A FORMER Tory councillor has lashed out at her old party and the SNP, accusing them of backing developers over local communities.

Ashley Graczyk, who now sits as an independent for Sighthill-Gorgie, voiced concern at the number of student accommodation developments in the Capital and the need for more affordable housing.

Writing on the Commonspace website, she said four student development proposals in Gorgie/Dalry totalled 675 beds. “Meanwhile, the total planning proposals for affordable housing for the whole of Sighthill-Gorgie ward this year is zero, nada, nil. Edinburgh has a housing crisis because developers are not interested in providing the housing the city really needs because they are driven by profit margins, not public service. And so many available homes are being converted for short term let use.”

And she lamented the way the SNP and Conservatives had blocked amendments by Lothian Green MSP Andy Wightman to the recent planning bill at Holyrood to give communities more say.

She wrote: “Instead of protecting the public’s interest and being motivated by public service, the SNP and Tories MSPs have voted to prioritise centralisation and the needs of short term let lobbyists, developers and landowners at the expense of local communities.

“Tenants are in desperate need of being represented by politicians motivated by public service instead of pandering to the corporate elites.”

Published in Edinburgh News | 29th August 2019