Over 3,000 local residents have now signed my Build Better Places petition, making clear that enough is enough, and that people should not be forced to live in the middle of unfinished building sites, with roads, pavements, play parks, and essential infrastructure left incomplete for years.

I’ve been working closely with Councillor James Dalgleish, who chairs the Council’s Planning Committee, to press for action. I’m pleased that James has now lodged a formal motion to the Committee that seeks to hold developers to account and deliver improvements. His motion rightly recognises the frustration and disruption so many residents are facing and pushes the Council to take a firmer approach, including exploring stronger enforcement powers against developers not fulfilling their responsibilities.

However, while the Council is stepping up, thanks in no small part to the pressure we have applied, more needs to be done. I will continue to pressure the Scottish Government to give councils the powers, resources, and backing they need to properly enforce developer obligations. They have let developers get away with walking off-site and leaving residents in the lurch for too long.

In the past few months, I have been working on issues like this across the constituency, including speeding and parking in Heritage Grange, unfinished roads in West Edge Meadows, and the lack of pavement along Gilmerton Station Road, which I am pleased to report that the developer has now promised to rectify.

However, local communities should not have to campaign just to get the roads, pavements, and infrastructure they were promised when they bought their homes. It shouldn’t take petitions, motions, and years of frustration to get basic roads and pavements finished.

I will continue to work with Councillor Dalgleish, the Council, your MSP Daniel Johnson, and residents like you to keep the pressure up — on developers and the Scottish Government alike to deliver improvements.

I’ll keep you updated as the Council’s motion progresses and further information becomes available. In the meantime, if you are affected by unfinished infrastructure in your development and haven’t already been in touch, please do so. Your experiences are helping me make the case for change.