+ What is AACT and whom are you representing?

Astley Ainslie Community Trust is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation and community-led charity working to protect and realise the community vision for Astley Ainslie. We represent members living in the defined community area, and we welcome wider supporters, partners and associate members who share the vision for the site’s future.

We are representing local people living in postcode areas EH9 1, 2 and 3 and EH10 4, 5 and 6. These fall within the 4 Community Council (CC) areas surrounding the Astley Ainslie site. They are: Marchmont and Sciennes CC, Morningside CC, Merchiston CC and Grange and Prestonfield CC. Individuals and organisations outside this area can be Associates, Friends, and potential partners.

+ What is AACT's aim?

Our aim is to protect and realise the community vision for Astley Ainslie: a green, health-giving, accessible and inclusive place, shaped with local people and stewarded for long-term public benefit.

+ What does AACT do?

AACT gathers and represents community aspirations for the future of Astley Ainslie. We led the work to bring local people’s views together into the Astley Ainslie Local Place Plan 2025, which now acts as a community voice in planning and future decisions about the site.

We continue to engage with local people, build membership and community mandate, and liaise with the City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian, the Scottish Government and other partners. Our current focus is on progressing delivery of the Local Place Plan, including practical priorities such as public access, protection of greenspace, sensitive reuse of heritage buildings, continued health and wellbeing uses, and a future community hub.

AACT have a board of Trustees and also has four themed working groups progressing the aims of the Local Place Plan.

+ How big is the site?

The site, in Edinburgh South, is around 50 acres. The grounds include an archaeological site (the chapel and cemetery of St Roque), some of the buildings are listed, and the site has between 1000 and 2000 trees, many of which are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs). There are public rights of way across the site.

+ What is the Local Place Plan?

The Astley Ainslie Local Place Plan 2025 is a community-led plan that brings together local people’s aspirations for the future of the Astley Ainslie site. Prepared by Astley Ainslie Community Trust, it was shaped through community engagement events, surveys, online feedback and work with local schools. The plan sets out what the community values about the site, what people want to protect, and what kinds of future uses and changes they would support. It has been registered with the City of Edinburgh Council’s planning department and will be taken into account as the Council prepares future planning guidance, including the Place Brief for the local area and wider work on City Plan 2040. In this way, the Local Place Plan helps ensure that local voices are clearly represented in decisions about the future of Astley Ainslie.

+ What is AACT’s position on the 500 homes figure from the City Plan 2030?

The Local Place Plan says this assumption should be re-examined because it was based on NHS Lothian vacating the whole site, while NHS plans now appear to be changing and they will now be retaining parts of the site, the Local Place Plan requests that this number is re-examined.

+ Do AACT own, lease or manage any of the Astley Ainslie site?

No. Astley Ainslie Community Trust does not currently own, lease or manage any part of the Astley Ainslie site. The site remains in the ownership of Scottish Government Ministers and is managed by NHS Lothian. AACT’s role is to represent and progress the community vision for the future of the site, including exploring whether community ownership, leasing or stewardship of part of the site may be needed to deliver and realise the Local Place Plan.

+ Isn’t the site worth an awful lot of money and well beyond community reach?

We do not yet know the valuation of the site by the NHS. However, the community will not be acting alone. We will work with private donors, charitable foundations and trusts, social developers, housing associations, local businesses and healthcare providers.

+ What is the difference between the community profiting from a public asset and a private company doing the same?

Any money made from a community sale or development MUST be reinvested in the local community. Public benefits arising from community-led commercial activities will be greater than would be the case with a private developer looking to maximise profit (which often leaves the community and even the country). Community ownership is likely to result in a more diverse range of infrastructure, activities and developments on the site than would be the case with a housing developer.

+ Does the Community have to pay full market price?

Not necessarily. The NHS is responsible for public health. The value of the land is not simply monetary; it lies in its importance as a natural resource and as a source for public health - the health of the city as a whole, as well as the health of the convalescents. This consideration will affect the NHS decision-making process.

The community does need to demonstrate quantifiable and measurable public benefits arising from community ownership.

+ What will happen to the money from the sale of the site?

We have been informed by NHS that proceeds from the sale of the Astley Ainslie Hospital will re-main within the NHS Lothian capital budget. Capital investment at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital has been made in the initial, operational phase, and will continue for future phases, currently at the outline business case stage.

+ How can the NHS sell property that was gifted through a bequest?

The NHS has sold properties, which were gifted or supported through bequests - the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the Deaconess Hospital being recent examples. The David Ainslie Bequest intended the site for health and wellbeing. Whatever the legal status, we intend to honour that intent.

+ Could the Astley Ainslie be sold to a housing developer?

Without community intervention, it is likely that the Astley Ainslie site would be sold to a housing developer, in the same way as the Sick Kids Hospital in Sciennes. However, if an Asset Transfer Request (ATR) is lodged by a community group with the NHS, they must deal with the Request in the first instance.

+ We need more housing in Edinburgh, so surely selling this site to a developer to maximize its utility is the correct answer?

Recent developments in the local area have shown that developers are unable to provide much needed affordable housing. Their priority is money. No developer will prioritise the natural landscape. We know the utility of the site is far more than its simple land value for housing – this includes its contributions to mental and physical health and to biodiversity among others. We plan to include a larger proportion of affordable and social housing than commercial development.

+ Could the Astley Ainslie Community Trust just end up looking just like any other urban development such as Craighouse?

No. The community consultation and subsequent vision clearly indicated that the community wants more than a conventional, profit-driven urban development. The AACT is community-led and exists to make that vision a reality.

+ Has AACT got the right people to run a community transfer?

AACT is made up of a wide variety of talents, including people who were members of the community bid for the Sick Kids, Royal High School and other successful community transfers outside of Edinburgh. We've got the right team drawing on the professional expertise in the local area, and the drive and determination to deliver a community vision. We are continually recruiting new talents to the team.

+ How is AACT going to organise itself to run any part of the site in an economically viable way?

AACT would not take on ownership, a lease or management responsibility for any part of the Astley Ainslie site unless there was a realistic and sustainable plan in place. Any future proposal would need to be supported by strong governance, a clear business plan, appropriate partnerships, funding, maintenance arrangements and evidence of long-term community benefit.

AACT is now focused on building the capacity needed to progress the Local Place Plan responsibly. This includes forming four themed working groups — Community Ownership, Natural Environment, Community Hub and Housing — to progress key priorities in more detail, develop practical proposals, strengthen partnerships and assess what would be affordable, deliverable and in the public interest. We know there is significant local interest in contributing time, skills and energy to the future of the site, but any future asset responsibility would need to be carefully planned, properly resourced and sustainable over the long term.

+ What are the next steps?

The next steps are for the City of Edinburgh Council to prepare a Place Brief for the whole Astley Ainslie site, with a draft expected to go to Planning Committee in September 2026, after which a 90-day public consultation is expected. NHS Lothian’s Masterplan will then need to follow the Council’s Place Brief, so firm proposals are not expected until the new year. In the meantime, AACT has set up four Working Groups — Natural Environment and Access, Housing, Community Purchase and Community Hub — to develop the priorities in the Local Place Plan and make sure community aspirations are developed in time for any sale of the site.

+ How can I support the future of Astley Ainslie?

There are many ways to support the future of Astley Ainslie. You can become a member of Astley Ainslie Community Trust, sign up for updates, attend events and consultations, volunteer your time or skills, or become a Friend through regular monthly support.

Community involvement has shaped AACT from the beginning, and continued public participation will be essential as plans for the site develop. Every member, supporter and contribution helps strengthen the long-term community voice for Astley Ainslie and supports work to protect its green space, heritage, wellbeing role and public benefit for future generations. Why not join in today!