16/07/2014 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Council bid secures Leith Custom House

The Council’s bid to purchase the Custom House building has been accepted – new Heritage Centre for Leith?

The city council placed a bid to purchase the Custom House building in Leith – currently owned and used by National Museums Scotland – last month. That bid was accepted earlier today, and the council will now look at ways of how it might work with partners to develop the building into a hub for the Leith community – which would include the housing of a museum to tell the story of Leith’s history.

Culture and Sport Convener Councillor Richard Lewis, said: “I am delighted that the Council has been able to step forward to acquire the building. This is excellent news for the Leith community who have campaigned for more than six years to save the historic Custom House building.

“The building and the surrounding area share a rich history, with Custom House once acting as the main site of imports in Leith. Our offer should secure the future of the building for public use, as a hub for the local community.

“Now that the Council’s bid has been accepted by National Museums Scotland, we are determined to take the project forward and identify how and when we can help open the doors to a heritage centre for Leith.

“We are currently undertaking due diligence procedures and a report will be put to the full Council on how to take plans forward.”

Leith Custom House was built between 1810-1812 and is a large Georgian building of neo-classical design, by the architect Robert Reid. It comprises two tall storeys and a formidable portico entrance.

The Custom House was the venue for the collection of duty payable on goods imported through Leith, and it was built on North Leith’s Sandport area, a site close to the quayside which had formerly been used for boat-building.

National Museums of Scotland have been using the building for storage and it has been closed to the public, but it now seems certain that – two hundred years on – the grand old building will soon be bustling once again.

Gerry’s ‘joie de vivre’ impresses Maggie’s judges

Gerry’s designcreates a ‘calming, open and uplifting space’

Gerry Reid, a fifth year pupil at Culloden Academy, has won Maggie’s Schools’ Architecture Competition. Gerry’s design was inspired by the shape and structure of a leaf, and judges clearly thought it was tree-mendous (sorry)!

Maggie’s Schools’ Architecture Competition was developed by Maggie’s and The Lighthouse with the aim of introducing secondary school students to ideas around how architecture can impact health and well-being, and of giving them an insight into architecture, design and technology. The students were asked to come up with their own plan for a new Maggie’s Centre.

Competition judge Kirsty Wark, an Honorary Patron of Maggie’s said: “Students worked to the same brief as the architects who have designed real Maggie’s Centres, to design a healing space for people affected by cancer. There were some great ideas and the young people really understood the brief and what we needed from them.”

“Gerry’s design stood out: she showed an impressive grasp of the way that architecture and design can create hopeful, joyous places where people can find calm during a critical time in their lives.”

Gerry’s prize is a week’s work experience at Richard Murphy Architects, the creators of the first Maggie’s Centre which opened in Edinburgh in 1996.

Gerry was inspired by a visit to Maggie’s Highlands with her classmates where staff explained about the Maggie’s programme of support and discussed the design of the building and how it made staff and visitors feel. She said: “This has been a great experience for me as it has given me the chance to come as close as possible to working in the way that a practising architect would. The whole project has enabled me to push myself as far as possible and to work in an area of design about which I am passionate.

“From the start, I knew that my design had to be calming, safe and aesthetically strong. With this in mind, I linked the theme of nature to my design. My aim was to transport people from the clinical hospital environment into a calming, open and uplifting space.

“I am really excited about gaining experience at Richard Murphy Architects. I have never been in an architects’ practice let alone worked alongside them! I know that the insight and experience which I gain will be invaluable for my future pathway which I aim to take into the incredible world of architecture.

“I’d like to thank Maggie’s Centre, Inverness for allowing me to visit and pick their brains as to the very specific requirements of such a building!”

All the short-listed designs will be exhibited at The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture, and Maggie’s will keep the students’ design sketches as inspiration for design teams working on Maggie’s Centres in the future.

Ian Elder, manager of The Lighthouse, said: “We worked with Maggie’s to develop a concept to present architecture into schools, introducing creativity, innovation and the wider idea of how this can be applied through design to buildings. The fact that schools design their submissions to the same brief as architects gives real-life experience and students get the chance to practise research and presentation skills, adding value to the current school curriculum.”

Richard Murphy, of Richard Murphy Architects, added: “Gerry’s design has fantastic joie de vivre. It makes a whole series of alcove-like places on the inside which responds directly to my thinking as to how a Maggie’s Centre might be inhabited. On the outside, the building is a fantastic agglomeration of rooms giving it both a domestic appropriateness but also a slightly fantastical and intriguing appearance. I thought the idea of basing it on a leaf plan and developing it into an attractive building showed remarkable sophistication.”

Employment up in Scotland

In a rare outbreak of agreement, both Westminster and Holyrood governments welcomed the latest employment figures published today. However Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said the figures show the Westminster government is making the right choices for Scotland, while Finance Secretary John Swinney countered that Scotland would perform even better with the full powers of independence.

Employment in Scotland has increased by 12,000 over the three months from March to May, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. The number in employment in Scotland now stands at 2,587,000.

Unemployment in Scotland increased by 13,000, to 192,000 in the period March to May 2014. The Scottish unemployment rate is 6.9 per cent, which is above the 6.5 per cent for whole of the UK.

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said: “We have seen positive developments over the year as a whole with 76,000 more Scots in employment and 13,000 fewer in unemployment. In June alone, the number of people claiming JSA fell by 4,000 and is now 35,500 lower compared to one year ago. Claimant count is now below 100,000 and at its lowest level since December 2008.

“Today’s news reminds us we need to continue creating the right conditions to get people into jobs. While it is disappointing to see unemployment rise at any time, the news comes against a backdrop of record overall employment, female employment and record private sector employment. The number of economically active people in Scotland is rising and the number of Scots claiming unemployment has now fallen for 16 consecutive months.

“This Government is making the right choices for a stable, growing economy and the jobs that come with it – those are the best choices for Scotland and the people who live here.”

Headline Statistics for the March to May 2014 quarter:

Employment in Scotland increased by 12,000 over the quarter, and increased by 76,000 over the year, to stand at 2,587,000
The Scottish employment rate remained unchanged over the quarter to 73.3 per cent. The rate is just above the UK average of 73.1 per cent
Unemployment in Scotland increased by 13,000 over the quarter and fell by 13,000 over the year. The level now stands at 192,000
At 6.9 per cent, the Scots unemployment rate is above the 6.5 per cent for the UK as a whole
Economic Activity increased by 25,000 over the quarter and now stands at 2,779,000. Also, the Economic Activity rate increased over the quarter to stand at 78.8 per cent
In June 2014, the number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) was 96,000

Responding to the latest labour market and GDP figures Finance Secretary John Swinney said: ““Today’s figures mark an important stage in our recovery.

“These positive output figures show that Scotland’s economy continues to go from strength to strength with growth of 1.0 per cent over the quarter and 2.6 per cent over the year – the fastest annual growth in over three years.

“Nearly six years on from the start of the financial crisis, our economy is now larger than before the downturn. Output in Scotland is at record levels and we have exceeded our pre-recession peak at least one quarter ahead of the UK.

“Over the last quarter the improvement in our economy has been broad-based with welcome signs of growth in manufacturing which was up 3.4 per cent and services which account for over 70 per cent of our economy up 0.9 per cent.

“Today’s output figures are supported by new labour market data which show employment has reached a new record in Scotland with our economic activity rate also hitting a record high.

“As the economy recovers more people are moving from inactivity into the labour market to look for employment. With this boost to economic activity it is not surprising that both employment and unemployment have risen over the quarter – albeit unemployment is still down over the year.

“These figures support the emerging body of evidence which all point to the recovery in Scotland continuing to gather momentum.

“Monday’s Bank of Scotland’s PMI survey indicated that private sector activity in Scotland expanded for the 21st consecutive month in June whilst the Fraser of Allander, ITEM Club and PWC have all revised up their forecasts for growth this year.

“There can be no doubt that Scotland has the economic potential to be an independent country. With the full powers of independence we could do more to get people into work, ensure everyone in Scotland is able to benefit from our national wealth and give employers access to the skills they need to grow their business strengthening our economy and creating jobs.”

Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment Angela Constance added: “While today’s figures show growth in Scotland’s economy, our ambition is to do better than to simply return to pre-recession levels of economic performance.

“It is encouraging that female employment continues to increase markedly with a higher employment rate than the rest of the UK.

“Although we continue to do better than the UK in terms of employment rates amongst young people and 90 per cent of school leavers are in positive destinations, our youth unemployment rate remains too high.

“This is why we support the principle outlined in the report last month by the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, that links between schools, colleges and employers can be strengthened, to be more aligned to student and business needs.”

Sixty new jobs at Scottish Gas in Granton

At least sixty new jobs will be created at Scottish Gas HQ on Granton’s waterfront, it has been announced. Parent company Centrica plans to create 300 jobs at contact centres across the UK.

The majority of the new posts will be created in Cardiff and Edinburgh,with the remainder going to Uddingston, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Oldbury and Stockport.

The jobs come on top of 300 similar jobs recently filled. At least twelve school-leavers will be among the new recruits, as part of British Gas’ commitment to tackle youth unemployment.

Kevin Roxburgh, Director of Customer Services at British Gas, explained: “These extra 300 jobs show our continued focus on customer service excellence. We’re looking for people who are committed to helping customers, to join the 28,000-strong team at British Gas.

“These front line roles are critical to delivering the service our customers expect, helping customers with everything from bills and boiler breakdowns, to engineer visits and energy efficiency.

“Our contact centres are vital to the running of our company. They’re the main point where we’re in touch directly with customers, so it’s important we get it right.

“We’ll be ensuring customers get a swift response and resolution to their queries, by ensuring the right people are always on hand with the knowledge and expertise to help.”

Mr Roxburgh added that all new employees will undertake a comprehensive training period where they will be given the knowledge and expertise to deliver excellent customer experience.

Write to the Unknown Soldier

Letter To An Unknown Soldier is a new kind of war memorial: one made only of words, and by thousands of people. And there’s still time to put pen to paper …

The project, created by Kate Pullinger and Neil Bartlett, is inspired by Charles Jagger’s famous statue in Paddington Station of a soldier reading a letter. Everyone in the UK is invited to pause, take a moment or two, and write that letter. All of the letters will be published online for everyone to read alongside contributions from 50 leading writers and held in the British Library’s web archive.

The project, run by 14-18 Now, asks as many people as possible to send a personal message to one of the men who served and was killed during World War One.

Schools and community groups, as well as individuals, have already written letters and their thoughts are part of an online exhibition. Letters are also featured from established writers including A.L Kennedy, Sheila Hancock, Andy McNab and Caryl Churchill.

It’s not too late to write your letter – the project runs until 4th August at 11pm: the centenary of the moment when Prime Minister Asquith announced to the House of Commons that Britain had joined the First World War.

For further information visit 1418now.org.uk

Produced in association with Free Word and in conjunction with the BBC

I’ve written to him:

Dear Friend

I hope I’m not being too presumptuous calling you friend – after all, we’ve never met but I feel that I’ve known you for most of my life. Let me explain.

Our paths first crossed when I was at secondary school; it must have been 1969 or 1970, which now seems such a long time ago!

It was Mr Macefield, a brilliant History teacher, who first introduced me to you and your pals. The Somme, Passchendaele, the misery, the suffering, the mud, the rats, the lice – I’ve remembered those lessons to this day.

I’ve never experienced war first hand; never felt the fear, breathed in the stench of gas and decay or cringed as shells came crashing down. I’ve never felt the grief of losing close pals. I feel dirty if I can’t shower every morning: God only knows how softies like me would have coped with the filth, the lice and the rats – but you did!

And I often wonder how I would have responded when the officer’s whistle sounded: would I have had the guts to clamber over the top and advance into an inferno of shells and withering machine gun fire? Would I have found it in me to summon up the courage to walk into Hell – you did.

I’m too old to fight now, so I’ll never know. I’ve reached middle age, something so many of you Tommies never did.

I wonder why you enlisted? Duty? Patriotic fervour? Maybe it was a sense of fair play, facing up to a bully? Or more likely you took the King’s shilling because you fancied an adventure and war offered a chance to see places you’d only ever heard about? You probably signed up because all your pals did, and you didn’t want to be left at home while they enjoyed danger and excitement abroad? Whatever your reason, I am grateful – and my generation and those that follow owe you so much.

It’s just a real pity we didn’t learn the lessons of your sacrifice: the Great War really should have been the war to end all wars, but mankind – and our so-called ‘leaders’ in particular – can be incredibly stupid. Just as they were in your day!

Society has moved forward in so many ways; you wouldn’t believe – indeed, couldn’t even begin to imagine – the advances we’ve made, but it seems we can’t stop finding reasons to fight each other. Territory, religion, ideology – you name it, we’ll go to war over it and we go on and on inventing new and ‘better’ ways to kill more and more people! Can you believe that?

But that’s not your fault. When the call came, you answered it. You did your bit; yes, for King and country but also for us. Thank you for all that you did and I’m sorry we’ve made such a mess of things. When I think of you – and the many thousands who also gave everything – I’m ashamed. We have let you down.