Dogs, drivers and daiquiris dominate Drylaw meeting

Cars speeding on residential streets, irresponsible dog owners and the run-down state of Drylaw Shopping Centre have featured prominently on local community meeting agendas for a long time now, and it was no surprise when all three issues were discussed at length at Easter Drylaw Residents Association’s (EDRA’s) annual general meeting held in Drylaw Parish Church last night.

The meeting was well attended despite the rotten weather, and there was a particularly good turnout of local politicians. All four Inverleith councillors – Nigel Bagshaw, Gavin Barrie, Lesley Hinds and Iain Whyte – were present alongside Edinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir and Lothians list MSP Sarah Boyack, and the meeting was chaired by Easter Drylaw resident and Forth councillor Cammy Day.

EDRA chairperson Eileen Brash reported on another busy year for the organisation, and thanked committee members, local politicians and staff from the North Local Office for their support over the course of a year that has given EDRA no shortage of issues to tackle. Parking on pavements, the state of Groathill Road North roundabout, potholes and overgrown hedges have all received attention – some reported to EDRA and some coming to light through regular ‘walkabouts’ with NELO staff.

The biggest issue of the year for EDRA has been the ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ road safety campaign to raise awareness of speeding in the residential area, and Eileen said that the campaign will continue. “We ran the campaign over three months to make drivers aware of the dangers, but despite our efforts there was a serious accident on Groathill Road North when a child was knocked down near Ferryhill School. More safety measures have been introduced as a result but we will keep campaigning to ensure drivers drive with care and consideration and stick to speed limits. We plan to work with the school and the police to keep up the pressure.”

Guest speaker was Mark Bannon (pictured), who heads up the North Environmental team. Mark’s team of six Environmental Wardens has a huge geographical area to cover and he understands the frustration of local people when they see littering and dog fouling but are unable to do anything about it. The feeling at the meeting is that dog fouling is on the increase in Easter Drylaw, particularly around the Easter Drylaw Gardens area. One man, who has lived in the area for 25 years, said he no longer walks his dogs locally. “I was having to clean the dogs when I got them home after walking in the Gardens, so I now take them to Silverknowes. The state of our streets is as bad as they’ve been all the time I’ve lived here”, he said.

Mark Bannon accepted that resources were stretched – it’s a small team and there is no local warden service after 7pm at night. “We’re now an enforcement service and we aim to deal with problems at source – the days of educating people are gone. When we patrol we are high-visibilty, and of course that can create problems for us. I would like to see us adopt plain clothes patrols on occasion – that’s something we can’t do currently but something I’m pushing for and hope members of the public would support. I’m convinced it would make a difference, but in the meantime I urge you to be our eyes and ears. We can’t be everywhere so keep us informed – if there’s a problem we want to know about it, then we can target resources where possible. Resources are tight, but we do the best we can with the size of team we’ve got. It’s a constant grind and I do understand your frustration.”

While Mark Bannon was the main speaker attendees were spoiled for choice – NELO’s Jennifer Lavery, PC Dixon of the Safer Neighbourhood Team both gave verbal reports, and all six politicians were allocated two minutes each to say their piece – which to be fair they nearly managed!

While the dog debate was the dominant issue at the meeting, there was also a healthy debate over the state of Drylaw Shopping Centre – both the run-down appearance and the ongoing problem of antisocial behaviour, particularly in the vicinity of the chemist. One resident described the scene in the vennel outside the chemist as ‘people milling around like they’re at a cocktail party!’

Politicians, police and council officers expressed a unanimity to address both these issues – working together with others to resolve problems; basically what EDRA is all about.