September 2026 news from Councillor Kevin McKay

17 Sep 2026

In The Chamber

The Meeting of the City of Edinburgh Council was held on 27 August.

Response to Motion on The Cost of Caring and Carers Week; Council Tax Premiums for Second and Long-Term Empty Homes

Motions on: Community Safety in Edinburgh; Strengthening Edinburgh’s Transport and City Resilience Following the Princes Street Fire

I was a 'sub' on the Culture and Communities committee 28 August (special meeting) which considered the Third Party Cultural Grant Funding 2027-28, Basically the report was late and so council officials originally proposed a 12-month extension to existing funding with a modest inflation uplift. The Lib Dems together with the SNP (yes we do agree on some things!) thought this was insufficient in the current financial climate. It was narrowly accepted but then the convener ruled that it would go to full council for approval. In other words we will need to debate and vote all over again. I feel sorry for the deputations (including Nicola Benedetti) who had wasted a morning.

A cross party emergency motion instigated by all the ward 9 councillors at the Transport and Environment Committee (10 September) expressed concern that a planned crossing on Ashley Terrace near the Craiglockhart primary school, had been delayed yet again. It asked for a clear timetable for completion along with temporary safety measures. It was passed without dissent. Check it out Here

At the same meeting it was agreed to prioritise the £1.7bn southern tram extension to the Royal Infirmary and BioQuarter while shelving the northern route to Granton for now. Summary HereI am in favour of trams ..but not at any cost. However I was pleased to see the Train-Tram proposal beginning to be taken seriously.

Over the next couple of weeks I am due to sit on a couple of school appeal panels. The next Full Council is on 17 September and the Financial and Resource Committee on which I sit is on the 23 September.

All public meetings are available as a webcast either live or archived. Click Here

Around the Ward

Meggetland

Planning permission has been granted to convert the existing main stadium rugby field at Meggetland Sports Complex from natural grass to synthetic turf with the installation of a 1.2m high spectator rail around its perimeter and resurfacing of the existing synthetic turf football pitch. Reference 26/01109/CLP, City of Edinburgh Planning Portal.

Although the main user, Boroughmuir Rugby, shares the ground with other clubs including Boroughmuir Thistle. Thistle is the largest girls and women's football club in Scotland and their first team plays in the Scottish women’s Premier league 2. However, currently the Thistle play home matches at several locations. The ground upgrade should allow the club to hold the majority of home matches at Meggetland. Both the football and rugby clubs have the same values, similar challenges and complement each other, and their playing times dovetail nicely.

However, this and the Schools Kayak club development across the road (Reference 26/02051/PPP) will put more pressure on parking in and around the Meggetland and I have asked council officers to review road safety and parking.

Greenbank Woods

It is almost a year since Greenbank Woods Ltd was formed to ‘purchase’ small, miscellaneous pockets of land and the East woods. These areas, by a quirk of the system, remained left over after the development of the old city hospital site. For years, residents have enjoyed walking in the woods but as the woods aged, more maintenance was required. Consequently, the owners (which included, surprisingly, Anglian Water) decided to sell the woods starting at a nominal sum of a £1. Greenbank residents got together to formalise a group, and buy the woods to maintain and encourage the woodland and wildlife there. The group officially became the owner of what is called the East Woods on the 7th of July, along with other plots of land, which can be seen on the website at the link below.

The West woods and the field between are owned by a group from Glasgow, who appear to be property developers. Ideally Greenbank Woods Ltd would also like to purchase these lands on behalf of the community. For more information check out www.sccan.scot/greenbankwoods
Bridgeview Apartment, Lanark Road

On the corner of Craiglockhart Ave and Lanark/Slateford Rd, this apartment block has attracted a lot of attention as only about 12 apartments are occupied with the rest unsold and empty for a number of years. Unfortunately the developer could not sell them. This was because the developers could not meet their original obligation to provide affordable homes. According to the developers it was no longer financially viable. There was a stalemate between the developers and the council.

However, the Merchant Company Endowments Trust (MCET), has agreed terms to acquire 38 residential units, in three self -contained Stairs which form the main part of the 50 unit apartment block. MCET is a well respected registered charity, which for over one hundred years, has supported elderly and vulnerable residents. Working in partnership with a housing trust, the intention is to let the units at or below local housing allowance (LHA) mid-market rent on a means-tested basis.

At the time of writing - I don't know if this deal has gone through. but on the whole I feel this is a positive step forward and I look forward to the apartments being occupied.

A Sense of Community

Community Councils are statutory organisations. Although elected by local residents they are not political. Members of the community council are volunteers from all walks of life and they generally meet once a month.

The City Council engages with Community Councils on planning and licensing proposals. Ward councillors are ex-officio members, and act as a conduit between the city council and the community.

Police are normally in attendance or send a report on crime in the area to address local concerns.

Other groups such as Sports Clubs and local nature reserves are often co-opted onto the committee.

BUT your Community Council needs YOUR help!

Please support your community by coming along to a community council meeting. There are several community councils in the ward. Check out your area below or go online and search for community councils, but you can also just click here.

Merchiston and District: Meet 7pm on the third Tuesday of the month. Next meetings are Tuesday 15 September, 20 October and 17 November at the Merchiston Tennis and Bowling Club, Polwarth Terrace, EH11 1NA

www.merchistoncc.org.uk

Tollcross: Meet 7pm on Wednesday 30 September, 28 October and 25 November at Tollcross Community Centre Fountainbridge

www.tollcrosscc.org.uk

Craiglockhart: Meet 7pm on Monday 21 September, 16 November at Napier University Craiglockhart Campus

www.craiglockhart.org

Longstone: Meet 7:30pm 14 September, 12 October, 9 November at the Session Room of Murryburn Church, formerly the Slateford/Longstone Church