Residents express ‘guarded interest’ in Portobello pound

RESIDENTS have expressed “guarded interest” in a Portobello pound after a group of design students visited the seaside suburb to canvass opinion on the idea.

The students visited schools and businesses as part of a consultation process during Edinburgh University’s Innovative Learning Week.

The exercise follows the proposal in December to introduce a new currency in Portobello as a way of encouraging people to spend locally.

If the project is a success, new currencies – only valid in certain areas – could be rolled out across the Capital.

Juliette MacDonald, associate head of the school of design at Edinburgh College of Art, said: “The aim of this exercise was to engage the community in the process of thinking about the project in a more focused way.

“We found there was guarded interest – people liked the idea but really wanted a bit more information before coming to a conclusion.”