placemaking – Page 3 – Planning Edinburgh

Princes Street and Waverley Valley Strategy – Come and speak to the team

*The Waverley Valley includes East and West Princes Street Gardens, including the Ross Bandstand, Waverley Station, Waverley Market and East Market Street.*

Residents, businesses and other interested groups are being asked to comment on a strategy to revitalise Princes Street and the wider Waverley Valley to create a more vibrant and welcoming city centre.

The new vision will guide the long-term regeneration of this part of the city centre, including promoting a mix of shops and services for residents and visitors, protecting the area’s historic and architectural importance, supporting businesses to be more climate resilient, and encouraging temporary ‘pop-up’ uses within vacant units

A 12-week consultation on the draft Princes Street and Waverly Valley Strategy began in November. You can comment on any or all of the proposals on our online survey until 21 Feb 2025.

Come and speak to the team

Over the next few weeks we are holding in-person drop-in sessions for anyone to come and speak to the team:

Thursday 16 January – 10am to 2pm – Central Library foyer, 7-9 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EG

Cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances

Wednesday 29 January – 3pm to 7pm – Waverley Station main concourse

Monday 3 February – 1pm to 5pm – City Arts Centre, 2 Market Street, EH1 1DE

The draft strategy aims to:

Create a more accessible city centre – The masterplan for comment recommends guiding the area from the West End of Princes Street along to Waverley Station to become more accessible, with improvements such as additional ramp access to Princes Street Gardens, a footbridge over the Waverley Valley, more public spaces to enjoy, an improved crossing and pedestrian improvements to Castle Street, the Mound Precinct, and Waverley Bridge.
Revitalise Princes Street – Working with developers, the strategy suggests improvements to Princes Street with temporary pop-up premises, building wraps and artwork and encourages mixed-uses for the prominent high street. Improvements to historic buildings, including the Ross Bandstand, are also suggested to create better opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy the area.
Protect green spaces – The strategy looks to integrate climate resilience and biodiversity measures to protect the existing Waverley Valley and Gardens from climate change and to plant more trees and flowers – also promoting sustainable transport options and the retrofitting of historic buildings in line with Edinburgh’s net zero aims.
Make improvements to Waverley Station – Shape the future of Waverley Station and the area around it. Its key position between the Old and New Towns makes the station a vital connection between the Old and New Towns. Network Rail’s Waverley Masterplan recognises the need to restore and modernise the station.

Find out more at edinburgh.gov.uk/princesstreet

Have your say on ambitious vision for Edinburgh’s city centre

Map of Edinburgh city centre showing the boundaries of the area the consultation is on. The boundary runs on the North along Rose Street, to the East Calton Road Bridge, to the South Princes Street Gardens and to the West Castle Terrace and Lothian Road.

Residents, businesses and other interested groups in the Capital are being asked to comment on a strategy to revitalise Princes Street and the wider Waverley Valley to create a more vibrant and welcoming city centre.

The new vision will guide the long-term regeneration of this part of the city centre, providing a mix of shops and services for residents and visitors, attracting investment and jobs and supporting businesses within an exceptional historic and climate resilient environment.

A 12-week consultation on the Council’s draft Princes Street and Waverley Valley Strategy began last week. It aligns with Edinburgh’s Net Zero 2030 ambitions, City Mobility Plan, Edinburgh City Centre Transformation (ECCT) and City Plan 2030.

The Princes Street and Waverley Valley draft strategy is part of bold plans to transform the city centre. The ECCT was approved in 2019 and includes the George Street and First New Town, Meadows to George Street projects.

As well as Princes Street the Waverley Valley area covers East and West Princes Street Gardens, Waverley Station, Waverley Market and East Market Street.

The draft strategy aims to:

Create a more accessible city centre – The masterplan for comment recommends guiding the area from the West End of Princes Street along to Waverley Station to become more accessible, with improvements such as additional ramp access to Princes Street Gardens, a footbridge over the Waverley Valley, more public spaces to enjoy, an improved crossing and pedestrian improvements to Castle Street, the Mound Precinct, and Waverley Bridge.
Protect green spaces – The strategy looks to integrate climate resilience and biodiversity measures to protect the existing Waverley Valley and Gardens from climate change and to plant more trees and flowers – also promoting sustainable transport options and the retrofitting of historic buildings in line with Edinburgh’s net zero aims.
Revitalise Princes Street – Working with developers, the strategy suggests improvements to Princes Street with temporary pop-up premises, building wraps and artwork and encourages mixed-uses for the prominent high street. Improvements to historic buildings, including the Ross Bandstand, are also suggested to create better opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy the area.
Make improvements to Waverley Station – Shape the future of Waverley Station and the area around it. Its key position between the Old and New Towns makes the station a vital connection between the Old and New Towns. Network Rail’s Waverley Masterplan recognises the need to restore and modernise the station.

Complete the survey by 21 Feb 2025 to have your say on ambitious vision for Edinburgh’s city centre.

Amendments to the West Edinburgh Placemaking Framework

Graphic showing a montage of scenes from across West Edinburgh, including trees, nature, people walking, cycling, playing, homes, buildings, trams and the airport in the background.

We are planning a major expansion of West Edinburgh. The area along the A8 corridor, south of the Airport will be developed with houses, shops, schools, services, public transport, healthcare, parks and sports facilities.

We produced the West Edinburgh Placemaking Framework to guide development and we engaged with residents and businesses to make sure we got this right. The Framework was revised based on that feedback.

The Scottish Government supports our plans for development but there are elements of the Framework that need more work, including:

how the new area will connect to the surrounding area, existing communities and other new developments,
how the essential things that people will need are delivered and when, and
options for the Gogar Burn.

We have now amended the Framework, which we are seeking your views on.

Find out more

Drop-in session in the Tweed Room at the Marriott Delta Hotel,111 Glasgow Road on Thursday 13 June 3pm to 7pm
Read the committee report and amended Framework on the Consultation Hub at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/westedinburgh

Tell us your views

Fill in the questionnaire on the Consultation Hub at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/westedinburgh by 1 August 2024.

Future Planners

In this blog, Holly Gray, Student Planner highlights how engagement with young people will help inform the future of West Edinburgh.

A child's vision of West Edinburgh in the future title "Best Fun Town". Features a lot of brightly coloured trees and grass. At the centre is a school and a water fountain, surrounded by a swimming pool, housing, play areas and shops.

As a student planner for the Planning Service, I have been involved in whole range of work. One the highlights so far has been running engagement events at three schools in West Edinburgh: Craigmount High School, Fox Covert Primary School and Cramond Primary School.

These events gave 150 children aged between 10 to 16 the opportunity to share their thoughts on their area and to design their own town.

Through the engagement with young people, we could see that they experience, and interact with places differently so it is important as planners that we consider their thoughts and needs when preparing plans for their local area. This is especially important in Edinburgh where under 16-year-olds make up 15% of the population.

Children discuss their vision for the future of West Edinburgh.

The Royal Town Planning Institute recognises the importance of engaging children in the planning processes; it states that ‘parents, professionals and politicians all have strong views about what is best for children. However, this is from an adult’s perspective, and they may not identify the same issues (or wants) as the children themselves.’

To gather these invaluable perspectives, two different activities were used to spark curiosity and discussion around planning and new development in West Edinburgh.

Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool
Example of use of the Place Standard Tool

First up was an activity using the Place Standard Tool, which is an interactive tool that facilitates conversations about places. The young people talked about different aspects of their area such as places to play, feeling safe, ability to walk or cycle around, access to facilities and what they felt about their homes. Sharing these views provided us with an insight into what they liked about their area and what could be improved.

The real magic happened in the second activity, when the young people used their new planning knowledge, alongside their brilliant imaginations, to create their own towns.

Craigmount High School
Craigmount High School
Craigmount High School
Craigmount High School
Cramond Primary School
Cramond Primary School
Cramond Primary School
Fox Covert Primary School (
Fox Covert Primary School
Fox Covert Primary School
Fox Covert Primary School
Fox Covert Primary School

Take a look at all their fascinating towns in the slideshow, with town themes ranging from eco-friendly neighbourhoods promoting open space and low vehicle emissions, to more innovative food, sports and animal themed towns! The most notable aspect shared across these diverse towns was the importance given to large and interesting outdoor spaces and public realms. It became clear that the young people saw these spaces as a priority as places to play, spend time and support their development and well-being.

Although many towns had fun themes, we were really impressed by the children’s ability to incorporate important planning elements such as promoting public transport and active travel, mixed used neighbourhoods, distinctive places, a mix of housing, water as a feature and encouraging physical activity. However, certain fast food restaurants did also feature quite a lot!

Time spent at these three schools not only revealed how keen young people are to contribute to the discussion and demonstrate their needs and perspectives, but also how important they are in creating great places. These engagement activities help us to foster a more inclusive Edinburgh, raise awareness of city planning and the opportunities for young people to see planning as a future profession.

A huge highlight of our visit was the overwhelmingly positive feedback received with the teachers telling us that their students had expressed a newfound interest in pursuing a career in urban planning!

Holly Gray, Student Planner

City Plan 2040 – Participation Statement Questionnaire

How do you want to be involved?

School children discuss what it important to them in Edinburgh around a table with a planner from Edinburgh Council.

We are at the very early stage of preparing City Plan 2040 which will be our next local development plan after City Plan 2030.

Edinburgh’s most recent Development Plan Scheme has further information on the City Plan 2040.

A local development plan is an important planning document. It guides how Edinburgh changes and grows; and how we respond to the big issues facing the city such as providing good places to live and climate change. It is the starting point for making decisions on whether to approve or refuse planning applications. It is important that people, organisations and communities get involved as much as they can to help inform and prepare City Plan 2040

The Development Plan Scheme contains a draft Participation Statement which is a summary of when and how the Council is likely to engage with people during the City Plan 2040 process.

We are required by the Scottish Government to seek the views of the public on what the content of the Participation Statement should be and have regard to any views expressed.

The questionnaire on the Consultation Hub is asking you (or your organisation) on the best ways to keep you informed and to get you involved.

We will use the results of this survey to improve how we engage with people as we go through the City Plan 2040 preparation stages.

You can sign up for updates for City Plan 2040 by joining our mailing list.