FORMER city planning leader Trevor Davies today warned city chiefs they risked sending Edinburgh into years of "dereliction and decline" by appearing hostile to major developments.
Mr Davies, the ex-Labour councillor ousted in May's elections, believes the current prosperity of the city could quickly ebb away if the planning system fails to speed up and significant schemes are delayed. He believes developers will "walk away" if
they come up against too much opposition to their schemes and that Edinburgh faces being left with a series of "holes in the ground" unless tough decisions are made and strong leadership is shown over the next few years.
Mr Davies said decisive action was needed urgently to address the state of many of the buildings on Princes Street, speed up the replacement of the St James Centre and neighbouring offices, address the condition of the Royal Mile, and try to reduce the amount of traffic on city centre streets.
Mr Davies has spoken out in the wake of a series of controversial moves by the new Lib Dem-SNP council administration and the city's licensing board since May's elections. Plans to create a major new sports arena in the Sighthill area have collapsed, council leader Jenny Dawe launched an outspoken attack on the Caltongate development next to Waverley Station, and a redevelopment of Edinburgh Zoo is in doubt after councillors voted to block plans to sell off part of the site for housing.
A multi-million pound development by the luxury operator Hotel du Vin was turned down for a licence, while bars and restaurants face having an hour stripped from their weekday late licences.
Mr Davies said: "There is already a lot of hidden dereliction in the city, particularly on Princes Street, where many of the upper floors of buildings are lying empty and have long fallen into decline.
"There is still a lot of dead space around the city centre, including on the Royal Mile, and it's vital that the city has a long-term vision for how to address these.
"Edinburgh already has a reputation in some quarters for having a slow planning system and being a difficult city to deal with when it comes to major developments.
"The decision to turn down Hotel du Vin's licence was beyond belief and sends out the completely wrong message.
"There is a real danger that developers will just walk away from the city if they think their plans are being blocked unfairly or are being held up in the system. Before long, we could see holes in the ground all over the city, as we had not so long ago."
Graham Bell, spokesman for Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "It's impossible to speed up the planning process overnight, but there is no doubt that the planning department in the council does need to be properly resourced as soon as possible.
"I don't think there is any doubt that major developers will walk away if they are not seeing enough progress and if they feel their schemes are being held up over elements like affordable housing."
City planning leader Cllr Jim Lowrie said: "I really don't feel that we are that far behind Glasgow in terms of the speed of the planning process, but the problem in Edinburgh is the number of historic buildings and the need to address heritage concerns.
"However, we don't want to fall behind and it's very important we listen to organisations like the chamber.
"We have to get big developments like Caltongate up and running as soon as we can."
