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Islander: the Paintings of Donald Smith exhibition opens tomorrow

This summer the City Art Centre and Ann Lanntair, Stornoway present, Eileanach: Na dealbhan aig Dòmhnall Mac a’ Ghobhainn / Islander: The Paintings of Donald Smith. Running from 29 May to 26 September

This landmark display, part of the Edinburgh Art Festival 2021, is the first major retrospective of the work of Scottish artist Donald Smith (1926-2014).

Born in rural Lewis in 1926, Donald John Smith was, as Gray’s School of Art Principal Ian Fleming wrote in 1958 – ‘the outstanding student of his year … unquestionably a man of great ability as an artist’.

His painting acknowledged movements in Europe and America but remained resolutely local in its subject matter. From his studio on the west side of Lewis where he worked from 1974 to his death in 2014, his intense, lyrical images of island fishermen and women celebrate their indomitable human spirit.

In 2011, five of Donald Smith’s ambitious paintings of Stornoway harbour were exhibited at the City Art Centre in ‘Window to the West’, an examination of the relationship between the visual arts and Gaelic language and culture.

In the accompanying catalogue, Professor Murdo Macdonald suggested that a full evaluation of Donald Smith’s prolific and focused work was overdue.

This exhibition, a partnership project between the City Art Centre and An Lanntair Gallery in Stornoway, is part of that process.

Councillor Donald Wilson, Edinburgh’s Convener of Culture and Communities said: I’m delighted that the City Art Centre is able to showcase this fantastic exhibition of the rarely seen works of Donald Smith.

“Islander” will allow visitors to discover the man behind the works celebrating the power of the human spirit.”

Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, Edinburgh’s Vice Convener of Culture and Communities said: “This is a really exciting opportunity to showcase a Scottish artist whose work will be new to many people. It’s been fantastic to welcome our visitors back to the centre and this is another great exhibition for them to explore.

Curator David Patterson said: “The City Art Centre has made a deliberate attempt in recent years to showcase Scottish artists who have largely been overlooked in the story of Scottish art.

“We are therefore delighted to be partnering with An Lanntair in Stornoway to shine the spotlight on another unheralded painter. Donald Smith may not be well known by many, but hopefully this exhibition will go some way to rectify this and draw attention to a unique talent.”

Donald Smith was uniquely placed to connect the Gaelic world of the West with the English-speaking mainstream. He left the island to study at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, continuing to live and work in Aberdeenshire until his return to the island in 1974.

While working as a portrait painter and teacher, Smith developed a structured, contemporary approach to painting. Being one of a number of post-war Scottish artists responding to swift social and cultural change, he saw himself as an outward looking Gael, with one foot in the culture of mainland Scotland, and one in the Hebrides. As a teacher he was dedicated and inspiring.

“…it was Donald Smith who guided our first steps and when, decades later I saw his paintings, I was delighted that they more than measured up to the man and the impression he had made on my younger self.” Arthur Watson PPRSA

Based in a crofting community on the West Side of Lewis from 1974 to his death in 2014, alongside extensive local commitments including teaching, crofting, grazings committee and community council, a steady flow of portraits, large oil panels and works on paper emerged from his studio. Island fishermen and women were transformed into iconic images of working people. Working from many hundreds of drawings and photographs, balancing the competing demands of three-dimensional space and painted surface, these are intensely lyrical paintings, celebrating the indomitability of the human spirit.

The writer and educationalist R F Mackenzie, visiting Bragar in the late 1980s found “….an artist struggling to present how he sees the earthly sojourn of fishermen, big hands deftly mending nets, a grey hard life, and the primary colours of their boats and the magnificent variety of their tackle and trim, the expression on their faces like those of the Rodel tombs and the ancient Chessmen.”

The work of Donald Smith has been exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Society of Scottish Artists, Aberdeen Artists, and many other locations. In 2019 An Lanntair staged a major display of his work to great local acclaim, although sadly a wider tour had to be curtailed due to the pandemic.

He is represented in public collections including the Nuffield Foundation, the BBC, and Art for Hospitals, with many works held in private collections. This exhibition celebrates the work of Donald Smith and attempts to address the evaluation that Professor Macdonald sought.

The exhibition is accompanied by a varied programme of public events and activities, including tours, lectures and creative workshops. All events must be booked in advance. To book please visit www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk

In keeping with Government advice in order to protect and maintain the safety of our visitors and staff, the City Art Centre has introduced a range of new safety measures and procedures throughout the venue, including a one way system, installation of screens at reception, hand sanitiser stations, extra barriers and signage and staff will of course be wearing coverings while offering visitors a very warm, socially distanced welcome.

Visitors are asked to wear face coverings and to pre-book free tickets for allocated time slots in advance via edinburghmuseums.org.uk

Islander: the Paintings of Donald Smith opens on Saturday 29th May 2020, and runs until Sunday 26th September. Admission is free, pre-booking essential.

Visitors to the gallery can also enjoy the free mini display Joan Eardley (1921-1963). The works included are: Girl in a Striped Cardigan, Tenement, Old Woman Sewing and July Fields. It is part of the nationwide programme of events marking the centenary of the birth of Joan Eardley.

Edinburgh sees biggest taxi surge in UK since lockdown eased

Ride-hailing app, FREE NOW, has reached a post-Covid record level of bookings since indoor hospitality reopened on Monday 17th May.

With its data showing an 38% increase in demand week-on-week in the UK, the company is now recruiting 10,000 more drivers as national restrictions ease further and social mobility grows to meet the growing demand that is set to sky-rocket once the UK fully reopens.

Since England moved from stage 2 to 3 in the lockdown roadmap last week, taxi journey numbers on the FREE NOW app are approaching pre-pandemic levels, with daily volumes fluctuating around 90% of values from early March 2020, before the first lockdown.

Demonstrating a level of increased confidence amongst Brits, there has been a 150% increase in rides compared to the earlier stage of the lockdown in April. On May 17th, bookings during ‘Beer O’Clock’ – between 5 and 6pm – skyrocketed 107% week-on-week, as people could go to an indoor restaurant or a pub after work for the first time since early November.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular day for travelling last week was Friday largely thanks to a huge growth in the evening as people were hitting the pubs and restaurants. Friday and Saturday night between 11pm – Midnight became the busiest ride-hailing time slot of the week for the first time this year.

On a regional level, in London, it seems that the West End is alive again, with Tottenham Court Road experiencing a whopping 188% rise in rides week-on-week, and Leicester Square 184%, the two largest increases in requests in the capital.

Among other cities, Edinburgh registered the highest overall weekly growth (108%) with Leith Walk (up by 400%) and Royal Mile (up by 330%) being among the hottest spots.

In Reading, bookings to and from Reading Uni tripled, similarly to Hove Lawns in Brighton and Hove.

Mariusz Zabrocki, General Manager at FREE NOW, comments: “It’s great to see the UK come alive again as the restrictions continue to ease, following what has been an extremely tough year for all, including the travel and transport industry.

“With many people having lost their jobs during the pandemic, we’re pleased to be recruiting such a large number of drivers across the UK; it’s essential that we can keep up with the growing demand so people can move freely with ease.

“Unlike some of our ride-hailing competitors, we focus on putting driver wellbeing first, and we look forward to welcoming more drivers to the FREE NOW family.”

Wave of Thanks

Your chance to thank an inspirational educator or school on Edinburgh’s billboards

People across Edinburgh are being asked to send in messages to thank schools and members of the education community that have supported them during the pandemic. These messages will then be placed on billboards across the city, to show appreciation and raise awareness of everything educators have done to help others.

Through repeated lockdowns and with remote teaching and social distancing, the teaching community of Edinburgh have gone the extra mile to support their pupils. Whether it’s a teacher who helped a pupil struggling at home, a lunchtime supervisor who kept everyone safe at meal times or a teaching assistant that is an unsung hero – it is hoped the messages will highlight individuals and schools that have made a difference.

People are invited to send in their messages in any format to show their appreciation, be this a drawing, written message, poem or video.

They can be submitted to appear on the billboards using this nomination form https://www.twinkl.co.uk/giveaways/thank-you-bundles before 6th June, by sending to waveofthanks@twinkl.co.uk or by simply posting on social media using the hashtag #WaveOfThanksEdinburgh by Wednesday 23rd June.

The digital billboards will be live from Thursday 10th to Thursday 24th June, located at the Edinburgh Arch and local supermarkets.

Any schools nominated using the form before 6th June will also be in with the chance of receiving one of 500 wellbeing bundles. These will be packed full of goodies including tea and biscuits (staples of staff rooms around the world), thank you postcards and notepads and pens.

The billboard messages are part of a campaign organised by the educational resource publisher Twinkl, with the charity Mind and school supplier YPO, after they recognised the huge lengths educators have gone to for others throughout the past year. The campaign includes a range of other activities and surprises that celebrate educators for their dedication and give people an opportunity to thank someone close to their heart.

As part of this, the public sector buying organisation YPO, which supplies materials and contract support to schools across the UK, is sending 100 surprise ‘Thank you’ gifts to teachers and school staff. They will also be running a competition to give communities a chance to name 40 new delivery fleet vehicles after inspirational teachers.

Leon Smith, Chief Customer Officer at Twinkl, said: “The wellbeing bundles and billboards are a way of showing school staff how valued and appreciated they are. We’d love them to see a heartfelt message of thanks on a billboard on their way to work, giving them a boost after such a challenging year.

“Despite the difficulties they have faced, educators have gone above and beyond to offer the very best teaching, care and support during the pandemic. It’s so important to show them how thankful people are for their ongoing support and commitment to their pupils.”

To find out more, please visit: www.twinkl.co.uk/wave-of-thanks

ESTATE moves to Pennywell

Jimmy Cauty’s new installation, ESTATE, has been transported to Muirhouse for a month long residency from the end of May and throughout June 2021.

ESTATE is a dystopian model village experience featuring four abandoned concrete tower blocks at 1:24 scale (approx 2 metres high) housed in a 40-foot shipping container.

The tower blocks each serve a different function in the ESTATE and contain amusing scenes of mass social, economic and environmental devastation.

Produced by L-13 Light Industrial Workshop, ESTATE is hosted in Edinburgh by new producing collective, the Society of Spectacles.

This follows the 2016 residency of Cauty’s previous work, The Aftermath Dislocation Principle, at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh.

ESTATE Edinburgh moves out of the city centre to form part of L-13’s UK-wide MdZ ESTATE Tour, which has already been seen in Hull and Stoke-on-Trent.

ESTATE will be presented in the car park off Pennywell Road, next to North Edinburgh Arts.

ESTATE is viewed either individually or in social bubbles in pre-booked 10-minute slots scheduled every 15-minutes. Viewers then walk through a 40-foot shipping container to explore the tower blocks.

WARNING: The experience includes smoke, strobe lighting, wind, loud noise, tiny TV broadcasts, and is suitable for adults and children ages 5+.

ESTATE has been designed so it can be toured and viewed in compliance with Covid-19 hygiene and social distancing measures, and is wheelchair accessible.

As lockdown eases for the time being and the full long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic begin to dawn, ESTATE is a glimpse into an uncertain future that looks increasingly familiar.

Advance bookings for free entry to view ESTATE are essential.

10-minute viewing slots available to book on Thursdays to Saturdays, May 28th-June 26th (Thursday & Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10am – 1pm).

ESTATE will be presented off-site in the nearby car park, near North Edinburgh Arts. To learn more and book your free place, click here.

Police week of action targets ‘County Lines’ drug dealers

Police Scotland officers across the country took part in a UK-wide week of activity targeting County Lines drugs dealers – who exploit the most vulnerable people in our communities, including children and young adults.

County Lines refers to criminals from larger cities who expand their operations into smaller towns. They endeavour to exploit young and vulnerable people to sell drugs, carry cash and weapons – bringing violence, coercion and abuse. They may also take over a vulnerable person’s house, or cuckooing.

Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Pat Campbell, said: “County Lines gangs are not welcome in Scotland. They groom and exploit the most vulnerable people in our communities including children and young people. People are intimidated, coerced, threatened and force into storing or selling drugs.”

During the national intensification week between Monday 17 and Sunday 23 May 2021 – co-ordinated by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) – proactive action by officers in Scotland saw engagement with 29 vulnerable people and 64 addresses, believed to be used for the purposes of cuckooing, were visited.

20 people were arrested and controlled drugs – heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and cannabis with an estimated street value of £40,000 – were seized.

Over £20,000 in cash was recovered. Offensive weapons, including a Taser, two machetes and two large knives, a number of mobile phones, a laptop and almost £500 of counterfeit cash, were also seized.

County Lines gangs are known to use the postal system to transport drugs, and during the week of activity a number of post offices in Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Division were visited by the Dog Unit.

A package containing high-purity cocaine, with a street value of more than £25,000, was intercepted and a subsequent search of a property in Simpson Place in Dingwall saw cannabis worth around £40,000 being recovered. A 32-year-old man was arrested and enquiries are ongoing.

Assistant Chief Constable Campbell added: “Our officers remain absolutely committed to working with our partners to reduce the exploitation of vulnerable people and safeguard individuals who may be at risk, and pursue offenders.

“Together we will provide support to those targeted by unscrupulous criminals, to reduce ongoing risk and enable recovery; and we will continue to make Scotland a hostile environment to those who seek to engage in criminal activity. The positive results during the day of action are an example of this work which will continue in support of the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy and the Drug Harm Reduction Strategy.

“As ever, I would urge anyone with concerns to report them to Police Scotland or alternatively to Crime stoppers anonymously.”

Cramond’s Jonathan visits his showhome bedroom creation

A GIFTED Cramond Primary pupil who won a design competition to create a showhome bedroom has finally had the opportunity to see his creation come to life.

After impressing the judges earlier this year, Jonathan Anderson, 11, visited the new Cammo Meadows development by CALA Homes (East), with his parents, ahead of the showhomes launching on 29 May.

Jonathan’s designs centred on a jungle theme, creating a striking digital moodboard to a detailed brief and floorplan, while budgeting for all of the items included.

Leading interior designer, Eileen Kesson of Envision had presented the project to the 51-strong two P7 classes – and selected Jonathan’s entry for its originality and attention to detail.

Eileen was subsequently able to source individual items, such as a fun wall tropical mural, specially printed for the home, green furniture, jungle toys and LED lights throughout.

Jonathan said: “I really enjoyed picking out the things to put in the bedroom and I decided to have a desk because I could draw and do my homework on it.

“It’s rainforest themed, with green, yellow and blue, because I love animals and the outdoors. I wish this was my bedroom!”

Eileen said: “Jonathan’s, and a lot of the entries, were absolutely fantastic but with Jonathan’s design what stood out to me was the colour – it’s so vibrant and exciting and he followed his theme through so completely.

“We asked the children if they could design a room for Sam, a ten-year-old boy, and we gave them a floorplan, a budget and they could take on that blank canvas and make it theirs.

“I love the detail of Jonathan’s room, in particular the bespoke rainforest mural. He asked for the curtains to be yellow because it’s sunny and positive, and he wanted the rug to be blue to simulate a pool in a forest so the detail was fantastic.

“With a showhome you’re looking for themes or threads that will run through the whole house so it’s important you carry them from room to room – and this room was so comprehensive it was quite easy for us to make it happen.”

Alison Cunningham, Marketing Manager at CALA Homes (East), said: “Having Jonathan and his family come to visit the showhome in person was the perfect way to round off what’s been a brilliant project with Cramond Primary.

“Jonathan’s designs really impressed the whole CALA East team too, we’ve been looking forward to the showhomes being ready so Eileen could pull everything together, and to finally see it in person is fantastic.”

His designs feature in The Mallaig, one of the two new showhomes CALA launching at Cammo Meadows on Saturday, which is situated near to Cramond Primary School.

Cammo Meadows is a development of detached homes, terraced homes and apartments next to the Cammo Estate nature reserve.

The development is minutes from Cramond Primary School and is also surrounded by a multitude of green outdoor spaces, a wildflower meadow, with a new woodland to be created as part of the development.

Built in 1975, Cramond Primary School is a non-denominational school that serves Cramond and the surrounding areas of northwest Edinburgh. The school has more than 400 pupils and is part of the Royal High School cluster.

For more information on Cammo Meadows, please visit:

https://www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sale/scotland/edinburgh/cammo-meadows/

Scotland set for first new vet school in 150 years

Scotland’s Rural College looks to create Scotland’s first new school of veterinary medicine since 19th Century
New vet school would widen access and address existing shortage areas in veterinary practice
Report finds vet school could add £26m GVA to Scottish economy by 2030

Scotland could be home to a new school of veterinary medicine for the first time in more than 150 years.

The plans were announced today (Friday 28 May) by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), which will offer courses in veterinary medicine ranging from Higher National Diploma to postgraduate degree level.

Based in Aberdeen but with a footprint across rural Scotland, it will be the first vet school based outside of Edinburgh or Glasgow.

SRUC, which has more animal and veterinary scientists than almost any other institution in Europe, has a national network of veterinary hubs and consulting offices, providing a solid basis for a distributed model of learning.

Already the biggest provider of veterinary nursing, livestock husbandry and animal care training in Scotland, SRUC will offer a core veterinary programme to address existing shortages in veterinary provision, in areas such as rural veterinary practice, food production, food safety and animal and public health.

The school will aim to widen participation using work-based teaching to align student recruitment and employability in shortage areas, which are essential to support Scotland’s highly prized rural and food sectors.

A working group will be established to progress the plans for the school. The group will be chaired by Professor Sir Pete Downes, former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee.

Sir Pete will be joined by Sheila Voas, Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland, former NFUS President Nigel Miller, SRUC Board member Jane Craigie, and Dr Kate Richards, who is a non-executive director on the SAC Commercial Board and currently the junior vice president of the RCVS, in line to become President in July.

Professor Caroline Argo, currently Dean of SRUC’s North Faculty, will lead the project for SRUC. Other members will be announced in due course.

A report from BiGGAR Economics has found that the vet school could add £26 million GVA and 242 jobs to Scotland by 2030.

Professor Wayne Powell, Principal and Chief Executive of SRUC, said: “We are an ambitious institution with a bold vision for the future. This is a ground-breaking model to expand access to educational opportunities and broaden the range of potential students who would not ordinarily be able to attend a vet school. It will also help solve existing skills shortages across Scotland.

“We see a key role of the new vet school in sustaining primary agriculture and hence food and drink productivity, with the welfare of both livestock and companion animals at its heart. The school will produce champions for best-in-class animal welfare in support of these industries, which will help improve productivity, effectiveness, and sustainability.”

“Building on the excellent new facilities we have already announced for Aberdeen and Inverness, there is a lot of work still to be done, but we are ready to seize the opportunity.”

Linda Prescott-Clements, Director of Education at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), said: “The RCVS looks forward to working with the team at SRUC as it moves towards meeting our accreditation standards, so that its future graduates can join the UK veterinary profession.”

Council allocates additional cash

City councillors have agreed options for investing around £21m in one-off additional funding.

In February, the Council set a balanced budget for 2021/22, addressing and shaped by the key priorities of the Council Business Plan – tackling poverty, promoting sustainability and enhancing residents’ wellbeing.

Following confirmation by the Scottish Government of additional funding for local authorities and, after making provision for the anticipated on-going financial impacts of the pandemic over the next two years, Council officers identified up to £21m which could be made available to address budget pressures, anticipated shortfalls in savings delivery and other member priorities in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Full Council, political groups on the Council put forward and debated motions outlining their proposals for directing these monies. The motion by the SNP-Labour ‘Capital Coalition’ was carried, meaning the £21m will be invested as below.

Councillor Rob Munn, Finance and Resources Convener, said: “When our Council budget was agreed in February, the final local government settlement was not known in full. At the time we set a prudent Budget in the knowledge that we would have other decisions to make following clarification of the final settlement.

“That final settlement was more than we had anticipated and I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to agree these investments in Council today, helping us to meet our commitments and to ensure that we address poverty, well-being and the climate challenge.”

Councillor Joan Griffiths, Finance and Resources Vice Convener, said: “The Covid19 pandemic has had a very significant impact on local government budgets so it’s very welcome to be able to invest more money now towards our core priorities for Edinburgh.

“The proposals now approved will give a real boost to our work to achieve our core ambitions for the Capital – tackling poverty and inequality, boosting sustainability and enhancing wellbeing for everyone who calls the city home.

“I particularly welcome our decision to invest £250,000 in a fund to support carers after the extremely challenging time they’ve faced during the pandemic, as well as our £600,000 investment in prevention services and community engagement to support residents at risk of poverty.”

AGREED INVESTMENT OPTIONS:

Roads and Pavements Infrastructure – recognising the impact of prolonged winter weather the Council will invest an additional £2m extra in repairs to the roads and pavements network including local residential areas and an extra £4m to improve surface condition for all users – those walking, wheeling, cycling, using public transport and motorists.

Street Cleaning and gritting – we will invest £300k to improve both street cleansing operations and winter gritting making our streets cleaner and safer.

Communal Bins – £1.1 million in this programme to improve organisation and capacity in communal bins across the city, bringing forward investment to improve the service and address the funding shortfall in delivering the programme in full.

Public Conveniences – the £450,000 Council has already approved to invest will ensure a temporary network of public conveniences at key locations, meeting accessibility needs in premier parks and other locations where people need facilities.

Estate Energy Reduction – a further £500,000 to improve Council estate carbon performance to meet the climate challenge by identifying shovel-ready projects.

Carbon net zero engagement – £700,000 to take forward citizen communication and engagement to bring about behaviour change assisting the city in reaching carbon net zero target.

EV Infrastructure – £250,000 to expand EV charging infrastructure for the Council’s own fleet, ensuring that the Council leads by example by making our vehicle fleet carbon zero.

Up Recycling – £200,000 to improve the Council’s recycling performance.

20-minute neighbourhoods – £500,000 to drive forward the delivery of 20-minute neighbourhoods, making it easier for people to get to and access the services they need in their community.

Food Growing – £130,000 to be invested, recognising the increase in demand for local food growing opportunities. This is investment to expand provision.

Looked after Children – recognising the pressures of out of authority placement, the Council will invest £1.5m to improve the service and help ensure vulnerable children are accommodated in authority wherever possible.

Children & Families Development officers – £124,000 to provide service for disabled children in terms of holiday provision and positive destinations.

Carers’ Recovery Fund – recognising the extra challenge for carers during the pandemic, the Council will invest £250k in a fund providing additional support to carers

Edinburgh Summer Festivals – £300,000 to support resumption of festivals this summer including support for local community festivals

Books for libraries – £50,000 increase in this year’s allocation for new books in our libraries, improving choice and service to Edinburgh residents

Embedding Prevention and Community Engagement – £600,000 investment to improve delivery of prevention services through empowering frontline staff to co-produce service redesign across departments, reform current practice, and create a preventative service and community engagement model and develop a plan for wider roll out.

Diversity and inclusion – £100,000 to accelerate and embed the Council’s diversity and inclusion strategy, including training and development training

Taxi and Licence enforcement – £160,000 to meet demand and ensure robust enforcement.

Edinburgh Integration Joint Board – £2.5m funding to EIJB to address base budget pressures for social care.

Independent inquiries – £400,000 funding for these inquiries to bring them to their conclusion.

Place fees and charges reduced income – £559,000 to address issues with reduced income due to the Covid-19 pandemic changing behaviours and the impact on fees and charges.

Home to School Travel Demand – £600,000 to meet demand in this service while working to reshape and achieve savings.

Development and Business Services Loss of Income – invest £187,000 to cover loss of Planning, Building Services and Regulatory Services income.

Early Years Deferral – The Council will allocate up to £270,000 over the full academic year (two financial years) to offer the 40 nursery children who applied for deferral and were not among the 66 approved through application of appeal a funded place for another year due to lost time through COVID-related nursery closures.

All Ability Bike – Work is ongoing to find a solution to ensure the service is still available and the Council is investing £71,000 to help facilitate this and ensure transport is inclusive.

In addition to these investments, further funding has been set aside to address the following:

Edinburgh Bike Hire Scheme – the approved Coalition motion states: “We recognise the popularity of the current scheme and seek to continue with a cost-effective and robust scheme fit for the future.”

Trams Concessionary travel – the approved Coalition motion states: “Trams contribute to Edinburgh’s clean air and net zero strategy and will continue to press the Scottish Government to recognise this in its concessionary travel funding. We will continue dialogue with the Scottish Government on delivering free tram journeys for young people on the same terms as bus travel as we feel an integrated public transport system is key to Edinburgh’s future. If this is unfunded at a national level, we will look into the possibility of expanding free provision to young people in Edinburgh subject to affordability.”

Homelessness – the approved Coalition motion states: “We recognise the pressure on the service in the past year due to Covid and that pressures are expected to exceed the additional £10m allocated in February’s budget. We also recognise that should legislative protections change as restrictions ease, there may be a requirement for even further resources to improve outcomes for temporary homeless accommodation. We will continue to make the case for additional resources equivalent to those allocated to other local authorities for homelessness support from IBJ budgets. Following that process and depending on in-year position due to service demand, we will agree that left over monies can be used to meet the required supply to get the outcomes right for people finding themselves at risk of homelessness.”

Employability for disabled people – the approved Coalition motion states: “to plug the gap left by the loss of the European Social Fund due to Brexit and the lack of a direct replacement fund from the UK government”

Hidden Door Festival heads to Granton Gasometer

MAIN PICTURE: Fabio Scalici Photography

Hidden Door Festival 2021 is heading to Granton Gasworks, with the festival taking place in the shadow of the historic gas holder. The site at West Shore Road will be transformed into an outdoor celebration of music, visual art, theatre, dance and spoken word from 15 – 19 September 2021.

Organisers plan on building two stages for music performances, lighting up the gas holder to create a dramatic backdrop, with sculptures displayed throughout the site.

The large, open space will allow Hidden Door 2021 to be flexible, adapting to comply with the coronavirus restrictions in place at the time.

Over five days, the event will showcase the work of at least 30 graduates, four site artists, eight dance groups and two theatre companies, highlighting some of the best emerging talent in Scotland.

An old pencil drawing of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza sitting on their horses, by Wilhelm Marstrand.

David Martin, Creative Director of Hidden Door, said: “Taking on the site of the Granton Gasworks is an exciting opportunity for Hidden Door to adapt, as we need to, in order to start bringing live events back to the city. We are used to working in the nooks and crannies of disused buildings, so moving to a big open site like this is really liberating!

“We are designing the event so that there will be enough space for everyone to be safe and to be able to accommodate social distancing if we still need to work with those restrictions, but the epic nature of the site, with the incredible gas tower landmark looming over us, means we will be able to create a spectacle and an atmosphere, and bring about the wow-factor that our audience expects from a Hidden Door venue.

“We can’t wait to get on site and start turning it into a creative and joyful showcase of Scotland’s emerging talent. Early career artists and performers have been so badly affected by the pandemic, so they are front and centre for this event, and we are looking forward to showing how much talent there is to celebrate.”

Edinburgh College, who occupy the area close to the Gasworks where the festival will be held, are enthusiastically welcoming the festival on to the site. As well as opening the gates to Hidden Door, they hope to use the festival as a training opportunity for students on a number of courses.

Jakki Jeffery, Head of Creative Industries at Edinburgh College, said: “It’s fantastic that Hidden Door have chosen this site close to the iconic Granton Gasworks to host their 2021 festival.

“It will be wonderful to see the space transformed to showcase creative talent which we hope our students can play a part in, and take inspiration and experience from to boost their future careers.”

Tickets

Tickets are available via www.hiddendoorblog.org/tickets or from Citizen Ticket. Once the full programme is announced, ticket holders will be able to select which days they would like to attend.

Royal seal of approval for Starbank Park

Latest Green Space Index launched by Fields in Trust

Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launched the latest Green Space Index yesterday during a visit to Starbank Park.

The visit came ahead of COP26, which will be taking place in Glasgow later this year, with today’s event one of a number of projects with a positive effect on climate change that The Duke and Duchess have visited across Scotland.

Urban parks and green spaces boost air quality, support habitats and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The Green Space Index is Fields in Trust’s annual barometer of publicly accessible local park and green space provision. First launched in 2019, this third release once again highlights the inequities in provision across Britain.

Despite their value for health, wellbeing, community and environment, some parts of Britain have access to half the green space as others – Scots enjoy 38.18 sqm of provision per person whilst for residents in London the figure falls to just 19.53 sqm.

Seven of the nine English regions do not meet a minimum standard of green space provision as measured by the GSI Score, and whilst both Scotland and Wales do meet this minimum standard their scores have both fallen over the last twelve months.

Areas with the least provision tend to be those with a higher incidence of deprivation – precisely the communities who benefit most from green space access.

Across Britain, 2.78 million people live further than a ten-minute walk from their nearest park or green space. That’s the finding of the latest Green Space Index which reveals that, despite their vital role in the nation’s wellbeing during lockdown, our much loved local parks are not equally accessible to all.

The findings of the Index were reviewed by Fields in Trust President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge who was visiting Starbank Park with HRH The Duchess of Cambridge as part of their tour of Scotland.

The Duke and Duchess met volunteers from the Friends of Starbank Park and local residents of all ages for whom the park was a sanctuary during the coronavirus lockdowns as a place to play, exercise, relax and reflect.

Yesterday’s event also saw Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, Frank Ross, unveil a new commitment by The City of Edinburgh Council which will ensure almost everyone in the city lives no more than a ten-minute walk from a green space which is legally protected for good.

Starbank Park is one of 34 already protected with Fields in Trust by The City of Edinburgh Council and today’s announcement by the Lord Provost means that figure is set to grow.

The Council will protect a further 25 green spaces, serving communities who do not already have a protected space close to home, to ensure almost everyone in the city lives no more than a ten-minute walk from a park or green space which is protected for good.

Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, Frank Ross, said: “Edinburgh is already a wonderfully green city, and we want to ensure it remains that way for generations to come.

“I’m extremely pleased to announce that the City of Edinburgh Council will be looking to partner with Fields in Trust in protecting in perpetuity a further 25 green spaces – adding to the 34 already protected.

“This will mean that almost everyone in Edinburgh will be within a ten-minute walk of a protected green space, ensuring that for years to come citizens are guaranteed a lifetime of opportunity for activity, play, learning, recuperation and community.

“Scores of volunteers across the city work alongside the Council to support our parks, green spaces and cemeteries. We are very grateful to Friends of Starbank Park their ongoing hard work and dedication and we will continue to work with them to make sure these important areas are preserved for the benefit of our future generations.”

The City of Edinburgh Council will protect a further 25 green spaces for good – taking their total to 59 local parks – to ensure nearly all the city’s residents live no more than a ten-minute walk from a protected green space.

In taking this commitment the city council has become the first local authority in Scotland to adopt such a bold vision for their green spaces and follows in the footsteps of Liverpool City Council.

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