placemaking – Planning Edinburgh

City Plan 2040 Engagement: What Makes Good Place?

Graphic of typical things you might see in a neighbourhood (coffee cup, house, tree, bike, bus) fitting together like a jigsaw. Test reads: What makes a good place? Tell us about where you live in.

We know that Edinburgh is not just one place, but it is made up of many different areas. Each with its own good points and challenges.

We need to get an understanding of each area, what it’s like to live there and what we need to plan for in City Plan 2040.

To gather people’s views, we have launched a public engagement asking people ‘what they think about where they live’.

The questionnaire covers the important things that make a good place such as homes, local shops and services, healthcare, public transport, open space, play facilities, community space and jobs .

If you live in Edinburgh, you can find out more and fill in the questionnaire on our Consultation Hub here

There are also a series of drop-in events:

Monday 3 November at the Waverley Court (Hawthorn Learning Space) from 14:30-19:30

Saturday 8 November at the Gyle Shopping Centre (Main Concourse) from 12:00-15:00

Tuesday 11 November, Kirkliston Parish Church Hall from 15:30-18:30

Wednesday 12 November, Sighthill Library/ Gate 55 from 16:00-19:00

Monday 17 November at Oxgangs Library (Community Room) from 16:00-19:00

Tuesday 18 November at Drumbrae Library Hub (Parkgrove Room) from 15:30-19:00

Wednesday 19 November at Magdalene Community Centre from 15:30-19:00

Friday 21 November at North Edinburgh Arts Centre (Theatre Suite) from 16:00-19:00

Saturday 17 January 2026 at Cameron Toll Shopping Centre from 11:30-14:30

City Plan 2040 Update

City Plan 2040 will be our next local development plan after City Plan 2030.

There are several formal stages that we need to go through as we prepare City Plan 2040. We have produced a Development Plan Scheme which explains these stages and sets out the timetable for the plan preparation.

Currently, we are working on our Evidence Report which is the first stage of preparing a local development plan. This will contain topic papers on a wide range of issues.

The Evidence Report will provide a baseline of information and what we might need to address in City Plan 2040.

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)

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.

We want your views on our draft Planning Design Guidance – Consultation closing soon

We are currently updating some of our planning guidance documents and would like to hear your views on the new draft versions.

The online consultation closes next week on 3 April 2025.

Your views will help us finalise the updates to these guidance documents:

Edinburgh Design Guidance – Guidance for design and placemaking in new developments. This is to make sure we have places that work well and create good places to live. (Photo courtesy of 7N Architects, © Leo Paredes Photography).
Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas – Guidance to support works to a listed building or within a conservation area. This is to make sure we look after our historic buildings and places.
Guidance for Householders – Guidance for development undertaken by individual householders. This includes work to existing houses and gardens.

You can view the draft-for-consultation documents here:

Edinburgh Design Guidance

Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Guidance

Guidance for Householders

You can comment on any or all of them online here.

In response to the National Planning Framework 4, City Plan 2030 and the City Mobility Plan, we have reviewed the guidance documents to make sure they align with the aims and outcomes of the plans.

We have also updated the draft guidance to respond to the climate and nature emergencies. This includes:

Minimising energy used in the construction, maintenance and use of buildings.
Adapting to the changing climate, including sustainable drainage.
Supporting biodiversity and good green space.
Enabling sustainable transport.

Our advice on how we make spaces safer for everyone has also been updated.

All three consultations are open until 3 April 2025.

Updated City Centre and Town Centre Planning Guidance

Four front covers of Town Centre Guidance documents - Tollcross, Leith, Portobello and Corstorphine. Each cover shows a row of shops with flats above and pavement & road in front.

Following the adoption of the City Plan 2030 our City Centre and Town Centre Planning Guidance has now been updated.

The updated guidance also takes into account

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4)
changes to the permitted development rights to allow some changes of use of shops to other uses without planning permission

The eight town centres are

Bruntsfield/ Morningside
Corstorphine
Gorgie/Dalry
Leith
Nicolson Street/ Clerk Street
Portobello
Stockbridge
Tollcross

The guidance has been informed by a ‘public life street assessments’ carried out in 2016, which explored how town centres should evolve to maximise the potential for benefiting public life and a health check which has considered the centre’s strengths, vitality and viability, weaknesses and resiliencies.

The guidance assists the delivery of NPF4 objectives and policies, in particular to ensure town centres are vibrant, healthy and resilient places for people to work, enjoy and visit.

Town centres are an important focal point for people who live and work in Edinburgh. They provide shopping, leisure and community facilities in locations which are easily accessible by walking, wheeling and cycling or public transport. They also contribute to local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods.

The updated guidance is no longer statutory supplementary guidance, but will remain as planning guidance and a material consideration in the determination of planning applications.