CONSULTATION SIX MONTHS LATE AND HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET
Yesterday we reported how design principles for George Street are reaching completion, and where these now stand in the overall scheme for shaping the area’s future.
Key to those principles is building-in flexibility for different kinds of use at different times of year.
But what uses? Where? How often? And how will they be managed?
These questions are meant to be answered by a City Centre Public Spaces Manifesto – the report on whose preparation went before the Transport and Environment Committee in June last year (see pdf at foot of page).
The Committee agreed to a major public consultation which was to last until September 2015. This would identify issues about the use of civic spaces across the city centre, and – combined with a CEC-run audit – distinguish between citywide and site-specific concerns.
Running in parallel with this discussion, a more prescriptive approach to the use and management of public space was to be trialled on Castle Street and potentially elsewhere.
But Council redundancies and other related staff rearrangements meant the process stalled before it got started. Nothing has happened.
At present, no-one is even in post to drive the process forward.
The Manifesto has the potential eventually to improve long-term application and approval procedures for events. It could provide clarity for event organisers, businesses, ‘stakeholders’ and locals. It could provide ‘more strategic and effective governance’.
Publicly owned parks and greenspaces are already covered by their own document, but the Public Spaces Manifesto would address all other civic spaces in the city centre whether owned by the Council or not.
That includes St Andrew Square Garden, of whose tawdry and destructive exploitation under Essential Edinburgh’s management we have long been highly critical.
The Garden is specifically named in a paragraph (3.9) which continues:
… the consultation will provide opportunities for the public to comment on these spaces, for example around the types of event or their frequency in these spaces (including issues of over-use, mono-use or under-use) since these areas still require permissions from the Council Licensing and Planning Services.
The following paragraph says the aim of the exercise would be:
… [to continue] to be able to support world class events, whilst nurturing the city centre’s World Heritage Site status and creating a more attractive city centre environment for those living in, working in and visiting Edinburgh.
Why it matters
Spurtle applauds those aspirations. But they’re worth nothing on paper without action.
Yes, we want to see St Andrew Square Garden restored to something like the green tranquility we were originally promised. But more generally, the results of a consultation and audit on city-centre uses should inform the George Street design principles before they are finally set in stone.
We strongly urge City of Edinburgh Council to advance this project sooner rather than later.
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Alan Kennedy Not holding my breath on this one. Wondering how long before they licence the name out... "Essential Edinburgh Presents the Burger King Gardens, St Andrew Square."
Pamela Dobbie Let's hear it for 'green tranquility'.
Scott Richards Hesitate to write this lest Essential Embra misunderstand and concrete over a square, but St. Andrew Square is left in a squalid mess for 9 months of the year post-events, whilst Castle Street points the way to a city space capable of supporting temporary events without looking like a shitehoose afterward. So, find a flat location for laying down lovely stonework, perhaps a bit of George Street?, and erect your ice rinks and sheds for street food there. BUT, leave a re-turfed St.Andrew Square alone.
Euan MacGuzzi McGlynn Do they not understand the meaning of peace and tranquility which is what we were promised.
Lizz Rennie walked through st andrew sq today and they were finally laying the new turf on parts, the stick things are only lit up at night when you can see what they are meant to do, the rest of the time they just look ugly on top of plastic covering up a muddy mess. if i have read the essential edinburgh rules for st andrew sq correctly, with stuff they are holding is agains their rulings http://www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk/.../st-andrew-square.../
@theSpurtle 2 motions up last month (February) council on use of public space and manifesto - will continue to work on this
@theSpurtle @AndrewDBurns @TheBEFS @EdinburghWH @thecockburn @SandyHowatSNP Public spaces manifesto officer identified and working on issue
Excellent. What are the revised schedules for consultation/audit?@LAHinds @AndrewDBurns @TheBEFS @EdinburghWH @thecockburn @SandyHowatSNP
The St Andrew Sq & Princes St Gdns mud can remain until 10 April each year until 2018 @theSpurtle @GASPurves
@papawasarodeo @GASPurves This is depressing. Where did you find it?
@theSpurtle@GASPurves the planning application from 2014 14/03914/FUL
Let's all try and be positive. Edinburgh in early spring: http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/city-sun @PostYESvote@peterbrownbarra@papawasarodeo@GASPurves
Rhona Stewart Cameron No wonder World Heritage are thinking of taking our WH status away. The centre is being used as one big entertainment venue and the city centre is being ruined. Walk down Hanover Street North and look at the pavements. They are covered in chewing gum both sides and then there's
the vomit mostly at the weekends and this is just one example. Is this the image our Council wants for a once clean and beautiful city. Use the Meadows for the entertainment venues and leave our Beautiful Georgian Squares and streets the way they were meant to be 'green spaces' and elegant streets; not wasteland and vomit covered streets which is what they are becoming.
Michael MacLeod I really like the photographs you use in your St Andrew Square coverage. They show it like it really is.