THE City of Edinburgh Council is set to carry out a consultation into the management of events in the city centre’s public spaces.
The feedback will help the Council create a Public Spaces Manifesto, which will provide a policy framework for events in spaces open to the public.
Proposals are to be discussed by councillors at next week’s Transport and Environment Committee.
The manifesto will aim to offer greater clarity on appropriate event types and frequency and the preferred use of different spaces in the city centre.
Transport Convener, councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “It makes sense that we provide a framework to ensure we strike the right balance between our calendar of world-class events and the maintenance of an attractive, accessible city centre for all those living in, working in and visiting it.
“We have worked closely with the relevant organisations to address this matter so far, and now want to hear from the wider public on how best to manage civic spaces in the city centre.”
Stakeholders had complained that there were no clear guidelines on the preferred function or use of each civic space and therefore no criteria to select between competing applications to hold events.
They also said there was no mechanism that allowed the Council to protect public spaces from over-use or constant use by one organisation.
It has now been recommended that interim guidance addressing these gaps is trialled on Castle Street, a space which has benefited from public investments but is still considered to be under used.
The outcome of the trial, along with a major 18-month public consultation, will inform a Public Spaces Manifesto, to be reported to committee in 2016.
