In a statement, he said: "We have been instructed by the Scottish Government to release more land for housing development in Edinburgh. We will be consulting with local communities to help us to decide how we can achieve this. Some of the additional housing land will be found in surrounding local authorities and I am grateful to my colleagues in these areas for working with us.
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"We are all agreed that we need to build new houses. However, I have concerns that while the Government's requirements will increase the housing land supply, not enough emphasis is being given to the needs of existing communities and protecting Edinburgh's green spaces.
"While the present process of strategic planning for our area is an improvement on how it was done previously, it does not allow for flexibility to allow us to plan development in the longer term while being able to reflect market conditions and local circumstances.
"I will be meeting Derek Mackay, the Scottish Government minister responsible for planning, as well as house builders to discuss how a long term vision for the growth of the city can be achieved. I want a vision that not only satisfies our housing requirement but reflects our unique characteristics, the needs of our diverse communities and the importance of our green spaces."
(JP/MH)
