This View is now Protected by the Government - View 23

Edinburgh Skyline Study
Edinburgh’s iconic skyline forms an essential part of the character and appearance of the city. Over the coming years, the city is expected to experience significant levels of growth, particularly in the waterfront areas. Additionally, in order to protect the green belt and make the most of urban land, increased building densities are expected.

In the light of this and the international revival in the fashion for tall buildings, it is important to ensure that there are policies and guidelines in place to protect the city’s unique skyline

To this end, in 2005 Landscape consultants Colvin & Moggridge were appointed to review the existing planning policy guidance and to put forward proposals for new guidance. Their report contains a thorough analysis of Edinburgh’s skyline, identifying the essential features that make up Edinburgh’s identity and key views to those features. It developed a methodology to allow the impact of any new development on those views to be assessed.

On 5th October 2006, the Edinburgh Skyline Report was presented to the planning committee, who agreed it should be subject to public consultation. Consultation on key views and essential features took place over 9 weeks, and included a touring exhibition that visited key shopping destinations, Council Offices, and Edinburgh Central Library, as well as holding events for community representatives and organisations. The consultation concluded with a debate in the National Museums lecture theatre at the end of June 2007

The consultation received a positive response, with strong public support for the protection of the skyline. The findings of the consultation and the three additional key views it identified were presented to the Planning Committee on 4th October 2007 (report). All 38 key views identified were formally approved by the Committee, making them a Material Consideration in determining applications.

A map of the approved key views is available here (344 kb).

Next Steps

Following on from this, an additional study of views to and from the waterfront has been undertaken, and draft guidelines on the protection of key views has been prepared. These were approved for consultation purposes by the Council’s Planning Committee on 28th February 2008.

The report to Committee, which contains a copy of the draft guidelines and a map showing the approved and additional key views can be viewed here. A hard copy of the report is available on request.

We welcome your opinions on the draft guidelines and additional key views. The consultation period will run until Friday 11 April 2008. Any comments should be made in writing to email: alison.martin@edinburgh.gov.uk

or

By post:
Alison Martin,
Planning Officer,
Planning and Strategy
City Development Department,
The City of Edinburgh Council,
Waverley Court,
4 East Market Street,
Edinburgh EH8 8BG.

A summary of all consultation responses and any consequent amendments to the guidelines will be presented to the Planning Committee prior to the approval of finalised guidelines.

As part of the consultation process, we will be holding a public event in early April, which will provide a forum to air your views, hear about how other historic cities have tackled this issue and discuss how best to ensure a positive future for Edinburgh’s skyline. Please contact Alison Martin by 21st March if you are interested in coming to the event.

In addition to the planning guidelines, a GIS mapping tool will be developed, which will identify where proposed developments would intrude into a key view.