Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust (ELGT) completed a new £50,000 boardwalk at Cramond last May, but it was built without planning consent of any kind in a conservation area.
The Cramond, Barnton and Cammo Community Council have repeatedly questioned whether council officers ensured that all necessary planning consents were in place, and also whether the project complied with the terms of the Equalities Act.
Some months after their initial request to the council they had not had a response, as they noted in the minutes of their November meeting which were published ahead of this week’s community council meeting. On enquiry to Edinburgh Council it has been confirmed that the structure was indeed put up without the benefit of permission of any kind. This will now be rectified by making a retrospective application.
Transport and Environment Convener, Cllr Stephen Jenkinson said: “Construction on the Cramond Boardwalk project began in early 2025 and is now largely complete. However, we’ve since identified an issue with planning permission, and a retrospective planning application to correct this has now been submitted.
“We’re also reviewing our existing processes to avoid any similar mistakes occurring in future.
“Once planning permission is granted, we will complete the final stage of work which involves connecting the promenade with the new structure.
“We’ll continue to work with the local community and other key stakeholders as we proceed.”
Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust
As we reported when it was initially completed, the boardwalk was shorter than it appeared on ELGT plans, and also deviated from the design, as it was not a level access. There were steps included when it was finished which contravened accessibility requirements.
This was explained as a temporary matter by ELGT, who said it would be remedied. A spokesperson told us: “The disconnected section of boardwalk was left unbuilt earlier this year due to an SGN high-pressure pipeline running under the ground at that point. There are now permissions in place from SGN to build the connection over the top of this and hopefully that part of the project will move forward in the near future.”
According to plans it was supposed to be 110 metres long from the promenade to the beach, and the intention was to reduce erosion of the protected habitat. There is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) which covers the area. The environmental body is also carrying out planting to improve the biodiversity creating more habitats for creatures and plants to thrive. There are also two seating areas included in the design.
At the time ELGT said: “This will also improve access making it easier and safer for people to get to the beach.” We have asked if that work has now been completed.
FOI inquiry
According to a response to a 2025 FOI inquiry: “The project was first mentioned in the “Coastal Grassland Management Plan for Cramond Foreshore, the City of Edinburgh Countryside Ranger Service – 2012” to prevent excessive damage of coastal grassland and dune habitats by public use, resulting from public disturbance and overuse by trampling. Management of public access is crucial to enable sensitive areas to be protected.”
Construction was approved in August 2024 by the Head of Neighbourhood Environmental Services following a meeting with council officers on 31 July 2024.
The boardwalk was funded from monies in the Nature Restoration Edinburgh Process Strand 2023-24. The Senior Natural Heritage Officer at the Council signed off the payment, and ELGT sub-contracted McLaren Plant to build the timber structure. The council confirmed in response to an FOI request that no minutes of any meetings were created.
The site is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
It is the responsibility of NatureScot to maintain and protect SSSI areas. A NatureScot spokesperson said: “Part of the recent Cramond boardwalk installation sits in the Firth of Forth Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Special Protection Area (SPA). NatureScot visited the site retrospectively and checked the condition assessment reports for this area of the coast. It is potentially an offence for such operations to be carried out without first notifying NatureScot and obtaining prior written consent. This is to prevent damage to the SSSI features during construction.
“The dune system isn’t of particularly high quality, so we don’t consider the SSSI feature to have been damaged, however it will be important to ensure that future management of the boardwalk has a positive impact on its surrounding habitat. Likewise, while there may have been some disturbance to the SPA birds during construction, it will not have had an adverse effect on the integrity of the SPA, largely since the work was carried out without the use of machinery.”
