Latest news with #CityMobilityPlan
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
City building its way to serious financial trouble
The changes to George Street will see the current parking down the centre of the street removed, buses rerouted, the pavement widened and the carriageway become a 'cycle street' In the city that is home to the Royal Bank of Scotland we don't have to look too far for a cautionary tale of a large institution allowing debt to become a survival problem. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Yet it may be a surprise to some that media reports this week have highlighted that Edinburgh City Council's debt mountain has reached £1.7 billion. A report back in January highlighted an even higher figure of £1.9bn, which included council housing borrowing, and showed that Edinburgh has the fourth highest borrowing of all UK local authorities. This is bad company to be in. The three councils with more debt than Edinburgh are all in serious financial trouble. Both Birmingham and Woking effectively declared themselves bankrupt in 2023 and Leeds has discussed the possibility. Edinburgh's debt is higher than the annual spend on services of £1.3bn and has risen by £310 million since 2019. Worse, it is predicted to keep rising to £2.9bn by 2030. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The debt already costs taxpayers about £100m a year on interest and repayments rather than teachers, social care or street cleaners. Coincidentally it is the same amount the council predicts it will have to cut in 2030 to balance the books. That follows predictions of increasing cuts every year until then. Normally you would expect an organisation in this kind of trouble to stop building things but no, the grand vanity projects wish list grows longer every month. In recent times the phalanx of left-wing parties in the City Chambers has backed plans for developments such as more tram lines costing at least £2bn, their City Mobility Plan (it is really about immobility as it closes roads to traffic) at up to £1.4bn and the finance of council-run heat networks at a guesstimate of £1bn. All with no idea where the funds will come from. This doesn't even account for plans for 'normal' building of new schools and housing. These are now built in the most expensive way possible because of the 2030 Net Zero target and all the costs are increasing due to construction inflation. The prime example of inflation is the grand plan for George Street which started out at £30m but has now reached at least £40m with one council paper giving a range up to £100m. The usual suspects are calling for higher taxes and more funding from a Scottish Government that is also taxing and spending at levels beyond sensible. The truth is we need to stop building new things we can't afford. We might then be able to balance the books while still providing the day-to-day services residents need most and maintain the streets and buildings we already own. Iain Whyte is Conservative group leader on Edinburgh City Council
Edinburgh Reporter
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
City mobility plan passed despite concerns
A new scheme to prioritise Edinburgh infrastructure projects has been approved by councillors, despite some of them holding concerns over several issues. The new City Mobility Plan aims to determine which projects the city will prioritise working on in the next decade. Officers recommended that councillors accept a priority list which saw 73 projects approved to go ahead, and 61 others paused – with most either not having been started yet or having already been paused before the plan's release. Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson, who convenes the Transport and Environment Committee, heralded the plan, saying the time to take action was now, and that it is a 'a necessary piece of work.' But some councillors raised concerns over the priority list, questioning the system used to select projects to carry out or pause and the geographic distribution of projects. Infrastructure projects were scored on a matrix which judged elements of each, such as cost effectiveness and benefit for public transport – but some projects with higher scores were paused, while others with lower scores were approved. Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Lang said: 'Coming into this committee meeting, I feel like I had two fundamental issues with this report. Now I feel like I'll leave with three. 'The first is around what has been quite a complex scoring matrix. I don't think it's an unreasonable question to ask, [why do] you get a project scoring 20 paused when a project with 10 is proceeding? 'My second worry is around deliverability. I completely admire and respect the optimism that exists. Let's be frank, this is a council that can take three years to change a speed limit and six years to put in a speedbump.' Lang's third concern was about developers' compliance with section 75 orders, which involve developer contributions to infrastructure projects. Earlier in the meeting, a council officer said that most projects were continued or paused based on their score, but that some broke from this pattern due to extenuating circumstances, such as projects being eligible for certain bespoke funding. The Liberal Democrat group had lodged an amendment calling on the report to be paused, giving councillors and officers more time to look at it. Meanwhile, the Conservative group put forward their own list of projects to be continued and paused, using different scoring criteria. Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert, representing Colinton/Fairmilehead, asked officers: 'It does feel like a report for lovers of spreadsheets. Just looking at the different projects, I don't think it's any surprise that the ward with the most projects is the city centre. 'The wards with the second and third most projects are Forth and Almond. I don't want to go through the list, but Colinton/Fairmile is at the bottom of the list. There's two [projects]. 'I wondered if there's any comments about why there does appear to be quite a disparity in a lot of different areas?' Council officer Sheila Paton said: 'This is a long legacy and history of projects that have come forward over the years. We haven't deliberately tried to exclude any geographical areas, as I'm sure you can imagine. 'In terms of the focus on the city centre, we have a sense of how much of the proposed ten year programme would potentially be dedicated to the city centre. 'And we feel like it's in proportion with how complicated the city centre is, how important it is.' Interim Executive Director of Place Gareth Barwell added: 'This list here hasn't added new schemes. This is officers broadly trawling through the commitments of this committee. 'A lot of these are actions we've inherited due to growth and development.' The SNP group put forward an amendment adding three projects to the 'proceed' list, while the Green group wanted to see council officers begin looking at a congestion charge in the capital as a possible infrastructure funding source. At a vote, seven councillors supported a joint Labour, SNP and Green position, while two supported the Conservative position and two supported the Liberal Democrat position. Cllr Jenkinson said: 'I'm really pleased that we've agreed this bold programme for our city. Prioritisation allows us to work smarter with the resources we have available – making sure we have a clear and achievable path to achieving our objectives. 'This programme follows the successes of major infrastructure projects such as Trams to Newhaven and active travel projects including the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL), Roseburn to Union Canal and Leith Connections. 'This is an extensive piece of work which allows the City Mobility Plan to be agile, and able to adapt in the future as necessary.' Three projects were added to the list after amendments by political groups, and a fourth was added pending further work on how to fund it. Among these was the Causey project, which seeks to turn the traffic island at the junction of West Crosscauseway and Buccleuch Street into a public events space. The project, which campaigners have spent over a decade seeking funding for, was added to the priority list as a result of an SNP amendment. The group also got the Portobello Town Centre project, which seeks to widen footways and reduce road traffic in the area, and a new cycle link over the bypass near Heriot Watt, over the line. An amendment by the city's Labour administration, meanwhile, got approval for the funding of more toilets for bus drivers at the ends of routes, pending finding a funding source. Cllr Jenkinson said: 'The project which I've identified as part of my amendment is a very particular project. It is currently marked for pause, but just for this financial year. 'The topic itself of provision of bus driver toilets at key locations, which are predominantly the terminuses for buses, is a very important one. 'Personally, and I hope the committee will agree, that it's a project that, once the uncertainty around funding is clarified, is unpaused.' Graeme Smith, an industrial officer for Unite, which covers Lothian Buses, said: 'Access to a toilet at work is a basic right so it is important that the Council gets this right for our members in passenger transport. 'This is a matter of health and safety. It is also an equalities issue, more acutely impacting workers who are older, pregnant or have a health condition.' By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Live
23-05-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
Massive Edinburgh infrastructure plan approved despite concerns
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A new scheme to prioritise Edinburgh infrastructure projects has been approved by councillors, despite some of them holding concerns over several issues. The new City Mobility Plan aims to determine which projects the city will prioritise working on in the next decade. Officers recommended that councillors accept a priority list which saw 73 projects approved to go ahead, and 61 others paused – with most either not having been started yet or having already been paused before the plan's release. Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson, who convenes the Transport and Environment Committee, heralded the plan, saying the time to take action was now, and that it is a 'a necessary piece of work.' But some councillors raised concerns over the priority list, questioning the system used to select projects to carry out or pause and the geographic distribution of projects. Infrastructure projects were scored on a matrix which judged elements of each, such as cost effectiveness and benefit for public transport – but some projects with higher scores were paused, while others with lower scores were approved. Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Lang said: 'Coming into this committee meeting, I feel like I had two fundamental issues with this report. Now I feel like I'll leave with three. 'The first is around what has been quite a complex scoring matrix. I don't think it's an unreasonable question to ask, [why do] you get a project scoring 20 paused when a project with 10 is proceeding? 'My second worry is around deliverability. I completely admire and respect the optimism that exists. Let's be frank, this is a council that can take three years to change a speed limit and six years to put in a speedbump.' Lang's third concern was about developers' compliance with section 75 orders, which involve developer contributions to infrastructure projects. Earlier in the meeting, a council officer said that most projects were continued or paused based on their score, but that some broke from this pattern due to extenuating circumstances, such as projects being eligible for certain bespoke funding. The Liberal Democrat group had lodged an amendment calling on the report to be paused, giving councillors and officers more time to look at it. Meanwhile, the Conservative group put forward their own list of projects to be continued and paused, using different scoring criteria. Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert, representing Colinton/Fairmilehead, asked officers: 'It does feel like a report for lovers of spreadsheets. Just looking at the different projects, I don't think it's any surprise that the ward with the most projects is the city centre. 'The wards with the second and third most projects are Forth and Almond. I don't want to go through the list, but Colinton/Fairmile is at the bottom of the list. There's two [projects]. 'I wondered if there's any comments about why there does appear to be quite a disparity in a lot of different areas?' Council officer Sheila Paton said: 'This is a long legacy and history of projects that have come forward over the years. We haven't deliberately tried to exclude any geographical areas, as I'm sure you can imagine. 'In terms of the focus on the city centre, we have a sense of how much of the proposed ten year programme would potentially be dedicated to the city centre. 'And we feel like it's in proportion with how complicated the city centre is, how important it is.' Interim Executive Director of Place Gareth Barwell added: 'This list here hasn't added new schemes. This is officers broadly trawling through the commitments of this committee. 'A lot of these are actions we've inherited due to growth and development.' The SNP group put forward an amendment adding three projects to the 'proceed' list, while the Green group wanted to see council officers begin looking at a congestion charge in the capital as a possible infrastructure funding source. At a vote, seven councillors supported a joint Labour, SNP and Green position, while two supported the Conservative position and two supported the Liberal Democrat position. Cllr Jenkinson said: "I'm really pleased that we've agreed this bold programme for our city. Prioritisation allows us to work smarter with the resources we have available - making sure we have a clear and achievable path to achieving our objectives. "This programme follows the successes of major infrastructure projects such as Trams to Newhaven and active travel projects including the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL), Roseburn to Union Canal and Leith Connections. "This is an extensive piece of work which allows the City Mobility Plan to be agile, and able to adapt in the future as necessary." Three projects were added to the list after amendments by political groups, and a fourth was added pending further work on how to fund it. Among these was the Causey project, which seeks to turn the traffic island at the junction of West Crosscauseway and Buccleuch Street into a public events space. The project, which campaigners have spent over a decade seeking funding for, was added to the priority list as a result of an SNP amendment. The group also got the Portobello Town Centre project, which seeks to widen footways and reduce road traffic in the area, and a new cycle link over the bypass near Heriot Watt, over the line. An amendment by the city's Labour administration, meanwhile, got approval for the funding of more toilets for bus drivers at the ends of routes, pending finding a funding source. Cllr Jenkinson said: 'The project which I've identified as part of my amendment is a very particular project. It is currently marked for pause, but just for this financial year. 'The topic itself of provision of bus driver toilets at key locations, which are predominantly the terminuses for buses, is a very important one. 'Personally, and I hope the committee will agree, that it's a project that, once the uncertainty around funding is clarified, is unpaused.' Graeme Smith, an industrial officer for Unite, which covers Lothian Buses, said: 'Access to a toilet at work is a basic right so it is important that the Council gets this right for our members in passenger transport. 'This is a matter of health and safety. It is also an equalities issue, more acutely impacting workers who are older, pregnant or have a health condition.'
Scotsman
23-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Don't let them get away with stifling our city by stealth
Ask any car or van driver and they will confirm that Edinburgh City Council will do all it can to make it as hard as possible to get around. It often seems like our buses are deliberately caught up in the created gridlock too as daft traffic schemes have knock-on effects. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Yet it is often hard to see how the council does this because the individual schemes involved are considered one by one with no clear layout to show the combined effect. This week's Transport Committee changed that with a map hidden away in a minor report about Holyrood Park where the council is working with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to close the roads. Any car driver in Edinburgh will confirm that the council will do all it can to make it as hard as possible to get around, says Iain Whyte This is a key issue for the residents I represent in Craigentinny/Duddingston Ward as the weekend park road closures regularly bring long queues on Duddingston Road West. The current closure of Duddingston Low Road for rock falls is making this all-week long. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The map exposed the very limited network of main roads that the council thinks should be available to 'general traffic' – cars and vans to me and you – in the east of Edinburgh. The four are Seafield Road, London Road/Willowbrae Road, Holyrood Park through to Holyrood Road and Niddrie Mains Road. What is obvious is that if the eco-zealots get their way and close the roads in Holyrood Park there will be no main east-west route between Queen Street and Craigmillar. The map is part of the council's Circulation Plan which it hides under the name 'Our Future Streets'. This works in tandem with another council strategy called the City Mobility Plan. It is very rare for the council to admit what the combined impact of the many individual projects in these will be. What about the remaining main roads? Niddrie Mains Road is to become a '20-minute neighbourhood' with bus and cycle lanes, narrowing and even 'raised tables' – speed bumps in plain terms. The Seafield route is planned to have road narrowing and cycle lanes at Salamander Street, a big reduction in traffic lanes at the Harry Lauder junction and a 'vision' of a local high street feel if the council's plan for housing at Seafield ever happens. If one route closes and two are narrowed and clogged only one is left. That means displaced traffic to local residential streets and no way to get about for individuals and businesses who need a vehicle. I represent the east, but it will be the same in the south and the west. Don't let them get away with stifling our city by stealth. Let your councillors know what you think. Iain Whyte is Conservative Councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston ward and Leader of the Conservative Group on Edinburgh City Council
Edinburgh Reporter
22-05-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh Council explores congestion charge for cars entering capital
Edinburgh is to explore bringing in a congestion charge for cars entering the capital, over 20 years after a similar proposal was defeated at the ballot box. The city will begin having conversations with Glasgow, which is also interested in introducing a congestion charge, and with other local authorities in the Lothians. In February 2005, a referendum was held on introducing a congestion charge in Edinburgh, which was roundly defeated. But some councillors feel that the time is now appropriate to start exploring such a scheme again. Green councillor Chas Booth, speaking at the council's Transport and Environment Committee, said: 'There is an opportunity today to start a conversation about road user charging. Let's start that conversation.' At present, London is the only city in the UK to have introduced a congestion charge. Introduced in 2003, the scheme charges motorists £15 to enter the core of the city. Under the scheme proposed in 2005, drivers in Edinburgh would have been charged £2 (£3.50 today) to enter the capital. However, it was roundly defeated, with the postal ballot seeing 74% of voters rejecting the proposal. Under an amendment to the City Mobility Plan, which was passed at the Transport and Environment Committee on Thursday, the council will begin exploring the plans with other councils. The city will seek to work with Glasgow, Sestrans and several local authorities around Edinburgh to develop a common framework for how congestion charging could work in Scottish cities. Any scheme may face an uphill struggle, as the legislation for enabling a road pricing scheme does not fully exist. London's scheme was introduced using powers specifically granted to the city by Westminster in 1999. However, the Scottish Government will soon discuss legislative changes that could make congestion charging possible. Cllr Booth said that the money could go towards funding local infrastructure projects, dozens of which were paused on Thursday due to a lack of available cash. Cllr Booth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'I'm delighted Edinburgh has agreed to start conversations about congestion charging with other councils. 'It's absolutely clear that Edinburgh will not meet its commitments to address the climate emergency unless we take bold action to encourage people to choose more sustainable alternatives to the private car. 'While the council doesn't yet have the full powers to introduce congestion charging, and any Edinburgh scheme is likely to be many years away, it is nonetheless right that we start talking about what a scheme might look like. '[We will explore] whether we have any common ground with Glasgow which is also considering a scheme, and with surrounding councils about how we can ensure an equitable distribution of any income from the scheme to support sustainable commuting into Edinburgh.' The council's new City Mobility Plan sets out Edinburgh's infrastructure priorities for the next ten years. More than 70 active travel, public transport and regeneration projects will be taken ahead under the project. Among them are the long-promised transformation of George Street, an active travel link between the Meadows and the Union Canal and public transport and active travel works in the Granton Waterfront. More than 50 other projects were paused, the vast majority of which were already on hold before the report or had not yet been started. Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson, who convenes the Transport and Environment Committee, said: I'm really pleased that we've agreed this bold programme for our city. 'Prioritisation allows us to work smarter with the resources we have available – making sure we have a clear and achievable path to achieving our objectives. 'This programme follows the successes of major infrastructure projects such as Trams to Newhaven and active travel projects including the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL), Roseburn to Union Canal and Leith Connections. 'This is an extensive piece of work which allows the City Mobility Plan to be agile, and able to adapt in the future as necessary. 'However, one key element in this conversation is the fact that we remain dependent on external funding for many projects, particularly from the Scottish Government and by extension Transport Scotland. 'Complex projects which take years to plan and complete but which are subject to annual external funding decisions make this situation inherently difficult. 'We need commitment and stability from the Scottish Government if we're to deliver the changes which our city needs and deserves. 'We'll now take forward these projects which will keep Edinburgh moving and make our city a safer, more sustainable and accessible place for all.' Like this: Like Related
