The Planning Department has contacted Greener Leith with news of two draft development briefs that have been put out for consultation. You can download both consultation documents from these links:

• Steads Place/Jane Street Development Brief
  
• Bonnigton Development Brief

The Planning Department would love to hear as many views as possible on these plans. You can submit these by email to Ian Tame whose email address is ian.tame@edinburgh.gov.uk by 27th of June 2008.

There will also be a public meeting held in Bonnington Primary School scheduled for 7.00pm Wednesday 11th of June.

Whilst Greener Leith is broadly supportive of the proposals to develop more active frontages, better footpath links and mixed uses in the area we note that only two options are presented in the Steads Place/Jane Street Development Brief for the footpath linkage from the North East of Pilrig Park to Leith Walk. Neither of these options are particularly satisfactory.

Greener Leith would like to see this path (as in option 4b) follow the route of the railway embankment from Pilrig Park as much as possible. However, option 4B proposes that path ends in steps down to Leith Walk, which does little to promote sustainable transport. We see no reason why a ramp cannot be constructed to give access up to the path. This could be dug into the southern side of the embankment. This solution would retain public access to this neglected, underused bit of greenspace (see the photo above), whilst at least leaving the option open for  the further development of a 'green travel route' linking the North Edinburgh Cycle Network, Pilrig Park, Manderston/Gordon St and Leith Links/Cycle Routes from Easter Rd.

We note that the brief rules out any hope of bringing back a bridge over Leith Walk from the embankment on the West side to the East side of Leith Walk. Even if this possibility seems unlikely today, we feel the Steads Place/Jane St design brief should not rule out this option for the future by permitting private development of the embankment now.