27/08/2014 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Vote for FetLor – North Edinburgh’s Real Heroes!

FetLor Youth Club has been shortlisted for the ‘Best Community Project’ award as part of STV’s Scotland’s Real Heroes series.

If you missed the show last Friday you can see the 3 minute clip feature FetLor Youth Club here:

http://shows.stv.tv/real-heroes/nominees/285317-fet-lor/

A public vote will decide the winner of each category – you can vote for FetLor Youth Club by texting HERO 9 to 87654 or by entering on the STV website http://shows.stv.tv/real-heroes/voting/

FeLor’s Lindsay Coulton said: “We are so thrilled to be nominated for this national award and to win would recognition of all the hard work put in by staff and volunteers – and of course the fantastic kids who come to FetLor!”

The vote closes at 12 noon this Friday (29 August).

Every vote counts – help a North Edinburgh charity become a national winner!

Referendum: only one week left to register to vote

There is now just one week to go until the Scottish Independence Referendum registration deadline (Tuesday 2 September).

Over 50,000 registration forms have already been downloaded from the Electoral Commission’s www.aboutmyvote.co.uk website in the first ten days of the campaign.

It is now important that anyone who has still not registered to vote does so by 2 September, or they will not be able to take part in this historic poll.

Over 2.5 million copies of the Commission’s impartial voting guide have been sent out during the first 10 days of the public awareness campaign.

During the same period (Monday 11 August – Wednesday 20 August):

The voting guide was downloaded a further 33,436 times.
The Commission’s website – www.aboutmyvote.co.uk –received 232,393 individual visits.
The Commission’s call centre has handled 6,670 enquiries from members of the public with large numbers requesting registration and postal vote application forms.

The Electoral Commission’s TV, radio, billboard and online advertising campaign runs right up until the registration deadline.

Andy O’Neill, Head of Scotland Office at the Electoral Commission, said:“There’s a huge amount of interest in the referendum and that’s reflected in the unprecedented response to the first ten days of our campaign.

“With just a week left to register to vote we’re encouraging anyone who’s not already registered to download a form at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk or call our helpline on 0800 3 280 280 to request one as soon as possible.”

The Electoral Commission’s campaign has also included activities targeted at ensuring young people are aware of the registration deadline.

The Commission launched a joint push with Facebook so that Scottish Facebook users who visited the site saw a post in their Newsfeed about its voting guide.

The Commission has also been a part of the Scottish Youth Parliament’s ‘Ready, Steady Vote Week’.

As well as advertising directly to the public the Commission has partnered with a variety of organisations to target information at specific groups who are less likely to be registered to vote.

This includes the National Union of Students, Shelter Scotland, and Young Scot. The Commission has also produced a range of resources, including factsheets, posters and e-mail banners, which can be downloaded free of charge and used by anyone who is also working to promote awareness of how to take part in the referendum.

Porty pottery – do you dig it?

Residents in Portobello are being urged to take a closer look at their own back gardens this weekend to help archaeologists uncover the secrets of the area’s once-thriving pottery industry.

The area has a rich industrial heritage, with a ceramics industry that thrived in the town for more than 200 years.

Dig Portobello, an initiative from Portobello Heritage Trust (PHT) which is supported by the City of Edinburgh Council and The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, will see small trenches dug to examine potteries from Portobello’s past.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh has a fascinating history and this project will really allow members of the community to discover sections of Portobello – and their own back gardens – that have been buried for almost 250 years. Budding archaeologists don’t even need to have their own garden to dig in as selected pieces of council-land will also be unearthed.”

Portobello Heritage Trust’s chair Margaret Munro said: “We can’t wait to start digging. We are very proud of our heritage, but want to know more about our industries. This project gives everyone in the community the chance to find out more over an exciting weekend of activities.”

Get involved

The people of Portobello are being encouraged to sign up and dig a small trench no more than 1m x 2m in size in their gardens, with the guidance of professional archaeologists. Those without gardens or people from outside the area can also take part, as the council has given permission for test pits to be dug on selected areas of council-owned land.

A range of activities will take place over the weekend, all based at or starting from The Wash House Community Centre on Adelphi Grove. Volunteers of all abilities are encouraged to sign up for free geophysical survey training on Friday 29 August at 12pm and an introductory talk at 7:30pm. The archaeological explorations will take place from 10am on Saturday 30 August–Sunday 31 August.

The project will also provide guided walks around Portobello and a range of drop-in workshops, including sessions on ceramics, artefacts, and ‘Wee Pottery Workshops’ for children. The full timetable and information on how to sign up can be found at AOC Archaeology.

To sign up for the geophysical survey training, to take part in the excavations, or to register your children, please contact the Portobello Heritage Trust with details of which days you would like to participate. Please specify whether you are digging in your own garden, and please let them know of the address.

Contact Margaret Munro of the Portobello Heritage Trust on 0131 657 2866 or munroporto(at)hotmail.com

Regeneration: top down isn’t community led

The Scottish Government announced last week that the People and Communities Fund has been boosted, but the Scottish Community Alliance argues that the fund is mis-named: it’s still government, not people or communities, that leads the regeneration process.

The £9.4 million People and Communities Fund, which promotes and supports community-led regeneration initiatives across Scotland, is now accepting new applications for 2015/16.

The budget for the overarching fund has been increased by £1.5 million, with a refreshed focus on the promotion of social inclusion and tackling poverty, including the mitigation of welfare reform.

The Fund will continue to invest in community anchor organisations that deliver local regeneration activity and promote change in our most disadvantaged communities.

The Fund will also support a wide range of initiatives including improving financial capability, reducing the number of workless households, increasing the range of services delivered from local facilities, increasing the number of people taking up volunteering opportunities and healthy eating initiatives.

Announcing the new funding round last week, Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said: “Since 2012 the People and Communities Fund has provided vital support for many community-led organisations, enabling them to create real change within their own communities as well as tangible improvements to people’s lives.

“I am delighted to announce that not only is the next funding round open for 2015/16 applications, but that the budget for the overarching Fund has also increased by £1.5 million. This will allow us to provide £9.4 million to support local people and communities.

“The Fund is targeted at organisations rooted in their local communities. These organisations are best placed to encourage wider involvement in local regeneration activities to ensure long-term impact and sustainability.

“As part of our partnership approach, the Fund has also been refocused to enable us to better align our community funding programmes across government and to support community-led regeneration even more effectively.”

However the Scottish Community Alliance (SCA), an umbrella body for more than 1200 community groups across Scotland, disagrees that this regeneration process is genuinely ‘community-led’, and while welcoming the additional funding, SCA argues that the People and Communities Fund is another example of a ‘top down’ approach to community regeneration.

In the latest issue of the Local People Leading newsletter, SCA said: “When the Scottish Government announced in 2011 that its approach to regeneration was going to be more community led, it met with widespread approval. It was a recognition that outcomes are always better if local people are in control of how their communities are regenerated.

“But the recent announcement of increased funding for 2015/16, while welcome, also stipulated what the new funds are to be focussed on. While no one would disagree with mitigating the impact of welfare reform, isn’t the principle of community led regeneration being undermined somewhat?”

More information on the People and Communities Fund is available – and community anchor organisations can make applications – by visiting www.scotland.gov.uk/pcf

The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday 31 October.

Dare you enter … The Twilight Zone?

I’m writing to tell you about a programme at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery for after-school clubs and family groups called The Twilight Zone.

Get the gallery to yourselves after-hours or come at the weekends and enjoy fun, interactive tours or creative workshops. Visits are free of charge to community groups.

Read all about it here:

www.nationalgalleries.org/TwilightZone

Meg Faragher

Families and Communities Learning Co-ordinator

National Galleries of Scotland

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

1 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JD

Tel: 0131 624 6428

M: 07814751087

mfaragher@nationalgalleries.org

Have your say on Edinburgh’s local development plan

EDINBURGH LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

SECOND PROPOSED PLAN

PERIOD FOR REPRESENTATIONS

The City of Edinburgh Council has prepared a Second Proposed Edinburgh Local Development Plan. It sets out policies and proposals to guide land use and development.

The Second Proposed Plan is accompanied by a Environmental Report – Second Revision, a Second Proposed Action Programme, a revised Draft Habitats Regulations Appraisal Record and a number of other supporting documents. These include a Schedule of Representations, which explains what regard has been had to representations made in 2013 to the first Proposed Plan.

All of these documents are available for inspection from 22 August – 3 October 2014 at:

Planning and Building Standards Reception, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
All Council libraries during normal opening hours.

The documents can also be viewed at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/localdevelopmentplan

Representations can be made on the Second Proposed Plan. These must be submitted in writing using the form provided by 5pm on Friday 3 October 2014. Representations can be submitted electronically to localdevelopmentplan@edinburgh.gov.uk or by post to Local Development Plan Team, City of Edinburgh Council, Business Centre G.3, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG.

Copies of the representations form and guidance note on submitting representations are available on the above website, at Waverley Court and in Council libraries.

If you made a representation to the first Proposed Plan in 2013, please note that you will need to resubmit your representation if you wish it to be formally considered by the Council and dealt with through the examination process.

Written comments can also be submitted on the Environmental Report, Action Programme, Draft Habitats Regulations Appraisal Record and other supporting documents. These should be sent to the above email or postal address by Friday 3 October 2014.

Drop-in engagement events have been arranged to provide further information on any aspect of the Second Proposed Plan:

North West Edinburgh, Rosebery Hall, Queensferry, 26 August, 3.30-6.45pm.
West Edinburgh, Drumbrae Library Hub, 28 August, 4-7pm.
South East Edinburgh, Kings Manor Hotel, Milton Road, 1 September, 4-7pm.
South West Edinburgh, Gibson Craig Hall, Currie, 3 September, 4-7pm.
South East Edinburgh, Faith Mission Hall, Gilmerton, 4 September, 4-7pm.
General session, Urban Room, Waverley Court, East Market Street, 22 September, 4-7 pm.

For more details see www.edinburgh.gov.uk/localdevelopmentplan

or contact Marius Hince on 0131 529 4692

or email marius.hince@edinburgh.gov.uk

Ben Wilson

Principal Planner, Local Planning Policy