The finishing touches are being applied and it’s all systems go as staff gear up for the official opening of the magnificent new Royston Wardieburn Community Centre on Monday. Full report next week.
Royston Wardieburn gets ready to open
Author: davepickering
Edinburgh reporter and photographer
NEN deadline
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Call to Granton gardeners
The Granton Community Gardeners now have a Tuesday morning gardening club. We meet at 10.30 at the Salvation Army building on Wardieburn Drive for a cup of tea and to pick up tools. Then (weather permitting) we go to work on the community gardens at either end of Wardieburn Road. All very welcome! You don’t need to know anything about gardening to join in. For more information and updates you can now follow us on Facebook at: http://tinyurl.com/grantoncommunitygardeners
Tom Kirby
Granton Community Gardeners
Crimbo at PY
PYCP’s Christmas party was a spectacular end to a busy year!
Over 80 children attended our Christmas party and were entertained by Alexander the great with his magic tricks and balloon skills. The children enjoyed a fabulous buffet and participated in party games enjoying all the old favourites such as musical statues, bumps and pass the parcel. We had some amazing disco dancers who boogied the day away and were awarded a fantastic prize for their hard work and energy levels!
To end the party all of the children who attended met Santa and received a wonderful gift! The project applied to Radio Forth’s cash for kids who provided us with toys and a grant to buy all the children a gift for Christmas!
We would like to thank all the children who attended, our volunteers who helped out and radio forth. The day would not have been as successful without the support of all of these agencies and people.
Lesley Ross
Pilton Youth & Chidren Project
Governments clash over independence referendum
Who should choose the timing of the independence referendum? Who should be allowed to vote, and what should the questions be? A furious row has broken out between Holyrood and Westminster governments over Scotland’s future – the Scottish government says it has a mandate from the Scottish people, but Westminster argues that the Scottish Parliament does not have the constitutional powers to conduct the referendum, and cannot do so without it’s approval.
The row broke out last weekend when Prime Minister David Cameron made clear that he wanted to resolve the ‘legal uncertainty’ surrounding the vote and said: “We want to work with the Scottish government to give the people of Scotland of a fair and more decisive question”.
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was quick to respond, accusing Mr Cameron of ‘a blatant attempt to interfere in a decision that should be for the Scottish government and Scottish people’. She added: “It’s the attachment of conditions that gives the game away – this is Westminster trying to interfere. Perhaps I should be relaxed about that because the more a Tory government tries to interfere in Scottish democracy, then I suspect the greater the support for independence will be, but there is a key issue of democratic principle here”.
Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore weighed in to the debate on Tuesday when he outlined the Westminster government’s position, but he struck a more conciliatory note. “I think the important point is that we would not want to carry out the whole referendum process, make the decision at the ballot box and then discover somebody somewhere wanted to challenge that. Isn’t it better to resolve that potential, get rid of any risk – which I think is clear-cut risk? Let’s get on with it”.
He went on: “I am happy to work with Alex (Salmond) to sort out the legal issue and then let’s have a debate about whether or not Scotland should be part of the UK or not – that is the crux of this matter”.
Since it’s election victory in May the SNP government at Holyrood has said that the referendum will take place in the second half of the current parliament. Last night, that position was firmed up when the First Minister announced that the referendum will be held in autumn 2014.
Mr Salmond said: “The date for the referendum has to be the autumn of 2014. That’s because this is the biggest decision that Scotland has made for 300 years. If you are going to do things properly and have the debate in the way it must be had then that is the date we are going to move towards”.
The Scottish government plans to launch a consultation on the referendum later this month.
Westminster and Holyrood disagree over a number of issues. The UK parliament favours a straight yes or no question on the ballot paper, while the Scottish government favours a third ‘devo-max’ option that would give more powers to Scotland short of absolute independence. The Scottish government would also like 16 and 17 year olds to take part in the vote, but this is opposed by Westminster. Also disputed is the timing of the referendum vote. Westminster wants the ballot to take place as early as possible while the Scottish government believes the ballot should take place in autumn 2014.
Unless a consensus is reached, it’s likely that these constitutional issues could well end up being decided by the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. Scotland’s biggest decision for over 300 years may yet be delayed beyond 2014.
One in three local children living in poverty
A report published today says that nearly one in three children living in the Forth ward are living in poverty. The report shows that 13 Scottish councils have wards where more than 30% of children live in pockets of severe poverty, and campaigners are urging politicians to do much more to tackle this ‘shameful’ social problem.
The Campaign to End Child Poverty has produced a map of child poverty for every ward, council and constituency in the country. Scottish members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty include Action for Children Scotland, Barnardo’s Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Children 1st, the Church of Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, Poverty Alliance and Save the Children.
The map classes children as living in poverty if they are in families on out of work benefits or work tax credits where income is less than 60% of median – before housing costs. The Campaign to End Child Poverty said the latest official figures showed that overall in Scotland 20% of children live in poverty on this measure.
In Edinburgh, Sighthill/Gorgie shows the highest levels of poverty at 36%, followed by Forth (30%), Portobello/Craigmillar (30%), Leith (29%) and Liberton/Gilmerton at 28%.
Child Poverty Action Group’s John Dickie, speaking on behalf of Scottish members of the campaign, said: “It is shameful that in almost every part of our country there are children who are missing out and seeing their future life chances seriously harmed. With public spending budgets under severe pressure the need to invest to prevent the numbers of children living in poverty spiralling is greater than ever.”
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “We are determined to address the root causes of child poverty. That’s why last year we launched Scotland’s first ever national strategy to tackle child poverty, which will see Scotland’s poorest families benefit from help to increase their household incomes and improve their children’s life chances.”
Labour talking transport in Stockbridge
What’s the way forward for transport in Edinburgh? Edinburgh Labour is holding a consultation event in Stockbridge House next week to let local people have their say on transport priorities for the city.
Inverleith councillor Lesley Hinds, who is also Labour’s Transport spokesperson, explained: ” I want to listen to a range of views and ideas from a variety of groups and individuals. I want to feed them into our manifesto promises and Edinburgh Labour wants you to be part of our vision for moving Edinburgh forward after the elections in May. Here are some of the key issues I believe are facing Edinburgh’s transport system today:
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How are we going to keep Edinburgh moving in the 21st Century in a way that meets the needs of residents, commuters and businesses, whilst looking after our planet?
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How do we meet the challenge of an increasing population and car ownership?
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How do we enable more people to make a positive choice for public transport, walking and cycling?”
The consultation event will take place at Stockbridge House in Cheyne Street on Monday evening from 7pm. If you are unable to attend but would like to put forward any ideas or comments please contact Lesley Hinds by email at lhinds@blueyonder.co.uk
Fire Service inundated with emergency calls
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service received 250 999 calls yesterday as the area was battered by extreme weather conditions. John Dickie, Head of Operations for the Service said: “This figure shows our control room staff were exceptionally busy, with around 50 to 60 calls expected during this time on an average Tuesday.”
“Our crews worked closely with other emergency workers at many of the incidents, with public safety always at the forefront of their minds. Many incidents involved reports of unsafe structures, trees and debris blocking roads and road traffic collisions.
“Many of the calls to the Control Room were with concerns about unsafe structures including fallen chimneys and guttering. We responded to these incidents to assess the risks, provide specialist advice to other emergency services and local authority personnel and make areas safe or ensure cordons are in place as necessary.
“As well as dealing with weather related calls we also responded as normal to automatic fire alarm calls, reports of fires and other emergencies.”
Shortly after 9.30am firefighters were called to a report of an articulated lorry which had overturned on the A1 south of Dunbar, near to Lafarge cement works. A 32-year-old man was cut free from the wreckage and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in an hour- long rescue operation. We dealt with a further three overturned LGV’s in our area yesterday.
John Continued: “Whilst we were exceptionally busy we had the appropriate resources in place to respond to problems caused by today’s high winds, and our firefighters carried out a commendable job in what were very difficult conditions.”
Fire Service inundated with emergency calls
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service received 250 999 calls yesterday as the area was battered by extreme weather conditions. John Dickie, Head of Operations for the Service said: “This figure shows our control room staff were exceptionally busy, with around 50 to 60 calls expected during this time on an average Tuesday.”
“Our crews worked closely with other emergency workers at many of the incidents, with public safety always at the forefront of their minds. Many incidents involved reports of unsafe structures, trees and debris blocking roads and road traffic collisions.
“Many of the calls to the Control Room were with concerns about unsafe structures including fallen chimneys and guttering. We responded to these incidents to assess the risks, provide specialist advice to other emergency services and local authority personnel and make areas safe or ensure cordons are in place as necessary.
“As well as dealing with weather related calls we also responded as normal to automatic fire alarm calls, reports of fires and other emergencies.”
Shortly after 9.30am firefighters were called to a report of an articulated lorry which had overturned on the A1 south of Dunbar, near to Lafarge cement works. A 32-year-old man was cut free from the wreckage and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in an hour- long rescue operation. We dealt with a further three overturned LGV’s in our area yesterday.
John Continued: “Whilst we were exceptionally busy we had the appropriate resources in place to respond to problems caused by today’s high winds, and our firefighters carried out a commendable job in what were very difficult conditions.”
Fire Service inundated with emergency calls
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service received 250 999 calls yesterday as the area was battered by extreme weather conditions. John Dickie, Head of Operations for the Service said: “This figure shows our control room staff were exceptionally busy, with around 50 to 60 calls expected during this time on an average Tuesday.”
“Our crews worked closely with other emergency workers at many of the incidents, with public safety always at the forefront of their minds. Many incidents involved reports of unsafe structures, trees and debris blocking roads and road traffic collisions.
“Many of the calls to the Control Room were with concerns about unsafe structures including fallen chimneys and guttering. We responded to these incidents to assess the risks, provide specialist advice to other emergency services and local authority personnel and make areas safe or ensure cordons are in place as necessary.
“As well as dealing with weather related calls we also responded as normal to automatic fire alarm calls, reports of fires and other emergencies.”
Shortly after 9.30am firefighters were called to a report of an articulated lorry which had overturned on the A1 south of Dunbar, near to Lafarge cement works. A 32-year-old man was cut free from the wreckage and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in an hour- long rescue operation. We dealt with a further three overturned LGV’s in our area yesterday.
John Continued: “Whilst we were exceptionally busy we had the appropriate resources in place to respond to problems caused by today’s high winds, and our firefighters carried out a commendable job in what were very difficult conditions.”