A Local Place Plan for the Astley Ainslie Hospital site

On Saturday 27 September, we organised a community drop-in event at the Eric Liddell Centre in Morningside. The aim was to enable people from the local community to contribute their thoughts and ideas to a Local Place Plan for the Astley Ainslie site.

The event was a great success with more than 300 people joining in. We would like as many people as possible to be able to contribute their views and, if you didn’t join us on Saturday, you can do that by way of a brief survey. Please click below to go to the survey, or read on for more background before doing so.

Background

The Astley Ainslie Community Trust (AACT) was established in 2018, some while after the NHS first announced plans to vacate the Astley Ainslie Hospital site. In 2019 we carried out an extensive community visioning exercise, funded by the Scottish Government, which suggested future uses and principles for the future of the site.

Water has flowed under the bridge since then. In 2024, the Council adopted City Plan 2030, which incorporates some elements of our 2019 vision for the site. This plan sets an important strategic context for the future of the site but its implementation will be influenced by many considerations as planning proposals for the site develop and evolve. 

Also since 2019, new planning legislation means that AACT, like other local organisations, is able – indeed encouraged – to prepare what is called a Local Place Plan (LPP). This new kind of plan, prepared by the local community, must legally be taken into account in the preparation of Edinburgh’s local planning policies. In practice the next stage of that is the development of a 'Place Brief' that the Council has committed to preparing for the Astley Ainslie site. The LPP will also formally contribute to the successor to City Plan 2030, though that is some way off.

AACT is working hard to make the best of our opportunity to prepare a Local Place Plan. We believe it can play an important role in helping to achieve our Vision: “that the Astley Ainslie will be a thriving greenspace managed by the local community, providing health, housing, jobs, and enjoyment to the people of Edinburgh”.

The AACT is committed to doing all we can to ensure that the LLP reflects community aspirations. To support that, we organised the 27 September event to enable people to:

●    find out more about the local place planning and what it can achieve;
●    express their views and ideas for the future of the site;
●    Identify special parts of the site that should be protected;
●    give views on the kind of developments that could be supported.

The results will help AACT to review and refresh the 2019 community vision to reflect new times and the opportunity presented by the Local Place Plan.

Participating online

In addition to the event on 27 September, AACT is encouraging contributions online. We recognise that many people will have been unable to attend the event on that day but we want views from all and all contributions will be valued. We would be pleased to have comments from those living away from the immediate area but who still value the site and wish to express view on its future. Please submit your comments by way of the attached survey by Sunday 12 October. The survey is intended to record and collate data anonymously so don’t enter personal information.

If you would like to see the information boards used at the event, click here. Once you feel you have all the information you need, click the button below to participate in our survey of community views. (If you have already left comments at the event on 27 September, we have them - there’s no need to repeat them.)

What next?

After comments close on Sunday 12 October, we will collate and publish all comments received. We will then prepare a draft Local Place Plan and seek your views on it. 

The LPP will then be updated, finalised and formally submitted to Council towards the end of the year. 

We are grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council Community Grants Fund for their support for the consultation.

Photographs by Simon Williams Photography, Edinburgh