Bid to halt Edinburgh George Street revamp defeated
A bid to scrap the £35 million plans to revamp Edinburgh’s George Street has been rejected by councillors.
The city’s transport and environment committee voted down a Tory proposal that because of the lack of any confirmed funding for the project, the council should opt for a maintenance-only approach instead.
The George Street plans are to remove parking and reroute buses, turning it into a pedestrian and cycle zone with vehicles excluded for most of the day. Pavements are to be widened and trees planted at each end of the street, along with planters and benches.
City Centre Tory councillor Joanna Mowat said: “The elephant in the room is we still don't have any money and are reliant on applying to third parties and having this money granted to us before we can put a single shovel in the ground.”
She said a report to the committee made clear it would cost £10.5m to carry out maintenance to bring George Street up to standard. And she argued that could be paid for with the parking revenue from the street of £3.2m a year.
“We should just be realistic - that’s what we've got, that's what we can afford, let’s do the maintenance schedule from the parking income rather than having a £35m fantasy budget.
“I don't see, given the financial climate we're in and the pressures on government funding, that we're suddenly going to get this money.”
But officers said a “do minimum” scheme would not meet the criteria for external funding. And committee convener Stephen Jenkinson said: “It's perfectly normal not to have all the funds sitting in a bank account ready to be spent. As you move through developing a project, at various different stages you will draw down funding both internal and external.”
Some of the money for the George Street revamp is likely to come from the city’s planned Visitor Levy; there could also be contributions from developers; and the main source is expected to be various Scottish Government and Transport Scotland funding channels.
The committee agreed to proceed with the full scheme to the next stage, advertising the road traffic orders, while keeping options open for future cost savings, for example by changing some of the materials. But it was agreed to rule out two “do minimum” options - the maintenance-only proposal advocated by the Tories and another which would include the removal of parking.
However, SNP transport spokesman Neil Gardiner said: “This project needs a lot of scrutiny. Until we understand the money side of it we should not be taking any of the options off at this stage.”
He said it was possible the money could be better used elsewhere. "We will make our decision on whether to proceed or not on the basis of future reports."
Lib Dem councillor Hal Osler said she was “ deeply concerned” about the level of funding. She said: “Of course, as a council, we should have aspiration and we should bring forward something that isn’t just a ‘do minimum’ approach. But we have to be realistic about the situation we're in and this is public funding. We do have to make a decision whether it is actually going to be worth spending £35m on something.”
Green councillor Chas Booth said: “We share a lot of people’s concerns about the cost of this project but the question is: What do we do about that?
“The Conservative position is to say ‘Scrap the whole scheme’ - but we’ve heard from officers that might actually increase the financial exposure of the council.
“We’ve heard there is the potential for external funding if we proceed with this scheme and I think that’s the right thing to do. And we’ve heard from officers that, if that financing is not available they will come back to us for a further decision.”
The George Street Association, which represents the street’s businesses and other organisations, gave its backing to the full revamp.
In a written submission, association chair Dr William Duncan said the other options simply deferred essential infrastructure work that will need to be done
He said: “George Street should look and operate very much better than it currently does. Planning its transformation has been under discussion for far too many years and it needs to move forward at pace to deliver the high-quality changes needed for the future success of this iconic ‘go to place,’
“We do not agree with those who might want to put this project on hold or not to proceed, because the physical condition of the public realm in George Street has deteriorated due to lack of investment for decades, meaning that status quo is not an acceptable or credible alternative.
“The need has gone beyond a facelift – the street needs major work done and the longer this is delayed the more extensive and expensive it will be.”
Afterwards, Cllr Jenkinson said he was pleased the committee had agreed to move forward with the project. "This is a unique opportunity to bring one of Edinburgh’s most important streets into the modern world whilst still maintaining its unique history and features.
"The wider potential improvements are vast, from benefits to local residents and businesses to enhancing Edinburgh as a visitor destination, and beyond – we’re on our way to delivering a bold new vision for George Street and our city centre.”