Edinburgh councillors vote to freeze council tax

The council budget for the year ahead for Edinburgh has been set

Edinburgh councillors have voted to freeze council tax, increase spending on filling potholes and shelve school cuts as they agreed the authority's £1.3bn budget for the year ahead.

Plans passed by the Labour administration, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives also included a 7% rent rise for council tenants.

There will be a 22% hike in city centre parking charges.

The motion was agreed with "support from the majority of the chamber".

The deepest cuts proposed to services - including more than £8m to schools and £3.2m to leisure facilities - were avoided this year through "one-off" funding, reduced pension contributions and dipping into cash reserves.

The budget also included:

• A £12.5m boost for roads, pavements and lighting each year for the next three years

• An additional £2.25m over the same period for flood prevention

• A total of £750,000 to build new public toilets in Leith Links, the Meadows and Inverleith Park.

• And £50,000 has been set aside to fund a "night tsar" to represent the interests of the capital's night-time economy.

A Lib Dem amendment secured an additional £2m for schools and £500,000 over two years to plant more trees.

Meanwhile a Conservative amendment for £892,000 for a new scheme allowing residents to directly request street cleansing in their neighbourhood was also accepted.

The Conservatives were also successful in securing £240,000 to restore bus services 69 and 20 for Willowbrae/Lady Nairne and Dumbiedykes

Reporting by Local Democracy Reporting Service journalist Donald Turvill.