarterly basis. If the application is successful, a crossing will be prioritised according to its score and updates will be reported on the Road Safety website on a yearly basis, when all sites have been assessed and those for delivery identified.

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14 Jun: By-Election: Southside / Newington on 3 September

Two by-elections will be held in the Southside/Newington and Portobello/Craigmillar wards following the resignations of Councillors Simita Kumar and Kate Campbell.

Residents will go to the polls on Thursday 3 September to elect one new councillor in each ward. The current electorate is 24,304 for Southside/Newington and 27,347 for Portobello/Craigmillar. 

On 15 July the formal Notice of Election will be published, and the Election Timetable, Election Notices and Nomination Papers will all be accessible on the Council website

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12 Jun: Edinburgh Partnership Board

The broad horizon of community council interests spans city and local place, space, amenity and wellbeing. On the latter two counts, in particular, we should recognise the powerful work conducted, largely behind the scenes, by the Edinburgh Partnership (EP). Anchored by the CEC Community Planning Management Group and chaired by the City of Edinburgh Council, the EP is the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) for Edinburgh City. It’s a statutory obligation of the Local Authority to have a body like this in place.


The EP’s wide array of members includes NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, Scottish Enterprise, the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council, Edinburgh Affordable Housing Partnership, Skills Development Scotland, and many others. Edinburgh Association of Community Councils has a representative place.


The EP anchors the process by which public bodies work with local communities to plan, resource and provide services to improve the quality of people’s lives, and to reduce the outcome gap for those experiencing the greatest inequality.The EP mission is that Edinburgh should be a ‘thriving, connected, inspired and fair city, where all forms of poverty and inequality are reduced’. The EP works across the full spectrum of 'life in the city’ and the wide demographic spread of the city’s residents. A huge commitment goes into this work on the part of core EP members.


As a Community Planning Partnership, the EP is required to publish a Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP), a framework for EP’s priorities and the delivery of its mission. The LOIP is supplemented by a small number of Locality Plans targeted to areas of greatest disadvantage in the city. The Community Planning Management Group draws in the work of seven Strategic Partnerships focused on particular elements of LOIP delivery.


The current EP Local Outcomes Improvement Plan 2018-2028 has been kept up to date with a 2026 ‘refresh’, reviewing best practice, partner commitments and community engagement outcomes. It holds to the original three partnership priority outcomes - Enough money to live on; Access to work, learning and training opportunities; A good place to live.


Work on the next Community Plan (LOIP) will begin now, designed from the ground up, in the face of new challenges to communities and to city life from some fundamental shifts in the social, economic and environmental landscape.


As a community councillor or as an interested city resident, it’s worth taking a quick look at what the Edinburgh Partnership does and what it tries to achieve. A lot of effort goes in here for the benefit of the common good. We should be more aware of it.

 

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9 Jun: Transport: Trams from Granton to the Bioquarter

The CEC Future Trams Team point to the 18 June Transport and Environment Committee meeting and the early milestone report analysing the 2025 consultation and market research programme on the outline project. View the Committee Agenda and Item 8.1 here: https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=7661&Ver=4.

A Strategic Business Case will be presented at the 10 September 2026 Transport and Environment Committee, marking the point where the decision is made on whether to progress further to the Outline Business Case stage.

Look at the background to the project here: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/futuretrams

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8 Jun: Traffic: Rankin Drive: Parking Restrictions TRO/24/34

The Traffic Regulation Orders Sub Committee (TRO SC) approved new parking restrictions at the ‘loop’ in Rankin Drive on 12 May. There had been substantial local resident objection tabled at the outset when the proposals were published and consulted upon in late February / early March. GPCC tabled then a measured objection. GPCC asked for an equitable and proportionate reduction in the scale of the intended restrictions against the highly-impactful published proposals.

At the TRO SC on 12 May, the objections were not raised as a matter for discussion at all, notwithstanding their number and relevance. Local resident reaction to the outcome continues to build. GPCC has raised with local Elected Councillors some questions on the nature of the TRO SC procedure at the 12 May meeting.   

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8 Jun: Local: Strathearn Road Post Office Delivery Centre

We learn from Ian Murray MP that the closed Delivery Centre is to be taken over by an established Edinburgh architectural practice for use as a head office and studio.

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4 Jun: Traffic: Parking Restrictions: Rankin Drive

At the Council Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee meeting on 12 May, new parking restrictions were approved for the loop section of roadway within Rankin Drive and for some neighbouring junctions. Over sixty local resident objections had been tabled, far exceeding letters of support. (Another 20 or so locations in the city also saw new restrictions.)

The Council advanced the case for the restrictions on the grounds of (i) site inspection, (ii) safe access and improved traffic flow for large public sector service vehicles at that location and (iii) the overall Policy Measures in the City Mobility Plan.

Local Elected Councillors and GPCC had made representations to Council Transport Officers seeking a measured reduction in the proposed scale of restriction, in order to offset in part the sizeable cut in parking spaces for residents. Objections and representations were on record. Disappointingly, the restrictions for Rankin Drive were approved under Traffic Regulation Order TRO / 24 / 34, without any meaningful investigative discussion across Elected Councillor members of the Sub-Committee.

The TRO is in place and there is no immediate recourse. GPCC is in correspondence with local Elected Councillors on this matter.

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4 Jun: Community Municipal Investment (CMI) Product

Around September, the Council will likely launch a small-scale CMI product for small investors. The council typically borrows money to invest in medium- to long-term capital programmes. This CMI product will open a savings opportunity for local residents and businesses, over, say, a five-year period, with interest payable and the full amount invested repaid at the end of term. The minimum investment may be of the order of £5 or £10. The target may be to raise around £1m. The funds will be invested in the likes of nature recovery, climate adaptation, decarbonisation, tree planting and ‘healthy street’ improvement schemes across the city. The full undertaking to repay the sums borrowed will rest with City of Edinburgh Council.

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4 Jun: Planning Application: Cameron House Nursery, 9 Cameron House Avenue, Edinburgh

A change of use application has been approved, from former children’s nursery to single private dwelling with internal alterations, but with the withdrawal of a proposed new access from Cameron Park. There is now no plan, provision or consent for a breach of the boundary wall at the head of Cameron Park.

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19 May: Visitor Levy - Community Participatory Budgeting

Residents across Edinburgh are to choose how money raised by the new Visitor Levy is spent in their neighbourhoods. Each of the council’s 17 electoral wards will benefit from a share of £1.7 million over three years, with residents directly deciding how to spend the portion of levy income in their local ward, in part by way of a new online voting portal. A one-year pilot programme will test the process and identify areas for improvement, with £20,000 available per ward in the 2026/27 financial year, followed by the remaining funds for two-year projects to take place in 2027/28 and 2028/29.

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17 May: Licensing: Application for New Licence

Campfire Tattoo Ltd. Ref. No. 57881. 191 Causewayside, EH9 1PH. Skin Piercing / Tattooing Licence: Mon. to Sun. 11.00 to 18.00. Written objections / representations to City of Edinburgh Council, Licensing Service, 249 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ by 12 June 2026. Objection or representation must specify name and address of the person making the submission and must be signed by that person or agent. licensing@edinburgh.gov.uk

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7 May: Edinburgh Partnership Board: Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP)

The 26 May CEC Policy and Sustainability Committee will receive from the Edinburgh Partnership Board a 2026 refresh of the Edinburgh Community Plan. That is the current 2018-2028 Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) for the local authority. Things have moved on from the 2018 inception, of course. This refresh sets out some adjustments in priorities and in approach. It prefaces the next Community Plan (2028), work on which begins this June. You can look at a short summary here: Edin Partnership LOIP Refresh May 2026

Community Councils should be current with what's happening here. The LOIP is an uphill struggle, filled with complexities. By way of background, the Edinburgh Partnership is the community planning partnership for the city. It brings together public agencies, third and private sectors, and local communities to improve social services and the social welfare of people who live and work here. See https://www.edinburghpartnership.scot/. Here is the link to the Policy and Sustainability Committee:

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5 May: GPCC Annual General Meeting 20 May

The next GPCC meeting is on Wednesday 20 May, at 18.45, at Cameron House Community Education Centre, 34 Prestonfield Avenue, EH16 5EU. The AGM will take place after the ordinary meeting concludes, around 8pm. Agendas for both meetings will be published on this website by 12 May. The meetings will be help in public.

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5 May: Community Municipal Investment

We’re advised that, later this year, CEC plans to launch a Community Municipal Investment (CMI) initiative. Edinburgh residents, communities and businesses will be able to invest directly in small-scale projects linked to green investment, climate action, clean energy, active travel and environmental improvements in the city.

Municipal investments are led by local authorities. Glasgow launched a CMI scheme in September 2025. A sizeable number of English councils have programmes underway. Investors place funds with a ring-fenced, closely-regulated council fund for a fixed term (say, 5 years or 10 years). In exchange, they receive a reliable, fixed six-monthly or annual return (or dividend), and full capital repayment at the end of the term. A minimum investment of £5 or £10 per investor opens the door to everyone, but you can go much higher. Funds raised locally are invested locally. The initial target may be a fund of £1m to £2m. You can see how the project is being built and delivered.

A current example of this type of community capital investment sits with the Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative (ECSC - https://www.edinburghsolar.coop/) A broader type of programme is offered by Foundation Scotland (https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/set-up-fund/fund-management-for-communities) We understand the planned Edinburgh CMI will be administered by Abundance Investment (https://www.abundanceinvestment.com/invest-now)

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29 Apr: Traffic: Controlled Parking Zone S8

The next Traffic Regulation Orders Sub Committee is scheduled for 12 May, with the Agenda to be published on 5 May. Zone 8 intentions ('Orders') may be tabled then. The consultation on proposals took place 10 months ago. That said, it seems not to be the case that publication of the Orders would open up a period for public comment and objection. Members of the Sub Committee (Ward Councillors) might elect to hold a hearing on a particular proposal, but they would have to be approached by community groups to do so and agree to do so.  Since committee consideration is a quasi-judicial process, community groups are not permitted to present directly to the committee meeting. In essence, I'm being told by CEC Transport Services, Network Management and Enforcement that consultation is closed, and by local Councillor, Tim Pogson, that a direct approach to the Sub Committee is closed.

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29 Apr: Place: Craigmillar Niddrie Survey

For several years, the council has been working on plans to improve the streets, public spaces, local facilities and amenities in the Craigmillar – Niddrie area. This goes back to survey work from Q2 2023. The project takes shape now, with specific safe travel proposals, new bus lanes and nicer public spaces along the Peffermill Road, Niddrie Mains Road and Newcraighall Road corridor. The project builds on the key Council strategies exhibited in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Future Streets and City Mobility Plan papers. View the detail here and respond to the online survey invitation: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cycling-walking/craigmillar-niddrie-connections


29 Apr: Trading Standards: Vape Shops

The March 2026 fire at an unregulated vape shop near Glasgow Central Station has put the proliferation of vape shop retail outlets into sharp focus.

Cllr. Stuart Dobbin (Ward 4 – forth) took an emergency motion to the Full Council of 19 March 2026. (I can’t identify the detail at this point.)

Cllr. Neil Ross, Convener of the Regulatory Committee, in response to a query from Cllr. Pauline Flannery, states that there is no licensing regime as yet for the sale of vapes. (Change of use to a vape shop from ‘other retail’ doesn’t require planning permission.) Sale of vapes as a trading issue is dealt with by the Trading Standards team at the Council. At the 16 March 2026 meeting of the Regulatory Committee, the Regulatory Services Manager was asked to write to Scot Gov to ask about a licensing framework for vape shops. Look for an update in the Business Bulletin published at the next meeting on 11 May.

Scottish Fire & Rescue are set to pursue the risk issues in the next parliament. The Cockburn Association is speaking of ‘inadequate planning protections’.

The Business Bulletin from the 8 August 2025 meeting of the Regulatory Committee (Item 6) reports on the then scope of Trading Standards Team activity in respect of curtailment of single-use vapes.

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23 Apr: Planning : C'away the Lads!

The former Causewayside Lads’ Institute at Ratcliffe Terrace has now been granted Category C listed building status, recognising not just its exterior, but the story held within its walls. The interior spaces, rooms and layout all help tell how the building once served its community.

That matters. This is a quiet but important win for Edinburgh’s heritage.

Too often, we think of heritage as what we see from the street. But the real meaning of a place is often found inside, in how it was used, who it brought together, and the role it played in everyday life.

This decision is a reminder that protecting heritage means understanding the full picture. It also shows what can be achieved when communities speak up and engage in the process. (GPCC played a small part.) An understated building, perhaps, but an important part of the city’s story. (Neil Kempsell)

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21 Apr: Survey: Community Grants Fund (CGF) Survey closes on 4 May

This is important. The CGF brings small scale grant funding to a wide array of community groups and activities. This Council survey is looking at the scope to widen and improve funding access. You have until 4th May to offer your opinion.

 

"You may be aware that the Community Empowerment and Engagement Team are in the process of making changes to the Community Grants Fund (CGF). This began with an evaluation of the current funding model in 2024, then in 2025 we worked with CGF volunteers, applicants and grant experts to develop three options for a refreshed funding model for the CGF. You can read more information about the stakeholder engagement process here.

As we enter the next phase of the process, we’d like your views on which funding model option meets the following aims:

  1. reduces barriers to accessing the fund

  2. creates opportunities for wider community participation in decision-making

  3. improves the efficiency of the fund

 

Your feedback will directly influence how the fund operates, making it more accessible and impactful for communities across Edinburgh. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete:" 

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14 Apr: Traffic: Controlled Parking Zone S8

You will recall that, last June, the Council outlined fresh proposals for, and consulted on, tighter parking restrictions in the Grange Blackford area, east to west. It has been a long saga. Cllr. Steve Burgess has come back on our query to say that feedback from that consultation will go to Council Committee over the summer, at which point a decision will be made on implementation. I don't have a firm date. It could be 2 June. (Correction: TRO sub committee meeting now listed for 12 May - Agenda published 7 days ahead.)

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14 Apr: Transport: Tram Trains for Edinburgh (TTfE) Event, 23 April:

A reminder that local campaign group Tram Trains for Edinburgh will profile the case for reopening the South Suburban railway to rail passenger traffic. The scheme would provide a fast and efficient passenger service on the existing line, running in an arc, west to east. Rob Falcon, the TTfE lead, will host the event at the Nucleus Building (7.30pm) on the King's Buildings University Campus, EH9 3FG. You are invited to register on this link:

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11 Apr: Energy: Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC)

A short introduction; see this link: https://www.edinburghsolar.coop/ ECSC has a ten-year history and is about to enter its third phase of solar panel installations on public or community-owned buildings, adding up to 12 sites to the 30 currently in operation. Edinburgh Solar Coop enables community ownership of clean energy and assets, funded by low-ticket direct investment in share capital, on which an annual return is payable over 20 years.

Annual surplus funds are allocated to a community benefit fund. £20000 was distributed across 14 applications in 2025. The 2026 funding round is due to open around now. Edinburgh Solar Coop is a Registered Society with the Financial Conduct Authority.

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7 Apr: Survey: The Community Grants Fund (CGF)

The Council is working on a review of the funding model for the CGF, a small grants scheme provided by the Council offering grants of up to £5,000 to constituted groups for local community activity. Help by completing the survey to give your opinion. Go to The Consultation Hub on the front page.

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3 Apr: Transport: Tram Trains for Edinburgh; Public Meeting 23 April

Catch-up on the progress of this project at 7.30pm on 23 April, at the main lecture theatre in the Nucleus Building, on the King’s Buildings’ campus. The campaign is advocating using tram trains to provide a fast and efficient public transport service around the South Suburban rail line. Of specific local interest are the issues relating to Newington, Liberton and, of course, Cameron Toll. You can register your interest via Eventbrite here:

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27 Mar: Transport: Carriageway and Footway Works: GPCC Member, Sally Griffiths has reviewed the Council’s announced spending plans for 2026/27 on transport infrastructure, including carriageways and footways, road structures and road safety. They are deeply detailed, with inter-dependencies and project ‘crossovers’ meaning there is no guarantee of seamless execution and delivery to timeline. One of the imperatives is the intended full re-surfacing of Craigmillar Park to accommodate the 2 July 2027 Tour de France event. There will be significant disruption.

Here are some other projects indicated for the GPCC area: Carriageway treatment at: McLaren Road, Ventnor Terrace, Strathfillan Road, Seton Place, Clearburn Crescent, Suffolk Road. Mentone Gardens, West Savile Road, East Mayfield, West Mayfield, Maurice Place: Footway treatment at: Ratcliffe Terrace, Grange Crescent.

In another development, the Council looks to be moving towards the provision of better communication and information on the prospective delivery of road and pavement works in future years. All would be ‘subject to change’, of course, but knowing that a problem area is at least ‘in the pipeline’ would be a plus.  

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25 Mar: Transport & Environment Committee Agenda for 2 April 2026: Important items on planned future spend on identified carriageways and footways, road safety improvements and local traffic improvements and on delivery in 2025/26. Report on planned improvements in communicating road and pavement works and Traffic Regulation Orders. Go to City Council Committee Work on the front page menu.

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24 Mar: The 2026 GPCC Annual General Meeting (AGM): The AGM will take place on Wednesday, 20 May. All GPCC meetings are open to the public to attend and observe. If you wish to place an item on the Agenda, give the details to the Secretary by 4 May. If you wish to attend the meeting itself, to allow us to manage room space, please contact the Secretary.

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24 Mar: Planning Reference 25/04488/FUL, 140 Causewayside, EH9 1PR: Purpose-Build Student Accommodation. This application has been Granted with Legal Agreement and subject to recommended conditions. See Planning & Place.

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20 Mar: Transport: Roads and Footways: At the Transport & Environment Committee 2 April 2026: Note the scheduled Reports on 1) Transport Capital Investment Programme – Annual Update, including Road Safety Delivery Plan / Local Traffic Improvement Delivery Plan / Roads and Infrastructure Investment Programme. 2) Cycle Hire Update. 3) Communicating Road and Pavement Improvements.

Report 3) is drawn from a submission to Full Council by Cllr. Cuthbert on 19 March 2026, by way of Item 8.1 Motion - Publication of Rolling Ward-Level Roads Maintenance Schedule: See here: Notice of meeting and agenda

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20 Mar: Parking: Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) S8 (Blackford Newington): This is currently Priority Parking Area B1. Look for possible Zone S8 Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) at the 2 June City Council TRO Sub-Committee. Note this: The TRO Sub-Committee Agenda will be published on 26 May. Search for the Sub-Committee by way of ‘Edinburgh Council Committee Meetings’. If Zone 8 is listed and your Residents Association or Group wishes to make a representation to the Committee, you have until 1 June to do so (6 days). Make your representation via a Ward Councillor on the Committee. Search for ‘Edinburgh Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee – contact details’ or use this link: https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=645

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10 Mar: Parking: Restrictions: TRO/24/34 Rankin Drive EH9: Objection submitted by GPCC on 6 March. See Planning and Place for detail.

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9 Mar: Planning: Site at 27-29 Ratcliffe Terrace: Planning Application 26/00495/CLP opened 10 Feb, closed for comments 3 Mar, awaiting assessment. The developer's proposal is to demolish the Causewayside Lads Building structure. The CLP code is a permission request to confirm that a proposed use of development does not require planning permission to be applied for. Following the DPEA dismissal of the appeal against the PBSA refusal (see 17 Feb below), this application is a technical challenge to the 1 Dec 2025 Planning Department refusal on demolition (25/05325/CLP). The challenge holds that the demolition proposal is a lawful development. The issue of a Building Preservation Notice on the building is still extant.

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6 Mar: Transport: Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and Public Notices: TROs for the most part take us by surprise. They go well beyond temporary road works. TROs govern the city’s circulation system: road closures, road repairs, new one-ways, bus gates, vehicle use, parking restrictions, roadway spaces for communal bins, bike parking, experimental changes, and so on. As legal notices, TROs have to be advertised as proposed orders and as made orders. You want to keep an eye on them.

The City Council uses The Scotsman as its official publication of record for these statutory notices. It’s not light reading, but it’s official.

The Council website lets you view or comment on Traffic Orders here:

The map-based extension to the site page shows ‘Active Consultations’. In each case, you can view the proposal consultation documents (top of page) and respond to the consultation (bottom of page). It’s a very good facility though you need a little patience to go through it.

The ‘Don’t get caught unawares’ reference point is the excellent public agency TellmeScotland portal, hosting public notices on traffic, licensing, planning, elected councillor ward surgeries and other general items. You can search in relation to your postcode and – important option – you can sign-up for alerts. Worth doing to avoid sudden surprises. Here is the link: tellmescotland

The formal Scot Gov guide to Road Orders is through Transport Scotland, here:  https://www.transport.gov.scot/transport-network/roads/road-orders-and-records-of-determination/

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25 Feb: Planning: CEC Chief Planning Officer: Revised Scheme of Delegation

The CEC Scheme of Delegation, setting the authorities of the Chief Planning Officer (inter alia), on behalf of Councillors, in reviewing planning applications, has been revised. See: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/planning-decisions-2/scheme-delegation . The revision is effective from 2 February. Go to Planning & Place for more detail.

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23 Feb: Public Notices: TellmeScotland: Brought to you by the Scot Gov agency, the Improvement Service, TellmeScotland is a national public notice portal, listing Planning, Licensing, Traffic, Elected Councillor, and other general public information notices on, for example, local elections and council tax changes. Search by radius of a post code or by local authority and type of notice. See list views and map views. Contact details for the issuer are provided. No registration required. Register if you wish to subscribe for alerts.  

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20 Feb: Firework Control Zones (FCZ): The Council advises that resident groups, community councils and other community groups should apply by 24 April if they wish their neighbourhood to be a Firework Control Zone. FCZs are for private spaces, gardens or land managed by a community centre management committee. FCZs limit using fireworks on that land for a specific period of time. (Fireworks displays on public spaces are covered by different legislation.) Apply online www.edinburgh.gov.uk/firework-control-zones

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17 Feb: Planning: Sites at 27-29 Ratcliffe Terrace and 4 South Gray Street (Appeal: PPA-230-2686) and 33-41 Ratcliffe Terrace: (Appeal: PPA-230-2687)

Planning appeals (in respect of PBSA developments) to Scot Gov Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) dismissed. See https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseSearch.aspx?T=1.

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17 Feb: Travel: CEC School Travel Plan Team: CEC has in place a new School Travel Audit and School Travel Plan Process to help schools with the build and delivery of bespoke plans for individual schools. You can view the summary of a recent review of the procedure here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IuCkYsE3EbLjx7GgLL2cA-sc3jRpHKec/view?usp=sharing

Parent Councils and School Staff Members are expressly invited to participate. Contact mailto:transport.roadsafety@edinburgh.gov.uk (Marc Symonds) for more information in the first instance.

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11 Feb: Housing: Edinburgh Tenants Federation: ETF meets with CEC’s Homelessness and Household Support Team to discuss the Council’s Local Housing Strategy and the Housing Emergency Action Plan. This is on Thursday, 26 February, 6.00pm to 8.00pm at Norton Park Conference Centre, 57 Albion Road, EH7 5QY.  On Tuesday, 10 March, at the same venue, 2.30pm to 4.00pm, ETF invites all tenants to meet to discuss current housing issues. This is in advance of a Wednesday, 8 April meeting with Elected Councillors on the same theme. Tenants are invited to join those latter two events. In the first instance, contact  info@edinburghtenants.org.uk or call 0131 475 2509 to register your attendance.   

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10 Feb: Travel: Living Streets Edinburgh works to hold the City Council to its commitment that, ‘Pedestrians are at the top of the urban transport hierarchy’. The Council’s next Local Development Plan, City Plan 2040, due for publication in 2028, hopes to showcase a series of Local Place Plans, neighbourhood ideas for urban improvement. Living Streets Edinburgh sees more pedestrian crossings and dropped kerbs, and less through-traffic, as local ideas worth pursuing.

You can join Living Streets Edinburgh on Monday 23 February (3-4pm) to learn more, in the company of Anna Grant from Edinburgh Council, and Joanna McClelland, a practising architect from Leith. Register for this Zoom online meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/2aMsXeLtQBaNHa88iwhIiA#/registration

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6 Feb: Travel: Black Cab Taxi Fare Consultation: CEC has commenced its regular (every 18 months) review of taxi fares and has opened (3 Feb) a public consultation with the taxi trade, the public and stakeholders. The consultation covers ‘black cabs’ only. It closes on 20 Feb. You can access it here. https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/taxi-fare-review-2026/

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4 Feb: Community: The Community Renewal Trust: What do we have here?: Based in Glasgow, the Community Renewal Trust looks to “listen, connect people to the support they need, build on strengths and stick with them as long as it takes…. sharing learning which will rethink how Scotland can end persistent poverty and inequity”. It works in several Edinburgh communities. (http://www.communityrenewal.org.uk/)

Community Renewal Consultancy and Training Ltd has been commissioned to undertake research into community spaces, assets and services to get a better understanding of the resources accessible to the residents of the city. “We would like to invite input into a survey of local community spaces (not local CEC owned community centres) to inform our research.”

“Community Renewal Consultancy and Training Ltd will conclude (the) research by using the data collated through surveys and field research to create a report that analyses the spaces and services across the cities localities.”

Contact informationJohn Hawryluk | Senior Social Impact Consultant | john.hawryluk@communityrenewal.org.uk

Here are the survey links.

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28 Jan: Policing: Community Policing: Here is a link to the Police Scotland Edinburgh South West Community Policing Team Newsletter for Q4 2025. A South East Community Policing Forum is just getting off the ground. Hopefully, we can move to a South East Newsletter reasonably soon. However, there is a lot of useful background and information in this one:

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28 Jan: Environment: SEPA Flood Risk Consultation; open until 22 April: Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has launched a public consultation to identify and assess local flooding concerns across the country. The results will help shape SEPA’s Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMP) 2028-2034, due for publication in December 2027

. Communities are being invited to share their main flooding concerns and to highlight projects, initiatives or actions already helping to manage flood risk. “This consultation is about listening to communities and learning from local experience.” Find out more about this critically important programme here: https://consultation.sepa.org.uk/evidence-and-flooding/frmp-phase-1-consultation/ The risks in this locality may be limited, but risks there are. Take a little time to see what SEPA have to say. The survey runs until 22 April.

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27 Jan: Transport: Tram Trains for Edinburgh (TTfE): Cameron Toll Redevelopment: The TTfE volunteer team see the Cameron Toll proposal as a big boost for their push to re-open the South Edinburgh suburban rail line (South Sub). It brings into play the idea of a major transport hub at Cameron Toll, joining up the North-South Tram line with the West-East sweep of the South Sub from a Murrayfield junction, through to Fort Kinnaird, then conceivably on to Portobello or Musselburgh. The team are keen to reinforce their vision with the Cameron toll developers. The drive is now on to find sponsors of a further feasibility study. If you would like to join the venture, contact mailto:tramtrainsedi@gmail.com or visit the 'Reopen the South Sub - Tram Trains for Edinburgh' Facebook page.

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23 Jan: Community: Reid Memorial (RM) Church: Pending Closure: RM congregation has now joined that of Marchmont St Giles to form Blackford and Grange Parish Church. There is no longer public worship in the RM Church. The joint Kirk Sessions are now submitting a request that the Presbytery of Edinburgh and West Lothian, and the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland, review the initial decision to close / sell the Reid Memorial buildings. The RM halls will remain open through 2026.

However, the major question arises as to what comes next. An important neighbourhood and community venue is at risk. The local Scout and Guide groups, along with badminton, yoga, various musical groups and Mother and Toddler groups may well be unable to find alternative accommodation and they could also close.

It’s too early to say, but the call is out from a few RM members for local residents who have any ideas on what to do next. A ‘community buyout’ is one avenue – Bellfield Church in Portobello is a precedent – but that is a mighty undertaking. Mr William Ivory is Group Lead Volunteer with 85th Braid Scout Group at RM and he is opening this conversation, on a blank page.

The important step now is to begin filling it in, with any sort of workable ideas or proposals whatsoever. Mr Ivory will likely move to convene a public meeting and we will keep you posted on that.

In the first instance, contact Mr Ivory at mailto:gsl85thbraid@tusks.org.uk if you are interested in this community project. Let me know too at secretary@grangeassociationcc.org.uk . GPCC will look to assist on this project as it can.

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23 Jan: The GPCC Newsletter: The Grange Prestonfield Voice (TGPV): We launched the Voice on 1 December. Cori Schwabe (a GPCC member) is promoter, producer and editor. Across the Grange, Blackford, Mayfield, Newington, Waverley and Prestonfield neighbourhoods and communities we want to bring together news on what's happening, what's going on and what's up. What you share grows elsewhere! Make a start by scanning this mobile camera code:

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21 Jan: Place: Astley Ainslie Community Trust 'Place Plan': The Astley Ainslie Local Place Plan has now been officially registered with the City of Edinburgh Council Planning Department. This is a significant milestone and means that the sponsoring Astley Ainslie Community Trust’s vision for the future of the Astley Ainslie site is now formally recognised within the city’s planning framework. The Plan ‘reflects priorities identified through community-led engagement and sets out aspirations around green space, heritage, wellbeing, and long-term public benefit’.

The full Local Place Plan can be viewed on website below. If you would like further information or would welcome a conversation about the Local Place Plan and what it means in practice, please get in touch with the Trust by contacting jillian.simon@aact.scot

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21 Jan: Transport: Scottish Road Works Register: An accurate source of information for the public and interested organisations regarding future, ongoing and past works on Scottish roads. What is happening where, and why, in the locality and beyond. See the Scotttish Road Wroks Register website here:

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20 Jan: Planning Permission Appeal: 27-29 and 33-41 Ratcliffe Terrace, EH9 1SX

This is the proposed large PBSA development encompassing the Causewayside Lads Institute. CEC Planning refused the developer’s planning application which included demolition of the existing building. The developer has taken the matter to the Scot Gov Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA). A DPEA Reporter ‘has been appointed to consider the matter’ and a decision will be issued ‘in due course’.

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15 Jan: Travel: Voi E-Bikes: There has been an expansion of the 'Voi' E-Bike 'active travel' facility in the GPCC area, notably around King's Buildings and up towards Marchmont. Some of the early site selections for 'bike bays' (made in conjunction with Council officers) look 'awkward'. I would point to the Grange Loan / Kilgraston Road junction as an example. There are others. We want the hire scheme to work. It is going to expand further. At the same time, pedestrian and road users have to be safeguarded from bike 'clutter' and bike 'abandonment'. Report 'incidents' in the first instance via this link: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/roads-travel-parking/cycle-hire-scheme . Contact GPCC with cases of repeated bike misuse. (The contact point is at the top of the page.)

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15 Jan: Place: Local Place Plans (LPP): LPP are a core element of City Plan 2040. They are at the heart of an invitation from the Council to community groups to describe how and where they would foresee improvements to local place, space and amenity in their neighbourhoods. A local group 'Banzai', centred in Bruntsfield, is leading a LPP initiative across 'Bruntsfield, Merchiston, Marchmont and Sciennes'. You can read a full description of what they have in mind in the link below. Note the invitation to complete a survey and to attend a series of 'People's Assemblies' on 31 Jan, 28 Feb and 28 Mar.

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9 Jan: Place: City Plan 2040: The next Local Development Plan (LDP)

Work on this LDP has to be in good part complete by 2028. It's of fundamental importance. The plan will help shape the city from top to bottom as it grows, expands, changes, adapts. On Saturday 17 January, at Cameron Toll, from midday into the afternoon, you can take a look at the outline ideas and themes. It is well-worth patching in to what is going to evolve here. Try this link: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/local-development-plan-guidance-1/city-plan-2040

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9 Jan: Planing: Site at 27-29 Ratcliffe Terrace: Causewayside Lads Institute

A PBSA proposal for this site had recently been declined, and an application to permit demolition of the existing building on the site had been submitted.

GPCC, among others, had asked the Council to issue a Building Preservation Notice (BPN). We’ve now received a response from the Chief Planning Officer, David. Mr Givan.

The Council does not propose at this time to serve a BPN.

The ‘proposed demolition’ is held to be ‘development’, ‘not permitted development’ and is so denied. Therefore, the building cannot be demolished at this time’.

A BPN is in abeyance.

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8 Jan: Travel: City Mobility: Dundee Street Fountainbridge Active Travel Project

The current consultation on detailed project proposals closes on 12 January. The Council’s Active Travel programme has the immense challenge of making ‘room for all’ across the city’s roadways, cycleways and footpaths. The quandary invites pressures for ‘elbow room’. You will be interested in the 29 December release by Living Streets Edinburgh (LSE) of its response to the proposals for the Dundee Street Fountainbridge cycleway connection. The LSE report illustrates the inherent conflicts in many aspects of urban transport design. It shows how such tensions can spill into confected mobility ‘solutions’ which in some cases undermine agreed core principles (e.g. on pavement width) and in other cases reveal the worst of all worlds in the shape of ‘floating bus stops’. Here is the consultation link:

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8 Jan: Travel: Edinburgh Road Safety Delivery Plan 2025/26: Six-Month Update

Here is a little more detail, drawn from the Transport & Environment Committee

There is an outline of the comprehensive Safe System approach to the Council’s road safety strategy, building protection around safe road users / safe speeds / safe roads and roadsides / safe vehicles / effective post-crash response.

This strategy links with a Safer Streets Prioritisation Process, a revised assessment framework which will be implemented in Q1 2026.

Appendix 1 to the Report lists individual schemes carried in the 2025/26 Plan. These include major projects, pedestrian crossings, speed reduction measures, school travel measures, speed limit reductions and accident investigation and prevention outcomes.

There will be further work on the adverse impact of an intended extension to the 20mph network on public transport service provision, with related delays to implementation.

Developers will be encouraged to fund and install directly improvements to road safety infrastructure where they fall due to contribute by way of section 75 Developer Contributions.

A new Pedestrian Crossing Assessment Framework is underway, with a further report due to Committee later in the year. The intention is that members of the public should be able, as a matter of course, to log new crossing requests to a ‘heat map’ so that the Council can track the listings and use them to build a programme for crossings delivery from 2026/27 onwards.

There will be additional assistance for schools in the preparation of their School Travel Plans.

The projected budget for all road safety projects in 2025/26 is posted at £6.7m.

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5 Jan 2026: Parking: Controlled Parking Zone S8 Blackford Newington

This entry updates and corrects the 12 November item, and amends what was carried in the January 1 Grange Prestonfield Voice Newsletter. 

The Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to constitute the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) S8 across our area is expected to be submitted for Council approval on 17 March 2026. This is TRO/24/12. CPZ S8 would correspond with the current Priority Parking Area B1. It will not include Priority Parking Area B7, to the east of B1. CPZ S8 falls within Phase 3 of the Strategic Parking Review. A number of CPZs will be considered at this time. Where approved, the focus would shift to timescale for subsequent implementation.

We should clarify that a vote to approve the TRO will not open a statutory consultation period on that specific order. Mid-2025 ‘pre-engagement’ or advertisement of the proposals for the area is held to have constituted ‘consultation’. (This follows an April 2025 decision by the Council to dispense with its statutory duty to consult residents on the approved introduction of TROs in their areas.)

This is a long drawn-out and confusing process. We will look to add further clarification as we can.

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