Think Global, Act Local: A Green Edinburgh for Everyone
Edinburgh Greens manifesto for the 2022 Edinburgh Council election
A Green Edinburgh for everyone	2
Green priorities for Edinburgh	3
Leading on the Climate Emergency	6
Putting communities’ needs first	10
Planning our common future	13
Connecting our city	16
Securing warm, safe homes for all	23
Recovering our economy and learning from the pandemic	27
Ensuring education for Life	30
Creating a healthy and caring capital	33
Investing in our sport and culture	36
Making Edinburgh a welcoming and equal place	39
Growing a nature-rich city	42
Renewing local democracy	45
Meet your Green candidates	48

A Green Edinburgh for everyone

Edinburgh elected its first Green councillors in 2007. Since then, they have worked hard to represent the interests and views of the people of Edinburgh. They have made real change in our capital city, securing Edinburgh Council’s declaration of a Climate Emergency, winning funding for a million trees to be planted in Edinburgh, implementing 20mph speed limits in neighbourhood streets, and much more. 

We have proven the difference Green councillors can make, but we know that with more elected, we can make an even bigger impact and deliver a Green recovery from COVID-19 and a just transition to a net zero city.

In the wake of the pandemic, we want to create a more equal Edinburgh where people can afford to live, work and enjoy all our capital city has to offer. We will take action on poverty and make the city a more affordable, accessible and welcoming place to live.

The Scottish Greens want to see Edinburgh becoming a net zero carbon city by 2030.  While the people of Edinburgh are doing their part to tackle climate change, we will deliver the transformative change the city needs to meet this ambition.

Green priorities for Edinburgh

Leading on the Climate Emergency
We will ensure the council’s commitment to a 2030 net zero goal is matched by real action, by committing to implement the Council Emissions Reduction Plan and the city’s 2030 Climate Strategy, and investing in the skills and capacity required to do this.

Putting communities’ needs first
We will ensure that Edinburgh council uses all of its current powers to improve quality of life and the economy in Edinburgh. We will support policies which centre on community regeneration and oppose policies which extract wealth and resources from the poorest groups and communities. 

Planning our common future
We will create a planning system where local residents and communities are fully engaged in the decision-making process and which plays its part in tackling the climate and nature crises and ending poverty.

Connecting our city
We will create a transport system which helps deliver a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, improves public health and wellbeing, including through the reduction of air pollution, reduces harm and improves safety and accessibility, and which harnesses the power of digital and innovative approaches to deliver on the first three priorities.

Securing warm, safe homes for all
We will ensure Edinburgh has good quality homes that are genuinely affordable to rent or buy, easy to keep warm and suitable for our needs. 

We will introduce greater control and intervention in the rental market to crack down on bad landlords, limit the number of holiday lets in the city, and improve standards across all tenures.

Recovering our economy and learning from the pandemic
We will support residents and organisations in the city with a Green Recovery where jobs and work contribute to meeting our climate targets and communities are able to play their part.

Ensuring education for Life
We will ensure Edinburgh is a child-friendly city, where children can play and travel safely. 

We will ensure school staff, parents, and pupils have a greater say in how schools are run and reduce the costs of the school day for families.

Creating a healthy, caring capital
We will create a city where residents are in good health and where there is ample greenspace, facilities, and community support for us all to take charge of our physical health and mental wellbeing.

We will ensure that the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is a locally delivered and accountable care service, with community involvement at its heart, where its staff are valued and the pay and conditions of all care workers reflect their expertise.
Investing in our sport and culture
We will transform Edinburgh into a city where our cultural, leisure and sports facilities are accessible to all and represent the wealth of interests, talent, and experience that exists in our diverse city.
Making Edinburgh a welcoming and equal place
We will support policies that empower marginalised groups, help local communities thrive, and protect our green spaces. 

Growing a nature-rich city
We will invest in our public green and blue spaces so they deliver more for recreation, health, wellbeing, and wildlife, and help reduce the impacts of climate change.

We will create a city with a network of interlinked green and blue spaces, ensuring that all Edinburgh residents are within easy walking or wheeling distance of high quality, nature-rich outdoor space.

Renewing local democracy
We will seek to give community councils a stronger voice in planning and public service provision to hand the future of local neighbourhoods to the people who live in them.

We will deliver more public participation in council budgeting and policymaking so that council services match what people want to see.

Leading on the Climate Emergency
Edinburgh is a city with a real opportunity to play a leading role in responding to the global Climate Emergency, but the actions to achieve this are yet to be taken. The council has set its own ambitious target of being net zero by 2030 but achieving this will require transformative change. To reduce the whole city’s emissions, the council must also be able to bring together Edinburgh’s institutions in partnership, as well as take a strong shared approach with partners and communities. 

Edinburgh should be a city that integrates climate mitigation and adaptation into all aspects of our life and not as an afterthought.  We know that tackling the Climate Emergency needs real leadership and commitment to drive action. This will require a new approach to all aspects of council services, including planning, transport, managing buildings, land, procurement and waste. We know this can be done in a way that helps Edinburgh’s residents thrive and delivers warmer homes, more people-friendly streets and better local services.  A successful, equitable and just transition must be a shared response, where the council works closely with partners and local communities to rise to the challenge. 

With more Green councillors elected, we will:

Deliver real action to achieve the city’s 2030 net zero goals 

●	Commit to implement the Council Emissions Reduction Plan, the city’s 2030 Climate Strategy, and the City Mobility Plan, and strengthen the City Development Plan
●	Invest in council skills and capacity to deliver the 2030 Climate Strategy, including expertise in transitioning to low carbon energy 
●	Accelerate the delivery of energy efficient and zero carbon emission heating in council owned buildings with the revitalisation of Energy for Edinburgh
●	Establish a comprehensive and fully funded “Edinburgh Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy” (EHEES) that assists and facilitates building owners and tenants to improve the fabric of their buildings and to decarbonise heat
●	Ensure that planning policy and decisions require new buildings to help achieve net-zero and are only consented with high levels of energy efficiency and low emission construction materials 
●	Accelerate development of the proposed Edinburgh Heat Network to provide low-carbon heating for homes and other buildings across the city and invest in retrofitting social housing, and connecting it to this network, to deliver affordable heat to those who need it most
●	Invest in transport infrastructure that will prioritise walking, wheeling and cycling to create a city for people rather than cars, with the creation of a city-wide network of segregated routes, safer streets for walking and wheeling and a revitalised bike hire scheme 
●	Improve the sustainability of public transport by electrifying and decarbonising transport, alongside an extended tram network and effective bus lanes 
●	Transition to a people-focused transport system by putting in place demand management measures including a workplace parking levy, reduction in space allocated for parking in the city centre and road-user charging
●	Decarbonise the council’s light and heavy vehicle fleet and install extra charging points at council depots to reduce the council’s transport emissions
●	Train councillors and key council staff in carbon literacy so that they are better informed to lead the transition to net zero

Make our city more climate resilient

●	Manage council land in a way that helps the city reduce climate impacts with more tree planting, creation of meadows and wetlands, and an end to the use of energy-intensive chemicals  
●	Use nature-based solutions wherever possible to adapt to the impacts of climate change and mitigate impacts on communities, for example to manage flood water or buffer the impacts of coastal erosion 
●	Understand the needs of local communities to be more resilient to climate change and support production of effective Local Place Plans that include climate positive measures
●	Invest in a multidisciplinary team to work with Scottish Water to plan interventions in high-risk surface water flood areas
●	Support the use of Re-Use Hubs to help communities recycle and reuse more household goods to minimise waste and reduce fly tipping

Ensure the council leads a shared, partnership approach to tackling climate change 

●	Commit sufficient resources to co-ordinate city partners in implementation of the “2030 City Strategy”
●	Deliver a just transition by working closely with the Edinburgh Climate Commission and delivery partners so the council benefits from this breadth of knowledge and expertise 
●	Prevent indirect impacts of council business, including the Lothian Pension Fund, on the climate by divesting from fossil fuels and carrying out a climate assessment of council procurement
●	Encourage and support businesses to be part of a circular economy, reducing the amount of energy consumed and waste produced
●	Support households to reduce waste through improved recycling and waste management services that incentivise waste minimisation, recycling and composting
●	Fund the delivery of several net zero communities, as proposed in the 2030 Climate Strategy 
●	Strengthen community engagement and citizen behaviour change through the Edinburgh Community Climate Forum

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Led Edinburgh Council in declaring a Climate Emergency and setting a target of reaching net zero climate-changing emissions by 2030 with interim targets and an action plan
●	Secured agreement for a City of Edinburgh Climate Emergency partnership, leading to the city’s 2030 Climate Strategy
●	Made proposals that led to the establishment of the Edinburgh Climate Commission
●	Proposed a Citizens’ Assembly on the Climate Emergency 
●	Secured authorised absence from school for youth climate strikers so that they can legitimately make their voice heard in the call for change
●	Continually pushed for divestment of the Lothian Pension Fund from fossil fuel companies, without support from other parties
●	Won council support for the global “Fossil Fuel non-Proliferation Treaty” 
●	Proposed a “Green budget for climate and social justice” 
●	Secured agreement to install recycling facilities in council buildings including all schools
●	Won agreement to reduce single-use plastics including in school packed lunches and establish a Single-Use Plastic Working Group
Putting communities’ needs first
Edinburgh is too often a city where our communities feel alienated, cut off, and excluded, where it feels as if the council is making decisions about local people instead of genuinely engaging with them. 

Edinburgh is also a deeply unequal city where many people do not have access to high quality greenspace and community facilities, and public spaces are too often being commercialised.

Edinburgh should be a city that puts decision making in the hands of local residents as far as possible. It should facilitate community building and community asset transfers, support thriving local economies and ensure people feel safe, supported and empowered in their neighbourhoods.

Edinburgh should be a place where people are connected through walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport to essential services, community facilities and high quality greenspace.  As we recover from COVID-19, Edinburgh should be a place that prioritises spaces for community groups to gather and steward their local areas, strengthening some of the bonds that were rediscovered during national lockdowns.

With more Green councillors elected, we will: 

Ensure our streets are part of neighbourhoods and communities we can enjoy and be proud to call home by redesigning streets within our city to place the needs of people at the heart of our approach to transport and urban design and turn car-dominated places into spaces where people have priority

Empower communities

●	Support community-led festivals and community events
●	Develop a plan for better community use of our common-good assets and public spaces, and avoid the commercialisation of public spaces through clear limits on private events
●	Encourage and support community groups to take ownership of land or buildings through community asset transfer by giving advice, funding, and sharing knowledge
●	Extend participatory budgeting schemes, such as £eith Chooses, to every neighbourhood in Edinburgh with a target that 5% of the council’s budget is delivered through this mechanism
●	Review the council’s engagement and consultation processes to give greater transparency and accountability for council decisions, and promote the council petitions process
●	Support mutual aid groups and other community initiatives to end poverty, hunger and loneliness

Support community services

●	Ensure funds for youth work and community learning and development are protected from further funding cuts 
●	Ensure youth work services have access to indoor and outdoor spaces, and operate across the city, including in our less affluent neighbourhoods
●	Open or refurbish public toilets where they are most needed, and ensure they are accessible to all
●	Secure protection for our libraries because libraries are more than books: they can be community hubs connecting people to the internet, providing space for community meetings and events and adult education for lifelong learning
●	Invest in public buildings, rather than selling them off for private use
●	Support adult learning, including digital skills and access to digital devices, so digital exclusion is not a barrier to participating in communities
●	Ensure our leisure centres and swimming pools are accessible and affordable for all local residents

Create people friendly neighbourhoods

●	Expand the “Playing Out” project to create car-free days on some residential streets to allow temporary children’s play, street parties and similar initiatives
●	Support community access to high-quality greenspace 
●	Take robust action to improve local neighbourhoods through a fly-tipping action plan, extra environmental wardens and robust action to tackle litter, graffiti, dog fouling and other local issues, including supporting community cleanups and pressing the Scottish Government for further powers if needed
●	Improve bin collections and recycling with a recycling action programme and increased street cleaning carts in each neighbourhood

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Continued to support and push for the expansion of participatory budgeting schemes such as £eith Chooses
●	Secured council support to push the Scottish Government to allow a community right of appeal in the planning system
●	Pushed the council to accelerate the reopening of community centres following their closure during the pandemic
●	Helped secure a new future for Gorgie City Farm including over £100,000 in funding and additional support
●	Pushed for the council’s “City Vision” to focus on ending poverty and tackling the climate crisis
●	Pushed for greater transparency and accountability in the council’s consultations with citizens and communities
●	Sought additional support for community councils during the pandemic

Planning our common future
Edinburgh is a place where the planning system has not helped deliver the city that communities want to see.  With a huge influence on people’s lives, wherever they live and work in Edinburgh, the current planning system too often allows high-carbon emitting, and car-dominated developments, and does not do enough to provide genuinely people-friendly places, affordable housing and to tackle poverty and inequality. We want to change this to deliver a net-zero carbon city, with clean air, where communities are supported and nature is protected. 

Edinburgh should be a city with a planning system where local residents and communities are fully engaged in the decision-making process: where local people have the power to shape the developments in their local area; where their voice is listened to and respected ; and where they have more influence over decisions, and big developers have less. We also want the planning system to play its part in tackling the climate and nature crises and ending poverty, through reducing the need to travel, encouraging and enabling low-carbon travel and buildings, and ensuring delivery of genuinely affordable housing.

With more Green councillors elected, we will:

Create a planning system with people at its heart

●	Support local place plans and development briefs, led by local communities, in order to “front-load” the planning system
●	Undertake a review of the council’s planning procedures, including notifications of applications and the council planning portal to ensure it is easy for people to see and understand information about proposed developments in their local area, and ensure they can comment and shape them as far as possible
●	Review the council’s planning enforcement processes to ensure that developers deliver on all conditions of their planning permission, and planning breaches are swiftly and effectively dealt with
●	Push the Scottish Government for further reforms to the planning system to allow local residents more say in planning matters, including but not limited to a third party right of appeal
●	Establish four new neighbourhood panels to cover the four distinct Edinburgh neighbourhoods (North East, South East, North West, South West) and train the local councillors in those areas to determine those local applications which were previously decided at city-wide level. These neighbourhood panels would also consider non-planning matters of a local nature, for example local transport or environment issues
●	Enhance and develop the planning training offered to community councils and other relevant community bodies, supporting them in their important role as consultees and representatives of communities

Create a planning and building standards system that helps to tackle the climate and nature crises and creates climate-resilient communities 

●	Create more low traffic neighbourhoods and filtered streets, supporting the development of 20 minute neighbourhoods through place-making improvements such as seating, dwell spaces, green and play spaces, and planning to create 20 minute neighbourhoods in new development areas, reducing the need to travel and ensuring people can walk, wheel or cycle to most places they need to go 
●	Rule out new building on the precious green belt, introduce a much more robust policy to encourage brownfield development, including use of compulsory purchase powers where appropriate, and push the Scottish Government for further powers, such as a vacant land levy to tackle land banking
●	Require all applications for new build development to deliver passivhaus or equivalent levels of energy efficiency, and push the Scottish Government to allow councils to use the building warrant process to deliver “consequential improvements” in existing buildings too
●	Ensure the planning system plays its part in adapting to a world where climate change means more extreme weather events, ensuring our homes and businesses are resilient to flooding, working with nature whenever possible to manage flood water and preventing new developments in flood-risk areas
●	Ensure the development of a city-wide network of traffic-free walking, wheeling and cycling routes, and a separate “green and blue network” of natural corridors and watercourses, which would also help to protect and enhance biodiversity and the natural environment
●	Take a strategic and ambitious approach to delivering biodiversity enhancement through development across the whole of Edinburgh, by developing and promoting a local nature network that will link nature-rich places, create spaces and routes for people to enjoy and increase climate resilience. Ensure meaningful measures are taken to make development nature-positive and that these contribute to Edinburgh’s nature network
●	Ensure that planning officers and local councillors involved in planning decisions are supported with training to ensure they understand the long term carbon impacts of development, including the role of active travel and low-carbon travel
●	Explore ways to take the embodied carbon of a development into account in the planning process, in order to encourage retrofitting and re-use of existing buildings wherever practical, and strengthen policies on demolition so that the justification for demolition can be proven by the social good achieved though development
●	Review planning policies on tree felling and tree planting, to ensure that trees are protected against removal wherever possible, and that new developments over a certain size must contribute towards nature-based solutions that sequester carbon
●	Ensure the council takes an “infrastructure first” approach to developments, so they are designed and constructed with integrated and community shared low-carbon heating, such as district heating networks

Create a planning system that helps to tackle poverty and inequality

●	Increase the proportion of affordable housing which developers have to contribute to 40%, and amend the definition to ensure it is genuinely helping those in the greatest housing need and is delivered on-site in all but exceptional circumstances
●	Strengthen planning rules around purpose-built student accommodation to ensure that applications contribute to high quality and genuinely affordable housing
●	Crack down on short-term holiday lets by setting the whole city as a short-term let control area, and setting a new planning policy against the loss of homes to other uses without delay

Support the creation of a city which is vibrant, people-centred and beautiful 

●	Explore ways to ensure that derelict and neglected land does not blight areas, but is brought back into use, and support “meanwhile” uses such as temporary parks or greenspaces
●	Review the council’s planning guidance and street design guidance to ensure that good design, adequate high quality green spaces and high quality active travel infrastructure are promoted.

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Pushed for action on unregulated holiday lets, so the whole city will now be a short term let control area, and secured agreement that the council will publish guidance for developers and communities on short term lets
●	Consistently stood up for local communities against big developers, alongside Save Leith Walk (Stead’s Place), and at Happy Valley, Redhall House, the former Royal High School and countless other developments
●	Secured council agreement to consult on requiring all new buildings to be highly energy efficient, a policy which is included in the forthcoming City Plan
●	Pushed for all new developments to be more accessible for disabled people
●	Argued for affordable housing to always be delivered on-site and opposed developers who try to flout this rule
●	Fought to remove the red tape for those installing bike sheds in front or back gardens
●	Pushed for new developments to have high-quality cycle storage, and pushed the council to publish technical guidance to ensure developers know how to do this
●	Secured agreement that all councillors on the council’s Planning Committee should receive carbon literacy training
●	Sought to ensure that “affordable housing” is genuinely providing housing for those on low incomes by securing an assessment of the council’s policy and its effectiveness.

Connecting our city

Edinburgh is congested and polluted and many journeys by walking, wheeling and cycling are unappealing or unsafe because of road risks and hazards.  Our transport system excludes many: disabled people, children and young people, and older people who too often find it difficult to get around our city.

Too many lives are lost or tragically altered on our roads, and the air pollution from transport and the physical inactivity that our transport system encourages is shortening lives and making us ill.  Transport is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions Scotland-wide and the second largest source in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh should be easy, safe and enjoyable to get around by walking, wheeling and cycling. Our public transport should be affordable and appealing because it’s easy to get a bus, tram or train for part of the journey. 

It should cost less and be more accessible and convenient to get around using low and zero carbon transport. People on lower incomes should be able to get around without worrying about the cost. 

The air in Edinburgh should be cleaner with less pollution from vehicles.  As more people choose to walk, wheel and cycle for more of their journeys, our residents’ health will benefit.

With more Green councillors elected we will:
Help more people to get around safely using sustainable transport
●	Ensure the council is fully resourced to deliver its transport strategies (City Mobility Plan and City Centre Transformation) while making any necessary adjustments to these strategies to allow for post-pandemic travel patterns and needs in Edinburgh
●	Bring forward a new action plan to achieve Vision Zero – eliminating deaths and serious injuries on Edinburgh’s roads and footways
●	Overhaul the process of consultation, engagement, design and delivery of walking and cycling infrastructure so that projects can be delivered in a suitable timescale, incorporating local expertise, and pushing the Scottish Government to speed up reforms to streamline processes
●	Maintain the A-board ban and reduce, remove and prevent other kinds of street clutter such as goods for sale on pavements, utilities structures, temporary and permanent road signs and unnecessary bins
●	Ensure the sustainable transport hierarchy, with pedestrians given the highest priority, is respected throughout all council policies, for example by widening pavements, creating longer pedestrian crossing times and reduced waiting times, creating new raised tables across residential side streets and changing the priority from driver to pedestrian at signalised crossings
●	Continue to ensure the council works collaboratively with organisations such as Transport For All and the Edinburgh Access Panel, actively engaging them to improve the council’s equalities assessments and in a creating a revised street design manual which meets the highest standards such as Cycling By Design
●	Review school travel plans and create safe routes to school so that every child who lives within two miles of school is able to walk, wheel, scoot or cycle safely, including support for walking buses and bike buses
●	Create a plan for a fully connected, city-wide 500km segregated cycle network which will enable safe travel by bike on main, direct routes
●	Put in place a comprehensive maintenance plan to ensure the network is welcoming and usable, including tackling the pothole scourge and ensuring that active travel infrastructure is built into road maintenance work.
●	Commit to a new and affordable bike hire scheme for Edinburgh, with a range of options including e-bikes and adaptive bikes, alongside support for bike ownership especially amongst all young people, and bike skills training, particularly for those who tend to be least likely to try cycling
●	Expand Edinburgh’s successful scheme of on-street bike storage, providing more hangars to meet demand, and continuing the programme to install more good quality bike parking across the city
●	Review both capital and revenue spending on transport using a gender budgeting approach and focusing on sustainable forms of transport, while retaining our commitment to spend at least 10% on cycling
Focus on improving public transport 
●	Following on from the success of free bus travel for under-22s, explore the potential to introduce a free public transport pilot in the city
●	Push the Scottish Government to improve the National Entitlement Card (NEC) application process to ensure it is as accessible as possible, in particular to extend the current three year period of validity for people with chronic or degenerative conditions, and to extend NEC eligibility
●	Work with partners including Lothian Buses, to significantly improve the accessibility of our public transport networks, including improved provision for wheelchair spaces on buses and audio relay
●	Improve and expand Park & Ride sites and introduce free, high-frequency bus services between them and the city centre
●	Build on the success of the first tram line by extending and creating a tram network, completing sections with Parliamentary approval without the loss of green nature corridors, and evaluate further extensions including the feasibility of the South Suburban Railway line and other light rail or rail network extensions, subject to business cases
●	Carry out a strategic review of the public transport network, increasing the integration between walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport including the use of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), and consult on additional measures to improve the accessibility, reliability and speed of the public transport network
●	Extend bus lanes and expand bus lane hours, to improve bus journey times and reliability, and increase bus lane enforcement, while pressing the Scottish Government for powers to use on-bus cameras for enforcement
●	Work with disabled people and other bus passengers to make bus travel accessible and convenient, carrying out a review of the accessibility of all bus stops, shelters and displays, and delivering the recommendations to ensure public transport is as accessible as possible
●	Continue with reform of the council’s arms-length transport organisation to achieve more integration between buses, trams, and other forms of public transport, and ensure that Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams remain in public ownership
●	Support the complete transition to electric vehicles for public transport 
●	Integrate different kinds of sustainable transport with ticketing, travel and logistics hubs including e-cargo bikes, and make it easy to take bikes on buses and trams
●	Respond to changes in the regulation which may allow e-scooters or other technologies in the future, while always prioritising marginalised groups and the sustainable transport hierarchy 

Tackle unsustainable car-centric culture and reduce car kilometres by at least 30% by 2030:
●	Take measures to manage demand, including a commitment to no new road building, and a review of traffic modelling and analysis to favour a demand management approach instead of designing for current or forecasted increased traffic
●	Draw up a circulation plan for the city, which will provide dedicated street space for sustainable modes of transport, taking inspiration from cities such as Ghent
●	Consult on and introduce a congestion charging scheme
●	Consult on and introduce a workplace parking levy, and lobby the Scottish Government to extend levy powers for councils to include other non-residential parking spaces
●	Create an action plan to reduce overall car parking spaces in the city each year while extending the controlled parking zones, and support conversion of parking spaces to green corridors, green spaces, pocket parks and play areas
●	Fully implement enforcement powers to tackle pavement parking through a focus on movement, mobility and independence, and push the Scottish Government to extend those powers and close the loopholes in the legislation
●	Review the price of car parking, considering the true cost of the most polluting vehicles and the relative cost to park bikes and e-bikes
●	Continue to reduce vehicle speeds by reviewing more speed limits across the city and by working with partners to increase driver compliance
●	Review the council’s process for blue badge applications to make it fully accessible, and rapidly roll-out electric charging points for EV motability vehicles
●	Create a new air quality action plan to replace the existing plan which is over a decade old, including introduction of a zero emission city centre and local town centres within Edinburgh while pushing the Scottish Government for more urgent and bold action on air pollution frameworks for local councils
●	Enable availability of electric charging throughout the city
●	Empower residents through digital solutions to report problems including pavement parking, engine idling and speeding, and ensure the council and its partners can react swiftly and effectively
●	Work with partners to integrate non-private car vehicle transport options in Edinburgh and to make them easier to access, including through the expansion of “tap tap cap” or other integrated charging

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Changed the process for road resurfacing to ensure footway widening and segregated infrastructure is considered by all projects, which resulted in examples such as a new cycle path at Jock’s Lodge
●	Campaigned for change where there have been fatalities or serious injuries, including Portobello High Street / Sir Harry Lauder Road where two cyclist fatalities have sadly occurred
●	Won backing for safer cycling to school, both through support for volunteers who organise “bike buses”, and successfully calling for cycle lanes to schools along key corridors
●	Called for a review of the council’s policy allowing goods to be displayed for sale on pavements which is an accessibility issue
●	Proposed and had the council carry out a consultation on longer and standardised hours for bus lanes and pushed for stronger bus lane enforcement
●	Won support to adopt “Transport For All” pledges which will improve accessibility in all transport projects
●	Called for and got agreement for a new Road Safety Action Plan with a commitment to Vision Zero
●	Changed the focus of road safety campaign spending to target driver behaviour and awareness
●	Got agreement to create a new Air Quality Action Plan, to replace the one which was over a decade old
●	Campaigned to scrap the Sheriffhall roundabout project and invest the capital into projects for walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.

Securing warm, safe homes for all 
Edinburgh is facing a housing crisis. Good housing is key to our health, wellbeing and security, yet rents have rocketed by 40% in the last decade whilst standards have declined. Homelessness is increasing and scarce housing stock is becoming saturated in “luxury” markets, student developments and holiday lets. Underpinning this is a broken attitude towards housing which views houses as commodities and profit-making ventures, not homes where people live and build communities. People are struggling to pay rent for housing which is hard to heat, poor quality and often unsuitable for their needs, or they are priced out of living in Edinburgh altogether.

Edinburgh should be a place where we view houses as homes and the foundation of our communities, which allow people to live affordably and sustainably, instead of commodities. There should be good quality homes that are affordable to rent or buy, easy to keep warm and suitable for people’s needs. We need greater control and intervention in the market to crack down on bad landlords, limit the number of holiday lets, and improve standards. It should be easier for people to make their homes more energy-efficient and accessible. We advocate for more social housing, including exploring options to bring care homes and student housing into social ownership, and we support alternative models of housing such as co-operatives.

With more Green councillors elected, we will: 

Tackle fuel poverty and cut climate emissions in our homes 
●	Establish a comprehensive and fully funded “Edinburgh Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy” (EHEES), to assist and enable building owners and tenants to improve the fabric of their buildings and decarbonise their heating, with an aim of retrofitting at least 100,000 homes across the city by 2030, and continue to make the case to the Scottish Government that they must provide sufficient funding to deliver this
●	Revitalise Energy for Edinburgh, the council’s energy services company, with a new role to deliver retrofit and heat decarbonisation under the EHEES, and in particular to expand on the existing work of the mixed tenure improvement strategy and explore innovative mechanisms such as Heat as a Service and community asset ownership to drive down emissions and fuel poverty
●	Expand support for district heating networks, and require new developments over a certain size threshold to incorporate district heating
●	As part of our commitment to a just transition, ensure that retrofit and heat decarbonisation is easy and affordable for everyone and that the costs for those in fuel poverty are met in full
●	Expand and scale up the existing area-based energy efficiency schemes to include heat decarbonisation, and target these schemes at areas of the highest deprivation
●	Work with the Scottish Government to ensure a minimum energy performance certificate grade C for all homes at point of sale or rental from 2025, with a target backstop date of 2030 for all properties, including those in mixed tenure blocks
●	Expand and build capacity for advice and support, working with third sector partners and others to ensure clear, appealing customer journeys and support the creation of local advice and collective purchasing cooperatives, such as Loco Home Retrofit in Glasgow
Support tenants in the private rented sector
●	Challenge bad landlords in the private rented sector by establishing an “Edinburgh Tenants’ Charter” to raise awareness of existing channels for tenants to challenge bad practice, informing tenants and landlords of their rights and responsibilities, especially in relation to rent increases, repairs and adaptations 
●	Push the Scottish Government to give councils powers to introduce private sector rent controls as soon as possible and, when realised, use those powers to their fullest possible extent
●	Advocate for tenant unions and support ways to strengthen their hand in negotiations with landlords and letting agencies

Support tenants in the social rented sector
●	Establish a council housing investment strategy and fund to drive improvements to the council’s existing housing stock, with an aim that every council home will achieve the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) by 2030, two years earlier than planned
●	Aim to freeze or reduce council rents, if this can be achieved while ensuring the council housing investment strategy is delivered on time and on budget, and make a council house tenant pact in collaboration with tenant groups to guarantee no rent increases above inflation for five years
●	Review the council’s evictions policy and the support given to tenants, with the aim of ending the eviction of council tenants for rent arrears, and further reducing the overall level of evictions from council properties
●	Undertake a review of the systems the council uses to manage applications for social housing and ensure these are accessible and easy to use, including for users without internet access
●	Support tenant groups to engage with relevant issues relating to their tenancy, including via existing or newly formed tenant unions where appropriate

Improve the housing supply so that it better meets our needs as a city
●	Take firm action against unregulated holiday lets, by implementing a short-term lets control area across the whole city as soon as practicable, introducing a licensing regime as soon as the council has powers to do so, and restricting the number of holiday lets where this has an impact on housing supply
●	Establish an “Edinburgh Empty Homes Strategy” to bring empty homes back into use, and push the Scottish Government for further powers to ensure the council can achieve this
●	Set a target and publish a fully costed action plan to build 20,000 socially rented homes within the next council term, and push the Scottish Government to make the grant funding available to deliver this
●	Push the Scottish Government for further powers to allow councils to deliver genuinely affordable housing, such as the power to buy land at existing use value, and powers for a vacant land levy to tackle land-banking 
●	Support action to drive up standards in new-build housing, designing homes which are accessible and easy to adapt for independent living

Tackle homelessness
●	Establish a homelessness prevention strategy to work with landlords and offer tenants support to enable them to stay in existing tenancies, wherever appropriate, including specific action on tackling “hidden homelessness”
●	Expand the “Housing First” model to provide permanent housing to those experiencing homelessness, wherever appropriate
●	Undertake a review of the council’s current stock of temporary accommodation, publish the results and a costed timetable to end the use of B&Bs and other unsuitable accommodation for people in temporary accommodation
●	Undertake a full review of the council’s homelessness services and put an action plan in place to simplify the process of applying for temporary accommodation; ensure everyone can access the help and support they are entitled to on first contact, and implement in full the recommendations of Shelter Scotland’s 2021 report, “Edinburgh’s Housing Emergency”

Support homes for all
●	Use the planning system to require developers to deliver 40% of housing as genuinely affordable housing, and review the definition of “affordable housing” in planning policy to ensure it genuinely meets the needs of those on low incomes
●	Seek to support alternative models of housing provision, including housing co-operatives and co-housing

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Taken the strongest stance on unregulated holiday lets, ensuring the council’s position was clear and unequivocal, and that the whole city will now be a short-term let control area
●	Secured a commitment to ensure all new buildings in the city will be very low-carbon, which will come into force once the new City Plan is approved
●	Supported alternative models of housing including co-housing and housing co-operatives
●	Worked with other parties to deliver a two-year council rent freeze during the pandemic
●	Established a dedicated Empty Homes Officer post in the council, which has successfully brought hundreds of homes back into use
●	Won a suspension of eviction action against tenants for rent arrears during the pandemic
●	Obtained agreement on a strategy to ensure that suitable accommodation is provided to homeless people in need of temporary accommodation, instead of expensive and unsuitable B&Bs
●	Secured council support for a Shelter Scotland campaign that housing is recognised as a human right

Recovering our economy and learning from the pandemic 
Edinburgh is an international capital city with a strong economy, but the pandemic has challenged everyone and left many people with precarious incomes and job insecurity, whilst businesses and third sector organisations have suffered extremely tough trading and financial conditions. 

Edinburgh should be a place where there is secure, rewarding and sustainable work for everyone while the city recovers from the pandemic and urgently takes action to prevent climate change.

Green councillors will support residents and organisations in the city with a Green Recovery where jobs and work contribute to meeting our climate targets and communities are able to play their part.

Green councillors believe the council will deliver the best services for Edinburgh’s residents when workers in the council have good pay and conditions, when their jobs are rewarding and secure, and when they are empowered through the collective action of trade unions.

With more Green councillors elected we will:
Promote workforce wellbeing
●	Create and implement a wellbeing economic strategy for Edinburgh to replace the quest for unlimited and unsustainable economic growth
●	Support flexible and hybrid working for council workers as we emerge from the pandemic and continue to work collaboratively with unions on collective representation and rights during a transition to a modern way of working which increases worker wellbeing, including investigation of models such as a four day working week
●	Retain the council’s objective of no compulsory redundancies, recognising that the council has become a more efficient organisation, and rejecting further cuts to services 
Embed principles of climate and social justice in our economy
●	Take a Green New Deal-inspired approach to Edinburgh’s economic recovery from the pandemic, continue our opposition to City Region Deal and other capital investment in outdated, carbon-intense infrastructure and instead focus investment on sustainability and climate target projects, for example by retrofitting homes to be warm and affordable to heat or supporting businesses in the circular economy
●	End spending of public money on courting inward investment to Edinburgh from unethical sources, such as countries with poor human rights records, or corporations with low standards for workers’ rights or which do not pay their fair share of tax
●	Identify and bring services in-house within the council, where beneficial and appropriate 
●	Commit to retain Fairtrade City status for Edinburgh and strengthen Fairtrade throughout the city
●	Support Edinburgh’s third sector networks and organisations and maintain a strong relationship with all members of Edinburgh Third Sector Interface
●	Support the creation of new co-operative businesses by cultivating the value of the co-operative and social enterprise community within the existing business support ecosystem
●	Close the council’s gender pay gap and set targets for the council’s diversity pay gaps to be closed, benefiting council workers and setting a positive example to employers in Edinburgh which need to narrow and close their pay gaps
●	Take a Community Wealth Building approach and use council procurement as a lever to achieve green policy goals, for example supporting a real living wage, using zero carbon modes of transport, and taking a zero waste approach
Promote the role of communities
●	Promote a new, permanent, covered traders’ market and support local farmers’ markets
●	Review the lettings policy for council-owned units and introduce stronger elements of community benefit 

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Won support for introduction of wellbeing measures of economy into the council’s economy strategy
●	Inserted environmental and green principles into the economy strategy which was drafted to be focused on growth
●	Introduced Close the Gap to the council and began working with them to take positive and proactive actions on the gender pay gap, and also pushed for and achieved better council gender pay gap analysis and reporting
●	Ended funding from the council to market the city for tourism, instead setting an expectation that players in the tourism economy should take responsibility for this
●	Defeated the SNP/Labour administration when they wanted to reform council employee policies without Unite and Unison support

Ensuring education for Life
Edinburgh is a wealthy city, but the learning gap and inequality in Edinburgh’s schools was made worse by the pandemic, and pupils’ needs have grown, especially the need for more mental health support and extracurricular activities. Edinburgh’s schools need serious levels of investment in retrofitting if Edinburgh is to meet its target to be net zero carbon by 2030. Children in care need our full support, and Edinburgh needs to fully embed The Promise in all our services. 

Edinburgh should be a child-friendly city, where children can play and travel safely. All children and young people should be in schools that are sustainable and support the learning of the future. School staff, parents, and pupils should have a greater say in how schools are run, and what is needed to reduce the costs of the school day for families. We need to respond to the demands of our young people for action that can sustain our planet – and their futures – in the face of a climate and ecological emergency. 
With more Green councillors elected we will:
Make sure the focus is on inclusive learning 
●	Ensure early learning in primary schools is predominantly play-based, and offers extensive opportunities for outdoor learning, small group learning, and access to local community resources such as parks and libraries
●	Focus on a more person-centred approach to the curriculum and how we assess progress and promote continuous assessment based on teacher judgement
●	Work with our MSPs in the fight to keep school class sizes down, improving safety for staff and increasing the number of teachers and support staff 
●	Improve the progression, training and conditions for pupil support assistants
●	Support pupils at risk of falling behind and who have additional support needs, including alternative provision for those who need it, and reduce exclusions
●	Increase support in schools for children from marginalised groups, including refugees and asylum seekers and LGBTI+ young people
●	Protect and expand opportunities for outdoor learning as part of the core school week, including by expanding Forest schools training
●	Maintain and develop instrumental music tuition, primary school swimming tuition, Bikeability, and the outdoor and nature-based education offer from Benmore, Lagganlia and Bangholm
●	Support the development of Gaelic Medium Education, with a focus on staff training and retention, new primary school provision and a dedicated standalone secondary school on an appropriate centrally-located site
●	Ensure careers advice has a strong focus on supporting a just transition to a low carbon economy and work towards just transition apprenticeships and placements
●	Create a city-wide school uniform policy which addresses affordability, accessibility, the needs of neurodivergent pupils, stigma, and environmental impact 
●	Support uniform banks and re-use or lease/hire services, so that everyone can access what they need. This will include access to jackets and outdoor clothing
●	Expand inclusive holiday activity programmes, targeted at families with the highest levels of need
Ensure a sustainable school day 
●	Improve the early years offering in Edinburgh, with increased flexibility of hours and expanded Forest kindergarten provision
●	Ensure schools are high-quality, flexible community spaces, with environmental sustainability in mind. 
●	Secure funding for the Council’s plan to retrofit the existing school estate
●	Deliver the new schools, and major school improvements, that are in the council’s forward delivery programme
●	Protect and enhance school playgrounds 
●	Secure more funding for school meals from the Scottish Government, to allow for all primary schools to have production kitchens, increase food growing in schools, improve meal quality, and lower the carbon footprint of school food 
●	Ensure speedy delivery of school safe travel plans and a ‘Safe to School’ programme so that every child who lives within two miles of school is able to safely walk or wheel there, and expand bike/scooter storage 
●	Reduce plastic use and food waste, and increase opportunities to recycle in schools
Work towards shared governance 

●	Ensure the council’s Education Committee includes two parent representatives and pupil representation, with voting rights
●	Build a shadow youth council that will encourage young people to have a say in how the city is run 
Look after our most vulnerable young people 
●	Embed the work of The Promise in all council departments and encourage partners to engage as corporate parents
●	Improve outcomes through increased city-wide staffing, improve secure accommodation, expand throughcare and aftercare, increase housing availability, and improve support in schools
●	Listen to care experienced young people to hear what changes they need in the system
Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Pushed for improvements to school meals, by looking at improving quality, increased consultation and reducing single use plastic 
●	Supported the school climate strikers, including by getting authorised days of absence to support pupils attending on global days of strike action 
●	Secured agreement for P1 deferral applications to be funded by the council for the two years before the Scottish Government funding begins in 2023, which will ensure young children are in the environment that best suits them, and are not pushed into school earlier than they can manage 
●	Supported the Gaelic community and worked to improve the provision of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh 
●	Gained council agreement to look into how conditions for pupil support assistants can be improved, including recruitment, training, pay and career structures

Creating a healthy and caring capital
Edinburgh is suffering from the long-term neglect of our social care system, which the COVID-19 pandemic exposed. The lack of national funding and investment for over a decade set against the increasing number of elderly residents has created a crisis in social care.
     
80% of home care is outsourced with the majority to the private sector. Some provider companies have stopped individual care packages or closed and have left the council to pick up the pieces. 30% of staff vacancies remain unfilled, putting further pressure on our already overworked and exhausted workforce and increasing waiting lists.

Health inequalities have deepened in recent years and have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Drug and alcohol-related deaths are rising and people’s mental health is worsening. 

Edinburgh should be a city where residents are in good health and where there is ample greenspace, facilities, and community support for us all to take charge of our physical health and mental wellbeing.

The Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership should be a locally delivered and accountable care service, with community involvement at its heart. Its staff should be valued and the pay and conditions of all care workers should reflect their expertise.

Social care services should be sustainable and have net zero emissions by 2030. 

With more Green councillors elected we will: 

●	Ensure that there is good quality green space within walking distance of all our homes with somewhere to sit, somewhere to shelter and public conveniences and services so we can all enjoy the benefits all year round
●	Ensure that the majority of care at home and care home services are provided by the public and voluntary sectors 
●	Ensure that every opportunity to bring private care at home and care home services in-house directly is taken up, increasing control and accountability, and ensuring continuity of care for all
●	Provide access to mental health services and support at everyone’s local GP practice and provide funding for community-based support groups and activities they may be referred to
●	Make funding available to the community sectors to provide out of school activities and opportunities for sports, culture, and leisure for disabled young people
●	Provide a range of services for older people, recognising personal choice, and that they may wish to be supported and looked after in different ways at different times in their lives, whether they wish to be supported to be independent at home, to be looked after in their community, or seek companionship and care within a shared residential setting and community
●	Ensure that unpaid carers receive regular breaks to suit their needs and are fully supported with their own adult carer support plans
●	Ensure pay and conditions of all care workers reflect their expertise and that social care workers are paid at least £15 an hour
●	Support all health and social care staff to make sustainable travel choices including by making work travel free at the point of use, including public transport
●	Ensure health and social care staff are provided with appropriate training and financial support for this as well as fit for purpose clothing and footwear
●	Provide free period products and ensure they are made truly and fully accessible to staff, young people and those in need
●	Strengthen the policy around alcohol licensing, with the aim of reducing availability and reducing alcohol harm.
●	Provide specialist care home provision for those suffering from Alcohol Related Brain Damage
●	Recognise the success of Drug Consumption Rooms in making people safer and bring them into much needed services and provide facilities as soon as possible
●	 Implement The Promise, as detailed by the Independent Care Review 

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have: 

●	Secured agreement to embed Edinburgh’s net zero 2030 target in the current Strategy for Health and Social Care 2019-2022
●	Won a comprehensive review of the Licensing Forum, including city-wide public representation to ensure a strong voice for community views on alcohol licensing to be heard 
●	Won agreement for a Council Advertising and Sponsorship policy that supported the health and wellbeing of all Edinburgh citizens
●	Won the adoption of a Climate Change Charter for Health and Social Care that commits to the Edinburgh net zero 2030 target, supports closing the gap on emissions on housing, transport and travel and buildings, changes work practices, appoints climate champions and reports publicly on progress
●	Secured the adoption of John’s Campaign across health and social care establishments, from hospital wards to care homes, to ensure that the families and carers of those suffering from dementia have full access to their loved ones and are included in all decisions about their care
●	Won the council’s commitment to implement the Tobacco-free Charter, and ensure a tobacco-free city by 2023.
●	Worked to ensure the living wage plus was paid to external contractors for care workers and that the Scottish Government was lobbied for full recovery of costs
●	Supported unpaid carers representatives to strengthen the implementation of the Edinburgh Carers Strategy
●	Secured agreement to produce Edinburgh’s first Public Toilet Strategy, which will ensure public conveniences serving green spaces and high streets will become fit for purpose

Investing in our sport and culture
Edinburgh is a cultural capital that needs to deliver for the people of our city as well as it does for visitors. Everyone should have the opportunity to access sport, cultural, and leisure activities in their area and have a say in how these are designed and delivered to benefit individuals, communities and the city as a whole, but too often they are prohibitively expensive and access is limited to those who can afford to pay.

Edinburgh should be a city where our cultural, leisure and sports facilities are accessible to all and represent the wealth of interests, talent, and experience that exists in our diverse city. In order to provide what people want and need, the council needs to listen to the people of the city, give them opportunities to get involved, ensure they have fair access and see themselves reflected in their city. 

Culture, leisure and sports should be properly valued and their budgets should be protected. The important role they play in enriching people’s lives should be recognised and promoted.

With more Green councillors elected, we will: 

Improve local access to shared spaces 

•	Improve access to public spaces and venues for community arts, activities and sports groups
•	Support the introduction of grants for local people who want to put on small scale community events and classes
•	Engage with the public on investment in public art to revitalise our shared spaces
•	Open up opportunities for the use of pitches, existing buildings in public areas, and low-tenancy retail locations across the city, for cultural activities
•	Ensure provision of safe community spaces for young people of all ages for social and sports activities
•	Review council funding to arts and cultural organisations with a view to better supporting grassroots groups and underrepresented communities
•	Prioritise the protection of libraries and cultural hubs and ensure new residential neighbourhoods include such community spaces so that no one is without them
•	Recognise that community learning and development and youth work services have experienced significant cuts and protect those budgets from further cuts

Secure funding and democratic local governance 

•	Press the Scottish Government to give Edinburgh the power to introduce a tourist levy to invest in cultural services and in the city centre
•	Develop Edinburgh as a whole festival city, making sure that all areas feel the benefit of the festivals; and make it easier for school-aged children and young people to access the main festivals
•	Ensure there is local democratic representation in the organisation of city festivals
•	Ensure the delivery of a senior post to co-ordinate the city’s night-time economy
•	Implement the Green motion to improve the green footprint of the festivals
•	Better regulate commercial use of landmark spaces like the Meadows, Inverleith Park and Princes Street Gardens

Prioritise our young people and community sport 

•	Support the establishment of a “Festival of Sport” where different sports offer opportunities to try out their game to all ages and abilities
•	Revitalise post-pandemic organised inclusive recreational and competitive youth city sports leagues
•	Protect the provision of school club budgets under Edinburgh Active Schools to ensure they can continue to provide for all students
•	Call for a plan from Edinburgh Leisure to increase ease of access to facilities and reduced fees for gyms and sports facilities for disadvantaged communities

Preserve and teach Scotland’s heritage 
 
•	Strengthen and implement the council’s Gaelic Language Plan, including expanded online presence, public visibility, including a presumption that all new signage should be bilingual, and an increase in support for Gaelic arts, including establishing a new Gaelic arts and culture hub in the city, ideally co-located with a Gaelic High School 
•	Provide support for Scots language art and culture, including a visible presence in city festivals

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Stopped a plan to charge junior sports clubs up to 250% more for using school facilities at the weekend and evenings, which enabled some clubs to survive
●	Passed a motion for Greening the Fringe to reduce the reliance of the Festival on gas power and use of single-use plastics
●	Successfully campaigned to prevent the closure of the Museum on the Mound
●	Successfully argued for the Edinburgh Science Festival to divest from fossil fuel sponsorship

Making Edinburgh a welcoming and equal place
Edinburgh is a deeply unequal city. We want a city where everyone can afford to live, work, and enjoy themselves, but too often people face barriers to this. The pandemic has not affected everyone equally. Much of the hardship experienced by people in Edinburgh is invisible, and we must work to reduce the stigma of poverty and ensure everyone can access help when they need it. 

Greens believe in an inclusive Scottish identity which recognises rich Scottish traditions and history as well as the vital contributions people from all over the world have brought to Scotland over centuries, but there is work to be done to make Edinburgh a truly inclusive city.

Edinburgh should be progressing towards becoming a sustainable city and we will support policies which centre community regeneration and oppose those which extract wealth and resources from the poorest groups and communities. 

Councils play a key role in tackling poverty and prioritising equality. We will work closely with people who face discrimination or whose opportunities have been reduced based on their class, race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, citizenship status, belief, or any other characteristic, and work to implement systems which embed equality in every decision made by the council. Green councillors have and will continue to work towards policies that empower marginalised groups, help local communities thrive, and protect our green spaces for everyone. 

With more Green Councillors elected, we will: 

Tackle poverty and inequality

●	Help people to claim the social security benefits they are entitled to by supporting “income maximisation” projects through the NHS and advice services
●	Empower tenants at risk of homelessness through better advice and access to legal aid
●	Push for stronger equality impact assessments and gender budgeting, to ensure that council decisions made do not further entrench inequality

Make Edinburgh a welcoming, inclusive city
●	Proactively welcome refugees, asylum seekers, and New Scots and push to ensure relevant support services are available to meet their specific needs
●	Ensure that the histories of African, Caribbean, Asian, Gypsy/Roma/Traveller communities and other and racially marginalised peoples are embedded into the school curriculum. This includes the roles Scotland played in the transatlantic slavery trade and the British Empire and the ways in which colonialism’s legacy can be seen today in Edinburgh 
●	Make sure that everyone is reflected in our public art and memorials, and challenge the prevalence of male, white history which appears in our street names, statues and buildings
●	Introduce a democratic review of all public monuments to reflect the diversity of Edinburgh’s history and the values our city holds today
●	Support the bid to develop a Museum of Slavery and Oppression in the city
●	Ensure educational establishments take effective action to tackle and prevent racist, Islamophobic, and antisemitic bullying and discrimination in schools 
●	Ensure educational establishments take effective action to tackle and prevent homo/trans/biphobic bullying and anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice and discrimination in schools 
●	Promote more diverse representation in Edinburgh Council by removing barriers to participation
●	Work to improve access to trans healthcare, including gender identity clinics

Promote social justice

●	Ensure our council makes decisions that protect our planet, by divesting from fossil fuels, nuclear weapons, and the arms trade and supporting a just transition into new, secure jobs for people currently working in these industries, so they can be part of a clean, Green future 
●	Campaign to secure funding for support services for those who have experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence
●	Support social workers to manage workloads, focus on crime prevention, and support the delivery of community sentences for people who have committed crimes
●	Help communities own, run or have more say over their area by supporting community buildings, parks, sports facilities, energy and much more

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Secured agreement from the council’s Planning Committee that a section on “disability” should be added to the design guidance for developers
●	Won agreement to improve Edinburgh welfare services by signing up to full accreditation to the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers framework
●	Put forward a motion asking for a review of goods for sale blocking pavements
●	Secured council support for Bi+ visibility day
●	Consistently pushed over five years for council pensions to divest from fossil fuel companies to ensure responsible investment
●	Ensured that Playscheme holiday provision for disabled children was not reduced after the lockdown period, as had been recommended
●	Won the development of a public toilet strategy and ensured that there will be better signage for  all public toilets
●	Won agreement to introduce best practice in the council’s recruitment and employment practices ensuring that equality, diversity and anti-discrimination training is standard for all staff
●	Won agreement for a consolidated action plan to enhance diversity and inclusion in Edinburgh schools and ensure that BME history and culture are included in all phases of secondary school education, and to lobby the private sector to demonstrate that they do the same
●	Won agreement for a review, led by the members of the BME community, of features within Edinburgh that commemorate those with close links to slavery and colonialism, to consult widely and make recommendations to rectify the glorification of slavery and colonialism which these commemorations represent to many people.
●	Welcomed a landmark report on Universal Basic Income in which Edinburgh was one of four partner councils, following a Green proposal
●	Achieved council agreement to welcome refugees, condemn xenophobic remarks by the UK Prime Minister and assist EU citizens applying for settled status
●	Urged greater transparency on the council’s gender pay gap and robust action to tackle it

Growing a nature-rich city
Edinburgh is the city that hosted the 2020 “Edinburgh Declaration”. This called for transformative action to address the biodiversity and climate crises at all levels, including by cities and local authorities.  Worryingly, this bold statement is not yet being matched by action on the ground. The city’s green spaces are not funded, managed, and cared for to maximise their incredible potential benefits for local people and wildlife.  The opportunity to deliver green and blue infrastructure as part of new development has not been ambitious enough to make our city nature-rich and climate resilient. 

Edinburgh should be a city with a network of interlinked green and blue spaces, ensuring that all Edinburgh residents are within easy walking or wheeling distance of high quality, nature-rich outdoor space. We recognise the need to radically change how public land is managed and the need to rethink the city’s approach to consenting private developments.

Our public green and blue spaces need investment so they deliver more for recreation, health, wellbeing, and wildlife, and help reduce the impacts of climate change. When new developments are proposed they must incorporate green infrastructure, use nature-based solutions to manage water and pollution, and create nature-rich, high quality urban spaces.

With more Green councillors elected we will:

Take action to create a nature-rich city 

●	Create and adopt an ambitious vision for an Edinburgh local nature network by 2024, providing a bold plan that the council, its partners, and private developers will contribute to delivering
●	Manage council land, big and small, to benefit pollinators, creating new areas of wildflower meadows and making Edinburgh a pesticide-free city
●	Produce and deliver a city-wide native tree planting plan, with adequate resources to tackle loss from disease and storms 
●	Ensure that green infrastructure is routinely incorporated in new developments and secure meaningful measures to make new developments nature-positive. This will result in a city better able to absorb water and carbon, reduce pollution, benefit wildlife, and create high quality urban spaces
●	Build on the success of the Edinburgh Shoreline project to restore and enhance Edinburgh coastal habitats 

Invest in greenspaces as a valuable part of our infrastructure 

●	Ensure parks and local nature reserves are well funded and managed to create high quality green spaces that support wildlife and people’s health and wellbeing
●	Explore new ways to raise revenue for parks and greenspaces, such as from tree planting bonds, renewable energy generation and parking charges
●	Draw up master plans for parks including Inverleith and Leith Links, following the successful Saughton Park model
●	Expand the Countryside Ranger Service to help deliver nature management, create green jobs, and deliver education and engagement events that improve access to nature 
●	Encourage local food production by significantly increasing the area of land and support available to community growing initiatives and allotment sites and plots and community growing initiatives 

Provide everyone with access to high quality, nature-rich greenspace 

●	Campaign to have Edinburgh’s private parks opened to the public, helping to ensure everyone benefits from access to greenspace and nature 
●	Invest in the Pentland Hills to create a Regional Park that is richer in nature and with the required facilities and infrastructure to give better access to Edinburgh’s residents
●	Give local communities the opportunities, tools and funding to get actively involved in greenspace ownership, management and design, and ensure Friends Groups are well supported

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:

●	Led on reducing the use of chemicals to tackle weeds and secured a pesticide-free trial area
●	Continually proposed additional tree planting leading to the “Million Tree City” program
●	Won agreement for a review of neglected park infrastructure
●	Protected Princes Street Gardens as a common good asset and refused permission for it to be transferred away from Council control
●	Highlighted the impact of high-intensity events in parks and pushed for better control over commercialisation of parks and green spaces

Renewing local democracy
Edinburgh is a city whose pandemic recovery and zero-carbon future should be decided by local communities. 

Edinburgh currently lacks many of the powers over tax and regulation that other European cities have to improve quality of life and grow their economies.  At the same time, council decision-making itself is too centralised; people have too little say over decisions that affect their local area. This concentration of power is a barrier to prosperity and genuine local democracy. 

Edinburgh should be a city whose council uses all of its current powers to improve quality of life and its economy. 

A central part of that is handing more powers to local communities, which will make Edinburgh an even better place to live, work, and visit. Giving the council more control over how it is funded will help to deliver high-quality and reliable public services which are future-proofed for our transition to a low-carbon future. By involving more public participation in council budgeting and policymaking, we will ensure that council services match what people want to see. By giving community councils a stronger voice in planning and public service provision, we can hand the future of local neighbourhoods to the people who live in them.

With more Green councillors elected, we will:

Use council powers effectively 
●	Ensure that the tourist tax is efficiently implemented and administered, making sure that the money raised goes straight back into local services 
●	Push the Scottish Government to give councils greater powers to combat local environmental problems such as litter, fly tipping, graffiti and dog fouling, including a review of fixed penalty notices and the power to set these
●	Ensure businesses pay a workplace parking levy, delivering more funding for our local services, and encouraging more people to use active travel or public transport to get to work
●	Campaign for local authorities to be given more power to design and set their own taxes. This will allow Edinburgh to raise new revenue in ways appropriate to local conditions, avoiding the bureaucracy of needing Scottish government approval every time
●	Create an action plan to reduce overall car parking spaces in the city while extending the controlled parking zone and supporting the conversion of parking spaces to green corridors, green spaces, pocket parks and play areas 
●	Ensure that Edinburgh Council uses its current procurement power to support local, eco-friendly businesses wherever possible, keeping wealth in the community and helping our net zero transition at the same time, and push the Scottish Government to allow councils greater control to use procurement for public good
●	Work with Green MSPs to ensure that reviews for environment taxes such as waste and pollution do not place extra financial burden on those the least well off
●	Retain democratic oversight of council investments in the Lothian Pensions Fund through the pensions committee
Promote community participation
●	Advocate for regular Citizens’ Assemblies to become an integral part of Edinburgh Council’s decision-making process. In particular, we support the formation of an Edinburgh Citizens’ Assembly on the Climate Crisis to shape the council’s net zero strategy ahead of the 2030 target  
●	Place a duty on council officers to ensure community councils are properly informed about decisions impacting their local area. This must respect the voluntary nature of community councillors’ work and their monthly meeting cycle
●	Campaign with Green MSPs to give community councils the right to provide services in their local area. This could be funded by allowing them to set a precept on local taxes, as parish councils can in England
●	Explore ways to better support community councillors with accessibility, travel, and caring responsibilities to attract a diverse membership more representative of the wider community
●	Ensure community workers with expertise in participation support community councils in engaging with the wider community

Since 2017, Green councillors in Edinburgh have:
●	Delivered new powers for councils to set a “tourist tax” on overnight bookings so that Edinburgh’s public services can feel the benefit of the tourism boom 
●	Ensured councils have the power to set workplace parking levies
●	Secured a commitment from the Scottish Government to change planning laws, so that effective engagement with local communities happens at all stages of the planning process
●	Championed deliberative decision making, including getting the Scottish Government to commit to a Citizens' Assembly to decide the structure of local government funding

Meet your Green candidates

Almond - Andrew Brough
City Centre - Claire Miller
Colinton/Fairmilehead - Helen McCabe
Corstorphine/Murrayfield - Connal Hughes
Craigentinny/Duddingston - Alex Staniforth
Drum Brae/Gyle - Anne Scott
Forth - Kayleigh O’Neill
Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart - Megan McHaney
Inverleith - Jule Bandel
Leith - Chas Booth
Leith Walk - Susan Rae
Liberton/Gilmerton - John Nichol
Morningside - Ben Parker
Pentland Hills - Ross Muller
Portobello/Craigmillar - Alys Mumford
Sighthill/Gorgie - Dan Heap
Southside/Newington - Steve Burgess