Southside, Edinburgh


The Southside is an area of Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh, located between its historic Old Town, Holyrood Park and the neighbourhood of Newington. The Southside housed much of Edinburgh's working class through the 150 years from 1800 to the early 1960s before planning decisions led to large-scale demolition to accommodate the expansion of the university and creation of new road systems, and resulted in the movement of families to public housing in new estates on the outskirts of the city. Demolition was halted due to changes in planning ideology which promoted redevelopment in its place.
In 1975 the Southside was designated by the City of [Edinburgh Council] as a conservation area, and in 1995 part of the Southside was included in the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Old Town.

Geography

The north boundary is Holyrood Road and the eastern boundary is largely Holyrood Park. The longer western boundary extends from George IV Bridge, through Forrest Road and Middle Meadow Walk, south through George Square, Buccleuch Street, Hope Park Crescent and Causewayside. The southern boundary extends east from Causewayside through Salisbury Place, Salisbury Road and Holyrood Park Road; to Holyrood Park, encompassing St Leonard's. The Southside Community Council boundaries align closely with the City of Edinburgh Council Southside Conservation Area.

History

Edinburgh was created as a royal burgh in 1124. The Old Town of Edinburgh began as a collection of dwellings that developed along the Royal Mile. At this time, south of the Canongate was not significantly populated. City Walls were built following the defeat of the Scots army at Flodden in 1513. Changes in the need to live within the town wall of Edinburgh, in order to trade, were lifted in 1752 in order to permit the building of the New Town to the north of the established city and this encouraged growth south of the Royal Mile. There were already a small number of small rural properties along these routes but unlike the north, where streets were formally planned, on the south this happened on an ad hoc basis, centred on existing roads leading out of the city to neighbouring towns such as Dalkeith and Peebles.
In 1766, the first planned housing development was George Square; terraced houses with private gardens. Further development included the New Town and construction of the South Bridge, improving connection to the Southside. In 1836 the opening of George IV Bridge increased commercial links with the Royal Mile and the New Town.
In Victorian Edinburgh, industrial growth attracted rural Irish and European immigrants. Housing, industry, education, worship and recreation were in close proximity. Consequently, high density tenement housing such as the Dumbiedykes and St. Leonard's were constructed. These were multiple flats in a single building, housing large, multi-generational families, and later destined to be condemned as slums.

20th century redevelopment

By the end of World War I, the Southside of Edinburgh housing was described as having "the worst slums in Edinburgh".
It was a neighbourhood of industry, housing, shops and local businesses. Tenements were in a poor state, not maintained by their landlords, lacking sanitation and overcrowded. The UK Government, the Scottish Office and Edinburgh Corporation produced legislation to address this housing crisis; defining the minimum habitable standard, increasing the housing stock and clearing slums.
From the 1920s to 1970s, multiple factors influenced Edinburgh city planning and specifically for the Southside.
Throughout this period, demolition was the preferred method of redeveloping neighbourhoods, and thousands of families were displaced mostly to new Corporation built housing on the periphery of the city. This heavily impacted long-standing communities with a loss of local heritage.
Between 1950 and 1973, the Edinburgh Corporation closed or demolished 16,556 homes and displaced 35,237 individuals.
The 1972 Town and Country Act introduced Local Plans and the mandatory involvement of residents. This gave residents the opportunity to preserve the cultural identity of their neighbourhoods, an example was the Southside Association's influence in the reversal of the decision to demolish Nicolson Street.
Some of these proposals were realised, such as improved housing, the expansion of the University of Edinburgh, before planning policies changed to prioritise rehabilitation, protection of existing buildings and conservation. Others were abandoned, such as the Eastern Link Road, but only after delays and demolition and dispersal of families to facilitate the proposals had occurred.

Notable buildings in the Southside

The Southside has examples of Georgian and Victorian architecture and structures from the last 300 years. Although many historic buildings were demolished in the 20th century, streets and public buildings remain which are a record of the Southside as an industrial area and cultural district. The designation of the Southside in 1975 as a conservation area ensured that a significant element of these historic buildings were protected.