Tag: Edinburgh

Planning Helpdesk and Weekly Lists – Christmas and New Year Arrangements

Our Planning Helpdesk (which operates as an email and call-back service) will be closed from 22 December 2025 and will reopen on 5 January 2026. Queries received over this time will be responded to when we re-open.

Our online resources and self-service options will still be available 24/7 during this time, ensuring that you can find information and resources whenever you need them.

We have a wide range of planning quick guides aimed at householders – these answer a lot of commonly asked questions, including for

Planning guidance gives advice on topics to guide new development. This guidance answers a lot of commonly asked questions for

The quickest & easiest way to comment on planning applications is on the Planning Portal. When a comment is submitted over the Planning Portal, we receive it within minutes.

Planning enforcement issues can also be reported online.

Weekly lists & planning advertisements

Please note there will be NO planning weekly lists issued Monday 29 December 2025.

There will also be NO planning advertisement in the Edinburgh Evening News on the following dates:

  • Friday 26 December 2025
  • Friday 2 January 2026

The week commencing Monday 5 January 2026 will see things go back to normal – the helpdesk will re-open, with the weekly list issued & an advertisement on Friday 9 January 2026.

Full details of Council services at Christmas and New Year, including emergency contacts, can be found on our website.

Season’s Greeting to all our customers and wishing you a happy 2026.

New Planning Guidance

A series of new and revised non-statutory planning guidance to provide additional information on the policies of City Plan 2030 and National Planning Framework 4 is now live.

They were approved by Planning Committee on 10 September 2025 and replace any previous versions of the guidance.

The guidance is provided to assist those considering proposals for development and will be used as a material consideration in the determination of planning applications.

The new guidance is listed below:

Edinburgh Design Guidance – this should be used for the planning and design of new development proposals and for street design.

Guidance for Householders  – this is for people considering altering or extending their home, and for professionals involved in the application process.

Guidance for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas – this is for anyone considering repairing, altering or extending a listed building or an unlisted building in a conservation area.

Student Accommodation Guidance – this is for professionals and developers involved in the provision of purpose-built student accommodation including new build, change of use and conversion.

Developer Contributions and Infrastructure Delivery Guidance – this will be used to assist in assessing planning applications including the provisions to include legal agreements requiring contributions towards delivering infrastructure associated with development.

You can see all our Planning Guidance and Planning Quick Guides here

Planning and Buildings Standards Systems Upgrade – 24-26 September 2025

An upgrade of the Planning and Buildings Standards portal is planned between 1pm Wednesday 24 and Friday 26 September.

The public will not be able to view or comment on planning applications during this time. Planning applications that are open for comment during the upgrade will have three additional days added.

The upgrade will allow for improvements to the mapping function and a number of improvements to help process applications as quickly and efficiently as we can.

Planning and Building Warrant applications can continue to be made online through eDevelopment.

The weekly list of planning applications will be issued as normal and the weekly planning advert in the Edinburgh Evening News will appear as normal on the Friday.

You can keep up to date with planning by following us on BlueSky, Instagram or subscribing to this blog.

Local Place Plans

We are pleased that we have registered our second Local Place Plan which covers Midmar Paddock which was submitted by the Friends of Midmar Paddock.

You can see the Midmar Paddock Local Place Plan and the Wester Hailes Local Place Plan on our Register.

Midmar Paddock from Blackford Hill (Photo by Friends of Midmar Paddock)
Midmar Paddock from Blackford Hill (Photo by Friends of Midmar Paddock)

There are many other Local Place Plans in progress throughout the City. However, there is still time for community groups to produce Local Place Plans. Our deadline to register a Local Place Plan is June 2026.

Local Place Plans are community-led plans which outline a community’s vision and proposals for their area. Registered Local Place Plans will be taken into account when we prepare City Plan 2040.

There is more information on our webpages but if you are interested in producing a Local Place Plans, you should contact us via cityplan2040@edinburgh.gov.uk and we would be happy to have chat with you.

RTPI Scotland Planning Awards for Excellence

Some (5) of the planning team standing and smiling holding the three awards.
Some of the planning team with the awards

We’re thrilled to announce that last week we secured the title of Scottish Planning Authority of the Year at this year’s Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Scotland Awards for Planning Excellence.

This fantastic accolade highlights the exceptional efforts of everyone in the service and celebrates their commitment to enhancing our community and making Edinburgh a wonderful place to live.

Additionally, Rowanbank Gardens, a housing development in Corstorphine, received a commendation in the Best Project category. It’s brilliant to see this project recognised for its quality and positive impact on the community, reinforcing our mission to create inclusive and vibrant neighbourhoods.

The crowning achievement was when the Edinburgh Futures Institute was named the overall winner.  This remarkable project, which saw the transformation of the former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Quartermile, demonstrates the qualities of good planning and working in partnership.  It’s not just about the buildings; it’s about how we design spaces that uplift and engage our community.

These awards remind us that skilled planners and all those involved in the planning process are key to delivering these successful projects, and their hard work genuinely makes a difference in our daily lives.

As we look forward to the national RTPI awards in London later this year, we couldn’t be prouder of what the team has achieved.

In addition to these exciting achievements, we’re also celebrating our Building Standards team, who recently won the Local Authority Building Standards Scotland Awards for Customer Focus. This recognition underscores our ongoing commitment to excellence at the City of Edinburgh Council.