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WEST EDINBURGH PLANNING FRAMEWORK CONSULTATION DRAFT

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INTRODUCTION

1.The consultation document on the Review of Strategic Planning 1 proposed the preparation of a National Planning Framework that might identify locations where, in the national interest, a co-ordinated approach to planning was required. On March 5, 2002 the Scottish Ministers announced that work would begin on the first location specific Scottish Executive planning policy statement for West Edinburgh. A Working Group, with Scottish Executive and the City of Edinburgh Council officials and representatives from Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian was set up to prepare this consultation draft. A Stakeholders Advisory Group was also set up to inform the work.

2.The economy of Edinburgh and the Lothians is forecast to continue growing at a steady pace, mainly on the strength of the financial and business services and communications sectors in Edinburgh. Shortage of labour and ongoing restructuring is presenting issues that need to be addressed, but in general terms the economy of Edinburgh and the Lothians is in a healthy state. This is forecast to continue, with Edinburgh predicted to have the fastest growing economy of any major city in the UK over the next five years. 2

3.West Edinburgh is nationally important in economic, land use, transport, and environmental terms. The nature and scale of development, both existing and committed, is significant to the regional and Scottish economy. Established land uses such as Edinburgh Airport and the Royal Highland Showground play a regional or national role, and have aspirations for long-term growth. The existence of the Airport, and the road and rail routes that connect West Edinburgh to the rest of the country place it in a strategically important accessible location, although growing road congestion problems are evident. Much of the area is designated Green Belt, which provides an attractive western edge to the City and plays a strategic role in supporting Edinburgh's compact city form.

4.In recognition of these factors, together with pressures for development and opportunities to integrate transport and land use, the Scottish Executive, the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian have worked with key stakeholders to prepare a long-term strategic planning framework for the area. The Framework does not undermine the statutory development plan. It serves as an input to the structure and local plans for the area. It will be taken into account by the Scottish Ministers in their consideration of development plans. It will also be a material consideration in development control decisions.

5. This draft document describes the elements that will constitute the Planning Framework. Many of these elements continue to be the subject of ongoing studies but it is possible at this stage to consider how possible outcomes may influence patterns of investment and development. The document presents a strategic planning policy framework for the area which integrates current and future development with investment in transport. It is pitched at a strategic level. In particular, it seeks to safeguard and coordinate the range of transport infrastructure options which are under consideration, without specifying the detail of individual schemes.

6. The Planning Framework is accompanied and supported by background papers 3 on the following topics: economy, transport and environment.

WEST EDINBURGH - THE PLACE

7. The Framework includes the Sighthill and South Gyle employment areas, Edinburgh Park and the Gyle Centre, and the A8 corridor to Newbridge, including the Royal Highland Showground and the Airport (Fig One). It is effectively concerned with setting out a long-term vision (to 2020 and beyond) for the A8 transport corridor.

FIG ONE

8.West Edinburgh is the principal gateway to Scotland's capital city. Largely comprising green belt land, the area is predominantly rural in character although it does contain a number of established strategic business locations, particularly on the urban fringe and beyond the Green Belt at Newbridge. Within the Green Belt, the policy of restraint has had the effect of safeguarding the long-term development potential of Edinburgh Airport as well as redirecting development pressure to previously developed sites and locations within the urban area in line with sustainable development principles. This has been successful, with the trend in recent years for planned business park development or the incremental redevelopment of established industrial areas for modern business uses offering large numbers of high quality jobs.

9.Recently however, there has been a step change in the pace and scale of development and interest in the area combined with increasing pressures being placed on the transport network, Green Belt and environment to which this Planning Framework is responding. Table One provides a summary of existing and already committed development, which serves as a baseline for the Planning Framework. Table Two lists already committed transport investments. These 'existing commitments' are shown on Figure Two.

FIGURE TWO

TABLE ONE

Schedule of existing and committed development

TABLE TWO

Committed transport investments

WEST EDINBURGH - A NATIONAL ASSET

10. A number of factors combine to give West Edinburgh a competitive advantage over other UK and even European investment locations:

• a key strategic location within the Central Belt with connections to strategic road links and potential for improved heavy and light rail networks;
• proximity to a rapidly growing international airport;
• proximity to major centres of population;
• Edinburgh's reputation as an international tourist destination;
• quality of life in Edinburgh and the Lothians; and
• a long established and buoyant financial sector in Edinburgh seeking modern accommodation.

11.A combination of these factors has helped the area become one of the most important economic development zones in Scotland. There are currently around 20,000 jobs located in the area. Development already with the benefit of planning permission but not yet built is estimated to have capacity for a further 20-30,000 jobs.

12.In addition, it has become clear that key stakeholders have aspirations for consolidation and additional growth in the long term. For example, The Royal Bank of Scotland has submitted a planning application for a headquarters building for 3,250 staff on the former Gogarburn Hospital site. The owners of the Gyle Centre have aspirations for further retail growth, improvements in accessibility by public transport and enhancement of its retail and community facilities. Edinburgh Airport's rapid growth is also forecast to continue to beyond 10 million passengers per annum by 2015 and beyond 20 million by 2030. With the investment programme underway at the Showground, visitor numbers are projected to increase in future years. The Showground is also home to a growing number of organisations connected to agriculture and the food chain, and forms a small business cluster in that sector. In addition to all of this, the draft version of the Edinburgh and Lothians Structure Plan proposes Newbridge/Kirkliston/Ratho and Edinburgh Park/South Gyle/Sighthill as two of six core development areas where development will be encouraged subject to the provision of key transport infrastructure and to other Development Plan policies.

13.Longer term, and providing congestion problems can be addressed and public transport accessibility and environmental quality enhanced, the Scottish Ministers regard West Edinburgh as a unique opportunity in Scotland to create an international business location, capable of attracting world class companies and headquarters opportunities.

14.Clearly however, the development pressure and transport constraints being experienced in the area means that safeguarding and enhancing the area's competitive advantage for future generations will require careful planning. Mitigation of the adverse transport impacts of already committed development is the key challenge. This will require careful integration of transport and land use so that accessibility is not compromised, travel times are reduced and capacity for additional development is created in the context of a sustainable transport system. Meeting demand for air travel is also of strategic importance. It is also important that strategic Green Belt objectives are not undermined through the unnecessary development of green belt land and that the environmental quality of the gateway to Scotland's capital city is protected and enhanced. To match rapidly rising international standards, developments in West Edinburgh must incorporate the most sustainable and high quality principles and practices. The knock on effects of investment in West Edinburgh for the wider national and regional economy and labour supply also need to be taken into account.

15.The national interest in West Edinburgh can therefore be defined as being the:

• need to improve public transport accessibility to established development sites and reduce congestion;
• realisation of opportunities for airport expansion and better surface access;
• need to reinforce the strategic role of Edinburgh's Green Belt;
• incorporating sustainable development into planning, and implementation and enhancement of environmental quality; and
• over the longer term (beyond 2020), the need to safeguard accessibility and a strategic reserve of land for the realisation of additional high quality economic development potential served by a high quality transport system.

BACKGROUND ISSUES, PRESSURES AND CONSTRAINTS

ECONOMY AND LABOUR SUPPLY

16.The economy of Edinburgh and the Lothians is expected to generate demand for up to 330,000 sq. m of new additional floorspace for business (class 4) uses through to 2015. Developments already with the benefit of planning permission at Edinburgh Park and Newbridge alone have capacity of approximately 400,000 sq. m. Edinburgh as a whole is estimated to have development capacity for well over the estimated demand in locations such as the City Centre, Waterfront and Leith. These, along with other locations in Lothian are therefore regarded as having potential to provide more than an adequate supply of land for economic development in Edinburgh and the Lothians to 2015 at least, although there will be issues over its location and quality. Even after 2015, there is no evidence to suggest that there would be any general need for the release of Green Belt land in West Edinburgh to meet forecast demand. In any event, there is a projected shortfall of labour supply in Lothian. Overcoming this suggests greater levels of in-migration or in-commuting which raises separate issues for housing land supply and transport, in Lothian and beyond, in Fife, Falkirk, Scottish Borders and North Lanarkshire, for example.

17.It therefore appears that any significant release of Green Belt land for economic development in West Edinburgh would be at the expense of Structure Plan core development areas and would largely displace jobs from elsewhere. This would result in partially developed areas of already allocated land which are unable to reach critical mass for the provision of high quality public transport or the delivery of wider development plan strategy or policy objectives such as urban regeneration.

ACCESSIBILITY AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT

18.West Edinburgh currently generates large travel demands from commuters, people travelling through the area into and from Edinburgh, airport users and other activities. Public transport serves parts of the area, but is primarily bus based, and subject to traffic congestion. The road and rail network is either at or near maximum operating capacity, or is poorly integrated. The anticipated improvements in the short-term are modest compared to the large amounts of committed development. In order to contain existing levels of traffic congestion, safeguard accessibility and provide a long-term sustainable solution to the areas transport problems there clearly needs to be an early and sustained step change in levels of transport investment. The promotion of a safer transport system is another important consideration.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

19.Edinburgh Airport is experiencing rapid year on year passenger growth. Much of this is fuelled by the low cost operators, but work undertaken in preparation for the 2003 Aviation White Paper suggests that passenger numbers could grow from 7 million per annum to between 20 million and 24 million by 2030. Such passenger figures would support more direct flights to a greater range of destinations than exists at present and increase both competitive business links and inbound tourist traffic.

20.The Aviation Regional Consultation Document, 4 published on 23 July 2002, proposes scenarios for the future growth and development of Edinburgh Airport. After consultation, the Government and the Scottish Ministers will consider the responses, and include a preferred way forward in the proposed Aviation White Paper, probably early in 2003. A related study into airport rail links (which is investigating both heavy and light rail links) is due to report in the autumn. There are again a number of options being considered. An interim update was published on 24 July 2002. 5 All this work raises issues over the Airport's future land, surface access, safeguarding, and public safety requirements over a 20 to 30 year period at least.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS

21.The environment of West Edinburgh outside the developed areas is characterised by open countryside. Some parts of the area are subject to flood risk, are important for floodwater storage and are managed by systems of flood defences. There are also landscapes of high amenity and a number of isolated cultural and natural heritage assets. As well as the safeguarding and safety zones associated with the airport, there are the safeguarding and consultation zones associated with two high-pressure gas pipelines running through the area.

22.Committed and any further development also has environmental implications for air quality. Road traffic in narrow tenemental streets in the west side inner areas of the city create air quality hotspots and these should not be allowed to extend more generally to West Edinburgh. Such hotspots have air quality in breach of EU and national rules, and measures, particularly affecting road transport, will have to be taken to meet the relevant obligations.

THE VISION FOR WEST EDINBURGH

23. In response to all of these issues and to the need to safeguard and enhance the national asset that is West Edinburgh, the Scottish Ministers, the City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and the Lothians and key stakeholders have worked together to develop a long-term strategic vision for the area. Key policy objectives include:

• the implementation of committed development in accordance with high design standards;
• introducing tram networks into and through the area for rapid transit within and between Edinburgh and the Lothians and local distribution;
• continued growth of Edinburgh Airport;
• the introduction of rail links to Edinburgh Airport to improve accessibility and reduce journey times from other parts of Scotland and the UK;
• integration of transport modes through the construction of a high quality transport interchange at Edinburgh Airport and park and ride facilities;
• no net detrimental impact to the free flow of traffic on the motorway and trunk road network; possibly achieved through enhancement of the existing network;
• the rounding off and more intensive development of key established development sites and their integration with an improved public transport network;
• a continued commitment to the strategic role of Edinburgh's Green Belt;
• enhancement of environmental quality and promotion of high design standards; and
• safeguarding of land as Green Belt to help provide opportunities for high quality nationally significant economic development in the long-term.

THE PLANNING FRAMEWORK

24.In pursuit of these objectives, careful long term planning that integrates land use and transport is required in West Edinburgh. While it is the intention to invest early in transport to alleviate congestion affecting existing and committed development, any longer term future development opportunities that may benefit from, and be related to the new transport networks, must be considered in the context set by the Edinburgh and the Lothians Structure Plan 2002. This Planning Framework is about safeguarding land in the context of airport requirements and other transport infrastructure potential and setting the parameters for long-term development potential in that context.

25.It is part of the vision that land use and transport systems in the area must integrate with the objective of enabling public transport to play a major role. This in turn will reduce the pressure on the road network and improve accessibility. It will also help meet wider environmental and social inclusion objectives. In the short-term however, it is expected that even with committed transport improvements, congestion problems are likely to worsen as a result of the traffic generated by development already with the benefit of planning permission and the continuing underlying growth in traffic levels. The priority for this Planning Framework is to relieve these pressures and facilitate the continued growth and development of established land uses in West Edinburgh consistent with the long-term vision. Beyond that, there may be capacity in an improved transport system to support further development, but the stewardship of that capacity has to be carefully planned to firstly to avoid its unwise use, and secondly to avoid development in West Edinburgh contrary to the strategy of the Edinburgh and the Lothians Structure Plan 2002 (when approved) and in detrimental competition with Structure Plan core development areas.

26.The West Edinburgh Planning Framework will support further development on selected established development sites and intensification of existing land uses to 2020. Scottish Ministers do not consider there to be a need to release green field land for this purpose. Development should also be subject to the availability of new high quality public transport capacity and management of its transport impacts by a West Edinburgh co-ordinated Travel Plan organisation. 6 A more detailed description of the nature and scale of development consistent with realisation of the vision for West Edinburgh is set out in Table Three.

TABLE THREE

Schedule of development 2020

27.As far as transport improvements are concerned, the Scottish Ministers have already stated in Scotland's Transport: Delivering Improvements7 that developing rail links to Edinburgh and Glasgow Airports is one of the top ten priorities for transport delivery. The Edinburgh Airport link would facilitate access to the area and reduce journey times to Edinburgh Airport for people travelling from all parts of Scotland. Another of the top ten priorities for the Scottish Ministers in transport delivery is the development of an effective, modern 21st century public transport system for Edinburgh. Implementation of the West Edinburgh portion of the City of Edinburgh Council's proposed Tram Network would go a significant way towards enabling local distribution and rapid transit of large numbers of people to the employment areas in West Edinburgh and the Airport. It may however, be necessary to implement other demand management measures to ensure that reduction in road congestion arising from improved public transport is not lost by induced demand for car travel. Table Four outlines the West Edinburgh tram proposal in more detail. These proposals are set out diagrammatically in Figure Three.

TABLE FOUR

Proposed West Edinburgh Tram

FIGURE THREE

THE PLANNING FRAMEWORK continued

28.Work being undertaken to inform the publication of the Aviation White Paper is exploring various options for the future development of Edinburgh Airport. Without prejudice to the outcome of consultation on the Aviation Regional Consultation Document and the Aviation White Paper, and until a clearer understanding of the future development and surface access requirements of the airport are known, it will be necessary to safeguard various options, including a second runway, heavy rail links, improved road access and direct motorway access. These will need to be revisited over time to take account of progress with the outcomes from the Aviation White Paper and will be refined as decisions are made elsewhere on specific schemes.

29.Providing accessibility can be safeguarded and enhanced, Scottish Ministers also recognise the long-term economic development potential of the national asset that is West Edinburgh. This should be safeguarded for future generations and for exceptional world class developments where West Edinburgh is not in competition with elsewhere in Scotland but with other UK, European or other international locations. The Framework for Economic Development in Scotland acknowledges that the presence of corporate headquarters is beneficial to the Scottish economy in that they create high quality employment and generate a strong demand for business services. The draft NPPG2: Economic Development promotes a positive and prompt planning response to proposals for new headquarters buildings where justified on the basis of a strong economic case and the particular locational requirements of the company.

30.After investments in strategic transport are committed, providing there is spare capacity in the transport network and subject to a review of this Framework, there may be justification to release Green Belt land for high quality economic development. This should take place in the context of a long-term settlement strategy for Edinburgh and the Lothians as set out in the Development Plan. Based on the economic analysis carried out to inform this document and set out in the background paper, the Scottish Ministers would not expect a need for the release of any substantial areas of Green Belt land in West Edinburgh for economic development to emerge much before 2030, and certainly not before 2020. Additionally, such development would have to satisfy all of the following criteria:

• be located at a point on the transport system in West Edinburgh where maximum advantagecould be taken of the new public transport facilities provided or proposed and management of their transport impact can be undertaken by a West Edinburgh co-ordinated Travel Planorganisation;
• development should make a significant contribution to the delivery of improved public transport facilities and would be dependent on their provision;
• development would conform to a set of planning principles in which high quality design and landscaping is paramount in creating a development worthy of the locational advantages conferred by West Edinburgh;
• the choice of location could be demonstrated as not being between sites within the Edinburgh area, but being between sites in West Edinburgh and other UK, European or international locations; and
• be able to demonstrate a business need for being located close to an international airport.

ACTION REQUIRED

31.Implementation and delivery of the vision for West Edinburgh will require careful long-term planning that safeguards and creates long-term opportunities and integrates investment in development and transport. Development Plans will play a key role.

32.The replacement Edinburgh and the Lothians Structure Plan should:

• recognise the national importance of the area and incorporate the vision set out in this Framework;
• reaffirm the commitment to the long-term stability and endurance of the Green Belt in West Edinburgh, and to the need for an enhancement of environmental quality and the promotion of high design standards;
• define the terms of local planning action required to implement this Planning Framework, including safeguards required for the implementation of transport infrastructure;
• explain mechanisms by which stakeholders can be brought together to act jointly to implement the Panning Framework, including setting up of a co-ordinated Travel Plan organisation; and
• set out a presumption against new development identified in Table Three until strategic public transport improvements are committed and unless development proposals generally accord with the broad terms of the Travel Plan Organisation.

In development control, this Planning Framework will constitute a significant material consideration.
Decisions taken should seek to implement the policy objectives contained within it and avoid prejudicing the long-term vision.

NEXT STEPS

34.This Planning Framework has been drawn up as a result of four months of intensive work by the Scottish Executive, The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian. Discussions have been held with key development and transport interests in the area, together with some adjoining local authorities. The intention is to finalise the Framework in the light of responses to the consultation and further information and study. Scottish Ministers will publish the finalised Planning Framework, which will then set the national context for development plans and will be a material consideration in development control decision making.

RESPONSES

35.Comments on the contents of this draft Planning Framework are sought by 15 November 2002 and can be

• e-mailed to westedinburgh@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or
• posted to

David Leven
Scottish Executive Development Department,
Planning Division,
Victoria Quay,
EDINBURGH,
EH6 6QQ.

Copies of responses will be made available to the public on request. Please indicate if you wish your comments to be treated in confidence.

DOCUMENTS

36.Copies of this document can be obtained by telephoning our planning helpline 08457 741 741 or Planning Division direct on 0131 244 7538. The draft Planning Framework, related background papers on economy, transport and environment as well as other Scottish Executive planning publications can be viewed on the Scottish Executive web site: www.scotland.gov.uk/planning /

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