Day: November 7, 2026

Council Leader reflects on Bonfire Night

The Council Leader has thanked residents and partners for their efforts in keeping communities safe during Bonfire Night celebrations:

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “While it’s encouraging to see that Bonfire Night was broadly a peaceful evening across the city, I was angry and disappointed to see isolated incidents of disorder, with a small minority seemingly intent on causing fear and alarm in our communities.

“We cannot and must not accept this type of mindless behaviour, in particular the targeting of our emergency services, and I hope those responsible are caught and brought to justice as soon as possible.

“For all that, I’m pleased that the majority of our residents were able to enjoy the celebrations in the way we would expect – with friends and loved ones at community-led displays – and that bus services were able to run as normal.

 “Months of planning and close partnership working have gone into preparing for this period, and I’d like to thank our council teams, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Lothian Buses, community organisations and our other partners for all their efforts.

“Our approach has focused on prevention as well as enforcement, from Firework Control Zones to engaging with young people and providing positive alternative activities. The organised events across the city also went well, offering families and communities the opportunity to come together. I’m grateful to everyone who has played their part in making these efforts count.

“I’d like to reiterate my thanks to residents for acting responsibly, looking out for one another and helping to keep their neighbourhoods safe – and hope that they will remember Bonfire Night for all the right reasons.”

Students go behind the scenes at Royal High School restoration

The University has agreed a new partnership with the Royal High School Preservation Trust 

Engineering students from Edinburgh Napier University went behind the scenes at the £70 million project to restore Edinburgh’s former Royal High School, as part of a new partnership with the Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT).

Twenty students visited the historic Calton Hill building to see first-hand the scale and complexity of the restoration project to preserve and restore Thomas Hamilton’s neo-classical masterpiece and transform it into Scotland’s new National Centre for Music.

On the day, the students were able to see first-hand some of the unique challenges facing engineers and construction teams as they work to restore and adapt the building, including the need to work with and around the ancient bedrock of Calton Hill into which Hamilton’s original design was built.

The new partnership between Edinburgh Napier University and RHSPT is also supported by a legacy gift made through the Edinburgh Napier University Development Trust. 

The gift comes from the legacy of the late philanthropist Dr Ian Tomlin, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University in 1995 and was known for his love of music and his support for musicians in the early stages of their careers.

Kate Smith, Chief Executive and Development Director of the Royal High School Preservation Trust, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome students from Edinburgh Napier to the site to see the progress being made and hear about the innovative approaches being taken to preserve and restore this extraordinary building.

“The students were able to learn about challenges involved in a project of this scale and complexity and how this building will be transformed into a new National Centre for Music.

“We are also delighted to receive this legacy gift through our new partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, a university known for its strong, industry-focused music programme, breadth of specialisms and strong links to Scotland’s professional music scene.”

Thanking the RHSPT and Robertson Group for the visit, Professor Zack Moir, Professor of Music at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “This is a really exciting project for us because it allows us to work with the Royal High School Preservation Trust and the National Centre of Music, and be part of such an exciting venture for the city. 

“We have been able to do this through the bequest of Dr Ian Tomlin, to support performance and ongoing music education for students at Edinburgh Napier – in addition to the support he offered throughout his life. 

“It really gives our students the opportunity to be part of the cultural fabric of Edinburgh.”

The group of Civil Engineering students also found the opportunity ‘priceless’, as they gained insight into a unique project which poses a range of unique challenges.

Riona Sorianosos (20) said: “When I heard we were doing a site visit I thought we would be viewing things from afar, but to actually get down amongst the works and see what they are doing up close was really valuable.

“So was hearing about the way they have had to adapt to the building and the landscape, bringing in mini-excavators and equipment that can fit through the doors and how all of this equipment runs electrically on site.”

Kyle Forgan (20) continued: “I have never been to a site this big before and to see it in-depth was really quite breathtaking.

“It was really interesting to talk through the challenges of working on a listed, protected building of this size and scale and hear the roadblocks that have appeared on the way and how efficiently they have been handled.”

Julia Krzeszewska (21) added: “Hearing about how they have adapted during the course of the build was very valuable, as was seeing the excavations up close.

“It is one thing hearing about something in a lecture or learning about it in a book but actually seeing it, especially in a unique design like this, one that they have had to work around, has been really special.”

Edinburgh Library Service recognised at National Awards

EXPERIENCES OF RAIN INTERCULTURAL PROJECT WINS AWARD

SLIC awards , Stirling 2026 – Pics by Alan Peebles

The National Library of Scotland has been recognised at the 2026 Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) Awards for demonstrating the innovation and impact of library services through its intercultural project exploring shared heritage through creativity.

The Edinburgh based service was presented with the Project Excellence Award for Experiences of Rain at the SLIC showcase and AGM at The Barracks in Stirling yesterday (Friday 6 November).

The annual awards, judged by an independent panel led by SLIC Chair Alan Clarke, alongside guest judges Garrett Baylor Stell, a journalist with The Herald’s specialist education team, and Susan Calcluth, Scotland Lead for the National Year of Reading 2026, celebrate library teams and projects that have enhanced learning, wellbeing and community engagement through pioneering staff-driven initiatives.

The National Library of Scotland’s project brought together seven people with lived experience of migration to explore personal memories and cultural connections to rain, drawing on the Library’s collections and creating a sound installation for its 2026 exhibition.

Through creative workshops led by poet and storyteller Dr Tawona Sitholé and sound artist Ros Fraser, participants shared stories, music and perspectives from different cultures, building connections with one another and the Library. The installation became a central part of the Rain exhibition, which attracted a record 28,531 visitors in its first two months.

Judge Susan Calcluth praised the project, saying: “A distinctive and moving example of co-creation, Experiences of Rain explores both the connections we share and the different meanings rain holds across cultures.

“It demonstrates the power of creativity and shared experience to bring people together.”

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow was highly commended in the category for Maximising Audubon’s The Birds of America, a project combining conservation, digitisation and public engagement to bring one of Scotland’s rare library treasures to wider audiences.

The work contributed to a threefold increase in enquiries and a rise in visitors from 351 to 1,478 within four months.

Midlothian Library Service was named Team of the Year for its whole-service approach to developing libraries as community hubs, while South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Libraries won the inaugural Jacqueline Geekie Award for Excellence in Digital Innovation for an imaginative digital resource bringing the library experience into classrooms, while

For more information, visit scottishlibraries.org/funding/the-slic-awards/

More support for families at risk of homelessness

£2 million funding boost for housing payment scheme

A scheme helping low-income households avoid homelessness will receive an additional £2 million this year.

The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme provides direct financial support to low-income households struggling with housing costs and helps people to retain their tenancy in the rented sector.

The additional funding takes this year’s investment in the scheme to a record £117 million. This will help an estimated 100,000 households in Scotland sustain their tenancies. The scheme is the main way the Scottish Government mitigates the impacts of the UK Government’s ‘bedroom tax’ and benefit cap.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Our Discretionary Housing Payments are a vital lifeline to families at risk of losing their home and help protect people from the UK Government’s damaging bedroom tax and benefit cap policies.

“Our scheme is delivering and providing direct support to low-income households – helping to reduce poverty, safeguard tenancies and prevent homelessness. In Scotland, we offer a level of support not available elsewhere in the UK, and our different approach is working.

“However, the UK Government’s decision to freeze the support given to private renters at 2024 levels means people are struggling to pay their housing costs – this is driving homelessness and putting families at serious risk.

“I am extremely disappointed the Chancellor chose not to use his Budget to end the freeze and give households the breathing space they desperately need.”