A consultation is to take place discussing draft proposals on Edinburgh's World Heritage Site Management Plan.

The council will meet next week to consider ideas for the document put forward via previous consultations with the public.

A total of six different themes and future actions have been created to ensure improvements continue to be made in the Site going forward. These are; care and maintenance of buildings and streets, control and guidance, awareness of the World Heritage Site, contribution of new development, visitor management and influence and sense of control.

In addition, the consultation highlighted more can be done for the general state of repair and ongoing care and maintenance of historic buildings. Some buildings require some form of repair or maintenance to windows, roofs, stonework or guttering.

Overall, the management plan will help to inform the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision as well as address build issues by promoting a range of initiatives such as the new voluntary Edinburgh Shared Repairs Service and improving the promotion of existing grant programmes to continue the tradition of conversation and preservation in the World Heritage Site.


Cllr Ian Perry, Convener of the Planning Committee, said: "Our World Heritage Site is of crucial importance to the future vision and development of the city. Over the last few years the Council has gone to great lengths to ensure that development in the Site is appropriate to ensure Edinburgh is the economic driver of the city region. 

"The plan highlights actions under six themes to ensure that the Site continues to be a thriving built environment balancing the needs of developers, the Site's heritage and the people living in it. 

"It is very encouraging that through our consultation on the City Vision, public feedback for this longer-term planning exercise has already revealed the high value residents and businesses place on the quality of the historic built and natural environment in Edinburgh.

"We're committed to initiating a further round of consultation half way through the new plan in 2020. This will be an opportunity for us to report back on progress to the city and ask for feedback on how we are doing to benefit everyone who lives in or visits the World Heritage Site."

Adam Wilkinson, Director of Edinburgh World Heritage, said: "The new Management Plan for the World Heritage Site describes many of the achievements of the past five years, as well as areas where we all need to do a better job.

"Through a very open process of consultation and partnership, we have identified a series of new programmes that we believe will make a real difference to the better conservation, management and promotion of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh."

The new consultation will run from Monday, 03 April to Monday, 05 June.

(LM/CD)