February 2026 news from Councillor Neil Ross

New Crossing on Craighouse Road

Following concerns from residents to highlight the dangers of crossing Craighouse Road, I have been working with Craiglockhart councillors to raise the matter at the Council and am pleased to report the Council has agreed that a pedestrian crossing is required near the Sassoon Grove junction on Craighouse Road.

A crossing will be very welcome, as visibility on Craighouse Road is limited, given the 90° bend at one end and the steep hill at the other. There is also no pavement on the left-hand side going down the hill from Craighouse, forcing residents and visitors, including dog walkers, to cross the road. Subject to funding, the Council is hoping to deliver a suitable crossing in the next financial year 2026/27.

Local Police action on anti-social behaviour using e-bikes and e-scooters

Last month, I attended the first quarterly Local Police Forum at St Leonard's Police Station to meet Sergeant Rachel Lumsden and the Community policing team. We heard about local priorities, such as shop lifting and house breaking, and specific police action to tackle anti-social behaviour involving modified e-bikes and e-scooters.

In this regard, the police welcome information to help identify patterns, hotspots and the individuals involved. Any information, no matter how small, can contribute to a clearer understanding of the issues and assist in taking the appropriate enforcement action.

The best ways to get in touch are by email EdinburghCPTSouthEast [at] scotland.pnn.police.uk and by using the online ‘contact us’ form here. There is more contact information here.

Four-month disruption to 10 & 27 bus services 

As you may already be aware, due to resurfacing works and installation of the Meadows to Union Canal cycle route, both of which are welcome, Gilmore Place has been closed from Monday 26th January for approximately 4 months disrupting services 10 & 27 - between Colinton Road and Home Street. Buses will be diverted via Colinton Road and Bruntsfield Place in both directions on weekdays and, from Monday 16 February, between 0900 hrs and 1700 hrs each weekday for 3 months. More information is here.

I have been contacted by several constituents who live on or near Gilmore Place and Polwarth Gardens with concerns about the bus diversions, which I have passed onto the Council and Lothian Buses. I was told “The idea of diverting the bus routes via Dundee Street was examined but Lothian Buses decided that the diversion would cause too much disruption with the existing routes on Dundee Street.

The road will open at other times, i.e. weekends and evenings to allow access for residents and businesses. The work is also taking place over three phases to minimise the disruption to the residents as much as possible as well as coordinating with the nearby work on Leven Street. We also decided not to do the construction work during the nighttime as the area is highly residential and this would cause more of a disruptive environment.”

Changes to bin hubs

Last week, the Council announced changes to 22 bin hubs, following a six-month review of 266 bin hubs under the new location criteria. Lib Dem councillors asked for the full list to be made public along with the reasons why no changes were proposed for the remaining 244 hubs.

The report is at item 8.1 on the Transport & Environment Committee agenda here. Once that list with explanations is published, if you feel that there is a viable, alternative location for an existing bin hub that complies with the location criteria, please let me know or contact the Council’s Waste team direct via Waste [at] edinburgh.gov.uk. Guidance on the locations of bin hubs is available here.

Council decides how to spend the tourist tax

As part of the budget setting process for 2026/27, the Council is considering ways to spend the revenues to be raised next year from the transient visitor levy (TVL), with decisions made at a special meeting of the Council next week. The Lib Dem group welcomes this extra funding from visitors to contribute towards basic maintenance services and to enhance the experiences of visitors to the city.

Proposals include additional funding for social housing, enhanced street cleaning and litter picking, graffiti removal, upgrading setted streets and public toilets as well as extra city centre policing and improved management and investment for premier parks.

More information on the TVL is available here and on spending it here.