Edinburgh residents expose AI image replacements without consent on council websites

Residents from Leith to Gorgie are raising the alarm about a growing practice they say is distorting the visual record of their communities: local authorities and housing associations using duplicate or replacement digital images, often AI-generated composites or generic stock photographs, in planning documents, council communications, and regeneration proposals, without consulting the people who live there.

The complaints have grown louder in recent months, with community groups in at least three Edinburgh neighbourhoods reporting that photographs submitted alongside planning applications or used in regeneration consultations do not reflect the actual condition of the streets and buildings being discussed. For many residents, the stakes feel personal.

One Leith Walk resident, who has lived on the street for more than two decades, described discovering that a planning document submitted to City of Edinburgh Council earlier this year contained images of her tenement block that appeared to show a cleaner, brighter facade than the one she looks at every day. She said the discrepancy made her feel the consultation process was designed to smooth over problems rather than address them. She is not willing to be named, fearing it could affect an ongoing complaint she has lodged with the council.

A pattern across the city

The issue is not confined to one street. Residents in Fountainbridge, where the former brewery site redevelopment has generated years of community debate, say images circulated by developers and in council planning portals have repeatedly shown the area in a state it does not currently resemble. The Fountainbridge Canalside Initiative, a local community group that has engaged with the redevelopment process since at least 2019, has flagged concerns in writing to the council about the accuracy of visual materials used in public consultations, according to members of the group.

In Gorgie, local activists connected to the Gorgie Dalry Amenity Trust say they have noticed similar patterns in documents relating to housing proposals along Dalry Road. The concern is not simply aesthetic. In Scottish planning law, photographic evidence submitted with planning applications carries formal weight. If images misrepresent existing conditions, whether through deliberate alteration, the use of stock photography, or the substitution of higher-quality archive images for current ones, it can affect how planning officers assess the impact of a proposed development.

City of Edinburgh Council received more than 4,200 planning applications in the 2024-25 financial year, according to its own published performance statistics. Community groups say the volume makes it difficult for members of the public to scrutinise every submission closely enough to catch image irregularities before decisions are made. The council's planning portal allows objections to be submitted up to the point a decision notice is issued, but residents say the process moves quickly and many people are unaware their neighbourhood is affected until after approval.

What residents are asking for

Community members who spoke to The Daily Edinburgh, across Leith, Fountainbridge, and Gorgie, broadly agree on what they want: a requirement that photographic evidence in planning documents be date-stamped and verified, a clear policy from City of Edinburgh Council on the use of AI-generated or manipulated imagery in any official communication, and a formal complaints pathway that does not require residents to hire legal representation to pursue a challenge.

The Cockburn Association, Edinburgh's civic trust which has monitored planning matters in the city since 1875, has previously called for greater transparency in the consultation process, though it has not yet issued a specific public statement on the image replacement issue.

For residents feeling that their streets are being replaced, on paper at least, by something shinier and more convenient, the practical next step is to submit a formal representation to City of Edinburgh Council's Planning Department at Waverley Court on East Market Street, attaching independently taken, date-stamped photographs as counter-evidence. The council's planning portal at edinburgh.gov.uk accepts supporting documents with objections. Community councils in affected wards, including Leith Walk Community Council, can also submit representations on behalf of residents and carry formal standing in the process.

For many people, though, the fight is about something harder to quantify than planning law. As one Fountainbridge resident put it, describing a document that appeared to show her street without the cracked paving and boarded shopfront she passes every morning: the image they used looked like Edinburgh. Just not ours.