RESIDENTS of Morningside and The Grange have given their views on what should happen to the Astley Ainslie Hospital, which will soon be vacated by NHS Lothian.
The Astley Ainslie Community Trust (AACT) have put together a Community Aspirations Report, which sets out the ambitions of locals for the site and will inform the Statutory Local Place Plan (LPP).
Over 320 people attended a meeting in person in September, and over 110 additional people completed the online survey, giving their views on the hospital, which the community sees as vitally important.
Suggestions for what to do with the area included using it as a community hub without commercial application, a co-working, arts and enterprise space, a hub for walking paths and cycle lanes, but fears were expressed about the City of Edinburgh Council’s plans for 500 new homes in the area.
The Astley Ainslie Hospital was first opened as a hospital in 1923, when its namesake, David Ainslie, left £800,000 for the purpose of installing a hospital for convalescents in Edinburgh.
The hospital was eventually opened in 1923 after the purchase of three neighbouring buildings.
Pavilions and a nurses’ home were added to the facility in 1929 and 1930, and the facility joined the NHS in 1948.
It has been in use as a hospital its entire existence, but NHS Lothian announced plans to vacate the facility in 2019.
The date of the NHS’s departure has been continually pushed back and has still not been confirmed.
Community groups such as the AACT have been hard at work figuring out a future use for the site however, working with the council and NHS Lothian to plan with the views of locals in mind.
In 2019, new planning legislation empowered community groups like AACT to prepare LPPs for certain projects and sites – the City of Edinburgh Council now has a statutory duty to listen to incorporate its LPPs into its considerations.
However, in 2024, the council adopted the City Plan 2024, which, while it adopted many of the recommendations on AACT, included a stipulation that 500 new homes be built on site, 35% of which must be “affordable”.
This has caused anxiety among community members, who fear that housing in the iconic listed building will threaten the beauty of its famous greenery and restrict public access.
During the community event, many expressed hopes that this housing will be genuinely affordable and will include provision for social housing, which many say is lacking in the affluent area.
Residents of Morningside and The Grage still hope, however, that AACT, with its new statutory powers, can see the site put to productive community usage.
AACT has been approached for comment.
