The Union Canal

The Union Canal is a lovely waterway passing through Edinburgh. It is a real haven for wildlife, swans, mallards and moorhens nest along it and we've seen kingfishers there. (You can read more about the wildlife that we've seen along the canal here).

The City of Edinburgh Council is currently carrying out a consulation into a future strategy for the Canal. The strategy does seem to place a high importance on the wildlife and natural environment of the canal. It suggests that future developments alongside the canal should be environmentally friendly - they suggest green roofs and sustainable drainage systems, plus I have noticed that house martins and swallows seem to be nesting in some of the new houses that were recently built along the canal. However there is always a concern that development can take precedence over the environment, and personally I would be concerned that too much investment in visitor and community facilities, even if they do have green roofs, could, if not careful, have a detrimental impact on the wildlife of the canal.

So I have responded to the council's consultation document and you can too at this link. The more people who express their feelings about the importance of the canal as a wildlife habitat, then the more likely the council is to honour its good intentions about respecting the environment.