The buck now stops with new council chief Paul Lawrence
Having built a team of ‘active travel’ activists around him, he has had a free rein
The more things change, the more they stay the same? I’m not holding my breath after the replacement of one Nicola Sturgeon continuity first minister by another, as John Swinney takes over from Humza Yousaf with the tacit support of the Green Party in the Holyrood hokey-cokey.
But if expectations of a new approach from the SNP-run Scottish Government are low, will Edinburgh residents notice much difference from the change at the top of Edinburgh Council?
Due to be ratified at today’s full council meeting, chief executive Andrew Kerr’s overlong goodbye after nine years in charge ends on June 14, when he will be replaced by the current director of place Paul Lawrence, selected from a shortlist which I understand was less competitive than suggested by political leader Cammy Day.
The announcement was itself indicative of the tone Mr Kerr has set during his tenure, with councillors finding out from a press release issued before they had been officially informed. But disdain for elected members should be no surprise.
Only Mr Kerr knows why he hung on beyond the 2022 election, and although new leadership has been long overdue, can an internal candidate deliver the positive change residents will notice and welcome?
Mr Lawrence has rarely been far from controversy, be it problems with planning permission and ongoing issues with contracts for Edinburgh’s Christmas, wrangles with developers, or the row over the letter of support for the Forth Green Freeport which hadn’t been approved by councillors.
It might be stretching it to say he has played fast and loose with due process, and he’d certainly dispute that, but he can’t be accused of not wanting to get things done.
Having built a team of “active travel” activists around him, he has had a free rein to push forward the council’s aggressive anti-car agenda, with the extensive programme of bike lane construction, the city centre transformation plans, and low traffic neighbourhood road closures all tracking back to his desk. No-one should expect the brakes to be applied.
To borrow a phrase, Edinburgh’s development is at a crossroads, particularly the expansion to the west, and Mr Lawrence’s relationships with the different, often competing, parties will be crucial in unlocking the new district’s vast potential.
When his relationships work, they work very well, such as that with Edinburgh Park developer Parabola. But it’s no secret he has his detractors and disputes have often got in the way, such as those at West Craigs and Granton Harbour.
With more of the former and less of the latter he has the opportunity to put his stamp on the most significant additions to the city since before the war and make a huge contribution to the both the national and local economy.
The buck now stops with him, and with it the whole kit and caboodle of running a big city administration − not just transport, planning and development − and one with well-documented issues in social care and a maxed-out school estate facing an exodus from the private sector.
Therefore, how he fills his present role – if he goes for a like-forlike replacement – will be key.
Unlike Mr Kerr, he has the charm to provide real leadership and I know there are some big concerns who will welcome his appointment.
But they will expect a lot more than politically correct platitudes.