Bin hubs would have “significant adverse impact” on New Town

February 22, 2023 1:05 pm

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The New Town and Broughton Community Council commissioned a report into the installation of bin hubs in the World Heritage Site which finds that the hubs would have a “significant adverse impact”.

The community council asked conservation practice, Simpson & Brown, to conduct a Heritage Impact Assessment on the council’s plans to install communal bin hubs every 100 metres in every street in the city. Each hub is seven metres long with bins for all kinds of recycling and landfill.

The community council say that The City of Edinburgh Council refused to conduct its own heritage assessment (which they say is part of an Environmental Impact Assessment), and failed to take into account the views of residents or heritage organisations before deciding what to do.

The study’s key findings are:

The introduction of bin hubs would have a significant effect on the New Town and Old Town conservation areas, and on the Edinburgh World Heritage Site.

There would be a negative effect on Edinburgh Key Views, which are required to be protected under Council planning policy.

The mitigation currently proposed by the Council is not judged to be effective, as it focuses on superficial aspects of the hubs such as bin lid colour.

There is a risk both to the character and appearance of the conservation areas, and to the outstanding universal value (OUV) of the World Heritage Site, if communal bin hubs were to be installed.

The report also states that its findings contradicted the decision taken by the council that an impact assessment was not necessary. According to the guidance produced by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), wherever a significant effect is anticipated, an impact assessment should be carried out. (An Environmental Impact Assessment usually includes a Heritage Impact Assessment).

Surveys conducted in 2022 found that around 90% of residents affected by the plans were against the imposition of the communal bin hubs. A pilot scheme using green gull proof sacks is being tried at the moment to show that other alternatives are feasible and cheaper.

Carol Nimmo, the Chair of the NTBCC said: “This Heritage Impact Assessment provides essential and impartial evidence to the Council that the introduction of communal bin hubs across this city centre would have a significant impact on its cultural and heritage assets. It is putting its World Heritage status at risk and the Council should listen to its residents and rethink.”