The new scheme is expected to cost just under £20 million – down from almost £35 million under the previous design – and will now move into the next stage after backing from the city’s Transport and Environment Committee.

While the budget has been cut, the council says the core vision for George Street remains the same.

The aim is to create a safer, greener and more accessible street with far less space given over to traffic and more room for people to walk, wheel, cycle and spend time in the city centre.

Published council images show a different look for George Street with wider pavements, new seating areas, planting and clearer crossing points are all part of the plan, while the street is intended to feel more open and less dominated by parked cars and moving vehicles.

The redesign is also intended to plug the gap in Edinburgh’s cross-city City Centre West to East Link, giving cyclists a more direct route through the city centre.

The council’s wider ambition is for George Street to become largely car-free, while still allowing essential access and retaining blue badge parking.

Under the proposals, general parking on George Street would go, with space instead given over to walking and wheeling routes, landscaped areas and a cycling corridor through the middle of the street.

The council has also said improved crossing points and reduced traffic levels should make the street easier to navigate.

To bring the cost down, the council has opted to replace natural stone setts on the road surface with asphalt, cut back on excavation and make changes to the access control system.

One point of debate had been whether trees would remain part of the project. Councillors voted to retain them, meaning the revised scheme will still include trees on the street despite the pressure to trim costs.

City of Edinburgh Council transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said the goal was to create a city centre that is safer, more welcoming and easier to move around while protecting the area’s heritage.

George Street and the surrounding First New Town form part of Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has made the design process more sensitive and more complex than a standard road project.

The council has repeatedly said it wants to modernise the street without losing the character that makes it one of the city’s most distinctive addresses.

The George Street project sits within a wider package of city centre improvements.

Visitor Levy funding has been allocated not only to George Street, but also to Princes Street and Market Street/East Market Street. 

Construction is currently programmed for late 2027 or early 2028, although that remains subject to statutory approvals, permissions and final decisions by councillors.