The George Street and New Town (GNT) public realm design project has been awarded £20m by Sustrans Scotland and Transport Scotland’s Places for Everyone programme, a £60m pot shared between projects across the country to achieve safer, more attractive and healthier places while helping to increase the number of active journeys made every day.

The GNT scheme aims to create a vibrant street environment that is safe for all users – one which significantly enhances its use for pedestrians while prioritising active travel and accessibility.

Transport and environment convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be receiving this significant package of funding through Places for Everyone. This will be truly pivotal to the delivery of the George Street and New Town public realm design project.

“As one of the early projects to be delivered as part of the City Centre Transformation project, this ambitious scheme will reinvigorate one of the city’s most historic thoroughfares, prioritising active travel and creating liveable, thriving and people-friendly public spaces for generations to come.”

The GNT project is a key element of City Centre Transformation, a long-term programme to transform Edinburgh’s city centre by improving public spaces and prioritising movement on foot, by bike and by public transport. It will also connect to the Meadows to George Street route which, once completed, will allow for direct travel to the south of the city on segregated or shared-use paths.

Draft concept designs for GNT were published late last year and include a range of measures, amongst which are improved public realm, increased pedestrian areas and segregated cycle lanes.

A consultation on the designs, which attracted almost 2000 responses, ran until January 2019. Further engagement will be carried out with stakeholders as part of the ongoing design process.

A number of additional council projects will also receive a portion of Places for Everyone funding, including support to design walking and cycling improvements in Leith and feasibility studies for new projects such as the Lothian Road Boulevard, proposed as part of the City Centre Transformation, and a walking and cycling link between Leith Street and Jeffery Street. 

As well as this, funding will support the construction of a cycleway along York Place, detailed design for the remainder of the council’s proposed City Centre West to East Link and the roll-out of on-street secure bike parking for residents of tenement areas.