The Abbeyhill LEZ anomaly - John McLellan

The Court of Session ruling in favour of Glasgow’s low emission zone means Edinburgh’ Council will proceed with its plans for a similar city centre exclusion next June with greater certainty.

Low emission zones will be introduced in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee next year. Picture: John Devlin/The Scotsman

​The scheme has been a long time in the preparation, so it was with some surprise that I read a social media message from the transport convener Scott Arthur which suggested there is more than a fair bit of work to do.

“We are hopeful that the Scot Gov will help fund the issue of warning notices ahead of the scheme going live,” wrote Cllr Arthur, which sounds very like a budget problem.

He also revealed he is meeting NHS Lothian officials next week “to discuss the health benefits we can expect to see with Edinburgh's LEZ,” which struck me as odd because the whole thing is predicated on health benefits so should they have been discussed long ago?

Perhaps the fact that emissions are already within acceptable standards in the LEZ will be raised in those talks and that it will be made clear to NHS Lothian that if there is to be an impact it is more likely to be on the residential streets adjacent to the zone through which non-compliant vehicles will be forced to divert.

One of the few city centre areas where emissions are too high is Abbeyhill, a district with a primary school at its heart. Yet it’s not covered by the scheme. Maybe the focus should be on the potential for worsening respiratory conditions in East Edinburgh. Some benefit.