How we’re putting Edinburgh back on its feet after pandemic – Adam McVey

We’re making good progress as we adapt to life with Covid-19, writes Adam McVey

Diageo is continuing work on the £150m Jonnie Walker Experience at the West End

As the principal driver of Scotland’s economy, Edinburgh has always been an attractive and in-demand city to live, work, visit and invest in. While the pandemic put a halt to some of our industries for a short while, it’s encouraging to see sectors like construction back up and running with every crane that swings across the skyline.

We’re making good progress as we adapt to the circumstances that Covid-19 has brought about and as always, it’s important that we stick to our vision of Edinburgh as a greener, fairer city that prioritises the wellbeing of citizens.

An important element of this has been to ensure that our recovery is as green as possible – making decisions and taking actions that set us up for a more sustainable, resilient and green future. 

Cllr Adam McVey is the leader of Edinburgh City Council (Picture: Ian Georgeson"

We have an ambitious plan to build 20,000 new homes in Edinburgh and, with developers across the city, our plans are back on track.

We’re regenerating Granton Waterfront and aiming to deliver some of the greenest housing possible at Fountainbridge and Meadowbank. This is not only a priority for supporting economic resilience and local jobs, it’s vital work to provide safe, warm homes for our residents who need them.

We’ve been working with Scottish Government and partners to provide a safe place to stay for people without a home and we need to strike a balance going forward so that residential properties being run as short-term lets return to their proper purpose as much-needed homes.

We’re also cementing Edinburgh’s position as a world-leading city of culture and leisure, with a new sports complex at Meadowbank and the development of the IMPACT Centre, giving Edinburgh residents even more places to enjoy all year round within our city.

Soon we’ll be launching a campaign to welcome people back to the city, reminding them what they enjoy about Edinburgh and encouraging them to embrace and fall in love with it all over again. Our development partners are confident that our city will come back better than ever and are committed to pushing forward with projects. Clearly this will be a key part of our recovery, attracting people from near and far back into the city, supporting the economy and creating jobs by doing so.

Thanks to the relaxation of planning regulations, we’ll soon see Princes Street evolve into a more diverse and welcoming destination for people to stroll and interact with a range of shops, cafes, restaurants and other venues.

The revamped St James Centre is well on its way, we’ll see the iconic Debenhams building reborn as a well-appointed four-star hotel by Legal & General and Diageo is continuing work on the £150m Jonnie Walker Experience in the old House of Fraser site.

These are just a few examples, with many more developments in planning or delivery, like the BioQuarter - a fantastic asset bringing university innovation, NHS skills and investors and developers on to one campus and research and development park which will build Edinburgh’s future as a world-leader in biomedical science.

The Robotarium facility putting us at the forefront of robotics and Innis & Gunn’s new state-of- the-art brewing operation are two more examples of the size, diversity and strength of our economic future and the opportunities across industries emerging for our residents.  

While the pandemic might have slowed things down, we and our development partners are determined and resilient. Ensuring safe working through physical distancing and sanitation measures have presented a challenge, but I have no doubt the pace will ramp back up as we adjust and find new and innovative ways to progress the projects.

Cllr Adam McVey is the leader of Edinburgh City Council