Astley Ainslie – Next Steps

Astley Ainslie celebrated its centenary in 2023. Then 2024 launched decisions and further work which will radically change its future. The Edinburgh City Plan 2030 published in November includes the building of 500 houses and flats on the AAH Site. The Council in City Plan 2030 states that the Local Place Plan will influence their preparation of a Place Brief for the AA Site. This is an excellent opportunity for people and organisations to feed in their views.

Organisations have also been invited to draft  Local Place Plans (LPP) which will contribute to the City of Edinburgh Council’s City Plan 2040. Morningside Community Council (MCC) is now in the development stages for its plan and the Astley Ainslie Community Trust (AACT) has started also on an LLP. The two bodies will work together and involve other bodies such as the Astley Ainslie Community Engagement Group (AACEG) and the Grange Association. AACEG did an earlier Place Brief in 2019.

MCC are planning to do a survey for Morningside residents to influence its LPP. AACT will plan an oral history project which would collect spoken memories from people with connections to the Astley Ainslie Hospital over the years.

Professor Caroline Hiscox, Chief Executive of NHS Lothian writes “… our commitment to move services from the AAH site and ultimately dispose of, at least, the majority of this land.” The NHS reaffirmed its statuary commitment to fully engage with local communities. She writes that “there will be some coming and going from the site over the next five years or so”.   For example the Hermitage Medical Practice will be moving to the Astley Ainslie in early 2025. The NHS Greenspace charity has appointed a ranger who met the AACT members in November.

The Astley Ainslie Community Trust was formed in 2018 when sale appeared imminent. The Trust has been reinvigorating activity since, obtaining charity status and new Trustees. AACT seek to talk more with Development Trusts, Housing Association, City Planners and other potential users of the site. In the short term, AACT is focussed on making best use of the site for community spaces and community benefit.

The City Council asked local communities for Local Place Plans until August 2025. LPPs are a relatively new concept for Community groups to influence planning.   AACT considered that a LPP would benefit from input from a large range of organisations including the Cockburn Association. An example of the breadth of interest is the Trinity Network, a growing group of academics and varied interest bodies who are studying the stones from the former Trinity Church.   AACT have contacted 40 different stakeholders. It believes also it would be also be important to engage with potential anchor organisations.

Planning permission will be granted for development within the boundary of Astley Ainslie.The Council will prepare a Place Brief for the site. It will establish high level principles to inform future master planning and design processes. Local communities and key stakeholders will be consulted through the development of the Place Brief. Once approved the Place Brief will become non-statutory planning guidance. Proposals will also be assessed against local plan policies, for example on matters such as design, accessibility, landscaping and biodiversity.

Astley Ainslie Development Principles will  require a housing-led mixed-use development, which respects the mature landscape setting of the site, whilst also creating a sustainable place, and retaining its special character, through the provision of new connections, open spaces and other community infrastructure. The design should also preserve the listed buildings and their setting and reservation in situ of the sites of the 16th/17th century St Rogues Chapel and associated plague settlement and graveyard, with architectural fragments from the demolition of Trinity Church retained and conserved.

In Edinburgh there is a strong presumption in favour of retaining listed buildings with full consideration of the different approaches and options for reuse, adaptation and extension required before considering the case for demolition.  Applications to demolish listed buildings will be refused unless their loss has been fully considered and justified.

The Council’s existing policies would protect  the mature landscape setting of the site including its green and open space as well as its many high quality trees. The whole Astley Ainslie site is covered by a TPO.  It was originally five large villas with their gardens and a nine-hole ladies’ golf course. The trees and planting have been retained, together with much of the stone boundary walls. There are areas of historic interest on the site, including the site of the Chapel of St Roque which cared for patients with bubonic plague in the 16^th century. Four of the five villas survive.

The Council has made a Tree Preservation Order (TPO 147) which includes about 1,600 trees within the hospital grounds. This constitutes the most extensive and complete Victorian urban treescape left in South Edinburgh.

Guest Blog: Matthew Nicholas, Chair of AACEG