by Alyson Macdonald
Neighbourhood Partnership Considers a ‘Vision for Leith Walk’
Council representatives have explained to locals that more consultation will be needed before any improvements to the area can actually begin.
Around 50 local residents attended the Leith Neighbourhood Partnership public meeting on Wednesday night to hear updates on the group’s work over the last three months, and to discuss the future improvements to Leith Walk.
The meeting was convened by Councillor Angela Blacklock, who described Leith Walk as one of Edinburgh’s “top ten streets”, comparing it to Princes Street and the Royal Mile in its importance to the city.
Services for Communities Area Manager Mike Penny gave a brief report on the Neighbourhood Partnership’s recent activities which have included “Street Weeks” to promote community safety in particular areas of Leith, and the use of authorised advertising areas. He also presented the results of the popular £eith Decides event, where local people were given the opportunity to choose which voluntary groups would receive a share of £17,666 in council funding set aside for this purpose. A full list of the organisations which received grants from the Neighbourhood partnership can be found on the council’s website.
Riccardo Marini, Head of Design at the City of Edinburgh Council, gave an impressive presentation on creating a Vision for Leith Walk, showing examples of ways that other cities around the world have managed to balance the demands of residents, business and transport in busy areas. After the presentation, the audience were invited to suggest their own vision of improvements to Leith Walk.
Residents cited the derelict buildings at Shrubhill, and the loss of amenities such as Leith Waterworld as particular issues, but some expressed doubt over the council’s ability to effect change. There were also several comments on the poor road surface, and the difficulties of cycling on Leith Walk, which was recently named as one of the UK’s most dangerous roads for cyclists.
Although a long-term plan for Leith Walk has yet to be finalised, councillors and officials confirmed during the meeting that they still hope to extend the tram line to Leith in the future.
Any improvements which are to be carried out will likely be deferred until at least the end of this year. As the audience was reminded during the meeting, The City of Edinburgh Council have scheduled 6 months of utilities works on Leith Walk, which will have to be completed before further work can start.
The council hopes to use this time to carry out more consultation with 40,000 people living in the area around Leith Walk.
