Day: November 4, 2014

POLCATS pounce on the streets of Leith!

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A team of volunteers from Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) and the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) have taken part in their first clean up together.

The POLCATS (Port of Leith Community Action Team) and the CEC’s City Centre Leith Neighbourhood team, spent two days litter picking, weeding, sweeping, removing graffiti from bins and removing dumped items from Pitt Street and Trafalgar Lane.

Claire Ironside, Director of Customer Services at PoLHA, said: “We have several properties in Trafalgar Lane and Pitt Street, so it was a natural choice for us to target these streets first. We were also helped by local businesses that went out of their way to move cars and vans to allow access to the streets.

“We have received some very positive feedback from our first community clean up and are looking forward to carrying out similar activities in the future to ensure our neighbourhoods are looking clean and tidy.”... after

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Play in the Park this weekend

Broughton High School Community Learning & Development (CLD) Team is launching a fun new activity this weekend.

Drylaw and Inverleith Parks will be the venues for young people to get out to enjoy games, sports, trips, arts, challenges – and more!

Weekly ‘Play in the Park’ sessions start this Sunday (9 November) in Drylaw Park from 1 – 3pm and will also be taking place in Inverleith Park on Sturdays from 2.30 – 4.30pm – starting date details will be announced later.

For further information contact Callum McLeod at Broughton High School CLD, telephone 332 6316.

Weekends will never be the same again!

Poster Nov2014

Play your part in active travel planning

Local councillor Lesley Hinds outlined initiatives to keep the city moving at last week’s Inverleith Community Conference. You can be involved  …

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A recruitment drive is now under way for members of two groups involved in developing active travel policy for Edinburgh.

The Council is setting up a new Active Travel Forum, to be chaired by Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds (above), which will be supplemented by a Cycling Forum and a Walking Forum.

Applications are now being sought from four members of the public to join the Cycling and Walking Forum (ie eight in total), alongside one lobby group representative for each group.

The Council is also looking for a business representative to join the Active Travel Forum, to give a perspective on active travel and staff commuting.

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Councillor Adam McVey, Vice Convener of Transport and Environment, will chair both the Cycling and Walking Forums. He said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone who’s interested in active travel in Edinburgh. We want these forums to reflect a broad range of viewpoints to help us develop new policies and design principles for future walking and cycling initiatives. If you’ve got ideas on how we can do things differently or if you just want to play a bigger role in the City’s active travel plans, we’d love to hear from you.”

The full membership of the Cycling and Walking Forums will be made up of existing Transport Forum members, elected members and officers from the Council’s Transport division.

The first meetings of the Active Travel Forum, Cycling Forum and Walking Forum will take place on Wednesday 26 November 2014.

To apply, complete the online application form by Friday 14 November.

Edinburgh prepares for winter

Winter is coming – and the city council is getting ready for it …

Road Services staff Brian McKay, Stuart Dineley and David Gillies get ready for winterSalt has been stockpiled, gritting lorries have been serviced and tried and tested plans have been reviewed and refreshed to help the Capital deal with whatever the weather has in store for us over the coming months.

Twenty four/seven stand-by arrangements for treating the roads and pavements came into force late last month [October] and salt bins throughout Edinburgh are being checked and topped up where necessary.

A Ready for Winter communications campaign, launched yesterday, will see information leaflets and posters distributed to neighbourhood offices, libraries and doctor and dental surgeries.

The leaflets provide useful information about being prepared for winter and contact information so that residents can readily access the help and services they need.

A total of 16,000 tonnes of salt have been stockpiled; levels are monitored throughout the winter and topped up when required.

Local farmers, who have worked with the Council over the past three years gritting rural routes, have been engaged again this year. Contracts are also in place with external contractors should the Council need access to additional staff and equipment in extreme winter conditions.

The Council website’s live winter weather pages provide information about priority road, cycle path and pavement gritting routes. Also on the site is an interactive map so that residents can find out where their nearest salt bin is.

If and when severe weather strikes, the Council will use its social media channels, website and local radio stations to keep residents updated on any impact on services.

Waste services skip locations have also been identified.  If the weather deteriorates and prevents waste collections from being made, skips will be installed at these locations for public use.

Councillor Adam McVey, Vice Convener of Transport and Environment, said: “We’ve had a few mild winters in recent years but we are never complacent – the harsh winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11 are still fresh in everyone’s memory. It’s impossible to know at this stage what the weather has in store for us this year but we’ve been busy making sure we’re as prepared as we can be to keep the city moving, whatever the elements throw our way. Our staff are all trained up, our equipment is ready for use and our salt stocks are topped up, with more available should it be needed.

“As ever, we’d encourage residents to ensure they find out everything they need to know about keeping themselves safe during the winter months. Pick up one of our Ready for Winter leaflets at your local library or doctors’ surgery, visit our web pages or consult the Scottish Government’s advice at www.readyscotland.org.”Snowplough at Oaklands 2010

Snowplough at Oaklands 2010