Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership presents:
Inverleith On Foot and By Bike
Don’t miss this opportunity to have fun, try new things, get out and about in fresh air, win some great prizes and get fitter!
Sunday 13 September in Inverleith Park, 2.30-5.30.
Finalé of the event is the live screening of the Tour De Britain. Come watch it on large screen in our bike powered cinema!
Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership Public Meeting
Monday 24 August 6.30 – 8.30pm, Stockbridge Library
The attached poster gives information about Monday’s public meeting which is focusing mainly on raising awareness of, and giving people a chance to have their say on, changes to the way Health and Social Care (HSC) Services in Edinburgh are provided.
An easy to read version of the consultation plan is available here https://consultationhub.
and the full documents can be seen here https://consultationhub.
All Welcome
Victory for community councils bus campaign
Local residents will be able to get a 42 bus to Craigleith Retail Park again from October. Lothian Buses have agreed to reinstate the service and support the alteration to the 42 route following a joint appeal by local community councils.
Drylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale, who coordinated the campaign, said local residents will be delighted to hear the news. “The 42 service into the Retail Park has been missed and I’m often being asked: ‘when are we getting our bus back?’ It’s taken a while but it’s great to be able to tell people that the service is to be reinstated from the beginning of October. It’s good news and I hope local people will take the opportunity to use the service.”
Drylaw Telford CC joined forces with Stockbridge Inverleith, Blackhall Craigleith and Muirhouse Salvesen community councils to petition for the return of the service back in March, and Alex received confirmation from Lothian Buses earlier this week that the 42 will return to the local Retail Park this autumn.
The service was withdrawn because traffic problems around the shopping centre caused delays and disruption to the timetable, but it’s hoped that improvements to traffic signalling will reduce excessive delays.
A spokesperson for Lothian Buses confirmed that the 42 bus service will return to Craigleith Shopping Centre from 4 October on Monday – Fridays as a trial.
Five more city councillors under latest proposals
The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland (LGBC) has announced a 12 week period of consultation with the public on proposed electoral wards as part of the Fifth Review of Electoral Arrangements.
Its proposals contain recommendations for councillor numbers in each of Scotland’s 32 council areas and the number, boundaries and names of wards.
Proposed changes in Edinburgh would see an increase in councillor numbers: the city would have 63 elected members instead of the current 58.
Both Forth and Inverleith would retain four councillors under the latest proposals, but neighbouring wards Almond and City Centre would both gain an additional elected member to ‘address forecast disparities’.
Ronnie Hinds, Chair of the Commission, said: “Consultation is a vital part of our work and having completed our consultation with councils, and amended a number of our proposals in the light of these, we now want to hear from local residents, community groups and organisations.
“We have a statutory obligation to conduct reviews and we are required to ensure that the number of electors per councillor in each ward in a council area is as nearly as may be the same – but subject to that we also need to take account of local ties and the public are best placed to tell us about these.
“We look forward to positive engagement with communities across Scotland over the next 12 weeks and have today launched our consultation portal which will allow people to see our proposals and submit their comments to us online including suggested revisions to the maps setting out ward boundaries. Paper copies of our proposals are available at display points across council areas.”
When reviewing electoral arrangements the Commission is required to take account of the following factors:
the interests of effective and convenient local government;
within each council, each councillor should represent the same number of electors as nearly as may be;
local ties which would be broken by making a particular boundary;
the desirability of fixing boundaries that are easily identifiable; and
special geographical considerations.
The proposals for consultation with the public:
provide for 1,219 councillors in 352 wards: a decrease of 4 councillors and 1 ward relative to existing arrangements.
preserve 120 existing wards.
contain 95% of wards that are forecast to be within 10% of parity (only 83% of existing wards are within 10% of parity). contain only 3 wards that are forecast to be 15% or more from parity (19 existing wards are forecast to be 15% or more from parity).
mean that councillors will, on average, represent electorates that are forecast to be 4.6% larger or smaller than the council average – under the existing arrangements councillors would represent electorates that are forecast to be on average 6.0% larger or smaller than the council average.
Proposals for Edinburgh
LGBCS’ proposals for wards in City of Edinburgh council area present an electoral arrangement for 63 councillors representing five 3-member wards and twelve 4-member wards, increasing councillor numbers in the area by 5. The proposals:
A summary of ward boundary proposals is available in this Guidance Booklet part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.
You can respond to this consultation by using the Consultation portal, or by email or post (details on this webpage). The consultation period ends on 22 October 2015.
The Guidance Booklet for this review contains a summary of the whole process.
LGBC has made material on the proposals available at Display Points agreed with the council across the city. They are:
LGBC expect to submit recommendations to Ministers in 2016. The resulting wards will be available for the local government elections in May 2017.
Edinburgh Northern organise charity fundraising tournament in honour of big ‘Loggy’
Following the tragic death of Richard Logg in a car crash on Christmas-Eve 2014, his team mates at Edinburgh Northern Rugby Football Club (@ENRFC) have come together to raise funds in his honour and to keep the memory of a ‘gentle giant’ alive (writes JACOB COURT).
The Club has already run several successful fund raising events for local charities, all chosen by his young family. Widowed & Young (WAY) and Richmond’s Hope, as well as national charity Home Start, have been at the heart of fundraising efforts thus far.
The next event to be hosted looks to celebrate the things that will always remind us of Loggy; a crunching rugby style, a love of spending time with family and friends – and a spirited enthusiasm for mischief and laughs!
Centred round a rugby tournament to celebrate ‘Loggy’ through the sport he loved, the Club are putting on a day of events, aimed at participants of all ages. Rugby, raffles, auctions as well as a BBQ, refreshments, live music and activities for children will all be laid on in order to foster as much as is possible of the spirit that draws people to small, community rugby clubs like Northern.
Donations are welcome but a good attendance would be much preferred with the setting of his home pitch in Inverleith Park being the venue for a three way tournament between his Club, Edinburgh Northern, a ‘Northern Legends’ team and a guest appearance from charity favourites, The Pigbarians.
Edinburgh Northern RFC would like to take this opportunity to welcome anyone with a passion for fun and a love of laughs to join us in Inverleith Park, East Fettes Avenue from 1pm on Saturday 25 July for a day of rugby, family games, barbequed meats and an evening of music.
Community ownership for public toilets?
Toilets at Granton Square and Canonmills will be among the first tranche of public convenience closures, it has been confirmed. The local public conveniences are among ten that will close over the summer, saving £300,000.
Ross McEwan, administrator of Granton Improvement Society, has called for the local public toilet to be acquired as a community asset.
It’s not a cr*p idea: in other areas across the country enterprising local communities have formed Trusts to save local assets – including public toilets.
One group in Devon successfully took over the running over their village toilets when faced with council closure. Not only did they save the facility, they upgraded it – with the help of Lottery funding, the villagers of Barbrook refurbished the toilets and added a community information room next door too!
During Edinburgh’s budget process in 2011, the Council agreed to reduce the budget of the Public Conveniences service by £300,000, a saving that was delayed until the 2015/2016 financial year.
Earlier this year an initial list of toilets proposed for closure was selected based on the number of people using the facilities, the conditions of the buildings, alternative facilities available in the local area and the potential for a Community Toilet Scheme.
Prior to final closure of these facilities, consultation has been undertaken with the wider community to establish views on the proposed closures and identify any steps that could be taken to lessen the effects of losing these facilities.
The results of this survey can be found here .
Following consideration of the feedback, the decision has been made to close the following toilets:
· Ardmillan – end of July 2015
· Canaan Lane – end of July 2015
· Canonmills – end of July 2015
· Currie – end of July 2015
· Granton Square – end of July 2015
· Joppa – end of August 2015
· Juniper Green – end of July 2015
· London Road – end of August 2015
· St John’s Road – end of August 2015
· Tollcross – end of August 2015.
Two other public conveniences have been spared – at least for now. The toilets at Hawes Pier and Middle Meadow Walk will not be closed at this time, while the options for these sites are reviewed.
To lessen the impact of the closures, the Council is establishing a Community Toilet Scheme with interested businesses across the city.
This would result in participating businesses allowing members of the public to use their toilet facilities without expecting them to make a purchase, in exchange for an annual payment from the Council.
A number of businesses have already expressed an interest in participating through the public toilets survey and some businesses in identified areas have also been approached with information about the Scheme.
A council spokesperson said: “The decision to close these toilets has been a difficult one and it is appreciated that there will be some impact following these closures. To help mitigate this, there have been over 60 additional toilet facilities identified in Council buildings around the city that are available for the public to use.
“These are located in various Libraries, Community Centres, Edinburgh Leisure facilities and Neighbourhood Offices; information about these toilet facilities is available here on the Council’s website.”
Nearly 20 public toilets will remain open.
If you would like to make an enquiry about public toilet closures, please call 0131 529 3030 or email public.toilets@edinburgh.gov.uk.
If you do choose to call the telephone number, be prepared for a lengthy wait … might be worth going for a pee before you call!
Think BIG. Think bold. Be creative. And there’s no such thing as a daft idea! That was the message to participants at an event held at Pilton Youth & Childrens Project last week – and the results of the day’s work will help to guide youth service provision across Forth Neighbourhood.
Organised by Forth Neighbourhood Partnership and Total Craigroyston, YouthTalk brought together young people from across Forth with community representatives and decision makers to discuss three key issues.
‘Positively Engaging Young People’ is one of Forth Neighbourhood Partnership’s main priorities and Convener Cllr Cammy Day explained to delegates: “We want young people’s views and aspirations to influence decisions that are taken locally and to listen to their suggestions about how things can be improved for them. We want them to have a real say in the future of this community and how it develops over the next ten or more years”.
A background report to aid discussion was prepared prior to the Youth Talk event. During the review young people across Forth were approached in schools, libraries, at youth groups, basically anywhere they assembled – and asked their opinions on the area. North Edinburgh Young Peoples Forum organised and conducted a survey in four local High Schools and the local Street Work team also gathered views: all told around 1400 young people gave their opinions on their local community -what they like, what they hate and what Forth needs to make it better for young people.
Assisted by motivational speaker Mike Stevenson from Thinktastic, Wednesday’s YouthTalk event saw young people and ‘seniors’ working together in small groups to discuss three ‘ideas’:
How do we involve more young people in positive activity?
How do we better promote the positive contribution our young people make in their community?
What should an ideal youth-friendly community look like – and how do we get there?
Once participants got into the swing of things, the conversation – and the ideas – began to flow. Some of the ideas generated – for example a common social media address for local youth groups to share information, and an annual celebration of young people’s achievements – proved very popular and could be acted on almost immediately. Others, however, may take longer – you did ask the young people to think BIG, Mike!
All of the ideas generated – big and small – will be recorded and a report of the YouthTalk event will be circulated in due course. It will make interesting reading!
And finally, thanks so much for the warm words and that round of applause for the NEN – it was really touching and much appreciated!
Sample the pungent delights of Edinburgh’s unlikely new superstar! Move over, pandas – there’s a new kid in town (and he stinks!)
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Our Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum), one of the world’s biggest and smelliest blooms, is now in full flower. It’s a first for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and for Scotland.
It is only expected to flower – and smell – for a couple of days, so hurry along to the Garden if you want to experience the botanical spectacle.
To give everyone a chance to see the plant, the Glasshouses will be open from 9am until 9pm during the period it is in full flower.
Visiting Times
9am – Access to Glasshouses only (enter via East Gate, Inverleith Row).
10am – Garden fully open. Entry via East Gate and John Hope Gateway, West Gate.
5.45pm – Last entry to Garden
6pm – Garden closes
6pm – 8.15pm – Entry to Glasshouses only (enter via East Gate)
8.30pm – Last admission to Glasshouses
9pm – Glasshouses close
Glasshouse admission costs £5, £4 concessions, children 15 and under free. No advance booking. Friends of RBGE get free entry to the Glasshouses and our Regional Gardens at Dawyck, Benmore and Logan. Why not sign up to become a Friend today?
Visit our website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for details and to check what the flower is doing.
https://www.facebook.com/thebotanics/videos/1009470405729969/?video_source=pages_finch_main_video
It’s here! Edinburgh’s community gardeners take centre stage this weekend as The Power of Food Festival takes place at venues and locations across the city.
For further info visit https://poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com/
More school leavers than ever in Edinburgh are moving into work, education, or training, thanks to the strong partnership that has developed between the public and private sectors through the Edinburgh Guarantee.
Figures published by the Scottish Government today show that the success rate of school leavers in Edinburgh achieving and sustaining a positive destination are at the highest rate ever. The figure is up 10 per cent since the Edinburgh Guarantee began four years ago and is now at 93.1 per cent. The Capital is now the best performing city in Scotland and is 12th out of all local authority areas, which puts us well above the national average.
The statistics show that more school leavers in Edinburgh are getting into jobs compared to September 2013 with over one in four of school leavers in employment at the snapshot taken in March. Just over 40% are getting into and sustaining places in Higher Education while over a quarter of school leavers opt for Further Education.
The majority of schools improved their performance since September 2013.
The largest increase was at Craigroyston Community High school up 13.1 per cent (see separate article), Currie performed extremely well with their figure now sitting at 97.9 per cent, and Firrhill and Gracemount were up by 6.8 per cent.
This success has been underpinned by the active support of the city’s employers in recruiting young people into their businesses, with 350 opportunities offered since April 2015.
Sue Bruce, Chief Executive, the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Today’s figures will be welcomed across the city by young people, employers in the private, voluntary and public sectors and those working in education. Giving young people the best start they can have in life is a key priority and I am delighted that the Edinburgh Guarantee is playing such an important role in securing the future success of our young people in the city.”
Cllr Paul Godzik, Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee, said: “Whether it’s employment, apprenticeships or training, young people need to move out of school and into a positive destination quickly. It is really encouraging that there has been such an improvement in the figures this year as moving on to make a new start in life is the boost young people really need to raise their self esteem at this critical point in their lives.”
Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “Ensuring that Edinburgh’s young people have opportunities is vital for the economic success of our city. These year’s figures demonstrate that initiatives such as the Edinburgh Guarantee are making a real difference to many young lives. I am confident that with sustained investment we’ll continue to drive up this figure and see many more young people taking a positive next step in their lives.”
Stephen Ramsay (pictured top) , panel beater modern apprentice at DSL Motors, said: “When I was at Craigroyston High School I was invovled in a Formula 1 project and I really enjoyed it. My career advisor helped me with an interview for Edinburgh College and I am now a modern apprentice doing a four year course in Automotive Paint Refinishing. As soon as I left school I wanted to get involved in this trade and I want to work in this field until I retire.”
A positive destination is defined as a place in Higher Education, Further Education, a job, paid apprenticeship, or work-focused training.
Click here for a short video featuring Cllrs Burns, Godzik and modern apprentice Stephen Ramsay.
