Council green-lights £314 million city centre transformation
The final strategy was backed by 39 votes to 17
The City of Edinburgh Council today green-lit a plan that will revamp the city centre to create vehicle-free zones and prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.
The 10-year final strategy was approved after councillors backed it by 39 votes to 17 instead of a Conservative amendment that aimed to halt progress of unfunded parts of the plan until the council delivered the funded parts successfully.
Last week, progress of the proposals was delayed despite being approved by the Transport and Environment Committee.
Three Tory councillors had requested the plans be put to the full council for a decision citing a lack of detail in the documents and concerns raised by Lothian Buses about the impact on journey times.
Speaking during the debate in the city chambers today, Transport and Environment Convener and SNP Cllr Lesley Macinnes said that opposition to the plan was "scaremongering".
Cllr Macinnes said:
"This report is filled with ambition for positive change, encapsulating a detailed conversation with the city about where we want our future to be."
However, Transport spokesperson for the Conservatives Cllr Nick Cook said:
"What we seen was a council administration that continue to evade and duck and dive the legitimate questions that were put forward by the conservatives."
With the council's backing today, work can now begin putting the ambitious transformation into action.
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