MONDAY 8th APRIL 7.30 – 9pm in CRAMOND KIRK HALLS
Cramond Association AGM
Category: Cramond
Whitehouse Road crash: man charged
A 50-year-old man has been charged in connection with road traffic offences following a two car crash on Whitehouse Road that happened around 6.30pm on Wednesday, 6 March.
A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
Cramond Association: Update on Cramond Campus site
See below from the latest update on the campus. These updates are part of the process agreed in the mediation. They allow us all to see what is happening and to take part in the discussion.
The outcome of the process was a compromise but was thought by those involved and those consulted in open events to be a reasonable one that would get something useful done and provide facilities for the community.
What will be produced is still subject to review and consultation so is not yet fixed, so you have the chance to comment.
Boy, 11, dies following collision on Whitehouse Road
VICTIM NAMED
An 11-year-old boy has died following a collision on Whitehouse Loan in Cramond. The Cramond P7 pupil who died after being struck by a bin lorry on Friday (1st March) has been named as Thomas Wong.
His family has asked for privacy. Enquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances.
The incident happened around 8.20am on Friday, 1 March near to the junction with Braehead Road.
The boy was riding a bicycle when he was involved in a collision with a bin lorry.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin are aware.
The driver of the bin lorry was uninjured.
Inspector Andrew Thomson, of Police Scotland’s Road Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts are very much with the boy’s family and friends at this time.
“Our enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances and I would urge anyone who may have information which has not yet been passed to Police to get in touch.
“I would also be keen to speak to anyone who may have dashcam or private CCTV footage from the area.
“Specially trained officers are supporting the family at this time.
“Anyone with information can call 101, quoting incident 0578 of 1 March, 2024.”
Tree Planting Event: 16 March
SUNDAY 16 MARCH from 11am – 1pm
Lauriston Agroecology Farm
Interested in supporting local biodiversity whilst spending a great morning outdoors?
Let’s plant some trees and have some fun!
Get in touch with us at c3r@elrec.org.uk for more details and to register!
Have you seen Alison?
*** INCIDENT UPDATE ***
POLICE UPDATE: 7 February, 2.53pm:
A woman’s body has been recovered from the sea at Gullane, East Lothian. The woman has been confirmed as Alison Campbell missing from Edinburgh.
There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
POLICE are appealing for help to trace Alison Campbell, 50, who has been reported missing from Edinburgh.
Alison was last seen leaving a property in Murrayfield Avenue around 3.10am this morning (Tuesday, 6 February), and drove off in her red Toyota Aygo.
She is described as 5ft3, of very slim build, with straight shoulder length brown hair.
She is believed to be wearing a navy blue puffer jacket, a bright pink knitted scarf and black leather ankle boots. She normally wears a gold ring with a black onyx stone on her right hand.
Officers have traced Alison’s car in the Cramond beach area and a search is ongoing there.
Inspector Dougal Begg said: “Alison’s family are extremely concerned about her wellbeing and we are asking members of the public to keep a look out and report any sightings to police.
“Officers and the Coastguard are carrying out searches in the Cramond beach area and would urge anyone who has been there today to consider whether they may have seen a woman matching Alison’s description.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0535 of Tuesday, 6 February, 2024.”
New General Manager for Strachan House care home
Staff at Barchester Healthcare’s Strachan House care home, in Edinburgh have welcomed a new General Manager to head up the team.
Fran Fisher will oversee the running of the 83 bed home and will be responsible for a team of 114 staff. Prior to starting in this position Fran was a Regional Director within the care sector bringing a wealth of experience to home.
Fran returned to Barchester in late 2023 before transferring to Strachan House as General Manager, where she had worked as a student nurse 11 years ago.
Strachan House is one of over 200 care homes owned by Barchester Healthcare that offers high quality care to its local communities. The home regularly holds events and activities for its residents and surrounding neighbours.
The new General Manager, Fran Fisher said: “I am delighted to join the team here at Strachan House and am enjoying meeting and getting to know our residents.
“Some of the staff team are familiar from my time here as a student and it’s a great chance to lead the team and get to know staff old and new. I’m looking forward to managing this home and continuing to provide high quality care.”
Mandy Hurst the Regional Operations Director for Strachan House said: “I am pleased to welcome this addition to the team here at Strachan House.
“We are committed to providing high quality care and I really think Fran will be a big hit with our residents.”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
Christmas at Cramond Residence
A BUMPER month-long festive celebration is well underway at one of Scotland’s most luxurious care homes.
Pensioners at Cramond Residence have been treated to the homes’ biggest ever range of activities in the build-up to Christmas thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Lifestyle Team.
In the lead-up to the big day, residents have enjoyed a delightful mix of songs, carols, parties, fine food, Christmas jumper celebrations as well as a pantomime, creating a buzzing festive atmosphere.
Elaine Vallance, Head of Lifestyle at Cramond Residence said: “This is our sixth and biggest Christmas at the home and it’s our goal to ensure it’s a magical experience for our residents.
“We focused on creating a festive atmosphere with activities that cater to all tastes to help get everyone into the spirit.
“The residents have thoroughly enjoyed the events so far, and we’ve made sure that Christmas week is filled with fantastic activities to help carry the joy into the New Year.”
Across December, Cramond Residence sparkled with festive spirit, beginning with the annual Christmas lights switch-on and a carol performance by Fettes students.
The month has featured a variety of events including religious ceremonies, sensory sessions, a Kirk service, pub nights, and numerous parties.
On Christmas Day, residents will enjoy a special festive lunch, followed by a week full of seasonal movies, a pub night, a Nutcracker ballet performance, and a grand New Year’s Eve celebration to bring in 2024 in style.
Christian Daraio, Client Liaison Manager for Cramond Residence said: “We are lucky to have Elaine and her exceptional team orchestrating an incredible array of activities for our residents.
“Christmas at Cramond Residence is always a special time for both our staff and residents. This year has been particularly memorable, and we’re looking forward to celebrating Christmas and New Year’s with all our residents.”
Cramond Residence is dedicated to meeting the unique needs of its residents, offering a bespoke activity programme that blends the luxury of a hotel with the warmth of home living. Constructed at a cost of £8m, the residence opened its doors in October 2018, embodying a philosophy of small group living with a strong focus on social interaction.
The facility provides an extensive array of dementia care services, available both within the general living environment and in a dedicated area specially designed for those in more advanced stages.
With a variety of activities specifically tailored for individuals with dementia, Cramond Residence aims to enrich their lives. The home boasts state-of-the-art facilities and a team of trained professionals committed to offering both support and respite.
For further information about Cramond Residence, call 0131 336 1064 or visit the care home’s website at cramondresidence.co.uk.
To get in touch directly, please email enquiries@cramondresidence.co.uk.
SEPA: ‘98% of Scottish bathing waters continue to meet strict environmental standards’
WARDIE BAY RANKS ‘GOOD’ FOR WILD SWIMMERS
In 2024 98% of Scotland’s bathing waters will again meet or exceed the Sufficient classification – with 84% achieving the higher standards of Excellent or Good, says the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
This long-term positive trend for Scottish bathing water quality has been demonstrated in sampling and analysis carried out by Scotland’s environment regulator over the summer.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) work with regulated operators and stakeholders across the country and have driven millions of pounds of investment to bring about changes needed to make our bathing waters a success story.
For the 2024 bathing season Scotland’s bathing water classifications will be:
- 38 (43%) Excellent
- 37 (42%) Good
- 12 (13%) Sufficient
- 2 (2%) Poor
Ruth Stidson, SEPA’s Principal Scientist for bathing waters, said: “Scotland started this bathing water season with more bathing waters than ever and a record-breaking number rated excellent. I’m delighted to say we’ll start next year just as strongly.
“Our bathing waters have the best water quality since 2015, when tighter standards first came into force. We now have an additional five designated bathing waters where we monitor water quality to protect human health. Over this time those with the highest excellent classification has increased from 17 to 38, and the number with a poor classification has fallen from 17 to two.
“Being outdoors can provide many physical and mental health benefits. Our beaches offer opportunities for physical activities and social interaction and earlier this year I saw personally how much having a designated bathing water meant to the local community at Wardie Bay.
“SEPA’s monitoring data has provided crucial evidence to drive millions in investment and we’ve worked with businesses, farmers and land managers across the country to help them understand how they can make changes to protect water quality.
“All these successes show that, while it can take time to see big improvements, they are possible – and SEPA will keep monitoring, reporting, enforcing, encouraging and challenging for the future of our water environment.”
Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan said: “Scotland now has the highest number of designated Bathing Water sites ever, with the vast majority classified as good or excellent.
“This demonstrates the benefits of our continued investment in protecting and improving bathing waters across the country. However we are not complacent and will continue to work closely with SEPA and Scottish Water to monitor and improve water quality, to make sure that as many people as possible are able to enjoy them.”
Success stories for 2024
Scotland’s newest bathing water, Wardie Bay in Edinburgh, will be rated as Good for its first classification in 2024. The location was designated by Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Màiri McAllan, following an application from Wardie Bay Beachwatch and The Wild Ones
Just along the coast in East Lothian, the first bathing water in Scotland to be re-designated will also be classified as Good. Fisherrow Sands was de-designated in 2020 following five years of Poor classifications.
It was re-designated following work between SEPA, the Scottish Government, Scottish Water, East Lothian Council and wider stakeholders to drive improvements. Over £3 million has been spent on works to upgrade wastewater pumping stations, resolve multiple misconnections and make improvements to the sewer network to reduce spills.
Future challenges
Pressures on bathing waters can include overflows from the drainage network and misconnections from homes and businesses.
Agricultural run-off and bacteria from dog fouling and gulls can also be factors. Some sites have a legacy of complex inter-linked issues that need individual assessments and unique solutions.
The two bathing waters with a Poor classification, Kinghorn (Harbour Beach) and Lower Largo, both have ongoing improvement plans in place.
Kinghorn (Harbour Beach) had been achieving Sufficient after previous work was carried out by Scottish Water. Following a Poor classification last year, an enhanced monitoring program has been carried out to identify potential sources of pollution, SEPA will continue to work with regulated operators and stakeholders to explore solutions to improve water quality at this location.
At Lower Largo, SEPA has required Scottish Water to conduct comprehensive studies into the sewerage infrastructure to identify any necessary upgrade requirements.
Surveillance and monitoring has included CCTV and flow surveys of the sewer network; intensive water quality sampling of the sea and watercourses; a survey (via boats) to map the seabed; tidal current profile and dispersion testing to understand how discharges disperse to the sea and nearby rivers.
This work also identified some misconnected properties, which have now been connected to the public sewerage system correctly.
Significant further work and investment are ongoing towards achieving the infrastructure improvements in the Lower Largo area necessary to bring about improved bathing water quality.
Harvest celebration at Lauriston Agroecology Farm
Join us for our 2nd annual Harvest Celebration at Lauriston Agroecology Farm from 2pm – 5.30pm on Saturday the 30th September!
Line up as follows…
2pm – 3pm : “Arise” Storytelling Show from The Breadagogues – this show is free, but seats are limited, so please book to guarantee a reservation for the show. Unreserved standing places will also be available on the day.
2pm – 3pm : Soil Explorations in the field & under the microscope with Lauriston Soil Lab
2pm – 4pm : Apple Pressing with Lauriston Farm’s Orchard Group
2.30pm – 3.15pm : Herbal Walk with Grass Roots Remedies
3.00pm onwards : Food from Scran Academy
3 – 3.10pm : Spoken Word from Vicky Nyanga-Ndiaye
3.10pm – 4.10pm : Shunpike Social Club – Cumbia, Brazilian and Cuban music with big band flair
3.15pm – 4pm : Writing Workshop with Vicky Nyanga-Ndiaye
3.30pm – 5pm : Herbal Tea Bag Making with Grass Roots Remedies
4pm – 5.30pm : Grain Processing with a pedal powered mill (TBC)
4.10pm – 4.20pm : Spoken Word from Ayden Brouwers
4.20pm – 4.30pm : “Soil Health = Community Health” Cranky Theatre Show
4.30pm – 5.30pm : Open Music Session hosted by Shea Martin and Omar Afif – feel free to play or just listen to the audible pleasures. You can bring your own instrument or borrow one.
+ Veg, bread and herbal market stalls, face painting, games & crafts throughout!