Why does this three-metre stretch of Edinburgh’s Viewforth have no pavement? Because of a failure of our planning system - or perhaps more accurately, a failure in the culture of our planning system.
Gap in pavement at old Boroughmuir School
The location marks a former vehicle entrance to the old Boroughmuir High School, which has been developed by Cala Homes into prestigious flats. Despite the extensive issues involved in achieving the necessary consents, the Planning Department made no effort whatsoever to require the developer to turn the redundant road entrance into a proper footway. This means the pavement is interrupted by two dropped kerbs - one extremely steep and probably unusable by many wheelchair users - and with unnecessary and misleading tactile paving. Adding to the absurdity, the failure to amend traffic orders to extend the yellow lines across the former entrance means that there’s now a free parking space for anyone who wishes to use it.
 | (The same development - incredibly for a city which claims ambitious intent to reduce car use - received planning consent for every one of the 87 luxury flats to have their own parking space. As a result, the former school playground in a location that could scarcely be better located for public transport and active travel, is now a sea of BMWs, Mercedes and Teslas). |
So why wasn’t the pavement fixed, at Cala’s cost, as part of the planning process? Because the Council’s planning officers decided that “the scope to get developers to provide a continuous footpath is limited as this requirement would not meet the reasonableness test for an effective planning condition.” Rather than testing these “limits”, and the “reasonableness” of requiring a pavement directly outside the development to be made more accessible, the Council didn’t even ask the developer. “It would be for the Road Authority to provide a continuous footpath” continues the planning official. The roads authority and the planning authority are, of course, one and the same.
Planning officers can have a tough job reconciling conflicting demands and this blog post isn’t a criticism of any individual. But unless the culture and leadership within our planning system shows more ambition and assertiveness, we will continue to live unnecessarily with substandard, inaccessible pavements. And if they get fixed at all, it will be at the public’s expense.
Important Update!
The pavement WAS fixed - and at the developer's expense! This happened not as a result of the planning process but when Viewforth was resurfaced a few months later. The roads department did ask Cala to pay for the footway improvement - and they agreed!
Planning officers can have a tough job reconciling conflicting demands and this blog post isn’t a criticism of any individual. But unless the culture and leadership within our planning system shows more ambition and assertiveness, we will continue to live unnecessarily with substandard, inaccessible pavements. And if they get fixed at all, it will be at the public’s expense.
Important Update!
The pavement WAS fixed - and at the developer's expense! This happened not as a result of the planning process but when Viewforth was resurfaced a few months later. The roads department did ask Cala to pay for the footway improvement - and they agreed!
The new smooth tarmac pavement with kerbs removed.
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