Cardownie: ‘there is no place that can beat Edinburgh at Christmas.’

541,151 tickets were sold for shows and attractions at Edinburgh’s Christmas 2014/15 – a 40% rise since 2013/14

Over 1 in 10 people in the EH postcode area took advantage of the EH postcode discount offer
Nearly 1 in 5 tickets sold were sold with the EH postcode discount
3.6 million people visited the Edinburgh Christmas sites, increasing footfall by 37.6% on 2013
Footfall during the Edinburgh’s Christmas period was UP in the City Centre by 5.1% and on Princes Street by 8.6%, smashing the UK national average which was expected to be down up to 1%

People from Edinburgh and nearby towns have enjoyed big savings as they helped Edinburgh’s Christmas to a massive, record-busting year, Underbelly announced today.

A total of 541,151 visitors bought tickets for the festival’s many shows and attractions – up by 40.17% on the previous year when 386,045 were sold.

And 97,500 of these tickets were sold to EH postcode holders at a 20% discount. This means that over 18% of tickets were sold at a discounted rate.

With an estimated Edinburgh Area postcode population of around 870,000 (made up of Edinburgh, the Lothians and a part of the Scottish Borders) that means a number equivalent to around 11% of the population in the postcode area took advantage of the discount offer.

And the success doesn’t end with the numbers of tickets sold – with more than 3.6 million people visiting the two major sites, Princes Street Gardens and St Andrew Square, during the run of the Christmas festival, an increase of 37.6% on the 2013 festival, which had a footfall of 2,629,416.

The positive impact on city centre businesses is reinforced by figures released by Essential Edinburgh, the company which runs the city centre Business Improvement District, which shows footfall figures up the Edinburgh Christmas period by 8.6% on last year for Princes Street, and by 15.6% at St Andrew Square.

In general, the city centre footfall figures were up by more than 5.1% on the previous year, compared with a UK average of -1% for the same period (UK national figures are yet to be released for the month, but based on weekly figures which have been released, the average UK footfall is expected to be down by up to 1%).

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Edinburgh’s Festivals and Events Champion, said: “Our winter festivals are the envy of the world and rightly so. This has been another record-breaking year, and the huge boost to footfall is good news for city centre businesses and the local economy. I think residents will agree that the programme was even bigger and better this year, and I’m pleased so many local people have benefitted from the discount we launched especially for EH postcode holders, these results just go to prove there is no place that can beat Edinburgh at Christmas.”

The City of Edinburgh Council funds Edinburgh’s Christmas and it is also supported by Essential Edinburgh and Marketing Edinburgh.

Welfare reform advice fund to top £4 million

More cash to help advise poverty-stricken Scots

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) will receive an additional £1.5 million to alleviate Westminster’s welfare reform changes, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil confirmed today.

The Scottish Government funding comes on top of £2.5 million it has allocated to support CAS’s Welfare Reform Mitigation Fund between 2013-2015.

The fund was established to offer a range of services for local Bureaux across Scotland, including additional resources to support the move to online claims.

The additional £1.5 million will allow CAB to employ more staff, operate longer opening hours, provide more training for advisers and recruit more volunteers across the 200 CAB service points in operation across Scotland.

According to CAS, in the first year over 17,500 people were helped with over 55,000 issues. The service now sees an additional 6,000 clients every three months thanks to Scottish Government funding.

CAB advisers can provide support on a wide range of issues, but most recently the top three areas which clients have requested help with have been benefits, debt and tax issues.

The Scottish Government has set aside £104 million in next year’s budget to tackle poverty and inequalities including £33 million to the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Alex Neil said: “Westminster’s programme of austerity is placing intolerable strain on Scottish families and individuals. Many feel stressed, isolated and at their wits end. That is why supporting the provision of advice services is a central plank of the Scottish Government’s approach to welfare reform mitigation.

“Scottish Citizens Bureaux staff are dealing with an increased volume of calls with thousands of people seeking advice as UK Government welfare reform changes hit the most vulnerable.

“CAB have an unequalled track record of delivering free expert, impartial advice and its national network of advice centres will ensure that this funding reaches every corner of Scotland.

“To create a more prosperous and fairer society in Scotland, full responsibility over welfare policy is the only way for us to properly tackle poverty.”

Margaret Lynch, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice Scotland said: “This funding means that CAB are helping get money into the purses and pockets of our citizens, supporting people to navigate their way through a complicated benefits system, and signpost them to other much needed services such as foodbanks.

“Bureaux see complicated cases and can be frustrated by maladministration, delays to benefits, and the sanctioning of benefits which lead to cases of destitution and desperation. CAB advice has never been so needed and people know they can depend on us for support at their time of need.”

Overheated laptop causes house fire

Fire chiefs warn: don’t leave charging devices unattended

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is warning the public about the danger of leaving devices unattended while charging after a laptop caught fire at a house in Falkirk yesterday.

Fortunately no-one was injured in the incident, but fire officers are urging the public to remember to unplug chargers before leaving home.

Watch Manager Mike Fitches said: “The fire was caused by an overheated laptop which had been left charging. The fire has caused extensive damage to the bedroom and some damage to the first floor. Thankfully no one was at home at the time of the fire and we were alerted by workmen who were outside another house in the area.

“This incident had the potential to be even more serious and we can’t stress enough how important it is to unplug any chargers before you go out.

He added: “We would also urge everyone to ensure they have a working smoke alarm inside their property. We provide FREE home fire safety visits, including the fitting of smoke alarms where required.”

Join Scotland’s Fight Against Fire and request a home fire safety visit by calling the SFRS freephone number 0800 0731 999 or visit the website at www.firescotland.gov.uk.

Edinburgh College stages epic event!

Every Person Counts: learning lessons on inclusion from Cambodia

A fully inclusive dance company from Cambodia featuring performers with various disabilities visited Edinburgh College last month to deliver a workshop and perform to the college’s dance students.

Epic Encounters is a group of talented dance and theatre performers from Cambodia, consisting of hearing-impaired, disabled and non-disabled performers. It is first and only fully inclusive dance company in South East Asia.

The company came to the college’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland(PASS) to perform examples of its work that it uses to raise awareness of issues in Cambodia such as road safety, sexual health and child protection to PASS students and staff.

The performers also led an inclusive movement workshop based on their performances and the company motto of Epic Arts – Every Person Counts.

They performed a thought-provoking piece called Come Back Brighter, about the effect of the Khmer Rouge Regime on the artists of Cambodia and the current explosion of creativity sweeping the country. The performance also included a mini sign language lesson and life story from one of the performers.

The Epic Encounters team tours nationally and internationally, creating and performing educational theatre and dance performances. It mixes traditional Khmer dance and contemporary physical theatre techniques to inspire, raise awareness and educate.

Epic Encounters is a social enterprise from Epic Arts Kampot. Epic Arts is an international NGO that works to raise the aspirations of disabled and non-disabled Cambodians through arts-based education, community and social businesses such as the dance company, which is a valuable source of sustainable income for the charity Epic Encounters visited the college as the final stop on a UK tour of performances, workshops and talks.Ethelinda Lashley, a dance lecturer at PASS, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn from dancers from a very different background and to understand and appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusivity in dance. Our students are encouraged to appreciate dance within a social and cultural context and explore this through their work.”

Susan Inglis, equalities, policy and research manager for the college, said: “The performance by Epic Arts from Cambodia was most impressive and inspirational.

“The dance team should be congratulated for bringing this highly skilled and energetic inclusive dance group to the college. They demonstrated vividly their commitment to a world where every person counts, and where people with disabilities are valued, accepted and respected.”

Still time to get it right …

Getting It Right For Every Child introduction and refresher course

There is still time to book your place on the GIRFEC introduction and refresher course on 27 January at Spartans Community Football Academy.

This training session will be of interest to all staff working with children and young people and/or parents/carers. It will be of particular interest to those who wish to build confidence in the Getting It Right approach and for those who have had no previous training or wish to update/refresh previous training.

To book your place contact tracey.devenney@edinburgh.gov.uk or telephone 0131 529 5073.

Scottish Greens welcome Greek green-left alliance

‘We stand in solidarity with the people of Greece in their fight for decent lives and against austerity’ – Cllr Maggie Chapman

Scottish Greens Co-Convener Maggie Chapman has welcomed the decision by the Greek Ecologist Greens to join SYRIZA, the Coalition of the Radical Left, ahead of the Greek general election on 25 January.

SYRIZA stand a good chance of winning the election, which is widely seen as a referendum on the austerity imposed by the ‘Troika’ of the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.

Leith Walk ward city councillor Maggie Chapman, who is also Co-Convenor of the Scottish Greens, said: “The Scottish Greens welcome the decision of our Greek comrades to join SYRIZA, the Coalition of the Radical Left, ahead of this month’s election. SYRIZA are the party best placed to end the worst cuts, and put Greece back on the road to democracy.

“At our conference last year, the Scottish Greens made clear that we are totally opposed to the austerity being imposed on Greece and other European countries. We stand in solidarity with the people of Greece in their fight for decent lives and against austerity. “

Lazarowicz: government ‘lacks vision’ on renewable energy

Mark Lazarowicz has called for the Government to show consistency and vision to support renewable energy technologies such as offshore wind or marine power. Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, the North and Leith Labour MP said both are currently lacking in its approach to the renewables industry.

After the debate, Mr Lazarowicz commented: “I am concerned at a lack of consistency and vision from the Government in its approach to green energy: it has the potential to create skilled jobs for the future, not least here in Edinburgh.

“Support for less established technologies like offshore wind and marine energy in the early stages is vital but they are forced to compete for limited funding. The Government must show the vision to make their potential a reality otherwise these industries will go elsewhere and jobs with them.”

Pelamis Marine Power based in Edinburgh recently went into administration as funding to develop its technology at commercial scale failed to materialise.

The North and Leith MP was speaking in a debate on the Government’s Contracts for Difference – the new form of public funding for renewable technologies which is replacing the Renewables Obligation.

However, the funding is limited and divided between established technologies like onshore wind and solar and less established ones such as offshore wind and marine power with more of that budget likely to go to offshore wind.

Under Contracts for Difference companies are guaranteed a price – known as the strike price for the energy they generate. If the market price falls below that the Government will top up the difference and if it is higher then the energy companies must pay the difference to the Government.

You can find his speech in full here.

Get your tickets for the 1d Tenement Opera

Don’t miss out – FREE tickets available NOW!!!

The 1d Tenement Opera is a story based on the lives of people who have lived in a tenement in Edinburgh over two centuries. The tenement eventually became part of Edinburgh Corporation’s Slum Clearance Programme, some of the tenements were sold for just 1d (an old penny), and in 1959 one of the last tenements collapsed and a little boy was killed. Local people told stories of being in the bath and the end of the room falling away, others spoke of desperately trying to save their babies and children as the floor boards started to slope away from under them. This was known as the Penny Tenement collapse.

The 1d Tenement Opera is devised with the local people of North Edinburgh, some of whose families had been living in the city centre before the Slum Clearance Programme.

North Edinburgh Theatre project is delighted to be working with the following artists for this project: designer Ali Maclaurin, musical director Lynda Peachey, dancer and choreographer Monica de Ioanni, and dramaturg Lynne Clark. Stephanie Knight is the project director.

Dates/Times: 15th /16th /17th January at 7pm
Tickets: Free (donations very welcome)
Contact Box Office to reserve tickets: Call 0131 315 2151 or email admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk