Cllr Dan Heap, the Green councillor for Sighthill/Gorgie, asked the council to consider whether private garden spaces in the city could be opened up to members of the public.
He explained that access to green space is often unequal and that data from the Scottish Household Survey shows that adults from the most deprived fifth of Scotland are 13% less likely to have access to green or blue space, and 20% less likely to visit such space. He also pointed out that the garden in St Andrew Square is privately owned by the owners of buildings around the square, but has been open to the public since 2008.
He said in the meeting of the Culture and Communities Committee on Monday that what he was trying to do was “kick off a process” to help open up some of the “most famous and beautiful shared garden spaces we have in Edinburgh”. He said that many although not all are in the New Town and he would like to ask the owners to open the gardens up on a voluntary basis – “in the community spirit”. He also pointed out that some of the gardens would more correctly be called private parks in his view, given that many of them are very large.
He said: “There is something that sits uncomfortably with me about having a large number of these gardens, which are large in size, very beautiful spaces that are enjoyed by the owners but also by nature. But those being locked to 99.9% of the populations just doesn’t feel right. Let’s start a conversation today – it’s a conversation that will take some time, it’s technically complicated because we’ll have to look at issues of funding, issues of public liability insurance, and so on, but I really do think this is an opportunity to make sure that everyone in Edinburgh can access high quality green space.”
Cllr Alys Mumford said that the book festival used to use Charlotte Square, and pointed to the example of Regent’s Park where St John’s Lodge Garden is privately owned, but open to the public. She also said that there is a privately owned public spaces scheme in New York which any Edinburgh plans could be modelled on.
Cllr Mumford added that climate change is an issue to consider. She said: “The other key factor in this is the potential for nature and climate work. If their council is able to be involved in management of these parks, we know that there will be massively increased amount for shade in the coming years as the climate changes and heat wave deaths increase. We’re already seeing other cities having to think about this. Street trees take a long time to provide the cover that’s needed. These are huge spaces with massive potential for rewilding nature restoration, but the main point for me is that access to nature is vital for all of our residents and visitors for their mental health and their wellbeing, not just those with a key.”
Convener Cllr Margaret Graham said that she proposed no action for several reasons. She said: “These are the green space that connect, and although they’re not specifically directly connected to people’s houses, it is their garden space. I’m in a fortunate position where my garden is connected directly to my house.
“Some people in the townhouses in the New Town, there are four families in one block, where previously these buildings were one when they were built. It used to be one family.
“Some of them live in basements, so there is the now.
“I’m quite sure that there could be improvements in the way that these are managed, and how access to people within the New Town who are allowed to use these, and I think that’s something that could be taken up voluntarily through the street committees, etc.”
But Cllr Graham expressed the view that this is “not something that the council should be involving ourselves in”. She also pointed out that there are many green spaces in Edinburgh and she could not think of any communities in the city which don’t already have access in some ways to these.
Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron was involved in the process to make St Andrew Square Garden become publicly accessible, But she said that the conversation took place many years previously, and it had started from asking the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland about having Christmas lights in the square.
Cllr Finlay McFarlane one of the city centre councillors said he was still getting emails about this topic as the meeting was in progress, and he regretted that they had not had the chance to “talk this through”. He said he has promoted the idea of opening up Charlotte Square Gardens to the members of the Charlotte Square Capital Project whom. he has met with. But he did say that council officers have tried to contact the owners and engage with them but have “got nowhere”. But he said that in the case of Charlotte Square “where it’s a commercial landlord, and where there is such an obvious case for public use of that green space, it would make total sense to be able to enjoy it.” He said even if there were no commercial premises such as the Costa Coffee in St Andrew Square, it would just be a quiet green space for people to enjoy.
Cllr Ed Thornley said he would prefer that “the council’s parks and green space officers concentrate on improving the council’s parks and green spaces”. He continued that the best way to tackle the inequality that Cllr Heap mentioned was to ensure that: “Our public parks are as accessible and fantastic as they possibly can be, and we’ve made some really great progress on that as a committee. We are talking about a very small number of gardens across the city, predominantly in particularly well-off areas.
“I’m not comfortable turning around and saying that we’re intending to use council taxpayers’ money to maintain private gardens, as the motion suggests.”
After the meeting, Cllr Heap, said: “Today was a missed opportunity for Edinburgh. Our proposal was modest, practical and rooted in common-sense.
“We were not asking the Council to force gardens open. We were asking officials to explore how a voluntary scheme could work, with proper support for owners around maintenance, cleaning and insurance.
“St Andrew Square is a private garden, but the public have rightly had access to it since 2008. It shows that this kind of approach can work, and it is disappointing that councillors have chosen not to even explore it.
“Edinburgh should be a city that works for everyone, not just those wealthy enough to live beside park-sized private gardens. Greens will keep working for a fairer city where access to nature is based on need, not property wealth.”
Scottish Greens MSP for Edinburgh Central, Lorna Slater, said: “Everyone in Edinburgh should be able to access nature and enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits that come with it, whether or not they have a garden of their own.
“As an Edinburgh MSP, I know how precious our city’s green spaces are. Opening up more of them, even on a limited and voluntary basis, would make a real difference for people living and working in built-up communities.
“While Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems have chosen to protect exclusive access for some of Edinburgh’s wealthiest residents, rather than even explore a modest proposal to share more of the city’s green space, the Scottish Greens will keep working for a city that works for everyone, not just those with the wealth to live beside park-sized private gardens.”
