Update from North East Locality at City of Edinburgh Council on Kings Place, Portobello:

“I wanted to provide you with a progress update to confirm that King’s Place was submitted to the Spaces for People programme and is currently under consideration for the installation of temporary traffic management measures to support safe walking, cycling, exercise in the area. The project is being assessed by officers as part of a design and risk assessment process alongside a range of other requested schemes from across the city that have been proposed through the Spaces for People programme. Although I am unable at this stage to confirm whether the project will be taken forward, I can advise that it is being considered and will provide you with a further progress report on this as soon as possible.

In addition to the above, I also wanted to update you on the question of the longer term picture for the area as officers are keen to support a previously suggested partnership approach with the Community Council in engaging other local stakeholder groups/ residents in order to realise community aspirations for the future development of the space. This would follow on from the consultation work that the Community Council undertook last year and would aim to address the concerns raised about parking and pedestrian/ cyclist safety on a permanent basis.

The suggested approach would be staged and could include:

·         An initial meeting with a small group of key stakeholders from the community held with Officers/ elected members to provide an update of the position and to share and hear different perspectives on the potential future changes to the space.

·         Delivery of feasibility / engagement work to determine ideas for improvements to the area. 

·         Secure funding/ resource to deliver improvements (£30,000 Transport Neighbourhood Environment Programme funding already secured to increase the width of the pathway).

·         Progress improvements as supported by the engagement programme. Depending on the options considered, this could include the need to consider a changed use/ re-determination process for the road which would require a longer timescale.

Pre- lockdown, Locality Officers had undertaken some preparatory work in order to support the above approach including work to produce an initial plan of the area showing basic road determination and an indicative cycleway to assist with discussions on a re-imagined space.  Officers had also linked in with colleagues in the Active Travel team about the options for external funding opportunities.

At this stage, officers are currently reviewing how we take forward programmes of work across all council services within the context of the coronavirus. This includes community engagement work, the review of priorities etc, however, I want to reassure you that within this wider context, we hope to take forward this engagement activity to support improvement planning for King’s Place with key stakeholders as soon as is practicable.

I hope this response is helpful and will aim to be back in contact as soon as possible in order to provide you with an update on the question of temporary measures as part of the Spaces for People programme”

See also: Kings Place Portobello – Parking consultation results.