MSP claims Edinburgh's Spaces for People measures brought in without knowing their impact

COUNCIL chiefs are under fire from Tory MSP Miles Briggs over their handling of the Spaces for People measures in the Capital.

A growing number of shops in Morningside have closed

He said road changes - like reduced parking, floating bus stops and narrowing of roadways - should not have been introduced without road safety audits and economic impact assessments.

And he claimed businesses were suffering as a result.

Lothians MSP Mr Briggs said: “The initial measures put in place when lockdown started, to give people more spaces on pavements, were understandable. Edinburgh has started moving again, shops have reopened and schools are back, so traffic has come up again to pre lockdown levels.

"The council has clearly stated they want to move towards more walking and cycling as lockdown restrictions are eased, but full public consultation must be carried out before any permanent changes are made."

A freedom of information request confirmed no road safety audits or economic impact assessments had been made before measures were put in place.

And a written answer from the Scottish Government revealed 56 letters or emails had been received concerning Spaces for People projects in Edinburgh.

Mr Briggs said: “The lack of any safety audits or an economic impact assessment has led to all of the issues that we have seen with the Spaces for People initiative since it was put in place.

"A lot of this stuff has been rammed through the council under Covid conditions and councillors haven't had the opportunity to properly scrutinise it, it has been a fait accompli really. There is growing anger in the council that these things have been bounced upon them by the administration. It's almost people's pet projects being taken forward under cover of Covid. There has been a lack of consultation through this whole procedure."

Earlier this week traders in Morningside said a growing number of empty shops was evidence of the impact Covid measures were having in the area.

Mr Briggs said: "You only need to look at a lot of high streets in Edinburgh to saee that a lot of small businesses have shut down permanently and shops are to let. When they put these measures in they had no idea what impact it would have on footfall. I've had people contact me who are disabled and when the try to go shopping they can't park anywhere so are resorting to supermarkets when they used to shop locally, so this has displaced customers at a time when there are fewer people shopping anyway."

Transport convener Lesley Macinnes said Spaces for People measures were implemented to help protect the safety of residents and help them walk and cycle with physical distancing. And she said the council had engaged with stakeholders and made changes where possible.

“While we have moved on from the strict lockdown in place earlier this year there is no question we are not out of the woods yet and we simply must provide options for the 40 per cent of people who don’t own a car in Edinburgh, especially with public transport capacity reduced. The suggestion that traffic is up to pre-covid levels is exactly why we need to provide safe spaces for people on foot, bike or wheelchair. The Spaces for People initiative has as one of its key objectives to support high streets – there are a number of issues impacting retail businesses at the moment which go beyond any physical changes.”

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