A new New Town is welcome in the west of the city - Susan Dalgety

At the danger of repeating myself, cities are living things. In 1766, when Lord Provost George Drummond launched the competition for a ‘new town’ residential suburb on 100 acres of council land just north of the Nor’ Loch (now Princes Street Gardens) it was in response to a housing crisis in the Capital.

Sixty thousand people were crammed into the narrow streets and tenements of the High Street and surrounding area. It was overcrowded, unsanitary and a threat to life. “I believe that in no city in the world so many people have so little room”, wrote Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.

Today the city’s housing problem is less about space, and more about affordability. With city centre rents out of reach for most young workers and families, and mortgages a distant dream for many, there is a housing crisis in the Capital.

Again, I am happy to repeat myself - we need more affordable homes. Not in twenty year’s time, but as quickly as the construction companies can build them and if that means extending the city’s boundaries, as George Drummond did in the 1760s, then so be it.

A few days ago, Crosswind Developments re-launched its bid to build a ‘sustainable, 20-minute, car-lite neighbourhood’ on a 65-acre brownfield site owned by the airport. Previous plans for the scheme, which include 2,500 homes - with nearly 900 of them described as ‘affordable’, was rejected both by the city planners and the Scottish Government.

One of the reasons the government knocked back the original plan was because of fears that the scheme, which includes retail and business premises, would have a negative effect on other parts of the city. I have news for the planners. Our city centre has already changed beyond recognition. Princess Street is no longer the vibrant shopping area it once was. People increasingly shop online, coming into town for a burger or a coffee rather than for a spot of retail therapy.

Building a ‘new town’ suburb out by the airport can only be a good thing. The tram system is already in place, the housing is desperately needed. And, if the scheme is well designed, it could well become the New Town of the 2020s and beyond.