Treble chance

As the City of Edinburgh Council and other local authorities in south-east Scotland finalise their strategic plans and housing allocations, is it time to consider the potential benefits of a tri-city in Scotland? Poland’s cities of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot work together as a “tri-city” to ensure interlinked public transport, planning and promotion of the area.

With Dunfermline and Livingston located very close to Edinburgh, is it time that we considered a similar model?

The construction of a range of new transport projects, including the new Queensferry Crossing, the Airdrie-Bathgate rail line and the potential for Edinburgh’s tram route to be elongated perhaps brings closer to a reality than before the opportunity for an integrated transport scheme across the Lothians.

The major transport hubs of the airport, port and motorway network, along with many key education centres, lie at the crossroads of the three communities as a shared resource.

With some co-ordinated planning, more could be done to ensure that the three “cities” could work to the benefit of one another and co-ordinate planning.

Livingston and Dunfermline often lie in the shadow of Edinburgh, but these need to be vibrant centres in their own right, sharing the facilities often associated with Edinburgh.

Ross Laird

Kirkhill Road

Edinburgh