Thread by @mrdavidbol

We’re all set for today’s transport and environment committee. Obviously the city centre transformation is the big one - but also a parking strategy, bottle deposit return scheme and a motion on festival advertising on the agenda. Might be a long day.

https://twitter.com/mrdavidbol/status/1172068023932506112

Petitioners are calling for an independent air study on pollution levels on Roseburn Terrace amid road layout changes for a cycle route. John Yellowlees says: “It’s our concern that any studies on the impact on air pollution should be see to be independent.”

Cllr Cook says he is “deeply uncomfortable” with what is being asked for - saying it’s essentially “questioning the profession integrity” of officials.

Convener Cllr Macinnes agrees with Cllr Cook. She says: “The idea we would have somebody from your group overseeing the work we are contracting is something I have a problem with”. She adds that lots of methods could be used but “the use of an unpaid expert is not one of them”.

We’re now onto the city centre transformation final strategy. Daisy Narayanan, project leader, is taking councillors through the 10-year vision.
edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/traffic-a…

Ms Narayanan says that at the heart of the strategy is that “we need to ensure the city centre is accessible, is safe and is pleasant for everyone”. She adds that following a second public consultation, “overall it’s clear that there’s a real appetite for change”.

Ms Narayanan responds to fears over impacts on buses. She says: “We have to work closely with them (Lothian Buses) to make sure this is a success. Doing nothing is just not an option. Building on the success of bus services is critical to the city centre transformation.”

She adds that a £314m investment over the 10-year strategy is expected to bring quantifiable benefits to the city of more than £420m. She says that the strategy will be delivered as an “integrated costed plan” and says “the delivery plan is not set in stone”.

Cllr Cook says: “We are now 17 months in. This is now a finalised strategy and many of the key questions have little more detail than they had before or remain unanswered.” Ms Narayanan says the council “is not at that stage yet” to have specific details for every aspect.

Place director Paul Lawrence responds to bus concerns. “We think this gives them thst certainty to know what the future now looks like and to plan their business for the future. This provides the most positive platform to embrace the changes and plan for the long term.”

Mr Lawrence also gives councillors an “absolute assurance” that “Lothian are absolutely 100 per cent stitched into those discussions” about how the strategy will be delivered.

Cllr Miller says: ”I think that it’s great to see a strategy document that shows shows us where we are going. I’m interested in how we deliver it and where do we go from here. We have seen a different culture in this work about how much change can the city cope with.”

Cllr Miller says there’s “definitely more scope in my mind for being more ambitious” and questions whether if legal/financial barriers are overcome, could more be done. She adds: “The number of streets we are closing to traffic is very small. How much more ambitious can we be?”

Officers say the strategy remains flexible. They add that closing Cowgate to traffic was considered but investigations found it was “a step too far at the moment”. Cllr Macinnes adds: “We want to pack as much punch as we can into this project as it runs its course.”

Cllr Macinnes reiterates this is a strategy report. She adds: “What is being asked for is a leap forward into detailed work thst is still to be done in a detailed, comprehensive manner. The detail will emerge at an appropriate time with a the different stakeholders.”

Conservatives raise concerns that 3,000 consultation responses, one of the best ever responses on the council’s consultation hub, is not big enough to show an appetite for change. Cllr Child responds saying the Tories are trying to “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”.

Cllr Macinnes is moving the report. She says: “I’m very proud of this. This is about looking at existing council demands and projects and joining them together and understand the needs of things City and we respond appropriately to them.

She adds: “Its an opportunity for the city to be proud that we are tackling some of the biggest issues facing us as a country.”

Cllr Miller has moved her addendum to the report- asking for a reassurance that mobility and accessibility is built into it. She adds: “If we don’t have that at the heart of it, we have failed.”

Cllr Lang tables his proposal for how public transport will be prioritised to be embedded in the city mobility plan. He says: “There have been legitimate concerns over the impact of this strategy on public transport and Lothian Buses in particular.

He adds: “I’m confident that officials recognise that this is a critical issues thst will need to be focused on. That was never going to be sorted today.”

Cllr Cook moves his amendment, calling for “flagship projects to be put front and centre “ and “should be progressed and used as a benchmark” for further projects in the strategy. He adds: “We should take a funded and transparent approach to how we transform the city centre.”

Cllr Macinnes is unsurprisingly not accepting a “desperate attempt” by the Conservatives to “accelerate us into difficulties”. She adds: “It’s designed to pull us back. It’s reducing it down in a way that I don’t think is particularly helpful.”

Spanner in the work for the SNP-Labour administration. Cllr Cook calls for approval of the final strategy to be delayed for full council to consider it. - which it now will after 3 Cllrs on the committee backed it. Not clear whether this will cause delays to the project.

I can’t see full council doing anything other than approving the final strategy though - with the SNP-Labour administration, Green and Lib Dem proposals all combined. There is a full council meeting next week but unsure if it can be added to that agenda in time.

For clarity, I’ve been assured the strategy has still been approved and is going to full council “for noting” - so projects haven’t been delayed at all.

Right. We’ve got another six items on the agenda to get through - plus an emergency motion.