+ What is AACT and whom are you representing?

We are an unincorporated constituted association, carrying out a community consultation to produce a community vision for the Astley Ainslie grounds and buildings. This may ultimately result in community ownership of some or all of the Astley Ainslie site. We have already been through a large community consultation over 3 weeks in March 2019 which has been endorsed by Edinburgh City Council. We have also contracted Oliver Chapman Architects to produce a Feasibility Study and Business Plan for the site.

We are representing local people living in postcode areas EH9 1, 2 and 3 and EH10 4, 5 and 6. These fall within the 4 Community Council (CC) areas surrounding the Astley Ainslie site. They are: Marchmont and Sciennes CC, Morningside CC, Merchiston CC and Grange and Prestonfield CC. Individuals and organisations outside this area can be associates, supporters, and potential partners.

+ What is AACT's aim?

Our aim or purpose is to retain and enhance the Astley Ainslie as a greenspace for the benefit of all. We will do this by being inclusive and welcoming, democratic and consensus led, accountable, transparent, and responsive.

+ What does AACT do?

We are campaigning for community ownership of the Astley Ainslie site. We are providing a forum for all those who wish to engage, and we are actively encouraging local community involvement. We are building an inclusive and sustainable model of community ownership for the benefit of the people of Edinburgh.

+ What is the difference between AACT and Astley Ainslie Community Engagement Group (CEG)?

AACT and CEG are working together to coordinate community input, with different areas of focus. The CEG is a statutory body that comprises representatives from Morningside CC, Merchiston CC, Grange and Prestonfield CC, Marchmont and Sciennes CC and the Grange Association and is working with NHS Lothian and the City of Edinburgh Council to develop a Place Brief for the site, providing guidelines for how the site can be developed.

AACT would like to take advantage of the Community Empowerment Act (Scotland) 2015 to own land on the Astley Ainslie site for the benefit of the community. We are working to have the community vision incorporated into the Place Brief.

+ How has the Covid pandemic influenced your thinking about the future of the site?

Community, greenspace and health and wellbeing mean more to people since the pandemic. The importance of places such as the Astley Ainslie have been more recognised. We will be considering the post-Covid future as part of our vision and community engagement.

+ How big is the site?

The site, in Edinburgh South, is around 50 acres. The grounds include an archaeological site (the chapel and cemetery of St Roque), some of the buildings are listed, and the site has between 1000 and 2000 trees, many of which are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs). There are public rights of way across the site.

+ Is it different to other community land purchases in Scotland?

Yes, in scale, value and urban location. The Astley Ainslie is a large urban property with lots of green space and a potential high commercial development value. This should not prevent the community aspiring to hold and manage land and buildings as a resource for continued public benefit.

Before 1 February 1993 it was unheard of for communities to own and manage land in Scotland. Since that date, when the Assynt Crofters bought 21,000 acres of land, some 500,000 acres (half a million) have come into community ownership in Scotland. The Scottish Government has a target of 1 million acres in community ownership.

+ The NHS is short of doctors/nurses/available wards/intensive care beds for Covid patients/money. If they don't get the money by selling this site, where else will they get it from?

We plan to buy the site so the NHS will receive a substantial amount of money for the site. However, we must remember that the ongoing health value of the site needs to be taken into consideration and this far exceeds any capital valuation, a really important point to stress particularly during a global health crisis.

The destruction of the site as green land, which provides us with major benefits such as clean air and space to move freely without anxiety, would add substantially to the NHS burden from such problems as asthma, loneliness, depression and obesity. By careful management of this natural resource we would aim to increase that benefit to our city’s health.

We also intend to support the NHS by partnering with their health and wellbeing activities on the new site.

+ Isn’t the site worth an awful lot of money and well beyond community reach?

We do not yet know the valuation of the site by the NHS. However, the community will not be acting alone. We will work with private donors, charitable foundations and trusts, social developers, housing associations, local businesses and healthcare providers.

+ What is the difference between the community profiting from a public asset and a private company doing the same?

Any money made from a community sale or development MUST be reinvested in the local community. Public benefits arising from community-led commercial activities will be greater than would be the case with a private developer looking to maximise profit (which often leaves the community and even the country). Community ownership is likely to result in a more diverse range of infrastructure, activities and developments on the site than would be the case with a housing developer.

+ Does the Community have to pay full market price?

Not necessarily. The NHS is responsible for public health. The value of the land is not simply monetary; it lies in its importance as a natural resource and as a source for public health - the health of the city as a whole, as well as the health of the convalescents. This consideration will affect the NHS decision-making process.

The community does need to demonstrate quantifiable and measurable public benefits arising from community ownership.

+ What will happen to the money from the sale of the site?

We have been informed by NHS that proceeds from the sale of the Astley Ainslie Hospital will re-main within the NHS Lothian capital budget. Capital investment at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital has been made in the initial, operational phase, and will continue for future phases, currently at the outline business case stage.

+ Does AACT have the authority to go ahead with the ownership of the Astley Ainslie?

Our community consultation exercise involved more than 400 participants. Both the NHS and Edinburgh City Council are using the results of that community consultation, which is very much an endorsement of the process we went through and the output that was generated.

We are constantly engaging with the local community to ensure that AACT listens to the views of all local residents. We are increasing our membership, which with a token cost of £1 to join has very low barriers to membership.

+ How can the NHS sell property that was gifted through a bequest?

The NHS has sold properties, which were gifted or supported through bequests - the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the Deaconess Hospital being recent examples. The David Ainslie Bequest intended the site for health and wellbeing. Whatever the legal status, we intend to honour that intent.

+ Could the Astley Ainslie be sold to a housing developer?

Without community intervention, it is likely that the Astley Ainslie site would be sold to a housing developer, in the same way as the Sick Kids Hospital in Sciennes. However, if an Asset Transfer Request (ATR) is lodged by a community group with the NHS, they must deal with the Request in the first instance.

+ We need more housing in Edinburgh, so surely selling this site to a developer to maximize its utility is the correct answer?

Recent developments in the local area have shown that developers are unable to provide much needed affordable housing. Their priority is money. No developer will prioritise the natural landscape. We know the utility of the site is far more than its simple land value for housing – this includes its contributions to mental and physical health and to biodiversity among others. We plan to include a larger proportion of affordable and social housing than commercial development.

+ Could the Astley Ainslie Community Trust just end up looking just like any other urban development such as Craighouse?

No. The community consultation and subsequent vision clearly indicated that the community wants more than a conventional, profit-driven urban development. The AACT is community-led and exists to make that vision a reality.

+ Has AACT got the right people to run a community transfer?

AACT is made up of a wide variety of talents, including people who were members of the community bid for the Sick Kids, Royal High School and other successful community transfers outside of Edinburgh. We've got the right team drawing on the professional expertise in the local area, and the drive and determination to deliver a community vision. We are continually recruiting new talents to the team.

+ How is AACT going to organise to run the site in an economically viable way?

We are only going to acquire the site with a viable business plan (hence the Feasibility Study). We are rigorously following the roadmap to asset transfer to ensure that we have a viable long-term asset. The Feasibility Study is an essential part of that. Our experience so far is that there is a groundswell of interest in donating time and effort into the site.

+ What are the next stages of the consultation?

The Feasibility Study will be published in early 2021 and will be used as the basis for further community consultation. We would hope to be able to do that in person, but that will depend on the current public health situation.

+ If the NHS isn’t going to leave until 2025, what's the rush?

The NHS will want to have a sale agreed before then. They want to start marketing the site soon. Any Asset Transfer Request (ATR) needs to be submitted before marketing commences; otherwise it is invalid. There is a lot of work still to do to pull a robust ATR together, which is why AACT is doing this work now.