The City of Edinburgh Council’s Thriving Green Spaces Project has launched an eight-week consultation to gain feedback from the local community and park users.

Since last summer, work on a draft masterplan has been underway with a working group of interested parties involved in coming up with proposals on how Inch Park can better serve the community and capitalise on its potential and popularity.

The group includes council staff, representatives from the local community councils, Inch Community Association and community sports clubs who have all worked together to come up with a plan that would make improvements in the area.

Participants will be asked about the overall concept plan, the wider park improvement ideas, opportunities to make the park better for nature and wildlife and proposed new visitor facilities and new café. They will be asked for their views on the following objectives:

• Celebration of Inch’s history – including things such as restoration of the historic Inch House and outbuildings
• Activities for all – such as a new all-weather 11-a side sports pitch and facilities and new visitor centre
• Accessibility – other improvements to the park including new paths, lighting, entrances and furniture
• Play – such as a new play area and facilities for children
• Sustainability – creating habitats for wildlife and connecting them to other city areas and using sustainable low/zero carbon heating and power generation.

The masterplan also formed the basis of a Levelling Fund bid that the Thriving Green Spaces team have submitted to the UK Government. A result on the bid is expected this autumn and if successful it will enable the project to proceed immediately to the next stage, detailed design followed by a planning application.

Culture and Communities convener, Councillor Val Walker, said: “Inch Park is a popular park in the capital and has lots of potential. The proposed masterplan suggests some very exciting ideas and I very much look forward to hearing the feedback. Of course, masterplans give us a vision – but what will actually be possible depends on local support and on funding. Which is why we want to make sure it has everything users and visitors to the park need and we have an accurate account of what residents want to see there.

“The responses we receive will help further develop our masterplan, which funding and resource permitting will form the basis for improvements to Inch Park. I’d urge as many local residents as possible to have their say in this consultation so we can develop a truly community-based proposal.”

Master planning gives an overall broad plan for an area and is an aspiration. Whether or not it is delivered in full depends on many things, including funding and resource and checking if the ideas are feasible.

The consultation will close on 28 September.