Greens call for trees to be restored to latest plan for Edinburgh's George Street
Trees intended to provide shade and protect against effects of climate change
Green councillors are calling for trees to be put back into the latest plans to revamp Edinburgh's George Street.
And they claimed it's what James Craig, the architect who designed George Street and that part of the New Town, would have wanted.
A £31 million scheme for the partial pedestrianisation of the street - removing car parking from the centre, banning vehicles for most of the day and adding benches, planters and trees - was rejected at full council in February so the money could be shared among a number of city-centre projects.
Now officials have come up with a "reduced design" for George Street which removes the trees and proposes asphalt for the cycle-only carriageway instead of setts, trimming the cost to £20m.
But Claire Miller, Green councillor for City Centre ward, said the full £31m scheme was already a compromise because it had limited the number of trees to 16 - eight at each end of the street - instead of a much greater number spread all the way along the street, which the Greens would have preferred.
She said: "I'm honestly shocked to read that the highly compromised number of trees that we had to agree to are now going to be removed from the final plans."
There was opposition to trees being included in the revamp at all because they did not feature in the original design of George Street and some even voiced concerns that the addition of trees could affect World Heritage Site status.
But Cllr Miller said: "If James Craig was able to see this plan he would be shocked at the failure to address the climate crisis through this flagship project.
"James Craig's name is often invoked and the idea that he was a visionary of his time but he wouldn't be a visionary now, I don't think reflects his attitudes."
She said the council had allocated visitor levy funding to improve the public realm. "I can think of few elements that could enhance the public realm more than increasing the numbers of street trees in George Street above the previous compromise plan.”
Trees are seen as helping to combat the effects of climate change, providing shade and shelter and absorbing water from extreme rainfall.
And Cllr Miller said: "There is a wealth of evidence that access to nature and greenspace provides a host of public health benefits.
"I hope and expect that committee will ask for the scheme to be revised to put the trees back into the plan. The climate and nature emergencies demand better than this."
She said she was also concerned that the latest plan still left “a large gap in safe cycling provision” in the city centre for years to come. George Street is intended to be a crucial linking part of the cross-Capital cycle route, the City Centre West East Link (CCWEL).
The reduced design option, which is backed by transport convener Stephen Jenkinson, would still involve the banning of general traffic between 10.30am and 7pm, Monday to Saturday, and between 12.30pm and 7pm on Sundays. Taxis would be allowed in for disabled people and coaches taking people to hotels or other venues would also be allowed limited access.