City Plan 2030 – next steps

Front Cover of City Plan 2030 - A view accross Edinburgh on a sunny day from the Crags.

City Plan 2030 has taken another significant step forward after agreement by the Councillors on the Planning Committee on Wednesday 30 November.

The proposed Plan was presented to Councillors at Planning Committee to decide on whether to submit the plan to Scottish Ministers for examination.

Councillors from across the political groups voted unanimously in favour of submitting the plan and congratulated planning officers and all those who contributed to the plan by concluding the session with a rare committee occurrence of a round of applause.

Councillors gave praise to the quality of the plan and commended the scale of the work that had been undertaken to produce such an ambitious document. Councillors recognised the capability of the plan to usher in a sustainable and modern future for Edinburgh, with comments of support from across the board over the need to progress the plan and see it adopted.

Watch a recording of the planning committee session here. 

Planning officers have now officially submitted their request for examination to the Scottish Ministers and the submission package includes:

  • The Proposed City Plan 2030
  • Representations to the plan
  • Schedule 4 Reports (the Council’s response to the representations)
  • Supporting documents submitted with representations
  • Supporting documents to the proposed plan (appendices, maps etc.)

A Scottish Government reporter will then begin the process of reviewing the plan and schedule 4 reports and evaluating the responses from the Council. This process is expected to take close to a year.

City Plan 2030 has taken a lot of hard work to get to this stage, and we’re looking forward to bringing the plan to adoption.

City Plan is ambitious. It aims to ensure that the planning of housing, employment and services addresses the need for net-zero development, resilience to climate change, quality places and green spaces; to deliver community infrastructure and job opportunities where people live and to embed a 20-minute neighbourhood principle at the heart of all places in Edinburgh. City Plan 2030 will help to transform Edinburgh into a truly modern, vibrant, and sustainable place that is befitting of a capital city.

City Plan 2030 Team.

World Heritage Site – Draft Management Plan 2023

View of Old Town from the Crags looking North West with the Forth Bridges in the distance.

The Management Plan for the Old & New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site is being reviewed and we want to hear your views.

An updated Draft Management Plan is being prepared by the City of Edinburgh Council, Historic Environment Scotland and Edinburgh World Heritage. It identifies issues and opportunities within the site and presents an action plan for implementation over a five-year period.

The issues identified include:

  • care and maintenance of buildings and streets
  • control and guidance and contribution of new development
  • awareness of World Heritage Site status
  • visitor management
  • influence and sense of control

This is your opportunity to tell us what matters to you and to help us to best address these issues. We want to hear your thoughts on how the World Heritage Site has been looked after, what works well and what we could be doing better. 

We specifically want to know whether you feel we are doing enough to protect and enhance the Site, and any other ideas or suggestions which you may have. 

Complete the consultation online by 12 December 2022.

Doing work to trees

It’s the time of year those with gardens may be considering some work to their trees.

As many of the trees in the city are protected by either being within a conservation area or by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) permission is required to do work to these trees.

Our online map of conservation areas and TPOs makes it easy for you to find out if trees are protected.

We also have guidance on looking after these protected trees and how to apply for permission.

As we get large numbers of applications for works to trees, please make sure you include:

  • The correct address i.e. where the tree is located
  • A location plan if the site does not have a postal address
  • A site plan clearly showing the location of the tree(s) and any other useful information
  • Photographs of the tree(s) and the surrounding context

Our Quick Guide to applying for work to trees sets all this out in a bit more detail.

Our webpage also contains information about trees on Council land, reporting overhanging foliage and issues with high hedges.

Proposed Development and Trees: tree survey

If you are undertaking development which requires planning permission, you need to look at what trees there are in your site and also next door to it. Proposals should not have a damaging impact on someone else’s trees.

Your planning application should include a tree survey of the trees within your site and those adjacent to it. The information required with applications is explained in the Edinburgh Design Guidance and Guidance for Householders  

The tree survey will help us assess the quality of the tree(s) and their suitability for retention as part of the proposals. If we don’t get this information at the start, then it may delay the assessment of your planning application.

Tree, stone wall and historic building.
Sycamore tree – historically known in Scotland as ‘Plane’, ‘Great Plane’ and ‘Scot’s Plane’.

 

 

Short Term Lets: Drop-in session on proposed changes to our Guidance for Businesses

Row of Edinburgh tenements with some trees in the foreground.

We will be holding a drop-in session on proposed changes to our Guidance for Businesses and specifically the expanded section on short term lets.

  • When:  1.00pm – 4.30pm on Wednesday 9 November
  • Where: Planning and Building Standards front counter area at Waverley Court (4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG)

Members of the planning team will be on hand to explain the proposed, answer any questions and get your feedback.

In 2021, Scottish Government legislation allowed councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, this means if that if a flat or a house, which is not the home you live in, is used for a short-term let, you will need planning permission.

Edinburgh’s short-term let control area has now been in place since 5 September 2022.

Come along if you

  • live in an area where properties are let out for short breaks
  • offer flats or houses for holiday lets in Edinburgh
  • are an interested member of the public

Complete the online consultation here by 22 December 2022.

Proposed changes to Guidance for Businesses – Short Term Lets

View of Edinburgh tenements with trees in the foreground.

We want your views on the proposed changes to the Guidance for Businesses and specifically the expanded section on short term lets (STLs).

In 2021, Scottish Government legislation allowed councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, this means if that if a flat or a house, which is not the home you live in, is used for a short-term let, you will need planning permission.

Edinburgh was the first council in Scotland to apply for a short-term control area, which has now been in place since 5 September 2022 and covers the whole of the Council’s area.

The amount of STL accommodation has grown significantly in the last ten years and Edinburgh is recognised as an area that has greater pressures than other parts of the country.

The current Guidance for Businesses has a section on short-term commercial visitor accommodation and we are proposing changes which were presented to the Planning Committee on 31 August 2022.

Planning applications for STLs be assessed against the Local Development Plan along with the updated guidance and any other relevant material considerations.

Your responses will shape the final version of the guidance which we aim to have in place in early 2023. 

Complete the online consultation here by 22 December 2022.