Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
Annual General Meeting Thursday 26 November 6 – 8pm
Royston Wardieburn Community Centre
St Columba’s salutes ‘great team of volunteers’
St Columba’s Hospice has been celebrating its many volunteers with special long-service awards ceremonies. In total, the people who have been recognised for their long service have given a massive 560 years to the Hospice! Continue reading More than five centuries donated by St Columba’s volunteers
Capital Coalition stands firm to seek ‘best value for city’
Councillors have approved in principle that any tram extension should continue to Newhaven. Elected members voted today to continue consideration of an Outline Business Case (see below) until the next Council meeting in December, when a further report will be heard. Continue reading Tram network back on track?
‘We are satisfied there will be no impact on Council budgets in the short or long term.’ – Council leader Cllr Andrew Burns
Councillors will discuss proposals to extend the Edinburgh tram line to Newhaven at next Thursday’s full council meeting.
If recommendations are agreed, a nine-month period of project development will commence, including the beginning of procurement processes for external support and site investigation. However it is unsure at this stage whether the SNP group on the city council – Labour’s partners in the Capital Coalition – will support the proposal to extend the line.
Once the first stage is complete, a report will be brought back to Council recommending the way forward. If Councillors agree to continue with the extension a second stage, scheduled to take 21 months and costing approximately £8.3m, will include further site investigation and working with the Council’s advisors in carrying out procurement and enabling works.
While the Council is yet to identify specific resources to fund the borrowing costs required for the project, the business case concludes that these can be funded from wider Public Transport revenues with no impact on Council revenue budgets in the short, medium and long term.
Council Leader, Councillor Andrew Burns, said: “The updated Outline Business Case provides further justification for bringing the tram to Leith, clearly demonstrating the social and economic impact the extension could have on this key area of the city.
“This first stage of project development for the extension will allow us to take another step towards achieving this. A significant period of work will ensure robust governance, allowing financial evaluation and risk analysis to be carried out.
“By obtaining funding for these initial stages from the city’s Public Transport revenues, we are satisfied there will be no impact on Council budgets in the short or long term.”
In June, Councillors considered the emerging conclusions of the draft Outline Business Case, which proposed a formal market consultation and further, detailed analysis of project finances before any decision was made.
A report, to be heard by Council on Thursday, 19 November, details the findings of the Outline Business Case for the extension to Leith.
It is recommended that Councillors approve, in principle, extending the tram to Newhaven over alternative options to end the line at Ocean Terminal, the foot of Leith Walk or MacDonald Road.
The Outline Business Case, based on a formal market consultation process, audit of the financial model and identification of funding options, concludes that extending the existing tram line to Newhaven will boost the city’s economy while delivering a range of wider benefits in relation to employment, population growth and social inclusion.
Spur lines to Leith and Granton’s Waterfront were an integral element of the original masterplan for Edinburgh’s tram network back in 2003, but these were dropped as the project ran into well-documented financial difficulties.
Back then the then Labour-led Scottish Executive allocated £375m for proposed tram routes linking the city centre to both Edinburgh Airport and Leith. Original projections indicated that trams would be running on city streets by 2009.
The project was years late and millions over-budget: the project cost taxpayers £776 million and trams did not run until 31 May last year – and then only on a single line, not a network.
An inquiry into what went wrong, to be led by Lord Hardie, was announced by then-First Minister Alex Salmond in June last year.
The Inquiry is attempting to find out why the Edinburgh Trams project – with a final bill of £776m plus over £200m in interest on a 30-year loan taken out by the council to cover the funding shortfall – was delayed and went so badly over-budget. The Inquiry also aims to establish why, through reductions in scope, the project delivered significantly less than projected.
The official terms of reference for the Inquiry are to:
The inquiry, which was converted to a statutory inquiry almost exactly one year ago, is ongoing: the process has been broken down into ten separate stages and the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry team is currently working on stages 4 and 7. This includes gathering material, retrieving and reviewing documents; and reviewing written evidence which will be considered by Lord Hardie to decide what further evidence is required at oral hearings.
No date has yet been set for publication of the report of the inquiry’s findings – these will be made available ‘at the earliest opportunity’.
When Alex Salmond announced the public inquiry last year he promised MSPs it would be a “swift and thorough” inquiry.
Swift? Perhaps not, but anyone who has any knowledge of the lengthy and complex nature of the Edinburgh trams story knows that speed has never been the driving factor. But thorough? The Scottish taxpayer, the businesses and citizens of Edinburgh surely deserve nothing less.
PILTON EQUALITIES PROJECT
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER 11am – 12 noon
Pilton Equalities Project (PEP) welcomes nominations for membership of the Board of Directors from people who live in North Edinburgh and representatives of local organisations who have an interest in the work of the Project.
The maximum number of members of the Board is 11, with a majority of members being elected from groups or activities associated with the Project. If more than 11 nominations are received in time for the Annual General Meeting then there will be a vote at the AGM. A further 4 co-opted places will be available for those who have experience and/or skills which could be of assistance to the directors
Completed nomination forms must returned by Friday 13 November.
If you wish to stand for appointment at the 2014/15 Annual General Meeting of Pilton Equalities Project, please fill in the nomination form (below) and then sign it and return it to Pilton Equalities Project, 3 West Pilton Park, Edinburgh, EH4 4EL
‘I’m fortunate to have a team brimming with talent and enthusiasm, making North Edinburgh a safer place to live, work and visit’ – Chief Inspector Richard Horan Continue reading Room for optimism? Reported crime down in North Edinburgh
Central Taxis to sponsor Spartans Connections
Taxi for Spartans! Edinburgh’s Central Taxis are to sponsor local community club Spartans Connections. The Connections squad are delighted with the sponsorship deal and the new partnership is a great result for the Ainslie Park footballers. Continue reading Fare play to Spartans Connections!
Choosing to attend only organised displays is the best way to keep yourself, your family and your community safe. Continue reading Help protect your community from bonfire tragedy