Edinburgh Council refuses to open up private gardens
Scottish Greens Councillor Dan Heap had brought a motion to the council’s Culture and Communities Committee asking officials to report on a voluntary scheme that could allow some large private shared gardens to be opened to the public.
The Greens had proposed that owners’ associations could be supported by the Council with help around any increased maintenance, cleaning and insurance requirements.
The party says the proposal could have helped tackle unequal access to green space in Edinburgh, particularly for people living in tenements, flats and built-up areas without gardens of their own.
Scottish Greens communities spokesperson, Cllr Dan Heap, said:
“Today was a missed opportunity for Edinburgh. Our proposal was modest, practical and rooted in common-sense.
“We were not asking the Council to force gardens open. We were asking officials to explore how a voluntary scheme could work, with proper support for owners around maintenance, cleaning and insurance.
“St Andrew Square is a private garden, but the public have rightly had access to it since 2008. It shows that this kind of approach can work, and it is disappointing that councillors have chosen not to even explore it.
“Edinburgh should be a city that works for everyone, not just those wealthy enough to live beside park-sized private gardens. Greens will keep working for a fairer city where access to nature is based on need, not property wealth.”
Scottish Greens MSP for Edinburgh Central, Lorna Slater, said:
“Everyone in Edinburgh should be able to access nature and enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits that come with it, whether or not they have a garden of their own.
“As an Edinburgh MSP, I know how precious our city’s green spaces are. Opening up more of them, even on a limited and voluntary basis, would make a real difference for people living and working in built-up communities.
“While Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems have chosen to protect exclusive access for some of Edinburgh’s wealthiest residents, rather than even explore a modest proposal to share more of the city’s green space, the Scottish Greens will keep working for a city that works for everyone, not just those with the wealth to live beside park-sized private gardens.”