George Street revamp: How pedestrianisation plan could be scaled-back

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

The existing plans include widened and de-cluttered pavements, landscaped seating areas and a central, six-metre-wide cycleway. The council says the changes will create a 'greener, safer, accessible place for everyone to enjoy' in the heart of the city.
However, there is growing scepticism over the affordability of the scheme and uncertainty over funding sources, while political support in the City Chambers is wavering.
City of Edinburgh Council transport convener, Labour's Stephen Jenkinson, told The Herald he believed it remained a 'project worth backing' but stressed a balance had to be struck between 'doing something that's realistic and doing something that's worthy'.
The plan involves widening pavements and building a cycle superhighway along the length of George Street (Image: City of Edinburgh Council) Councillors on the transport committee will consider a report with 'gold standard, silver standard and bronze standard' options at the end of June as they look to finalise the street's redesign, he said. But rising costs and the risk of further delays could lead elected members to abandon the project altogether.
Cllr Jenkinson added: 'I want to try and get ourselves into a position where we have a kind of consensus with what we should do with George Street going forward. Ultimately I might not be able to get it. I think it'll be difficult to get the consensus because various parties have clearly articulated their positions on George Street and we'll have to see where we end up.'
According to sources, the report will present three options: proceeding with the current plan - previously costed at £39m but now expected to rise; a reduced-scope alternative - estimated between £20m and £30m - that omits tree planting, includes Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM), and removes the existing setts in the central carriageway; and a 'do minimum' option, involving upgraded and widened footways along with previously-agreed operational changes, at an estimated cost of around £15m. All would include around £9m for diverting underground utilities. A fourth option is expected to propose only removing parking from the street.
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The last update to councillors, in September, revealed a funding shortfall of around £14m. It is anticipated that income from the city's new visitor levy could help bridge the gap, alongside further funding bids to the Scottish Government and the National Lottery's heritage fund.
Officials have previously argued the scheme represents 'great value,' noting that approximately £30m would still need to be spent on resurfacing George Street's roads and pavements — even if the wider public realm revamp is scrapped.
'There's external funding that would have to come in at various points to help fund this project,' Cllr Jenkinson said, 'and when you're looking for external funding, predominantly Scottish Government money, you're up against other public realm projects across the country.
'So if you are actually going and asking for support for a project which isn't particularly inspiring it's going to be harder to secure any finance, never mind the finance you need, to deliver it.
The plan would create more space for pedestrians on George Street (Image: Gordon Terris) 'I would like to think one of the most important streets in Scotland's capital city would be up there with any other public realm project in the country. What we actually want is somewhere for people to walk about, enjoy, sit and enjoy a beer or coffee or whatever. We have to design for the future, not the past.'
The transport chief admitted the pace of delivery was 'too slow' and said he was 'focused on moving forward'. It's currently anticipated work could start in 2027 and take two years to complete.
'We're all fully aware the financial framework we're working in is tightening, it's not getting any easier to deliver anything,' he said. 'I'm a realist and I think it's important that you do what you can to ensure the projects you're looking to develop are the right ones and are delivered correctly for the right amount of money.'
A recent council report setting out infrastructure projects to be prioritised proposed 'proceeding' with George Street's overhaul, noting it 'may be eligible for National Lottery Heritage funding'.
'How not to manage a project'
Jo Mowat, Scottish Conservatives councillor for Edinburgh City Centre, said George Street had been an exercise in 'how not to manage a project'.
The plan has 'shape-shifted according to where the funding is coming from,' she said, adding the council has been 'at the mercy of what the Scottish Government will fund through its arms-length [active travel] organisation Sustrans'.
Cllr Mowat said as a result too much emphasis has been put on creating a 'cycle superhighway' and this 'comprised the design of the street'.
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'[George Street] is not really a particular transport link because of the squares at either end, so for it to become the main cycling connection would be awkward for cyclists who like to go in very straight lines,' she said.
'When you look at traditionally how the street has been used and what people want to do and think back from those first principles, this was designed as a place for people to promenade and gather.
"You've got shopping but also institutions, the Assembly Rooms, churches, you've got these places where people gather, and obviously now you've got restaurants and bars. So this is a place for people to gather.'
Asked if the project was now doomed, as some have suggested, she said: 'I think it's really difficult to ride back from it, but I don't see how we're going to pay for it. I would be really concerned you would start something you can't finish.
'I suspect it will be scaled back and it won't be quite what it is now — and that might not necessarily be a bad thing.'
'We're expecting it to be a cheaper version'
How to most effectively execute the street's pedestrianisation with minimal disruption to businesses and residents in the city centre has been a long-running debate in the capital.
'I think about 20 years ago I was attending meetings about this,' said David Hunter, convener of Living Streets Edinburgh. 'One of the things I think is really unfortunate about George Street is there's been so many consultations and so many workshops, if nothing happens now it's very difficult to get people motivated to come and talk about the same topic they've talked about half a dozen or more times, often being told 'this time we're really going to do it'. So there's going to be diminishing engagement and trust.'
Mr Hunter said it was an inescapable fact that 'money is going to be tight,' but added the plan for George Street suffered from the same problems as many major projects which are 'over-designed, over-engineered and too expensive'.
He said: 'We can actually achieve quite a lot of improvements without spending 20, 30, 40 million pounds on schemes.
'Everyone is really a bit ashamed of George Street as it currently is in terms of how it could be. I think we're expecting, assuming some measure of pedestrianisation does go forward. I think we're expecting it to be a cheaper version. I think doing things quickly and cheaply has got a lot going for it.'
Like Councillor Mowat, Mr Hunter believes the cycleway should be dropped from the street's redesign. 'If you make traffic volumes low enough you don't need a cycleway, it should be safe to cycle in,' he said.
The council has ambitious plans for George Street - but rising costs could mean cutting back (Image: City of Edinburgh Council) 'Generally, rather than just saying you need a segregated cycleway everywhere, a more radical solution is to reduce traffic to the levels people can cycle safely on the road.
'I would rather see a 90, 95% pedestrianised George Street that is overwhelmingly a pedestrian space for people to walk and wheel, rather than a street with a kind of cycle superhighway going through it.
'We have to be pragmatic about this.'
'This is the flagship street of the New Town'
If works eventually commence, the diverse array of businesses and organisations operating on George Street will be most affected by the street being dug-up block-by-block. Dr William Duncan, who represents their views as chair of the George Street Association, said they've 'consistently been supportive' but a 'cloud of uncertainty' has hung over the scheme for years now.
His advice to the council is 'spend the money now and spend it wisely'.
'I think the project has to go ahead,' he said. 'And corners will only build up future costs.
'If cutting back means cutting back on what happens underneath the roads and pavements, it's just building up problems for the future.
'Otherwise you're just going to have constant piecemeal disruption to the road. Because the city council's control over how utilities do that is limited and that's to do with statutory powers. The risk is that within a few months of a completed project things are being dug up again, there isn't the reinstatement back to the quality materials.
'If you're going to have a period of disruption of at least two years, if not a bit longer, people will be prepared to put up with the pain involved in that if they can then see a period of stability, it's been done well. What would be very unfortunate is a situation where each block of the street is done piecemeal and then we'll have to wait for more funding.'
'This is the flagship street of the New Town; it's the street they named after the King, it's the centre of a World Heritage Site. It needs to convey the message that it's been done.
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'I think everyone understands that having cars coming into the city centre is no longer the direction of travel. The question is at what pace can you make these changes? What's also quite important is that there isn't just a big void in the middle of George Street and that it's a place where people feel they want to come to, where people feel they can relax.'
Under the operational plan for a transformed George Street agreed by councillors in 2023, essential vehicle access such as for deliveries, servicing and licensed taxis will be given access during morning and evening hours and controlled by automated bollards. Private hire vehicles will be restricted from accessing George Street at all times, while exemptions will be permitted for coaches, minibuses and other vehicles deemed necessary to support the needs of hotels and places of worship. Blue badge holders will still have access 24/7 and will still be able to park in disabled bays on the street.
Dr Duncan said this represented a 'huge improvement to the operational plan from when it was first mooted'.
'It was basically going to get rid of all the traffic from George Street, only emergency and blue badge holders - very little access.
'It's also got to be recognised that a lot of the buildings here are old, they need care and maintenance. That means trades have got to get to them, and you can't just say 'there will be no traffic whatsoever in the street'.
'It's how you also create an ambience where occasional vehicles that have to get into the street, cyclists and pedestrians can all feel they've got safety.
'Change of use won't suit everyone but we have to create a street after all the turmoil of the work that's done that really works well, that everyone thinks looks good, but actually isn't just a historic piece, is something that is a vibrant part of the city centre.
He said the Transient Visitor Levy (TVL), which it is expected could raise an additional £50m for the city by the end of the decade, is a 'welcome addition to the funding available' however pointed out this was 'not yet a stabilised form of income'.
'The levy is going to largely come from people in the city centre. They need to feel that somehow there is something they are contributing to.
'The council is now looking for a multiplicity of funders,' he added. 'A potential funder is to do with the heritage. I think they will have to do an optimisation situation where those people who fund it feel they are getting their bit out of it. I think it will be quite difficult to persuade people this is a heritage project if it doesn't maintain the quality of the heritage.'
'The council lost control'
Although the transformation may narrowly secure sufficient political and business support to proceed, questions remain about its broader public appeal.
Chair of the New Town and Broughton Community Council, Peter Williamson, said he didn't think the proposals 'have ever had a lot of support'.
The council has proposed pressing on with the pedestrianisation project despite funding uncertainty (Image: Gordon Terris) He said: 'I think people have got slightly sucked into once the ball starts rolling, you've got to get on the pitch and start playing. But you may not like the rules.
'My impression being outside certain people within the council there wasn't a sort of great lot of cheering and foot stamping for this.
'The council seemed to lose control because people started putting in bids for trees, certain types of pavings, kerbs that could be used by people with sight impairment and so on. At that point I think it all began to feel a bit of a mess.
'But the big issue is where's the money going to come from? And we think the council has embarked on a whole lot of major projects and hasn't really got any access to funds to support them. But obviously getting rid of the parking etcetera would open it up.
'Our board position is the council is going for these grand schemes, but is then ignoring maintenance of pavements, streets. So great, you're doing George Street, but if you walked along Rose Street, it's a disgrace.
'The council should concentrate on getting what currently exists up to a reasonable standard.'