Revised plans for Edinburgh's George Street would scrap setts and trees to save money
‘Reduced design’ for city-centre street would cost just under £20 million
A scaled-back scheme for the revamp of Edinburgh's George Street will be presented to councillors for approval next week.
Plans to use £31 million of Visitor Levy money to pay for partial pedestrianisation and upgrading of the prestigious street, which were backed by the minority Labour administration, were blocked earlier this year when a meeting of the full council voted in favour of an SNP/Lib Dem call for the cash to be used for wider city centre improvements, including both George Street and Princes Street.
Now officials have drawn up a "reduced design" costed at just under £20m, which keeps the originally proposed layout - removing the central parking and replacing it with a two-way cycle path, along with widened pavements, planters and benches - but proposes an asphalt surface instead of natural stone setts on the carriageway and the removal of eight trees which were to be sited at each end of the street.
An even more scaled-back option, referred to as the “above ground design”, would remove all soft landscaping and retain the existing setts in the middle of the street. But officials warn that “the vast hard standing of George Street could feel monotonous once central parking is removed” and conclude that the “do minimum” approach represents poor value for money.
The council’s transport and environment committee will be asked to back the “reduced design” when it meets next week.
Under the previously agreed plans, general traffic would be banned 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. It is understood these arrangements would not be affected by the proposed design changes.
Labour transport convener Stephen Jenkinson, who said he had been disappointed at the decision of full council, said revised estimates which now priced the full option at around £34.8m meant there would have had to be adjustments to the scheme in any case.
But he said: "The reduced design ticks as many boxes as we possibly can and still improves the look and feel and useability of the street.”
He said the third "do minimum" option was "not particularly inspiring".
"I'm backing the reduced design for George Street because I want to deliver on the commitments we have been making on this project over many years to the business community and others and I think this gives us the best opportunity to fulfil a project within the financial constraints we have."
In September, the council’s planning committee opted for the less radical of two visions for the future of Princes Street. It includes widened footways, new natural stone paving, public seating, longer opening hours for the Gardens, shelters turned into cafes, an upgrade for the Ross bandstand, a lift down into the Gardens and new or improved public toilets and drinking fountains.
But there are no detailed design proposals yet and it is expected that any scheme will take some time to develop. Next week’s meeting will be asked to agree to allocate Princes Street £10m of the £31m available.
Meanwhile, three influential city business groups joined forces to urge councillors to deliver on the long-planned project for George Street as a “fundamental first step” in using the Visitor Levy to improve the city centre.
In an open letter, Essential Edinburgh, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and the George Street Association said that after a decade of full and “exhaustive” consultation, and significant time and investment, it was time for the local authority to move forward.
The letter points out the Princes Street outline proposals have only recently been considered and agreed.
“We need to ensure that the George Street proposals move forward quickly now that an approach based on public realm improvement has been set out. The George Street proposals are shovel ready and good to go.
“After a decade of debate on George Street, it is time to act. At this point in the debate about the city centre, we strongly believe that the council should take the opportunity to press on and deliver what can be a positive transformation of George Street that can be phased in tandem with the regeneration of Princes Street.
“We do not believe there are any outstanding or unresolved issues that stand in the way of this major investment going ahead. We commend these proposals to you as partners, as friends and with our combined knowledge we pledge to work alongside the council to make the heart of the city beat much stronger and help make one of Europe's finest urban environments even better.”