A Local Place Plan for the Astley Ainslie Hospital site ~ Community Aspirations Report 2025

Over 400 residents came together this autumn to share their ideas, hopes, and concerns about what should happen next at the Astley Ainslie site. From community spaces and green areas to creative projects and wellbeing hubs, the Astley Ainslie Local Place Plan - Community Aspirations Report reflects a vibrant and thoughtful dialogue about what matters most to the local community and how this much-loved area can evolve while honouring its heritage.

We are very grateful for all of the contributions and the wealth of ideas shared. The insights gathered have formed the Community Aspirations Report and will inform the preparation of our Local Place Plan.

Discover the Community Aspiration Report, click here.

A draft Local Place Plan will be circulated for your feedback in a few weeks.

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 are the Community Aspirations Report, which will help AACT review and refresh the 2019 community vision to reflect current times and the opportunities presented by the Local Place Plan.

What next?

The Community Aspirations Report will inform preparation of the Local Place Plan, which we will share with you for your further comments soon. 

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