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Currie Greenspaces

Here’s a concise rundown of what Currie Greenspaces (a sub-group of Currie Community Council) have done:

  • Set up a dedicated greenspace subcommittee after meeting the Council’s Thriving Green Spaces team, to co-design local improvements with residents and councillors. (edinburghoutdoors.org.uk)
  • Mapped local sites and priorities (paths, habitat areas, access) and worked with council gardeners on winter bulb-planting to kick-start visible change. (edinburghoutdoors.org.uk)
  • Agreed on a site-specific maintenance plan for key verges/greens, including:
    • Verge cuts every two weeks at the patch between Curriehill Castle Drive and Currievale Drive
    • Open amenity areas kept to ~4 inches
    • Wildflower/meadow zones are cleared every ~12 weeks after die-back
      These commitments were secured via a 25-page community action plan and petition. (Edinburgh News)
  • Trialled mixed cutting and planting regimes to balance tidy access with biodiversity, with on-site walk-throughs involving the Council officer and local MSP to review progress. (edinburghoutdoors.org.uk)
  • Worked under the citywide Thriving Green Spaces / Edinburgh Living Landscape framework, linking community effort with council policy and resources. (Thriving Greenspaces)

Here are the specific Currie sites/actions I can evidence, with the exact regimes agreed:

  • Greenspace between Curriehill Castle Drive and Currievale Drive
    • Verges: cut every 2 weeks
    • Open amenity areas: maintained to ~4 inches
    • Wildflower/meadow areas: cleared every ~12 weeks after die-back
      Agreed following a Currie Greenspaces petition and 25-page action plan; confirmed by Sue Webber MSP’s update and Edinburgh Evening News column. Sue Webber+1
  • Currie “main greenspace” (as discussed with the Council’s Thriving Green Spaces team)
    • Winter bulb planting by Council gardeners to kick-start seasonal colour.
    • Mixed cutting approach in spring/summer balancing access and biodiversity (short-cut paths/amenity with longer meadow areas).
    • On-site walk-through in June with Currie Community Council and MSP to review the cutting/planting schemes. edinburghoutdoors.org.uk

Context: This work sits under Thriving Green Spaces / Our Nature Estate and the Edinburgh Living Landscape framework (city policy for relaxed mowing, meadow creation, and connected habitats).

Council Announcement

Last October 2024, Stephen MacGregor from the Council’s Thriving Green Spaces team attended a meeting of the Currie Community Council to introduce the Living Landscape / Our Nature Estate programme.

The meeting, attended by local councillors and residents, provided a valuable opportunity to discuss ideas on how the green space could be enhanced — benefiting the local community while helping biodiversity to thrive.

Following that meeting, a dedicated subcommittee of the community council was formed to focus specifically on their greenspace. Working together, they produced detailed maps of the area and explored how it could meet the needs of local people while creating habitats for wildlife. Over the winter months, the Council’s gardening teams carried out bulb planting to improve the area, alongside ongoing discussions on future management.

This included public consultation. “The Currie Green Spaces team are holding two more meetings to discuss local ideas and thoughts about the grass cutting and care of the green spaces between Currie and Balerno.If you would like to share your thoughts, please come along.”

See references below on what they did

https://www.edinburghoutdoors.org.uk/news/article/9/working-together-for-a-greener-currie

Currie Green Spaces – Sub group of Currie Community Council Meeting 9th April 2025 at 6.30pm Currie Library