Making Places
From the early days of the community’s Open Space event, we knew that one of the local priorities was Improving Community Facilities and unused land. There was lots of discussion about the Westside Plaza- that it was underused, unwelcoming and felt unsafe. Yet it is the main transport hub for Wester Hailes, the main shopping area, and the place where important local amenities are located. The Trust decided to apply to Scottish Government’s Making Places programme for funding to support a community led plan for the Plaza, to design a civic square for Wester Hailes. We were successful with our application and are now working with HarrisonStevens Landscape Architects. We want this process to give the community a voice for when decisions are being made about the future layout of the Plaza. HarrisonStevens and the Trust will work closely with the local community and stakeholders to understand how the Plaza is currently used, what the community thinks of the quality of the Plaza and to collect thoughts and ideas on how to develop Westside Plaza Civic Square to encourage greater use.
Getting Involved
There are different ways to make sure your views and ideas are included in the community plan for the Plaza.
Community Day
There is a Community Day being held on Thursday 14th June at the Plaza from 11AM to 7PM. The community’s views are important and we want to make sure everyone who uses this public space has a chance to have their say. You can drop in at any time and share your ideas in lots of different ways. We need your input on how you use the space now and ideas for what you would like to see there in the future. You can drop in at any time to share your views and to find out what other people are saying.
Place Standard
We are using the Place Standard as one of the ways to collect people’s views about the Plaza. The Place Standard uses a series of questions to enable you to share your views about the physical elements of a place (for example its buildings and transport links) as well as the social aspects such as feeling safe. You can complete the Place Standard using this link.
