Other budget decisions

CITY CLEAN-UP

A sum of £892,000 has been earmarked to help clean up Edinburgh's streets through a new programme, proposed by the Conservatives, called “Scrub our Streets”. It would allow residents to request the cleaning of their street.

The Tories said: "Such a programme will encourage residents to engage with the council in requesting the spending of resources, while at the same time providing the council with a greater awareness of the underlying cleansing problem in the city."

PUBLIC TOILETS

New permanent, inclusive and accessible public toilets are to be built in three key city parks – Leith Links, the Meadows and Inverleith Park. The council says the intention is that they should be in place by summer 2024.

And there’s also a proposal being worked on to provide new permanent accessible toilets in Portobello. There are already two permanent public toilets in Portobello – at Pipe Lane and Bath Street – but last year locals reported people relieving themselves in alleyways and gardens in the area.

BUSKING

The budget also included £50,000 for enforcement and signage to tackle the problem of "nuisance" buskers and amplified sound.

In October councillors agreed to push for powers to move buskers along and crack down on amplified music. They said busking was an essential part of the Capital's cultural fabric, but that many living and working near "hotspots" often became frustrated with people "playing Wonderwall on repeat".

Lib Dem finance spokesman Neil Ross, who proposed the extra cash, said he hoped the latest move would mean that "buskers can reach the people who want to listen and not people who don't".