Bringing centres back to life

NEIGHBOURHOOD centres across Edinburgh are set to be revitalised under plans being considered as part of the city's regeneration programme.

A new report to be examined by members of the council's health, social care andhousing committee is to recommend the way forward for the Urban Centres Programme (UCP) for the next three financial years.

Among other things, the report proposes consultation with neighbourhood partnerships on improvements to local centres from 2009. UCP has already seen improvements in 20 town and neighbourhood centres across the city since 2003.

Its aim is to improve the environmental quality, economic prosperity and sustainability of town centres.

Councillor Paul Edie, the city's housing leader, said: "Edinburgh is consistently recognised on the international stage for its fantastic quality of life and the city aspires to be the most successful and sustainable city in Northern Europe by 2020.

"Delivering the next stages of the UCP will be integral to achieving this aim."