Dear Editor
I was really disappointed in an article I read in the Evening News 27th April concerning Granton & District Community Council
The article stated that Granton & District Community Council were found to be blameless in money they had spent on IT equiptment . I and many others had written to the Director of the Council Sue Bruce about the behaviour of the chair person Fred Marinello . Regarding the IT equiptment the purchase of three laptops for the group . The Community Council were asked repeatedly to provide the minutes where it was agreed to purchase the laptops . Firstly they informed the meeting that this purchase was minuted . When they were asked to provide the minutes thay could /would not produce them . No-one was accusing the community council of theft so why did they not produce the minutes ?
Fred Marinello was extremly agressive at this meeting towards two member of the Community Council who were expelled at this meeting . I did accuse the chairperson of being a bully at this meeting . I and others then wrote to the Director who passed on the complaint to Mark Turley for investigation
The only people Mark Turley interviewed were members of the Community Council I and others were not asked to any interview nor were our letters of complaint acknowledged . How can this be a fair hearing ? It was stated in the “News ” article that Fred Marinello denied being agressive . Councillor Stevie Cardownie was in attendace at this meeting . Members of the public commented on the agressive behaviour of Fred Marinello . If this is how Granton & District Community Council conduct themselves I ‘m afraid they do not represent me ….. not in my name .
Also the investigation conducted by Mark Turley appears like a whitewash when he only interviewed members of the Community Council . Should we trust Granton & District Community Council and Edinburgh City Council officials ? I think not What happened to democracy ?
Womens International Group (WIG) from Royston Wardieburn asked the community council to display a notice of a planned hustings only to be denied as it was redeemed as “political” . Very stange when the vicechair of the community council George Gordon is standing at the local council elections and the chairperson is his political agent . I submitted a letter to the Evening News voicing my concerns that George Gordon did not answer a request by the group to attend the hustings . He replied through the Evening News that I was trying to voice my political view using a community event . I am in no way affiliated to any political party. He also denied that I had sent him an invitation to attend the hustings . I sent him and other potential candidates invitations on April 14th. The leader of the party he is standing for managed to receive his invite and duly sent his apologies for being unable to attend . Do the political leaders not talk to their prospective candidates ? I have copies of the e mails I sent out to all prospective candidates including George Gordon.
Unlike Granton & District Community Council I can produce proof that I did send out the appropriate invitation .
Kind Regards
Anna Hutchison
Crewe Road West
22
0
20
Please notice the response to Brian Robertson on May 1st. So if Isobel knew who I was why then did she walk past me in the space where the trolleys and baskets are kept in Morrisons on Monday night. It was only when Fred told her who I was that she walked back to where I was to ask me if I was Brian Robertson.
I was at that meeting and was shocked to see the immature and rude conduct from the chairman. No minutes were produced regarding the laptops and every attempt at asking for them was quickly shouted down by the chairperson.
Isobel
Did I mention anyone name who contributed to Pilton Sucks ? You are the one who is mentioning names . just like you are insinuating that I depend on Thomas Brown to write letters for me please do not insult my intellegence . I suggest you and I meet up to discuss this ,or are you only able to insult people behind a keyboard ? . Here is my address 18 Crewe Road West or we could meet anywhere you want as you have stated we should stop communicating like this I challenge you to meet up with me . Bring along your community council friends if you feel you cannot face me alone . If you really think that I will stop posting and you have “upset” me or you will stop me exposing the injustices that occur within G&DCC then I’m afraid you are deluded .
Shocked at the infantile goading and vitriol coming from ‘Isobel’ aimed at anyone daring to hold community councillors accountable for their actions and behaviour towards members of the public.
Democracy and human rights are expected and hoped for by us naive souls at all levels of government in Britain, and most of the Western world. Isn’t that why we are always invading other regimes who are totalitarian?
It is vital that we have the right in this country to question the honesty and motivation of officials in positions of power who take it upon themselves to make decisions which influence our community and environment. This is particularly important when the individual is standing for election and claiming to represent local opinion.
I find the recommendations from this investigation heartening and hope they can be extended to the neighbourhood partnership meetings where the same Granton District cc representative has been accused of behaving undemocratically while chair.
An independant observer would hopefully curb some of the unprofessional behaviour witnessed at important community meetings.
It is wrong to make insinuations about the timing of these blogs, they are in reaction to the Evening News whitewash on the 27th Apr, and are a sign of many local people’s frustration at the lack of a chance to directly question those involved as they refuse to meet with their community in public or be questioned directly.
Cowardice? Looks like it to me as bullies are usually shrivel when directly confronted.
Heellp it’s the hooded claw!
penelope 😉
Morning All,
Was reading through the comments and just thought I would input some of the FACTS! Please find below quotes from the Council report into the GDCC. This highlight’s that in fact everything was not OK as some people appear to think and the council did put recommendations in place.
• Record keeping for the expenditure for the purchase of two further laptops is insufficient.
• Council officers did request re-audited accounts for 2009/10 in response to concerns which had been raised.
Recommendations
2.1.3 That the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary seek additional independent support in detailing and recording cost estimates, documenting agreements for decision making on expenditure and reporting on-going expenditure to CC meetings.
2.1.4 That the Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary to attend a refresher session of the induction and development training provided by the Council, specifically aimed at these particular roles in a Community Council.
In regards to bullying and intimidation the report states:
“Councillor Cardownie indicates that he intervened at one point during the meeting to advise representatives at the top table that the behaviours displayed that evening were not setting a good example to community attendees”
Recommendations
2.3.2 That an independent observer be appointed to attend the next two meetings of the GDCC to provide feedback to both the Chair and the CC members as to the interaction and interplay among members.
This is some of the points from the report.
Thanks for your kind comments about this Blog Isobel its great to know that local people of North Edinburgh appreciate this Blog and with the statistics its clear people are visiting it on a daily basis to read all the local and interesting news.
Small talk is cheap, evidence is priceless!!!!!!!
Pilton Sucks was a website that that 2 members of G&DCC used to subscribe too Check your facts before you post !!!!!!!!!
Hi Anna, we must stop communicating like this.
Listen — are you sure of your facts? Of course I know about Pilton Sucks.
But you are kidding me? Surely not anyone from GDCC? Come on now….
Ha Ha that’s very funny. Are you certain?
Pilton Sucks glorified North Edinburgh. It brought local people in touch with the reality of living under the corrupt world of politicians and officials who were meant to be helping the public not themselves . It had a world wide readership of literally thousands and many times it s author was praised and asked for MORE! Even the politicians managed to laugh at themselves and with Pilton Sucks around they knew to be careful what they were up to.
I loved it. The stories were magnificent. Life in North Edinburgh was full of fun and intrigue and took it’s important place in each and every post.
There was magic and magnanimity in it’s stories and passion and compassion on every page about our beloved North Edinburgh.
I used to switch on to it every evening — I didn’t want to miss even one post. It always made me a laugh out loud.
I really miss it and wondered why it stopped? End of an era I suppose. Facebook and all that tweeting stuff. Yes — those were the days……
In a million years, with a million Dave Pickerings and Thomas Crowns trying their damnedest to produce a decent blog for the people of North Edinburgh — they can never match up to the writing skills and investigative journalism of Pilton Sucks!
It should have won a prize but no one knew who to give it to?
But I am shocked — very shocked — shaken in fact. Anna — do you think at those GDCC meetings that i forced myself to go to that unknown to me,I was in the exultant presence of the very author of PS? Can’t be! — just cant be. The meetings were pragmatic, regulated, moribund in policies and quite frankly a teensy bit boring.
Naw, naw cannae be?
Well I’ll be damned.
One thing I will say you are wrong about — it certainly has nothing to do with Mr Gordon. That man is a gentleman. He is serious and amazing in that he ‘works tirelessly’ for the community. I was always amazed at how much he did in his own time for free even! So please support him in the next few days. He simply doesn’t have the time or the kindofa insolent guile of the master of PS.
But would the real Mr Pilton Sucks, friend of his readers and enemy of the slouchers please stand up; please standup?
Aye right!
Sorry this is my last post. I gotta dash and take in the washing, stack the dishwasher, empty my trash can and put out my three re cycling bins before morning for the Cooncil!
And one other wee thing I need to do is stick up that huge yellow poster in the front window cos polling day is looming.
Good luck to all you NEN readers and don’t forget to vote.
Sent from my iPhone
“Isobel ” Let me infom you that I am NOT a member of the NEN Board Shows how much you know !!!!!! As for knowing where you stay I was told this by a few members of the Community who have read your RANTS . I can assure no-one involved with this blog told me where you lived . I have always been honest as to where I am from as I leave my FULL name and address if writing anything . I wonder where you are getting your information from As for having permission to video people Can I see the minutes to when this was agreed Other post on this blog have also concerns about G&DCC Are you going to belittle everyone ? As for me being “old hat” I have always supported the people of my community As I said earlie keep the insults coming they are being noted Your comments are very similar to comments made in “PILTON SUCKS “
I love where I live. I favour Royston, Wardieburn, Pilton, Muirhouse – they are fantastic places with brilliant people living there and I would never never say any of it sucks which is disgusting .
Going to add fuel to the fire but another complaint about the chair of Forth Neighbourhood partnerships Clean Green and Safe action group’s bullying behaviour was brought to the public services ombudsmen and the neighbourhood partnership manager.
This was in March of this year. It was about the now ‘running for election’ member of Granton District community council’s breaches of the ‘voluntary’ Community Councillor Code of Conduct. He did this when chairing meetings by refusing to allow questions, bullying and excluding members of a local registered tenants association from the decision making process at the local action group. Freedom of speach is something he doesn’t understand or respect.
‘There is no smoke without fire’ and the SNP candidate is notorious within local community groups for his sexism, bullying and controlling behaviour at public meetings. He and his female mentor/predecessor are very unpopular within local community groups, women’s groups in particular who all seem to have been bullied and maligned.’rabid!!!’
Community Led Regeneration requires community representation with full rights to propose community development work at the Neighbourhood Partnership. This is not the case at Forth Neighbourhood Partnership unlike most other areas of Edinburgh.
I know this because I attended a meeting at Edinbugh’s City Chambers very recently, at which other area representatives were shocked at the sorry state of affairs at Forth NP Clean Green and Safe Action Group with a very limited decision making panel and bullying of local people through excluding and silencing their community representatives.
Deeply concerned and worried about the tales of dirty politics and cronyism which seem to keep coming back to one or two people from Granton District Community Council.
Heelp!
Penelope
Don’t know anything about this! We are in north Edinburgh not Washington DC or Westminster. I suspect anyone who is trotting out this nonsense just b4 an election is politically motivated and destructive. If you want to change things — go to the meetings and speak up.
Did you have some vested interest that was not satisfied? Did you not gain something YOU wanted? I suspect so.
Community politics is about the good of the people who live there– all of them — not just
one’s own interests.
Isobel
if you are REALLY a pensioner like me Please act your age and not your shoe size As I have said previously to you I do NOT need anyone writing letters for me I’m well known in MY community not DRYLAW for speaking my mind Ive been in this community for more years than I can remember As for you trying to take a picture at the meeting It is a well know FACT that you have to ask for PERMISSION before you can take pictures or videos of anyone . . Maybe people at the meeting are laughing but trust me the WHOLE community is laughing at the Community Council . As for anyone trying to come marching down your door are you serious ? If I wanted to do that I would have came to your door as I know where you stay and also know where the Chair and Vicechair live . Any time someone comments about the community council you start your raving accusations Should you be a member of the Granton & District Community Council whilst you live in Drylaw ? Your insults are pathetic please LISTEN carefully to what the entire community say about Granton & District Community Council and some of their members I guess you are not interested in that as you are too busy putting other people down who dare to question the community council .
Your rants about me have been copied and pasted to various media groups So I’m sure you will be the one who is being laughed at not the community
So .. You know where I live? This blogsite promises anonymity. So you have bothered to investigate me.
I did have permission so don’t worry about that.
What I am trying to say to you Anna is that your days of mouthing it off as if you knew something are over. You are old hat. And you are associated with Mr Brown who brought a nefarious complaint to the Council about GDCC — costing a lot of time, effort and money to investigate trumped up charges.
People might suffer because if your idiocy.
And you are on the board of NEN, are you not?
The NEN should be decent and distance themselves from you and your cronies.
I do not attend GDCC meetings and I have not done so for about a year.
I don’t wAnt this nonsense. I like the NEN blog. I am just an ordinary person– no one special — enjoying living in North Edinburgh. I just don’t like the lies that are flying around.
You are right Anna, people who use an alias to get their point across is a coward and in my opinion, it sucks.
No I am not wanting anyone marching down to my door about all this as it is trivial but somehow you seem to think it has some sort if interest and validity as a subject.
I have a son to think of — I don’t want him embarrassed — he is at Telford and I prefer anonymity . I have written a synopsis of the GDCC meeting for my next post as there are a lot of lies being told.
Dear Editor,
In response to Brian Robertson.
Let’s look at this more fully.
I also was present at that meeting and I had attended previous meetings for about a year, of the GDCC. I do not live in that area any more so I have no further knowledge of it’s issues or what is happening.
This meeting was different from all the rest because about six new people including Brian and Anna arrived and so did Thomas Brown. They sat on opposite sides of the arranged tables from Thomas.
I had only seen Thomas Brown before at one other meeting when he had been welcomed in and thanked for his participation but none of the group sitting beside Anna had ever presented themselves before nor she herself.
It soon became apparent that the newcomers had their own divergent agenda and it seemed to be about laptops, receipts and provoking and challenging the Chair. (This I believe has now been investigated and all is in order).
Thomas rolled out the above ‘stuff’ and then Anna stood up and spoke but I cannot remember about what except it was all critical of the Chairperson. I doubt if anyone attending knew what it was all about. Anna was speaking loudly and pointing her finger at Mr Marinello, who in his usual eloquent and jocular manner was trying to keep the meeting on track and she said suddenly that the problem was he was a bully!! See more below!
When Anna had finished speaking she signalled to her ‘troups’ to follow her and she left the meeting saying she was going to watch the Celtic Match! She had no interest in the real matters of the meeting like the ‘safe green and clean’ report, law and order in the area or the employment issues. Thomas Brown left shortly after her — he also failed to show any interest in the real agenda!
Now where did that come from? Where and when did she form that idea ? She plucked it from nowhere!Actually it was apparent that she and Brown and a small mob had come to disrupt the meeting — and this is called ‘mobbing’ which is truly a distinctive type of bullying.
Mr Marinello handled the interruptions impeccably, kept to the subject matter of the evening and I recall he asked everyone present for comments
So you see –Brian Robertson had opportunity to speak up — just as Anna had done. And the disrespect was from the newcomers ( Rent a Crowd I call them) towards the Chair and office bearers.
So what was that all about?
No one knew (nor cares anyway) but we all guessed it was political– simply to make a STIR, to have an incident to base the investigation on. It was all planned in advance (I think — I don’t know but it looks like it) to discredit individuals who might be standing for local election.
We can see through the ruse, can’t we?
Or am I overstating the obvious?
Two meetings previously the office bearers were elected and the same group could have attended and democratically elected members of their own choice. But they didn’t, did they? They prefer to be a renegade splinter group which they have every right to be if they want — but to chillingly plan the debasement of office bearers of the GDCC — instruments of the community — and it is incredibly foul play.
And now ? Challenging the Council about their decision? I think they should avoid that and apologise.
And that includes Brian because he wants to be asked to speak.
From A resident in north Edinburgh, a pensioner and a voter.
Sent from my iPhone
And one little thing I forgot. I was trying to take a photograph at the meeting but I pressed the wrong button on my I phone ( I am not technologically sound) and I took a small video instead and quite clearly — everyone at the meeting is laughing !!
Doesn’t sound like much bullying going on there at all!
Now surely this subject can be put to bed and we can all think about important issues for our communities. We have to vote this week you know?
And right now I want to focus on Scotland and a better life for us all in our communities, including all you people reading plus Anna and Thomas and Brian as well.
So get down to the polls this week– forget this strife — better all look out
your cards.
Best of luck!
From a pensioner, a single mother, a voter and a worker!
Yes there is something that will make me happy …. Courage … something you do not have you can’t even sign your name Another thing that would make me happy is if Granton & District Community Council would represent the REAL people of the ward. If my comments and views are nasty why don’t you just ingnore them or better still put your name to your comment …. Whats wrong ? Does the truth hurt . COWARD !!!!!!!!!!!
I noticed someone else has commented on my post are you going to have a go at anyone who DARES critisis Granton Community Council I do not need anyone to write letters for me I’m not a sheep I do not HAVE to follow anyones advice , especially cowards who are too SCARED to sign their names . You sound like the person who critisised me before on this blog Keep it coming it’s great gathering evidence
Anna Hutchison
Sent from my iPhone
Dear Editor,
Is Anna unhappy again? What a shame!!! Is she always unhappy? Why? Unhappy, unhappy, unhappy….. Moaning , whinging , criticising !
Someone should help her …. Maybe her friend Thomas Brown could help her.
Maybe he already has — helped her I mean — compose her letter about being unhappy! Just maybe it was he who wanted her to write it. Maybe he is begrutten about the outcome of the investigation . But oh — I remember now — Anna thinks for herself, eh?
No wonder she is unhappy— with friends like —- who needs……..
Sorry to hear you are unhappy Anna. About anything!!
Cheer up — it’s election time– must be something in it will make you happy.
And Editor— The NEN blog is presenting itself as an excellent read and good communication of what’s going on in the community– usually — but is otherwise spoiled by this sort of nasty nonsense.
Cut it out as it seems slanderous to me about people who are trying to do good on the community
A member of the public, pensioner and voter!
Sent from my iPhone
Dear Editor, I also attended the community council meeting and the behaviour of the chairperson, Fred Marinello, was disgraceful to say the least. I was never ever asked for my views on the matter. I could write a lot more but when elected members of community councils are allowed to treat people with disrespect, then what is the point. Is it any wonder that the City of Edinburgh Council is no longer trusted when they condone this kind of behaviour. Thank you, Brian Robertson.