A JOINT statement criticising the council’s plans for Princes Street and Waverley Valley has been put out by three community councils in the city.
Councils in New Town and Broughton, the West End, and Old Town released a statement last week, saying that “the draft strategy fails to address the needs of the street”.
The City of Edinburgh Council gave locals until Friday to have their say on proposed developments in one of the Scottish capital’s busiest areas.
The community statement acknowledges the need for urgent regeneration in the area, but concludes that the strategy offered by the council needs to be rethought.
The draft strategy put forward by the council suggested segregated cycle lanes which would potentially decrease walking and wheeling space on the pavement next to the shops.
They also considered replacing pavements with more durable slabs, and putting a limit on the amount of space taken up by outside dining areas, so as to ensure safety for pedestrians.
There is a significant focus on ensuring new buildings conform to net zero standards, proposing rain gardens and solar panels.
Any new buildings should fit in with the rest of the architecture in the World Heritage Site that covers much of the Old and New Towns.
In a scathing analysis, the three community councils contend that the draft strategy “contains no vision, and hence fails to qualify as a strategy”.
They say that while Princes Street has “fallen into poor condition”, the proposals focus on “generic urban planning measures” with “no real choices” put forward.
It is suggested that a large issue faced in the area involves the decline of high-street retail in favour of hotel, office, and leisure space, which in turn reduces footfall.
The councils are calling for professionals to develop a vision for Princes Street that will “restore its prestige”, ensuring its commercial future.
They state: “In summary, we believe that the strategy needs to be re-thought, starting with a coherent vision for Princes Street.
“After that, other parts of the ‘Waverley Valley’, including the gardens, Waverley station and the overall city centre transport system can be added to create a coherent model of the city centre that the public will be enthusiastic in supporting.
“Finally, some simple operational changes to the city centre, such as the entrances to West Princes Street Gardens, should go forward as soon as possible, subject to appropriate consultations, and not be delayed by being caught up in some grand, but vague, strategic master plan that advances at the pace of a poor endangered snail in Princes Street Gardens.”
The Cockburn Association, Scotland’s oldest conservation charity, have also responded to the draft strategy, welcoming the vision but urging a “strategic approach to address retail decline”.
They are proposing a workshop to rethink the plans whilst maintaining sustainable outcomes for the area.
