Month: October 2013

City makes a splash with affordable swimming

NonSwimmer

A £125,000 investment by the City of Edinburgh Council is to make swimming more accessible and more affordable for hundreds of young children and families across the Capital. A range of measures will be introduced over the next two years that will increase swimming provision and access to pools and schools for those who need it most – with free swimming for primary school children during the October school holidays!

The programme involves a ‘raft’ of measures including:

· free swimming during school holidays,

· top up swimming classes for P2-3 pupils,

· free family splash time sessions

· swimming classes for women and children from BME communities.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Swimming is a fantastic activity that is not only fun but keeps you fit and healthy too. The purpose behind providing a free programme of swimming is to open up our pool facilities to those that may never have tried swimming before or to encourage parents to take their children along for a fun family swim.

“We’ve worked closely with our partners in Edinburgh Leisure and sportscotland to produce a programme that specifically targets children and adults who need support the most and also benefits the most number of people for the money available. It builds on what was proposed by Splashback and, I believe, goes even further to ensure that children from all over the city have the opportunity both to learn to swim and enjoy it at the same time.”

Between Saturday 12 October and Monday 21 October, free swimming for primary school children will be available between 12-4pm in four city pools every day during the school holidays (with some exceptions – see Edinburgh Leisure website and Wester Hailes Education Centre websitefor details). The pools are Leith Victoria Swim Centre, Gracemount Leisure Centre, Dalry Swim Centre and Wester Hailes Education Centre.

These free swim session for juniors will be repeated during school holidays until April 2015 and will also include the pool at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre when it reopens after rfurbishment and upgrading later this month.

Further to this, from January, the Council will also provide additional swimming lessons for P2/3 pupils in eighteen schools designated as ‘positive action’ schools (where over 40% of pupils are entitled to free school meals). These will be run with Edinburgh Leisure who will provide additional teaching support to help these children develop early aquatic skills, knowledge of pool safety, and in many cases, introduce them to swimming for the first time.

Also early next year the Council will launch a ‘Family Splash Time’ programme which will provide parents and their children with eight weeks of fun, two-hour, swim sessions funded as part of this investment.

The Council also proposes to extend the successful ‘Female Only Swim’ sessions held at Leith Victoria to other parts of the Capital next year. These sessions are targeted specifically at the BME community where cultural and religious barriers may prevent women from participating in swimming.

The £125,000 funding for accessible and affordable swimming was agreed by the Capital Coalition earlier this year in recognition of Splashback’s commitment to increasing swimming opportunities for young people.

Graeme Gardiner, Director of Operations at Edinburgh Leisure said:  ‘We are delighted to be supporting this swimming initiative.  We passionately believe in the positive impact that sport and physical activity can have on individuals and communities and we want to inspire everyone in the city to be more active and healthy.  This swimming initiative provides a great way of encouraging people to get active and try out swimming.”

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Leith residents to allocate community cash

People in Leith will soon be asked by Leith Neighbourhood Partnership to decide how a pot of more than £20,000 in funding should be spent on projects that benefit their local community.

Now in its fourth year, £eith Decides, allows community groups to apply for grants of up to £1,000 each. Once the applications are in, local people are invited to vote on which projects they would most like to see receive the money. A special public event will take place in February, at which members of the public will get the chance to learn about applicants and their projects.

Previous successful applicants include Prospect Bank School Parents’ Association for an outdoor climbing frame, the Goosander Resident’s Association for a living garden, the Citadel Youth Centre for a young mums’ parenting course, and the North Edinburgh Dementia Care group, which ran podiatry sessions for older clients.

This year’s application period is now open and runs until November 8, when a Steering Group made up of local people will consider all applications to make sure that they meet the criteria – Advice is available on how to meet the criteria.

Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “£eith Decides has proven to be extremely popular, and many new applicants came forward last year. It was fantastic that so many worthwhile projects, all of which have made a difference to people, were given help in this way.
“The public event held as part of the process gave community groups the opportunity to raise awareness about their work too. Neighbourhood Partnership events like this  are valued by people who welcome the opportunity to make decisions about the area in which they live.”

For up-to-date information about £eith Decides please visit its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/voteforleithdecides

and the £eith decides page at www.edinburghnp.org.uk/leith.

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Last chance to book World Cafe

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world cafe final

Friday’s World Cafe (18 October)  is shaping up to a great one, with Samba Sene providing some music

and a celebration of Black History Month.

The menu will include beans in coconut sauce, two types of curry and some apple crumble thanks to Abundance, who harvest fruit trees in people’s gardens for apples!

Places are limited so please call 0131 551 1671 to book your place and avoid disappointment! It costs £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.

The World Cafe’s at 5.30pm onwards at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, Muirhouse (next to the library).

It would be great if you could make it!

Hannah, Alice and the World Café team

CAFF

Local police initative tackles stolen vehicle crime

DSCF6437Police in North Edinburgh are carrying out an initiative to prevent youths riding stolen motorcycles and cars in the area. The four-week operation involves a team of police and council officers working in the Muirhouse, Pilton and waterfront areas to prevent the theft of motorcycles and youths riding around local estates.

As well as an increase in foot patrols, officers have been utilising hand held cameras to capture potential evidence and to identify offenders. The police helicopter – a regular sight (and sound!) over North Edinburgh recently – is also being utilised to provide a bird’s eye view of the problem, enabling officers to get to the right locations quickly to ensure they can recover stolen vehicles.

The police have also enlisted the support of the City of Edinburgh Council’s local Environmental Wardens who have been checking likely disposal areas as part of their patrols and specialist Roads Policing resources have also been drafted in to assist.

Inspector Mark Rennie of Drylaw Police Station said: “There has been a significant amount of concern in the local community over this problem and we’ve been working hard over the summer to ensure we can provide additional resources into the area to prevent it.

“Since the beginning of August we have recovered 40 stolen vehicles and charged 20 youths with related offences but our aim is to prevent this type of risk taking behaviour over the longer term. As well as talking with young people at local schools about the risks, we will be speaking with local youth groups and agencies with a view to making every effort to divert those involved into positive activities in their community.

“We’ve had great support from our community groups and elected representatives who can see the efforts being made and how the use of the helicopter is often quickly preventing any escalation on the evenings when the problems occur.

“I’d like to thank residents who have already called us with information and would ask anyone to call us immediately if they see what they believe to be a stolen motorcycle being used or hidden by youths in the area.

“To keep local people up to date we are putting out regular updates of our progress on our local twitter account and I’d encourage residents to follow it for additional information: @EdinNorthPolice.”

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Community Safety Leader, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “The theft of motorbikes and cars by young people has become a real problem in the north of Edinburgh and one that I know is a matter of great concern to the local community.  I am very glad to see additional Police resources being used to tackle this extremely serious issue and by working with local people I am confident that the initiative will be a great success. I would urge anyone with suspicions that a vehicle that might be stolen to contact the Police so that they can respond quickly and hopefully stop this worrying trend.”

Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101, or make an anonymous report through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Blooming brilliant – Edinburgh strikes gold!

Edinburgh has won a top prize at the Britain in Bloom National Awards.  Scotland’s capital city beat off competition from every corner of the UK to win the prestigious Gold award in the Large City category, it was announced at a ceremony last night (Saturday 12 October).

City council Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “This is fantastic news, I am delighted that Edinburgh has won such a prestigious award. This is entirely due to the talents and sheer hard work of our many Friends of Parks’ groups, community volunteers and the Council’s parks team. Edinburgh is a stunning city with beautiful parks and green spaces, and we will continue to work towards protecting and enhancing them.”

Britain in Bloom is an annual competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

InverleithPark

New play at North Edinburgh Arts this weekend – Couldn’t Care Less!

Press Release – Couldn’t Care Less Sept 2013.

Couldn’t Care Less, a new play examining the ups and downs of caring for someone with dementia, is opening this Friday and Saturday at the North Edinburgh Arts Centre. 

The play explores the lives of Elspeth, a former dancer who develops Alzheimer’s, and her daughter Lilly who finds her life disappearing as she gives it all up to care for her mother. It’s a dark, surreal, funny and moving play and speaks not only to those with experiences of caring and being cared for, but also the general public as our society faces up to the looming challenge of caring for older people.
 A video trailer for the show is also available on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n1f7u4MgBI and the
 
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Letter: Time, gentlemen, please

Dear Editor

People over decades have had to struggle very hard to get an increase in wages; the employers, when faced with a determined workforce, do eventually make some concessions.

The one thing they strongly resist is a reduction in working hours: the weekly wage they pay has bought your ‘time’, and the more work that can be had from that ‘time’ the greater amount pf profit can be made, whereas any increase in the wage bill can be clawed back in rising prices.

Development in technology over the decades has meant more can be produced using fewer people, so the logical thing to do was to reduce the working week/year so that all could benefit – but no way would the employers reduce working hours: your ‘time’ was paid for by the weekly wage.

Now in the 21st century the employers are taking things further, embracing zero contracts where your ‘time’ is now on-call as and when needed, your ‘time’ that is left is not their concern as it is unpaid but remains tied to their needs. How close is this to serfdom or tied slavery?

Think about it. Today the call is for everybody to work harder and longer. Where, how and why? And for whose benefit?

Further, in spite of the nation’s will to finance national schemes to help those who are unemployed, sick or disabled in their time of need, this Tory/Lib government have planned to make them work for nothing or lose benefit.

Imagine the delight of some employers, having this pool of free labour available! Perhaps you may think it wouldn’t happen, but maybe this Tory/Lib government would reinstate poor law relief officers dishing out food vouchers, etc. instead of benefit money. It would be in character!

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

First seal pup of the season rescued

A newborn grey seal pup has been rescued by the Scottish SPCA after he fell
into the sea at North Queensferry – and staff expect that young ‘Tiller’ will be the first of many during this pupping season.

Less than a week old and still fully furred, the male grey seal pup was spotted lying on rocks by men working on the new Forth Road crossing. As the men approached the pup he fell off the rocks and into the water.

Grey seal pups cannot swim well until they have lost all their fur so the workmen fished the pup out of the water and called the Scottish SPCA for help. Animal rescue officer Joanna McDaid took the seal to the charity’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre at Fishcross, Alloa, where he is now receiving treatment and care.

Staff have named him Tiller.

Centre manager Colin Seddon said, “Tiller is our first grey seal pup of the season and he’s quite unusual in that he was found in an area that is not a known pupping ground. He could have been washed off the established pupping ground at nearby  Inchkeith Island or his mother may have been young and inexperienced.

“It sounds as though he took fright when he was approached and slid off the rocks and into the water which is bad news for a newborn seal pup as their thick fur coats act like a sponge and absorb water so he’s unlikely to have survived on his own for long.

“Thankfully, the men scooped him out of the sea and called us for help. Tiller arrived weighing a healthy 13.5kg for a newborn pup and he’s continued to make good progress in our care. Normally the weight would dip but Tiller has remained steady and has even put on a few pounds recently so we’re feeling positive about his rehabilitation.

“He’s being tube-fed fish soup at the moment and that will continue for the next few weeks until he’s old enough and strong enough to feed himself. He’s currently our only grey seal pup but we’ve no doubt he’ll be joined by many more in the coming weeks and months.”

The SSPCA is urging members of the public to contact its animal helpline if they see a distressed seal pup lying on the shore this winter, adding that they could be doing more harm than good by approaching or picking it up.

Colin continued, “We often receive seal pups that are healthy but have been abandoned by their mothers because someone has disturbed them.

“The mother seal will leave her pup on land while she is out hunting in the water so it’s quite natural to see seal pups lying on the shore line for several hours at a time.

“Our message to the public is, if you see a seal pup and you are concerned for it’s welfare then call our animal helpline for advice or assistance on 03000 999 999 before approaching it.”

Tiller will be cared for at the Scottish SPCA’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre until he is fully fit, feeding himself and at the right weight to be released.

Tiller
Tiller

Help to Buy scheme launched

A £12billion scheme to help thousands of people buy a home of their own will be launched today (Tues 8 Oct) by the Prime Minister and Chancellor. David Cameron said Help to Buy will ‘turn the dream of home ownership a reality for many’.

High Street banks including Natwest, RBS, Halifax and Bank of Scotland will start offering new Help to Buy mortgages this week, and others are to follow: Virgin Money has also confirmed they will participate in the scheme, and will be offering new guaranteed mortgages to borrowers in the New Year. Aldermore Bank has confirmed that it is joining the scheme in January, and is exploring whether this date can be brought forward.

Natwest and RBS customers will be able to start the process of applying for a mortgage today, with other banks to follow in the next few days.

The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee is aimed at thousands of people frozen out of the housing market because they cannot afford large deposits of up to 20 per cent of a property’s value.

It means someone trying to buy a £200,000 house currently needs to save up a deposit of £40,000.

Leading banks will offer a range of new Help to Buy mortgages – up to 95 per cent of the property’s value – for homes worth up to £600,000.

Under the scheme, buyers will only need a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.

Depending on the size of deposit, the government will then guarantee up to 15 per cent of the property’s value, in return for a fee from the lender.

There will be scheme advertisements in national newspapers from tomorrow, banks are braced for a flood of interest from the public.

The launch of the scheme has been brought forward by three months, as the details are finalised and lenders are in a position to start offering the mortgages.

Lenders can start offering the mortgages now, and they will be guaranteed by the government from January 2014. As it usually takes a few months for borrowers to go through the mortgage completion process, this delay is not a problem for lenders. If borrowers do complete before January their mortgage will be included in the scheme.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Too many hardworking people are finding it impossible to buy their own home – people who can afford the monthly mortgage payments but haven’t got rich parents and can’t pay the deposit up front.

“There is a need for Government to act. Buying your first home is about far more than four walls to sleep at night. It’s somewhere to put down roots and raise a family. It’s an investment for the future. Above all, it’s a sign that everything you’ve put in has been worth it.

“Our Help to Buy Equity Loans, have already helped over 15000 people buy a new home. But we’ve got to go further and finish the job we’ve started. So from today, thousands of people will be able to get a foot on the housing ladder by applying for the new Help to Buy mortgage guarantee. If you’ve got 5 per cent of the funds for a mortgage deposit, we’re providing a guarantee to the banks to help you get the rest.

“Help to Buy is going to make the dream of home ownership a reality for many who would otherwise have been shut out. This goes right to the heart of my vision for Britain – a country where everyone who works hard can get on in life. Moves such as Help to Buy will also encourage housebuilding. If potential buyers can’t buy, builders won’t build – so this is an important part of unlocking the market.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne added: “Through Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee I want to help those families that have saved for years, earn decent salaries, but cannot afford the deposits currently being asked for by the banks. I want young people to have the same chance of getting on the property ladder as their parents and grandparents.

“Too many people are still being denied the dream of owning their own home, which is why we have brought forward the launch of this scheme, so as of today borrowers can start applying for a mortgage with a five per cent deposit.”

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