Amazing city views from Varcity North

AMAZING PANORAMIC CITY VIEWS FROM VARCITY NORTH

A great opportunity to buy apartments with stunning south-facing view taking in the Pentland Hills, the Castle and Arthur’s Seat is coming onto the market at Miller Homes Varcity North in Edinburgh.

The show apartment, a type 3 on plot 47, is a two bedroom en-suite apartment on the fourth floor of the Belford Campus and offers a spacious 750 sq ft with patio doors looking out across Edinburgh. Designed by award-winning Margarete Stewart of MS Décor, the apartment oozes stylish, sophistication and the spacious layout is finished to a high-standard, with down-lighters in the hall, living area and bathrooms.

The show apartment boasts a range of fabrics, textures, colours and accessories creating an affordable – yet out of this world – interior creating a welcoming, comfortable and modern space to entertain friends or simply relax.

The contemporary white gloss and matt walnut kitchen fitted by Symphony, with feature LED under unit lighting creates a stunning cooking space which flows into the open plan dining area, which comfortably houses a dining table and four chairs.

The master bedroom, with en-suite facility, is finished in rich caramel and chocolate tones creating an ultra-stylish sanctuary. Accents of tweed fabrics used on the bed in the form of a throw and six cushions, as well as the curtain pelmet, give the space a sumptuous feel. Views from the master bedroom take in the Forth Rail and Road bridges.

The second double bedroom ensures there’s plenty of room for guests looking to spend a weekend in the capital. The luxurious, large bathroom with three piece sanitary suite offers the perfect place to unwind after a busy day.

The spacious hall offers access to the utility room, a functional space to house the washing machine and some of the more mundane household items. There is also a sizeable storage cupboard and phone entry system.

Anne Marie Britton, Sales Director at Miller Homes Scotland East said: “Varcity North cannot be beaten on price, stylish space and the stunning views across Edinburgh available from plot 47 and others. With the south-facing outlook, the apartment captures any sunlight all day offering stunning summer evening views of the sunset reflecting off Arthur’s Seat.

“Varcity North is a thriving development of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments attracting a mix of buyers including first time buyers, those who are newly single, downsizers and those buying as an investment. With open-plan living, spacious rooms and beautiful views, from the top floor apartments, Varcity North offers an extremely competitively priced opportunity to buy an apartment in Edinburgh.

“Varcity North is an ideal location for those working in town or on the periphery as it is close to all major road links in and out of the city. Each apartment has been styled to maximise space and finished to the high standards befitting a 5-star housebuilder.”

To assist house hunters to make the move, Miller Homes offers Mi Way, an equity loan scheme on selected plots, where the buyer owns 100 per cent of the home funded by an 80 per cent mortgage with the remaining 20 per cent covered by a loan.

For more information, go to www.millerhomes.co.uk or call 0800 840 8416. The sales centre is open Thursday to Monday from 11am to 6pm. Househunters can also logon via the Miller Homes’ website to book an appointment with an adviser at the development.

Varcity North - master bedroom (approved)[143432]

Mice homes needed for rescued rodents!

The Scottish SPCA’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming  Centre is seeking loving new owners for 34 domestic mice. Scotland’s animal welfare charity rescued the mice after they were found living in poor conditions.

 Twenty four of the mice, 13 males and 11 females, are ready and waiting to be rehomed while another female has just given birth to six babies, a further female is pregnant and there are two small juveniles who need more care before they will be ready to go to new homes.

Manager of the Balerno-based Centre, Diane Stewart, said, “The mice had been kept in cramped, dirty conditions and they had been allowed to breed freely resulting in multiple litters. Their previous owner was not coping so it was in the animals’ best interests for them to be signed over into our care and found suitable new homes.”

“Ideally we’d like them to be rehomed in small same-sex groups and pairs as mice are very intelligent and sociable creatures who enjoy the company of their own kind. They are very attractive with some beautiful markings and we’re sure
they’d make fantastic pets for mice lovers who have the time and commitment to care for them. We’d love to hear from anyone who can give some of our mice the second chance they deserve.”

Anyone interested in offering a pair or small group of mice a home can call the Scottish SPCA Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999 and ask to be connected to the Edinburgh Centre.

Mice.

£3000 bike theft in Newhaven Road

Police are appealing for witnesses following the theft of a high-value mountain bike. The crime happened around 4.30am on Monday (16 April) at an address in Newhaven Road, when a property was broken into and the 36-gear ISSAC hard tail bike worth £3,000 was stolen from inside.

Officers are now urging anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward.

The bike is described as black, with an 18-inch frame, DT Swiss 240 silver-rimmed wheels, white forks, Continental mud tyres, Shimano XTR break discs, Bon Trager carbon stem and a triple Physic Gobbie saddle.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Given the time at which this incident occurred, a number of residents in Newhaven Road may have been awoken by sounds of a disturbance, as those responsible gained entry to the property. Similarly, members of the public who were up and out in the area in the early hours of Monday morning may also have seen something suspicious and are asked to contact police immediately if they have information that can assist officers with their investigation.”

proton_complete_xt_L[1]

Divided We Fall? Exciting forum theatre event in Leith next month

Divided We Fall event flyer

Living Together in Difficult Times …

We live in a diverse society in terms of ethnicity, class, ability and many other factors? But what do Identity, Diversity and Integration really mean? How can diverse communities such as Leith find ways to develop interconnections and build solidarity especially in the context of cuts to public services, the Welfare Reform Act and other divisive policies and influences from above?

Over the past three months a group of Leith residents and visitors have been working with Active Inquiry to develop pieces of Forum Theatre exploring these questions for this event. Forum Theatre encourages an audience to become involved by enabling them to change the action onstage!

We hope to encourage as many people as possible from many diverse groups to attend this event and enjoy the performances, food, music, exhibitions and workshops to help develop an Action Plan for moving forward.

Highlights over the two days include:

• Forum Theatre performances by local people

• Debates and Action Planning

• Jock Tamson’s Bairns exhibition and work from local groups

• Food from Out of the Blue Café and World Kitchen

• Music performances from Edinburgh’s Got Soul and Wildfire Choirs and others as part of Out of the Blue’s Bruncheon event.

• Special performance of Hotel Europa – a play exploring the effects of the European crisis with a cast from across Europe including France, Portugal, Spain, Croatia and Germany

When: Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May 2013

Times: Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 12-7pm

Where: The Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Cost: Free! (although donations will be appreciated!)

For catering and room capacity reasons it is essential that people book for this event. Please register and book tickets at:

dividedwefall.eventbrite.co.uk

or email

dwf@activeinquiry.co.uk

Divided We Fall event flyer

Total Craigroyston updates planned

The Total Craigroyston initiative was launched last summer and the team will be sharing what they’ve learned and achieved so far at a series of local events over the coming weeks:

TotalCraigroyston

What’s it all about??

 Find out all about Total Craigroyston, what we’ve been doing over the past 6 months and where we’ve got to since we published our Road Map

The Total Craigroyston team will be in the community shop in Pennywell Road on Monday 29 April from 8.30 – 12.00 and Tuesday 30 April from 2 – 5pm

or

See our exhibition in Muirhouse Library on

Wednesday 1 May and Thursday 2 May

or

 Come to our feedback and ideas session in North Edinburgh Arts Centre

 on Fri 3 May from 10.30 – 12.00 (lunch and crèche provided)

Open to local workers and local residents

 Please book a place for the Friday session by emailing info@totalcraigroyston.co.uk or by phoning the Total Craigroyston Team at 529 3032 or 529 7054

Going Forth Together

TotalCraigroyston

Lararowicz: ‘Good employers have no interest in Government attack on rights at work’

Mark Lazarowicz MP has strongly criticised Government plans for employees to trade in basic rights at work such as statutory redundancy pay in return for shares in the business they work for.

In a Westminster speech yesterday the North and Leith MP (pictured below) said: “I am a strong supporter of employee share schemes to enable them to benefit from the growth of their company and participate in the way it is run. However, these Government plans would produce exactly the opposite result since employees would lose basic employment protection in return for shares that can always go down as well as up in value. A number of leading businesses have already said they want nothing to do with the scheme – good employers realise there are much better ways to motivate their workforce than a bribe to give up basic employment rights.”Mark_Lazarowicz[1]

The Government proposes that in return for shares in the company they work for, employees would lose the right to statutory redundancy pay, request flexible working and training, challenge unfair dismissal (apart from where this relates to anti-discrimination law) or be required to give longer notice to return from maternity or adoption leave.

Mr. Lazarowicz was the author of the Employee Share Schemes Bill which became law in 2002. That sought to encourage employee share ownership and long term involvement by them in the running of the business, but he believes these latest plans would make it easier to sack them.

The House of Lords initially voted to delete this part of the The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, with several former Conservative Ministers voting against the Government. However the Government reinserted the proposals for the Bill to be debated in the House of Commons and won yesterday’s vote. The Bill will now return to the Lords for further discussion.

Greens urge government to ensure school leavers can cook

Green MSP Alison Johnstone has urged the government to respond to a survey which shows a strong appetite among Scots for the Government to set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

By contrast the major supermarkets, who already control three-quarters of our grocery spending, are encouraging the growth of the ready meals sector through advertising campaigns, broadcasts and billboards. The UK ready meal market, which has been at the centre of the horsemeat scandal, continues to grow at five per cent a year and is now worth £1 billion a year.

The Panelbase survey for the Scottish Greens shows 79 per cent of 1,000 Scots agreed with the need for a target for school leavers, while only 7 per cent disagreed.

Other research suggests the majority of 18-25 year olds leave home without the ability to cook a simple recipe such as Spaghetti Bolognese, with many relying on ready meals and takeaways.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and spokesperson on food and education for the Scottish Greens (pictured below), said: “We have a growing problem with obesity and ready meals are nutritionally haphazard. It’s time the Scottish Government challenged the big manufacturers and retailers. The inconvenient truth about many convenience foods is they make big firms big profits while public health pays dearly.

“Curriculum for Excellence has great potential and I would urge the government to recognise the appetite there is for ensuring school leavers are able to cook. As more people question what’s in the food they’re buying due to the horsemeat scandal it’s important we establish a balanced food culture from the start.”

AlisonJohnstoneMSP

The survey, carried out online by Panelbase in March, asked:

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The Scottish Government should set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

The results were:

Agree Strongly 48%
Agree Slightly 31%
Neither Agree/Disagree 15%
Disagree Slightly 4%
Disagree Strongly 3%

Botanics CLOSED

At least the sun's brought the blooms out!
At least the sun’s brought the blooms out!

The Botanic Gardens are currently closed due to the high winds, although The Gateway remains open and this evening’s Adult Education Open Night goes ahead as planned.

I can vouch for the power of those winds – I’ve just seen my blue recycling box flying past the window and off down the road!

Growing demand produces allotment consultation

Inverleith7[1]

Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has launched a consultation to consider the shape of future allotment legislation following the announcement of Government plans to simplify and overhaul Scotland’s allotment rules.

Among the questions being asked are: should councils be required to provide people in their area within a specified timeframe? And should councils have a duty to provide a specific number of allotments in their area per head of population?

Mr Lochhead said: “Growing your own food is continuing to grow in popularity in Scotland and this goes hand in hand with an increasing desire to know where our food comes from. Allotments provide a range of benefits including better health, an opportunity to learn new skills, and an understanding of where food comes from – not forgetting the chance to eat the fruits of your labour.

“We’re committed to helping people to grow their own food and this consultation will consider what changes should be made to the existing legislation to make it simpler and fit for today’s community needs. Many communities have expressed a desire to get back to nature and more involved with growing their own food and that’s exactly what we’re working to make possible.”

The consultation runs until Friday 24 May.

allotment2