A local resident and Edinburgh city councillor have both said officials should focus on basic improvements rather than spending £36m on a “sexy” project to redevelop George Street over three years.
Carol Munro, who sits on the Sighthill/Broomhouse and Parkhead community council has slammed the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government over their plans when working class residents are experiencing a cost of living crisis.
The 54-year-old has pointed to a recent home development on the site of the old high rises in Sighthill as an example of what £36m can achieve. She says that plans are immensely out of touch and that the council should be lobbying the government to spend the funds where they are most needed.
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Carol says that the money could be used to help solve the city’s housing crisis or to fix roads that working class communities rely upon. She lives with a disability and says that she often struggles to navigate the pothole filled roads of Sighthill/Broomhouse as well as its crack filled pavements.
She adds that her husband, who is a black cab driver, is constantly having to fork out for repairs due to the roads. On the project she said: “I was horrified when I heard of the plans - George Street does not need £36m spent on it.
“It is completely the wrong time to be spending such a large amount of money on what is essentially a vanity project for a shopping street in the city centre. We have just come out of Covid and are now entering another crisis with the cost of living.
“I cannot believe they feel we should be poshing up George Street. It is so frustrating for working class people as we are seeing everything deteriorating before our eyes and it feels as though the council do not care.
“They say they have no money but according to the news they have money coming out of their ears for projects like this, it is so sad. We have evidence across the road from us of what £36m can get you with over 300 houses being built on the former Sighthill high rise site.
“But instead of helping to house vulnerable people they are spending it on a bunch of granite slabs - it is no wonder people are disgusted and upset. It beggars belief what the council and government think is appropriate to spend money on.
“They should come down to grassroots communities and see how real people live and what we have to endure. When you walk down Broomhouse Medway or Sighthill Avenue you can feel your fillings rattling in your teeth from the state of the roads and pavements.
“My husband is a black cab driver and we are never done having to fix the suspension. If the police were driving behind you, they would think you were drunk from you swerving around to dodge the potholes in this community.
“These politicians just do not get it as most of them live in more affluent areas with roads like bowling greens. I understand that funding is ring fenced by the government but the council should be lobbying on our behalf to have this money better spent on working class people.”
Late last month, the council announced that they would be spending £36m on a flagship redesign as part of the ‘George Street and the First New Town’ project which is a key element to the 10-year Edinburgh City Centre Transformation strategy. The changes will make the New Town street pedestrian friendly and will see the removal of over 240 parking bays.
It is understood to take three years to complete and the council has admitted that it will lead to a loss of around £1.6m in parking revenues. But Ross McKenzie, a local councillor for Gorgie/Sighthill among other local areas, has joined Carol in her condemnation and has asked whether the council should be spending money on “sexy” projects when they cannot get the basics right.
He said: "I've heard it said on this council in regard to place making that 'you don't earn the right to do the sexy stuff unless you get the basics right'. The George Street plan is very sexy, and very expensive, but the Council has not earned the right to embark on these projects because the basics of roads, pavements and parks are in such a poor state.
“I'm all for safe cycle routes, wider pavements and improvements to place, but the focus on the city centre cannot be to the detriment of the rest of the city.”
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “I do not believe that Scotland’s capital should have to choose between maintaining basic standards in communities and protecting the fantastic built environment we have inherited from previous generations. Like any other European capital, Edinburgh deserves the funding to do both.
“Since becoming Transport and Environment Committee Convener I have won cross party support for the need to improve road condition and street cleanliness, and I expect this to be a key feature in the discussions I have with other parties in the run up to setting the budget in February 2023.
“The restoration of George Street will start in 2024 and will largely be funded by Sustrans, not the Council. In my discussions with Sustrans, I have been clear that projects like this are important to me as they will help is hit net-zero, improve wellbeing and create jobs. Indeed, every pound spent on this project will deliver two pounds in benefits.”
The Scottish government was approached for comment.
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