We are now seeking your views on some new buildings in Edinburgh. Please complete our short online survey showing a number of new buildings. This will help us make decisions in the future.
If you want more details about the project, read the Planning Committee report.
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.
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 The draft guidance is clear that people should be put before cars when new streets are designed or existing streets are changed.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 
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
On Saturday 8th February, we’ll be hosting a Royal Mile Community Drop In Day at the Tron Kirk, where you can:
The kirk will be open from 10am to 4pm and all are welcome.
Royal Mile drop in day flyer (image courtesy of Duncan Harris)
It’s now almost a year since the Council set out how we would deal with ‘party flats’. Party flats being property or properties occupied by a number of unrelated people on holiday for ‘stag’ or ‘hen’ parties or where properties are used for groups attending large sporting/entertainment events. In that time, we have served a number of enforcement notices instructing landlords to remove these unauthorised uses and we are currently investigating other cases. Whilst they may be well intended, these flats can cause a nuisance to neighbours and result in serious safety issues.
You can get more advice in our Guidance for Businesses document with party flats (or ‘short stay commercial leisure apartments’) covered on page 6. If you are considering letting out a property for this purpose, or are concerned about whether an unauthorised party flat is operating in your area, then please read the guidance and contact us at planning@edinburgh.gov.uk for further advice.
On an evening in late November Community Councils and community groups came together, at the invite of Cllr Perry, to discuss the engagement process so far for the Edinburgh Local Development Plan. It was an opportunity for those involved in the plan to talk through how we continue to improve how we engage in the future. The discussion centred around the aims of the process so far, how best to share information and the value of the Development Plan Scheme in this process. The feedback we received from the event will inform how we engage on the current Local Development Plan as well as how we provide updates. Themes emerged around a need to:
The evening ended with a look at what lies ahead in the plan making process as a result of a requirement to identify more land for housing and we noted the intention to undertake the next period of representation on the plan from early June to September 2014. If you were unable to attend the event or have more that you’d like to say about the engagement process to date then please complete our survey.
Planning Edinburgh 
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