Scottish Greens call for public access to Edinburgh’s private gardens
This morning councillors in Edinburgh will be asked to vote on Scottish Greens plans to open up some of the city’s large private shared gardens for public use.
Scottish Greens Councillor Dan Heap has lodged a motion to the city’s Culture and Communities Committee to ask Council officials to report on a scheme for private gardens to be opened-up voluntarily for public access.
The party are suggesting owners associations could be supported with Council offers of help with any increased maintenance, cleaning and insurance requirements.
Data from the Scottish Household Survey shows that adults from the most deprived fifth of Scotland are 13% less likely to have access to green or blue spaces, and 20% less likely to visit such spaces.
Scottish Greens communities spokesperson, Cllr Dan Heap said:
“The health benefits of green areas is clear, yet some people in our city don’t have good access to gardens or parks.
“At the same time, large greenspaces such as those on Queen Street are closed to the public.
“They are unhelpfully called gardens, but are comparable to public parks in terms of their size. Queen Street Gardens, for example, is almost 20 acres.
“We are suggesting the Council explore with owners where these might be opened up to public use.
“This is by no means an experimental idea. St Andrew’s square is a private garden, but the public have rightly had access to it since 2008.”
Scottish Greens MSP for Edinburgh Central Lorna Slater added:
“The people living and working in built up areas across Edinburgh deserve to be able to spend time in green spaces, but the very nature of city life means that some people don’t have their own garden to enjoy.
“These green spaces could be transformative if we allow public access. It is an opportunity to let people spend more time in nature, and I am delighted that Green councillors are bringing this proposal.”