thecockburnassociation
Edinburgh’s Civic Trust
Trunk’s Close, 55 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR
0131 557 8686 www.cockburnassociation.org.uk

Councillor Neil Gardiner
Convenor, Planning and Development Management Sub-Committee
City of Edinburgh Council
City Chambers
High Street
Edinburgh EH1 1YJ
24 March 2020
Dear Councillor Gardiner
Planning process and decisions during Covid-19
I write to you in these extraordinary times and with a great deal of empathy for the City of
Edinburgh Council as it seeks to manage a complex public and civic agenda during a time of
unprecedented crisis. It remains unclear as to how the statutory planning system and the
Council’s management of it will be done over the next few weeks and months.
As individuals and organisations experience restrictions including isolation and social
distancing, I feel it is essential that the ability to engage in both planning policy (e.g. City Plan
2030 and City Mobility Plan 2030) and planning applications is facilitated to ensure effective
public engagement. Firstly, and recognising that the Scottish Government has extended the
consultation period on the NPF, we would strongly advocate that flexibility is built into the
current consultation phase for the local development plan with comments accepted well past
the 31 March deadline. There is a wider question of how far the dramatic events of the last
week or so may have overtaken some of the assumptions in the Main Issues Report. This is a
further reason for taking a bit more time over it.
Secondly, and perhaps of greater concern, is the development management functions of the
planning service. The Cockburn asks for clarity on the handling of planning applications,
especially major application and ones likely to be controversial such as the Christmas Market
by Underbelly and The Quaich Project by the Ross Development Trust. The latter development
will have generational impacts, and the consultation will need to take account of the barriers
to what would be the usual level of public involvement.
We believe that short-cut executive processes aimed, properly, at keeping crucial services
operating should not be used for important planning decisions. The suspension of Council’s
Planning Committee and Development Management Sub-Committee to the end of April should
also mean the suspension of decision-taking on applications, with perhaps the exception of
minor householder applications. Determining a planning application is not a critical public
health or strategic economic decision. Whilst ensure a degree of continuity in the planning
service is important, we ask you to ensure that civic and public regard is placed above any
short-term administrative processes that might result from the current public health crisis.
Yours sincerely

TERRY LEVINTHAL
Chairman – Professor Cliff Hague

Scottish Charity SC011544

President – Sir Sandy Crombie

 Director
director@cockburnassociation.org.uk

Chairman – Professor Cliff Hague

Scottish Charity SC011544

President – Sir Sandy Crombie