St Mark's Path

Culture & Communities Cmte convener Cllr Margaret Graham* has confirmed that re-establishing an operational footbridge at Powderhall remains the Council’s high priority. However, this could take until 2028.

What we know so far …

Council officials yesterday closed Powderhall Bridge – crossing the Water of Leith between St Mark’s Path and St Mark's Park – indefinitely and without prior notice.

The Council action came in response to the structure failing a recent inspection. 

The start of a new year is often a moment for reflection rather than reaction. 

St Mark’s Path reopened yesterday and will remain open for most of the construction period between now and completion in spring 2027.

In the future, the Path will have to close for periods of a few days, during which time alternative arrangements will be in place. 

These include a circuitous diversion around the neighbouring construction site and a controlled crossing point. 

This solution is unclearly explained with a profusion of red lines in the site plan shown below.

Charlie Ellis enjoys some Broughton byways 

My walk from Stockbridge toward Leith began not by the river but on a tangent: a gentle wander along Heriot Row and past the Scotland Street Little Library, a charming, if chronologically confusing, trove containing the latest Spurtle alongside ‘vintage’ issues from early 2012. 

Continuing along East Claremont Street, the morning’s rhythm broke only when a hearse emerged from Claremont Crescent: a sharp, unexpected moment of reflection.

Dennis O’Keeffe is an independent construction and infrastructure advisor acting for Broughton Rd coffee-kiosk proprietor Yossi Mazon over the ‘sudden and unconsulted closure’ of St Mark’s Path (see our report here).

In an email dated yesterday and shared with the Spurtle and others, he has urged relevant community councils to:

Having spoken to the Powderhall development's site manager, Councillor Jack Caldwell (Ward 12) has now contacted the New Town & Broughton and Leith Central Community Councils, and other interested locals, with the update below.

While there’s nothing hugely substantial to report, I once again iterated the importance of either minimising closure of the path itself, or opening a better diversion due to concerns about the length of diversion and suitability of the currently posted route for wheelchair users, prams, and cyclists as