Princes Street
At our meeting on 27 February, the Planning Committee agreed to relax planning policy for Princes Street to allow cafes and restaurants to open up alongside the shops to make it more of a destination. A more flexible approach to Shandwick Place, Castle Street, and Queensferry Street has also been agreed. Shopping will always be one of the main reasons
why people want to be in the city centre but by allowing more cafes and restaurants in certain areas it will encourage more people to spend time enjoying the spectacular views and unique atmosphere. Along with new shops opening, the tram set to run, and large parts of George Street being given to pedestrians, it is an exciting time for our city centre and the recent launch of the ‘This is Edinburgh’ promotional campaign will help increase footfall in the area.
Edinburgh Street Design Guidance
An attractive environment also helps to make a successful place and the Council is committed to providing high quality streets, pavements and public spaces. The Planning 
Committee agreed that consultation should soon start on our new Edinburgh Street Design Guidance. The draft guidance is clear that people should be put before cars when new streets are designed or existing streets are changed. Edinburgh has been at the forefront of street design since the 1990s and it will be interesting to hear your views on our latest proposals.
The Forth Bridge
The 
progress of the nomination to make The Forth Bridge a world heritage site was also reported to the Committee. It will not be until the summer of 2015 that we find out if the bid has been successful but it was encouraging to see how far it has already come.
You can read the all the Planning Committee reports in full online.
Councillor Ian Perry. Convener of the Planning Committee
Planning Edinburgh 