Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Leith residents to allocate community cash

People in Leith will soon be asked by Leith Neighbourhood Partnership to decide how a pot of more than £20,000 in funding should be spent on projects that benefit their local community.

Now in its fourth year, £eith Decides, allows community groups to apply for grants of up to £1,000 each. Once the applications are in, local people are invited to vote on which projects they would most like to see receive the money. A special public event will take place in February, at which members of the public will get the chance to learn about applicants and their projects.

Previous successful applicants include Prospect Bank School Parents’ Association for an outdoor climbing frame, the Goosander Resident’s Association for a living garden, the Citadel Youth Centre for a young mums’ parenting course, and the North Edinburgh Dementia Care group, which ran podiatry sessions for older clients.

This year’s application period is now open and runs until November 8, when a Steering Group made up of local people will consider all applications to make sure that they meet the criteria – Advice is available on how to meet the criteria.

Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “£eith Decides has proven to be extremely popular, and many new applicants came forward last year. It was fantastic that so many worthwhile projects, all of which have made a difference to people, were given help in this way.
“The public event held as part of the process gave community groups the opportunity to raise awareness about their work too. Neighbourhood Partnership events like this  are valued by people who welcome the opportunity to make decisions about the area in which they live.”

For up-to-date information about £eith Decides please visit its Facebook page – www.facebook.com/voteforleithdecides

and the £eith decides page at www.edinburghnp.org.uk/leith.

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Last chance to book World Cafe

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world cafe final

Friday’s World Cafe (18 October)  is shaping up to a great one, with Samba Sene providing some music

and a celebration of Black History Month.

The menu will include beans in coconut sauce, two types of curry and some apple crumble thanks to Abundance, who harvest fruit trees in people’s gardens for apples!

Places are limited so please call 0131 551 1671 to book your place and avoid disappointment! It costs £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.

The World Cafe’s at 5.30pm onwards at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, Muirhouse (next to the library).

It would be great if you could make it!

Hannah, Alice and the World Café team

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Local police initative tackles stolen vehicle crime

DSCF6437Police in North Edinburgh are carrying out an initiative to prevent youths riding stolen motorcycles and cars in the area. The four-week operation involves a team of police and council officers working in the Muirhouse, Pilton and waterfront areas to prevent the theft of motorcycles and youths riding around local estates.

As well as an increase in foot patrols, officers have been utilising hand held cameras to capture potential evidence and to identify offenders. The police helicopter – a regular sight (and sound!) over North Edinburgh recently – is also being utilised to provide a bird’s eye view of the problem, enabling officers to get to the right locations quickly to ensure they can recover stolen vehicles.

The police have also enlisted the support of the City of Edinburgh Council’s local Environmental Wardens who have been checking likely disposal areas as part of their patrols and specialist Roads Policing resources have also been drafted in to assist.

Inspector Mark Rennie of Drylaw Police Station said: “There has been a significant amount of concern in the local community over this problem and we’ve been working hard over the summer to ensure we can provide additional resources into the area to prevent it.

“Since the beginning of August we have recovered 40 stolen vehicles and charged 20 youths with related offences but our aim is to prevent this type of risk taking behaviour over the longer term. As well as talking with young people at local schools about the risks, we will be speaking with local youth groups and agencies with a view to making every effort to divert those involved into positive activities in their community.

“We’ve had great support from our community groups and elected representatives who can see the efforts being made and how the use of the helicopter is often quickly preventing any escalation on the evenings when the problems occur.

“I’d like to thank residents who have already called us with information and would ask anyone to call us immediately if they see what they believe to be a stolen motorcycle being used or hidden by youths in the area.

“To keep local people up to date we are putting out regular updates of our progress on our local twitter account and I’d encourage residents to follow it for additional information: @EdinNorthPolice.”

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Community Safety Leader, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “The theft of motorbikes and cars by young people has become a real problem in the north of Edinburgh and one that I know is a matter of great concern to the local community.  I am very glad to see additional Police resources being used to tackle this extremely serious issue and by working with local people I am confident that the initiative will be a great success. I would urge anyone with suspicions that a vehicle that might be stolen to contact the Police so that they can respond quickly and hopefully stop this worrying trend.”

Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101, or make an anonymous report through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Blooming brilliant – Edinburgh strikes gold!

Edinburgh has won a top prize at the Britain in Bloom National Awards.  Scotland’s capital city beat off competition from every corner of the UK to win the prestigious Gold award in the Large City category, it was announced at a ceremony last night (Saturday 12 October).

City council Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “This is fantastic news, I am delighted that Edinburgh has won such a prestigious award. This is entirely due to the talents and sheer hard work of our many Friends of Parks’ groups, community volunteers and the Council’s parks team. Edinburgh is a stunning city with beautiful parks and green spaces, and we will continue to work towards protecting and enhancing them.”

Britain in Bloom is an annual competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.

InverleithPark

New play at North Edinburgh Arts this weekend – Couldn’t Care Less!

Press Release – Couldn’t Care Less Sept 2013.

Couldn’t Care Less, a new play examining the ups and downs of caring for someone with dementia, is opening this Friday and Saturday at the North Edinburgh Arts Centre. 

The play explores the lives of Elspeth, a former dancer who develops Alzheimer’s, and her daughter Lilly who finds her life disappearing as she gives it all up to care for her mother. It’s a dark, surreal, funny and moving play and speaks not only to those with experiences of caring and being cared for, but also the general public as our society faces up to the looming challenge of caring for older people.
 A video trailer for the show is also available on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n1f7u4MgBI and the
 
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Letter: Time, gentlemen, please

Dear Editor

People over decades have had to struggle very hard to get an increase in wages; the employers, when faced with a determined workforce, do eventually make some concessions.

The one thing they strongly resist is a reduction in working hours: the weekly wage they pay has bought your ‘time’, and the more work that can be had from that ‘time’ the greater amount pf profit can be made, whereas any increase in the wage bill can be clawed back in rising prices.

Development in technology over the decades has meant more can be produced using fewer people, so the logical thing to do was to reduce the working week/year so that all could benefit – but no way would the employers reduce working hours: your ‘time’ was paid for by the weekly wage.

Now in the 21st century the employers are taking things further, embracing zero contracts where your ‘time’ is now on-call as and when needed, your ‘time’ that is left is not their concern as it is unpaid but remains tied to their needs. How close is this to serfdom or tied slavery?

Think about it. Today the call is for everybody to work harder and longer. Where, how and why? And for whose benefit?

Further, in spite of the nation’s will to finance national schemes to help those who are unemployed, sick or disabled in their time of need, this Tory/Lib government have planned to make them work for nothing or lose benefit.

Imagine the delight of some employers, having this pool of free labour available! Perhaps you may think it wouldn’t happen, but maybe this Tory/Lib government would reinstate poor law relief officers dishing out food vouchers, etc. instead of benefit money. It would be in character!

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

First seal pup of the season rescued

A newborn grey seal pup has been rescued by the Scottish SPCA after he fell
into the sea at North Queensferry – and staff expect that young ‘Tiller’ will be the first of many during this pupping season.

Less than a week old and still fully furred, the male grey seal pup was spotted lying on rocks by men working on the new Forth Road crossing. As the men approached the pup he fell off the rocks and into the water.

Grey seal pups cannot swim well until they have lost all their fur so the workmen fished the pup out of the water and called the Scottish SPCA for help. Animal rescue officer Joanna McDaid took the seal to the charity’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre at Fishcross, Alloa, where he is now receiving treatment and care.

Staff have named him Tiller.

Centre manager Colin Seddon said, “Tiller is our first grey seal pup of the season and he’s quite unusual in that he was found in an area that is not a known pupping ground. He could have been washed off the established pupping ground at nearby  Inchkeith Island or his mother may have been young and inexperienced.

“It sounds as though he took fright when he was approached and slid off the rocks and into the water which is bad news for a newborn seal pup as their thick fur coats act like a sponge and absorb water so he’s unlikely to have survived on his own for long.

“Thankfully, the men scooped him out of the sea and called us for help. Tiller arrived weighing a healthy 13.5kg for a newborn pup and he’s continued to make good progress in our care. Normally the weight would dip but Tiller has remained steady and has even put on a few pounds recently so we’re feeling positive about his rehabilitation.

“He’s being tube-fed fish soup at the moment and that will continue for the next few weeks until he’s old enough and strong enough to feed himself. He’s currently our only grey seal pup but we’ve no doubt he’ll be joined by many more in the coming weeks and months.”

The SSPCA is urging members of the public to contact its animal helpline if they see a distressed seal pup lying on the shore this winter, adding that they could be doing more harm than good by approaching or picking it up.

Colin continued, “We often receive seal pups that are healthy but have been abandoned by their mothers because someone has disturbed them.

“The mother seal will leave her pup on land while she is out hunting in the water so it’s quite natural to see seal pups lying on the shore line for several hours at a time.

“Our message to the public is, if you see a seal pup and you are concerned for it’s welfare then call our animal helpline for advice or assistance on 03000 999 999 before approaching it.”

Tiller will be cared for at the Scottish SPCA’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre until he is fully fit, feeding himself and at the right weight to be released.

Tiller
Tiller

Help to Buy scheme launched

A £12billion scheme to help thousands of people buy a home of their own will be launched today (Tues 8 Oct) by the Prime Minister and Chancellor. David Cameron said Help to Buy will ‘turn the dream of home ownership a reality for many’.

High Street banks including Natwest, RBS, Halifax and Bank of Scotland will start offering new Help to Buy mortgages this week, and others are to follow: Virgin Money has also confirmed they will participate in the scheme, and will be offering new guaranteed mortgages to borrowers in the New Year. Aldermore Bank has confirmed that it is joining the scheme in January, and is exploring whether this date can be brought forward.

Natwest and RBS customers will be able to start the process of applying for a mortgage today, with other banks to follow in the next few days.

The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee is aimed at thousands of people frozen out of the housing market because they cannot afford large deposits of up to 20 per cent of a property’s value.

It means someone trying to buy a £200,000 house currently needs to save up a deposit of £40,000.

Leading banks will offer a range of new Help to Buy mortgages – up to 95 per cent of the property’s value – for homes worth up to £600,000.

Under the scheme, buyers will only need a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.

Depending on the size of deposit, the government will then guarantee up to 15 per cent of the property’s value, in return for a fee from the lender.

There will be scheme advertisements in national newspapers from tomorrow, banks are braced for a flood of interest from the public.

The launch of the scheme has been brought forward by three months, as the details are finalised and lenders are in a position to start offering the mortgages.

Lenders can start offering the mortgages now, and they will be guaranteed by the government from January 2014. As it usually takes a few months for borrowers to go through the mortgage completion process, this delay is not a problem for lenders. If borrowers do complete before January their mortgage will be included in the scheme.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Too many hardworking people are finding it impossible to buy their own home – people who can afford the monthly mortgage payments but haven’t got rich parents and can’t pay the deposit up front.

“There is a need for Government to act. Buying your first home is about far more than four walls to sleep at night. It’s somewhere to put down roots and raise a family. It’s an investment for the future. Above all, it’s a sign that everything you’ve put in has been worth it.

“Our Help to Buy Equity Loans, have already helped over 15000 people buy a new home. But we’ve got to go further and finish the job we’ve started. So from today, thousands of people will be able to get a foot on the housing ladder by applying for the new Help to Buy mortgage guarantee. If you’ve got 5 per cent of the funds for a mortgage deposit, we’re providing a guarantee to the banks to help you get the rest.

“Help to Buy is going to make the dream of home ownership a reality for many who would otherwise have been shut out. This goes right to the heart of my vision for Britain – a country where everyone who works hard can get on in life. Moves such as Help to Buy will also encourage housebuilding. If potential buyers can’t buy, builders won’t build – so this is an important part of unlocking the market.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne added: “Through Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee I want to help those families that have saved for years, earn decent salaries, but cannot afford the deposits currently being asked for by the banks. I want young people to have the same chance of getting on the property ladder as their parents and grandparents.

“Too many people are still being denied the dream of owning their own home, which is why we have brought forward the launch of this scheme, so as of today borrowers can start applying for a mortgage with a five per cent deposit.”

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House fire figures at record low

The number of house fires in Scotland has fallen to the lowest levels recorded by the Scottish Government. Statistics released today show that house fires have reduced from 9,811 to 5,820, a drop of 41% since records began in 1990.

Provisional statistics released today also show that 46 people died in fires in 2012-13, a drop of 23 per cent compared to 2011-12.

For the first time, the publication Fire Statistics Scotland 2012-13, also includes information on the main sources of ignition for all accidental house fires.

Cooking appliances such as ovens accounted for the majority of non-fatal accidental house fires while smokers’ materials and matches were the main source of ignition for fatal fires.

Drink or drugs were suspected to be a factor in 16 per cent of accidental house fires, which is a slight decrease from the 17 per cent reported last year.

Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: “Fires in Scotland are continuing to fall, with house fires dropping by 41 per cent since Scottish Government records began and the lowest in a generation.

“While we know that statistics based on small numbers can fluctuate over time the positive downward trend is undoubtedly testament to the hard work of the fire and rescue services in Scotland and their continued focus on prevention.

“While the significant reduction in the number of people hurt or killed in fires is to be welcomed, every death is a tragedy and there are 46 families across Scotland who are without a loved one as a result of  fires last year.

“It is crucial that we continue with vital education work to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and drugs, particularly while cooking, which the statistics show still contribute to far too many casualties.

“I also would encourage everyone to ensure they have working smoke alarms and check them regularly to ensure they are working properly.

Chief Officer Alasdair Hay of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “As the first Chief Officer of the national Scottish Fire and Rescue Service I inherited eight highly performing services with fantastically committed staff. The antecedent services made incredible strides in relation to prevention work, engaging with communities, local authorities and partner agencies to drive down the risk of fires and other emergencies, nearly halving the number of fire deaths occurring in Scotland in the last decade. That is a fantastic testament to the work of our staff and the direction of effort and resources from the fire and rescue service being delivered in local communities across the country.

“Through targeted prevention activities and working with others we have seen a shift from simply dealing with the consequences of tragedies such as those injured and killed in fires to working to prevent these incidents occurring in the first place. As a national Service we will continue with our prevention and education activities to achieve safer communities by raising awareness of the risks and supporting people to reduce their likelihood of being involved in a fire in the home or other emergency.”

Pat Watters, Chair of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board, said: “To see that house fires have dropped to the lowest levels since records began is very positive news both for the people of Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Service is dedicated to maintaining that downward trend and the Board is working closely with senior management and personnel to ensure they are supported to achieve continuing success. Every fire fatality is a tragedy and we know that we have the ability through targeted prevention activities to reduce these incidents occurring.

“That success is not something that can be achieved in isolation however and that is why we are working closely with partners to identify those particularly at risk of a fire. We know that drink and drugs often play a part in these incidents and that is a wider societal issue that cannot be tackled by the Service alone. One of the things we can assist everyone with is a free home fire safety visit. It is a simple way to make you and your loved ones safer from fire and I would urge everyone to make sure they take advantage of this excellent service and the fitting of free smoke detectors as required.”

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