Gogar garden village of dreams - John McLellan

Neighbouring council areas have long provided answers for the Capital’s housing shortages, but slowed construction and continued pressure means prices in the most desirable places will only rise, in Dunfermline’s case 10.8 per cent up to an average of £230,379.

That’s not the full picture from the latest Halifax research, because prices fell 8.3 per cent in Bathgate and very interestingly, 2.9 per cent in Musselburgh.

Perhaps Musselburgh is feeling the effect of more new properties coming on the market in nearby Shawfair, Wallyford or slightly further afield, at Blindwells, and if so, it’s further evidence, as if any was needed, that the best way to cut prices is not by political diktat but increasing supply.

Having once been deputy housing convener before being “transferred” because of political pressure from the then SNP-led administration, Edinburgh’s new housing convener Lezley Cameron is fully aware of the scale of the challenge in tackling the housing shortage, but what she can do about it is another question.

Maybe bashing heads together to get developments moving at Edinburgh Park and Edinburgh Airport would be a help. But if anyone wants an object lesson in how Scottish Government bureaucrats can make development impossible, look no further than the Garden Village at Gogar ─ planning permission for 1350 homes granted nine years ago and not one built.