Break-ins to sheds and garages occur all too often across the country.
Many criminals consider this type of crime low risk, however there is a lot you can do to outsmart them.
A few simple changes can greatly improve the security of your property.
Living in #NorthEdinburgh and would like to raise an issue affecting you?
Drop In this Friday for a cuppa and a chat with local @Edinburgh_CC Forth Councillor Stuart Dobbin this Friday 16 August in our welcoming Community Hub any time between 9.15am and 11am.
David Wilson Homes is bringing ‘lavish city living’ to the leafy outskirts of the capital with the launch of its two brand-new show homes at West Craigs Quarter.
David Wilson Homes, which forms part of Barratt Developments Scotland alongside Barratt Homes, is now welcoming prospective buyers to visit and experience The Brechin and The Falkland show homes for themselves.
The four-bed properties, which have been designed by Graeme Fuller Design, have been crafted with families in mind, and those looking for quality and space within commuting distance of the city centre.
Both The Brechin and The Falkland have been designed to capture the feel of classic city penthouses, with subtle touches to add an air of sophistication to spaces throughout the homes.
Kyle Downie, Senior Interior Designer at Graeme Fuller Design, said: “We made a conscious decision to make the design of The Brechin and The Falkland show homes at West Craigs Quarter completely different from what we’ve done at other developments to showcase the houses’ versatility.
“In The Brechin, the lavish scheme was tailored to the ‘city living’ vision we see in capital penthouse suites. While the lounge boasts a large corner piece with built-in side tables and a luxuriant chandelier overhead, the dining area is the perfect place for hosting and can seat up to eight people. The kitchen island also offers another space for gathering.
“In the primary bedroom, the wallpaper is breathtaking with a 3D tree-like element in its champagne finish which is perfect for the affluent scheme. The central pendant and the wall lights in the room illuminate the wallpaper the way it was intended so you can admire the movement in the design.”
However, while The Brechin’s kitchen is the social hub of the home, The Falkland’s lounge is the go-to entertaining space.
Kyle added: “The Falkland continues the feeling of walking through a penthouse but from a completely different approach. While The Brechin’s kitchen is the social hub of the home, The Falkland focuses on the lounge with a beautiful corner sofa and adjacent armchairs.
“The large, solid wood dining table and matching dining chairs with their contemporary design absorb the widely aspired style of neutral tones, textured finishes and natural elements.
“The primary bedroom in The Falkland features a wall framed headboard between two fitted mirrors and two hanging pendants above each bedside, making the whole room immediately feel exuberant when the mirrors reflect the light that the pendants individually emit.
“It’s these small touches that create an air of luxury, helping to make the house a home.”
Idyllically located just minutes from the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, West Craigs Quarter is surrounded by a host of local amenities and family-friendly activities, such as Edinburgh Zoo and walking routes around Cammo Estate.
A selection of well-regarded schools can be found nearby, including a new primary school, nursery and health centre being built on the site by The City of Edinburgh Council.
Excellent transport links into the city centre, including the Edinburgh Gateway tram and train line and a regular Lothian bus service, are ideal for exploring the plethora of shops, restaurants and the historic UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city centre.
Edinburgh Airport and the City Bypass are also on the doorstep, allowing easy access across Scotland and beyond.
Anne Ross, Sales Director at Barratt Developments East Scotland, said: “We’re excited to finally be able to open the doors to our two brand-new show homes at West Craigs Quarter.
“Kyle and the team at Graeme Fuller Design have done a fantastic job in designing homes that appeal to both growing families and couples looking to indulge in spacious surroundings and quality touches.
“Mix this with the development’s leafy setting on the outskirts of Edinburgh and you really do have a postcode that offers the best of both worlds.”
A variety of three and four-bedroom homes are currently for sale at West Craigs Quarter, starting at £439,995. A range of incentives are also available to help make the move easier, including Part Exchange and Deposit Boost.
For more information on Barratt Developments in Scotland, visit:
BBC ALBA has partnered with local production company, Mantra TBh, to follow life in the Port of Stornoway in a brand new series, Port Steòrnabhaigh, as work on the new Deep Water Terminal gets underway.
Giving viewers a look behind the scenes, the six-part series explores the daily workings of the main port in the Hebrides, sharing real-life stories from the beating heart of Stornoway Harbour and the bustling community found in her shelter.
Kicking off the vibrant docu-series, viewers are introduced to one of the largest construction projects the Western Isles has ever seen – Stornoway’s Deep Water Terminal – following demand from the energy, transport and cruise industries to bring larger vessels into Stornoway.
As preparation works are full steam ahead for the new port, we meet some American residents who take shelter in the harbour over the winter, before more overseas travellers are welcomed to the island-town on board a cruise ship that is safely piloted into Stornoway.
Viewers can also expect to meet some artists who make the most of the treasures washed ashore and delve into the fascinating world of archaeology along the way.
Learning more about the challenges of life in the port, later in the series, we see the harbour team spring into action to address a health issue on a boat that has docked alongside. Displaying the extraordinary commitment, skill and good humour those in the community bring to their work every single day, we keep up to date on progress at the new Deep Water Terminal and follow plans inshore as the town centre gets a face lift.
The final episode marks a historic day for the Hebrides as the first cruise ship arrives at the Deep Water Terminal, and tourists get a chance to visit some of the island’s top attractions.
Port Steòrnabhaigh premieres on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 14 August at 8.30pm (in Gaelic with English subtitles), with weekly episodes available every Wednesday evening.
Watch live or on demand: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022110.
Next steps to address violence against women and girls, including measures to combat culturally specific forms of violence, have been unveiled.
The latest Equally Safe Delivery Plan – developed in partnership with COSLA – focuses on prevention of abuse across Scotland’s diverse communities. For the first time, this includes taking forward a specific approach to tackle honour-based abuse.
Recognising the higher risk of abuse that women and girls with learning disabilities face, it will also ensure that relevant educational settings are equipped to teach pupils about healthy relationships and improve access to support services.
Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said: “Violence against women and girls is abhorrent and has no place in modern Scotland. Since 2021, frontline projects backed by our Delivering Equally Safe Fund have supported nearly 60,000 adults, children and young people, and we are determined to build on that progress.
“This plan sets out our sustained focus on prevention, improving support services and ensuring the justice response is robust.
“Gendered abuse can happen in any community and to ensure that it is tackled effectively and equitably for all women, we are strengthening our response to the diverse ways that violence and abuse can occur.
“That includes recognising that abusers could be extended family members rather than partners – like in some cases of honour-based violence – and ensuring tailored support is provided for vulnerable groups, including women with learning disabilities and migrants.”
COSLA ‘s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson Councillor Maureen Chalmers said: “This Delivery Plan is a road map underpinning the next phase of COSLA’s and the Scottish Government’s shared journey towards an Equally Safe Scotland for women and girls.
“We will work collaboratively over the next two years with key specialist and public sector partners, to achieve the delivery of these commitments through our collective energies. No one government, sector or service can prevent and tackle violence against women and girls alone.”
The plan was launched with a visit from Ms Stewart and Ms Chalmers to Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre.
Director of the centre, Claudia Macdonald-Bruce said: “Every day, we see the impact that an experience of rape and sexual abuse has on women and girls. It is life-changing, life-altering and sometimes life-ending. No women or girl should have to wait for our help when they ask for it.
“I hope that today’s opportunity to see in action how our trauma-informed, survivor voice and data-led approaches to the provision and development of our specialist services for women and girls, is welcomed too as future decisions continue to be made.”
The Equally Safe Delivery Plan is available to view online.
With Scotland’s new Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine programme having begun, Public Health Scotland (PHS) is encouraging those eligible to get vaccinated.
PHS’s Head of Immunisation and Vaccination, Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, joined the First Minister, John Swinney, in a visit to the vaccination clinic in the Hub Community Centre in Clydebank today.
During the visit to the clinic in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Dr Ghebrehewet and the First Minister were delighted to meet with pregnant women and older adults who are among the first to have come forward for their RSV vaccine.
RSV is a common and highly infectious respiratory virus that affects the breathing system. It is the leading cause of emergency respiratory admissions to hospital in Scotland in infants, with 1,516 children aged under one hospitalised with the virus last year.
To help protect newborns and infants, pregnant women are being offered the vaccine during antenatal appointments with their midwife from 28 weeks into their pregnancy.
There were also over 1,000 cases of RSV recorded in adults aged 75 and over in Scotland between October 2022 and September 2023, with more than half (535) having to spend time in hospital as a result.
Local health boards in Scotland have been inviting all those currently eligible by letter to come forward for their free RSV vaccine including:
Highlighting the importance of pregnant women and older adults coming forward for the RSV vaccine, Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, Head of Immunisation and Vaccination at PHS, said: “I’m pleased to join the First Minister and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s vaccination team at Clydebank Community Centre today and see people coming forward for the RSV vaccine.
“Vaccinations have played a major role in protecting the health of people across the globe over the last 50 years. Today’s launch of the new RSV vaccination programme marks another significant step in protecting the population of Scotland against preventable diseases.
“RSV can be very serious for those who are more vulnerable, such as newborns, infants and older adults. If you’re eligible, getting vaccinated is the best and simplest thing you can do to protect yourself or your newborn baby from RSV.
“Public Health Scotland continues to work closely with all health boards to ensure as many people as possible receive their vaccine and protect themselves against the more serious complications of an RSV infection.”
Sara, a pregnant woman who received her vaccine at the clinic today, said: “I’d heard of RSV before and how serious it can be for babies.
“After I saw there was going to be a vaccine, I read up about it and decided it was the obvious thing to do to protect my baby when they are born.”
The First Minister said: “I encourage pregnant women to take up their vaccination appointments to protect their babies against the leading cause of hospitalisation in infants during the first weeks and months of life.
“Ensuring a healthy childhood is every parent’s first priority, however, it is equally important that those aged 75-79 take up their offer of this vaccine.
“We have acted quickly with partners to introduce this vaccine in time to maximise the benefit to the more vulnerable ahead of winter. This programme will reduce the numbers seriously ill or hospitalised, helping to manage the significant winter pressures on our NHS.”
View information on the RSV vaccine for babies on NHS inform
View information on the RSV vaccine for adults on NHS inform
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s (RBGE) project to digitise its renowned Herbarium collection has reached a significant milestone as it celebrates the digitisation of its one millionth specimen.
The digitisation project aims to bridge the gap between the collection and the public by making data visible on an accessible platform – taking an innovative approach to scientific data sharing.
In line with this commitment to empower learners and share their resources, the Garden invited the Expedition Botanics – Secondary Summer Club, a group of 15–18-year-olds with a budding passion for science, to get behind-the-scenes access to the digitisation process of the millionth specimen.
To celebrate the milestone the Herbarium, which holds an ever-growing collection of over three million specimens, RBGE has digitised a specimen of Stereocaulon vesuvianum. The specimen, which is a species of lichen*, was collected by Dr Rebecca Yahr, Lichenologist at the Garden, during an expedition up Ben Nevis to mark 250 years since the first recorded climb up the historic mountain.
The landmark expedition was part of RBGE’s contribution to the Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) project, a groundbreaking genome-sequencing programme aimed at unlocking DNA sequences of all the species in Great Britain and Ireland.
By examining plant and fungal lineages and their characteristics, the Garden works collaboratively with partner organisations, including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh, to reflect on plants’ ancestry – plantcestry – uncovering invaluable insight into how life on Earth has evolved and how we can support global biodiversity conservation efforts.
Rebecca Yahr said: “Scotland has an important role in international conservation, particularly for lichens. Celebrating the milestone with this important specimen is an exciting opportunity for us to highlight Scotland’s unique biodiversity and extend RBGE’s mission to research and understand lichens more generally.”
The Garden’s Herbarium is home to species from 157 countries – an impressive scientific collection which was historically hard to access. The digitised platform, which showcases the rich and diverse plant lineage, now sees requests come in from across the globe from students, scientists and plant enthusiasts alike.
Closer to the community, the Garden’s Secondary Summer School had the opportunity to engage with the living collection as well as apply their learnings to the natural world. One of the lucky youngsters, 15-year-old Bernice Nwagu, was selected to digitise the millionth specimen, highlighting the Garden’s commitment to investing in future generations and sparking their curiosity in career paths within the industry.
The vibrant working collection, which traces back 350 years, is being digitised into high-resolution images that can be viewed by anyone with an internet connection. It demonstrates not only Scotland’s biodiversity but details regions around the world where RBGE has worked in partnership with local experts for generations.
Democratising access to reference collections such as the Garden’s provides scientists around the globe with an enriched understanding of the environment in their quest to conserve our fragile habitats.
Leading the digitisation project, Professor Olwen Grace, Deputy Director of Science (Collection) and Curator of the Herbarium said: “Being able to share this information with scientific communities as well as the public allows us to develop a more robust understanding of biodiversity challenges and the solutions that can help us build resilience to shifting climates.
“As biodiversity scientists, it’s both the best and worst time for us to be working. It is far easier to share and translate our work on plant lineages to produce models that demonstrate direct impacts and help us tackle problems at national and global scales; however, the acceleration of climate change means that we are in a race against time.
“At the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, we see it as our moral imperative to share this information, especially when we are facing a global biodiversity crisis.”
As part of the Garden’s commitment to building a positive future for biodiversity and providing access to the collection that represents half to two-thirds of the world’s flora, the digitisation process has followed the ‘FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship’. This has ensured the data has been standardised in terms of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of digital assets.
Family Fun Day – TUIC family fun day & big giveaway
Saturday 17th August 2024 11 am -4 pm.
Intervention by the Scottish Government has led to the suspension of planned industrial action by council workers, including refuse collectors, this week.
The action has been suspended by all three trade unions after the Scottish Government provided £77.5 million to fund an improved pay offer.
New funding from the government enabled local authority organisation COSLA to make an offer to unions worth an overall value of 4.27%, with a rise of 5.63% being offered for the lowest paid workers.
Finance and Local Government Secretary Shona Robison said: “We value this vital workforce and I welcome the fact that members will now be able to consider this strong pay offer which was reached following a strategic intervention from the Scottish Government.
“It has paused the prospect of costly industrial action this week which would have impacted businesses and communities across Scotland.
“Our swift action to ensure this strong offer could be made has been taken against an extremely challenging financial landscape and – while fair – represents the absolute limit of affordability.
“In order to fund the offer, we will have to move money from elsewhere in the budget and reduce funding for other programmes. We are taking on significant, additional financial pressure and have been clear painful choices have had to be made to fund this pay deal.
“The offer will provide an above inflation pay increase for all and support the lowest paid. I am pleased it is now with the workforce for their close consideration and would urge members to strongly consider this significantly improved envelope.”
COSLA has welcomed news that strikes have been suspended as Unite, GMB and Unison members will be given the opportunity to have their say on the latest pay offer from COSLA.
COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor Katie Hagmann, said: “I am heartened today to hear that Unison, Unite and GMB have all agreed to take our latest strong offer to their membership for consideration and to suspend strike action while this is considered.
“Intense but constructive discussions between COSLA, Trade Unions and Scottish Government in recent weeks have resulted in additional Scottish Government funding. This has allowed us to make an improved offer without further risk to our vital council jobs and frontline services. This is a positive and welcome outcome, and I thank everyone involved for their valuable input.
“If accepted, this latest strong offer is worth an average of 4.27% across the whole workforce and would guarantee at least a 3.6% increase for all pay points. The offer directly reflects what trade unions have asked for with a greater increase for the lowest paid workers who would receive £1292 (or 5.63%). We are hopeful that this good offer, which is better than offers made to local government workers in the rest of the UK, will be accepted.
“We strongly urge all council employees who are eligible to vote to use this opportunity to accept the offer and secure a speedy settlement and pay uplift.” [
