Thirty-five people from blue-light services, voluntary sector rescue organisations and the public have been presented with Brave@Heart Awards recognising acts of bravery. The awards were presented by the First Minister at a special event held at Edinburgh Castle. Continue reading Brave@Heart: First Minister presents bravery awards
The Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden will be laying out their plans to landowners later today. Developers plan to build housing on the waterfront site, but the Friends group argues that the historic garden should be brought back to it’s former glory for the use of the local community.
A Friends group delegation will set out their vision for the restoration of the garden as a focus for community renewal in a presentation to the EDI group’s management team this afternoon.
Granton Castle Walled Garden is currently owned by the EDI Group, an ‘arms-length’ development compnay wholly-owned by the city council, who previously submitted a planning application to build luxury houses on the garden site.
However The Friends group argue that the garden should be:
a garden for all to enjoy, with a range of learning growing and arts activities and a diverse events programme.
a restored market garden run by the local community, supplying organic produce directly to local people, businesses and schools, and
a living heritage garden, serving as a gateway to the waterfront development and a social hub for existing and future communities.
At the meeting, FoGCWG will stress that all local community groups share the aim of retaining the garden as open space.
The Friends prepared specific proposals for the development of the walled garden as a community asset after the EDI Group appointed architects to prepare a new masterplan for Granton Waterfront. FoGCWG are keen that their proposals for the garden should be incorporated in the new masterplan.
Specific features of the proposals include a visitor centre and cafe, a kitchen garden, a heritage orchard, a workshop and demonstration area, a sanctuary garden. a medicinal and pigment garden, a restored glasshouse and a polytunnel.
Friends chairperson Kirsty Sutherland said: “With these proposals, an important part of Granton’s heritage can become a catalyst for development and community renewal on Edinburgh’s Waterfront. They offer a wide range of benefits in terms of health and wellbeing, social cohesion, cross-cultural integration, community education and local capacity-building.
“The restoration of Granton Castle Walled Garden as a community asset is supported by a wide range of local stakeholders and national organisations.”
You can contact the Friends group by email at grantoncastlegardengroup@gmail.com
The group also has a website at https://grantoncastlewalledgarden.wordpress.com/
A multi-million pound fund to develop green spaces in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas has been announced by Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Keith Brown. The money – which comes from EU funding – will support projects like new nature reserves and parks and green spaces in urban areas, benefiting communities across Scotland. Continue reading Green space funding up for grabs
The BFI Film Academy and Screen Education Edinburgh are offering an intensive course in filmmaking for 16-19 year olds who live in the South East of Scotland. Continue reading Screen Education Edinburgh seeks talented youngsters for BFI Film Academy
ROYSTON WARDIEBURN COMMUNITY CENTRE
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY 5 OCTOBER 12 – 2pm
Community cash for participatory budgeting initiatives
Communities across Scotland are to benefit from £1.5 million funding which will give people more power to make decisions directly on spending in their local areas.
The Community Choices Fund is targeted at work in deprived areas, and for the first time community groups as well as public authorities, including local authorities, were able to apply for funding to organise their own Community Choices budgeting events.
The fund received well over 100 applications with 16 successful community projects and 12 public authorities spanning the breadth of Scotland. A full list of successful applicants is provided below.
The projects include:
Leith Links Community Council was among the community projects to receive funding. The community council was awarded £20,869 to support their ‘CommUNITY links: Brightening Local Lives’ initiative.
Local Government and Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “It’s the commitment of this government to give communities more control to shape their futures. I am delighted to see communities applying for Community Choices funding and to read about the innovative and creative ways communities are working to address the issues that are important to the people in their community. It is also pleasing to see that we have engagement with Community Choices right across the country from Shetland to the Scottish Borders.
“The Community Choices Fund offers an opportunity for decisions to be made by people in their local communities who are best placed to know what their community needs.”
The Community Choices Fund builds on the Scottish Government investment in participatory budgeting over the last two years. More information about participatory budgeting is available at: http://pbscotland.scot
Forth & Inverleith Voluntary Sector Forum
Tuesday 11 October 9.30 – 11.30am
North Edinburgh Arts Centre
Next week’s Forth & Inverleith Voluntary Sector Forum will focus on Localities. What are Localities – and how will they affect your organisation?
What are Localities?
The City of Edinburgh Council and the Health and Social Care Partnership are moving to a locality model of working with a phased implementation from the start of April 2016 – July 2016. This is supported by the Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland.
There will be four localities in Edinburgh – details of the geography for each of these areas and the current voluntary sector forums that are in them can be found here.
Why the move to Localities?
Locality working is a legal requirement of the Health and Social Care Partnership and City of Edinburgh Council has decided to move to the same model, believing that this change will help the services deliver better outcomes through being less bureaucratic, more agile and innovative in approaches. Their need for cost savings through staff reductions have also reinforced this move. Police Scotland and the Fire and Rescue Service are supportive of the move and are aligning to the model.
There is an overall desired outcome that Edinburgh citizens will receive better co-produced services with the third sector as a key partner.
What does it mean for the Third Sector?
EVOC has held ThinkSpace events in each locality to update organisations and groups on locality working and to discuss how the third sector can be represented in localities. The papers relevant to each locality can be found under each locality.
Here are the notes gathered from the robust discussions at these events: Report from four Locality Think Space Events
Locality Leadership groups have been established for each locality with monthly meetings planned. As a result of the discussions the following immediate actions have resulted:
Influencing the locality leadership meetings can be done via the quarterly local Voluntary Sector Forums
To access information on a particular locality please click on the links below
WANT TO FIND OUT THE LATEST ON LOCALITIES?
Tuesday 11th October 2016, 9.30-11.30am – North Edinburgh Arts
‘Getting to know you’ event with the locality leadership team. All Third Sector organisations in the area are welcome to attend – and please be ready to talk about your project!
For further information please contact Denise Horn, email denise.horn@evoc.org.uk or call 555 9117.
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis has announced that the Government plans to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act (ECA). The Act gives direct effect to all EU law and the introduction of a new Bill to repeal it will mean the Act ceases to apply from the day of exit.
At the same time the new Bill will convert existing EU law into domestic law, while allowing Parliament to amend, repeal or improve any law after appropriate scrutiny and debate.
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis said: “We will follow the process to leave the EU which is set out in Article 50.
“The Prime Minister has been clear that she won’t start the formal negotiations about our exit before the end of the year. As we prepare for those negotiations in Europe, we also need to prepare for the impact of Brexit on domestic law. It’s very simple. At the moment we leave, Britain must be back in control. And that means EU law must cease to apply.
“To ensure continuity, we will take a simple approach. EU law will be transposed into domestic law, wherever practical, on exit day. It will be for elected politicians here to make the changes to reflect the outcome of our negotiation and our exit. That is what people voted for: power and authority residing once again with the sovereign institutions of our own country.”
Mr Davis also dismissed any suggestion that the Government intends to use Brexit to roll back workers’ rights – pointing out that in many areas, including annual and parental leave, UK law goes further than minimum standards offered under EU law.
He added: “To those who are trying to frighten British workers, saying “When we leave, employment rights will be eroded”, I say firmly and unequivocally “no they won’t”.
“The European Communities Act has meant that if there is a clash between an act of the British Parliament and EU law, EU law prevails. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has interpreted EU law and delivered judgments that were binding on the UK and other member states. The repeal Bill will end ECJ jurisdiction in the UK.”
Mr Davis said the move demonstrates the Government’s determination to deliver the will of the British people, expressed in the EU referendum result, to ensure that Britain makes its own decisions about how it wants the country to be run.
The Repeal Bill will include powers for ministers to make some changes by secondary legislation, giving the Government the flexibility to take account of the negotiations with the EU as they proceed.
It will also ensure that the Government can establish new domestic regimes in areas where regulation and licensing is currently done at an EU level, and amendments are required to ensure the law operates effectively at a domestic level. The ECA created a power which currently exists for Ministers to make secondary legislation to give effect to EU law.
Legislation resulting from the UK’s exit must work for the whole of the United Kingdom, so the Government will work closely with the devolved administrations to get the best possible deal for all parts of the United Kingdom as we leave the EU. They will have opportunities to have their say and we will look at any suggestions they put forward.
The Prime Minister has stated that she intends to trigger Article 50, the formal process for starting a two-year negotiation over exit from the EU, by next March. In order for the UK to withdraw in an orderly way, ECA repeal will ensure that legislation is passed in advance so that EU law ceases to apply and domestic law can take its place on the day of exit.
Continue reading The end is nigh: Government paves the way for orderly EU withdrawal
Growing Communities for Health
As always, ELGT had a great response to the ‘Growing Communities For Health’ grant scheme when the latest round opened in September of last year. During 2016, we funded twelve projects across Edinburgh and helped to grow the network of community gardens in the city.
Among the twelve community groups receiving grants this year, Newhaven Heritage and The Afro-Caribbean Christian Fellowship started up brand-new garden projects. Grants were also given towards:
If your community group wants to start a new garden, or is looking for funds to help develop an existing garden, the 2016-17 grant scheme is open now and will close in November. See here for full details.
Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Greens say Damhead is wrong location for new film studio
Scottish Green MSPs joined campaigners who handed in a petition to the Scottish Parliament in protest at the imminent eviction of a farmer from his family’s home of 100 years.
82-year-old tenant farmer Jim Telfer faces from eviction from Old Pentland Farm near Straiton in Midlothian as the landowners want to sell to developers behind a proposed film studio. Planning permission rests with the Scottish Government after Midlothian Council failed to make a ruling on the application within a 16-week deadline.
Midlothian Green councillor Ian Baxter has previously proposed Shawfair as a better location for such a development.
Alison Johnstone and Andy Wightman, Green MSPs for Lothian, were joined at Thursday’s protest by Green co-convener Patrick Harvie MSP.
Andy Wightman MSP said: “The film studio may be a good idea but it’s the wrong location, and the stress this is placing on Jim, his family and the wider community is simply unacceptable. The site is good-quality farmland and should be protected, especially when there are other locations more appropriate for commercial developments.
“The residents of Damhead and Old Pentland are due credit for galvanising support in this campaign, and the Green MSPs were delighted to welcome them to Parliament today. Let’s hope Scottish Ministers heed the strength of local feeling on this issue.”
