Category: Drylaw and Telford Community Council

Keir concerns over Local Plan

‘I fear traffic gridlock, major health issues and the holding back of the economic potential of our capital city and nation’ – Colin Keir MSP.

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Edinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir has written to to Cllr Lesley Hinds, Convener of Transport & Environment at the City of Edinburgh Council, to express his fears over the latest Local Plan.

Mr Keir raises concerns over the ability of the existing roads network to cope with all of the proposed housing sites being released for development and also expresses fears over pollution and air quality.

In his submission Mr Keir states: “The city of Edinburgh is an economic driver for Scotland. We know that every town and city must grow. The difficulty our city has is that there is no connected vision between development and methods of sustainable transport that anyone is aware of in relation to the west of the city.”

The city council is expected to make a decision on the Local Development Plan on 26 February.

Lesley Hinds LDP letter

Operation Quarterlight: cracking down on car crime

Quarterlight update: six arrests last week

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Operation Quarterlight is a Police Scotland initiative aimed at tackling motor vehicle crime in hotspot areas. Since the start of the initiative in January 2015, local officers involved in the operation have made 24 arrests and solved 68 crimes related to motor vehicle offences.

In the last week officers in Edinburgh have arrested five men and one woman for various offences related to motor vehicles crimes. Of those arrested a 22-year-old man has been remanded in custody on multiple charges.

Additionally in the last week there has been 15 stop searches in hotspot areas and 41 bail curfew checks completed on some of Edinburgh’s most prolific offenders.

Police have also charged a 41-year-old woman with the theft of a pedal cycle. This had previously been advertised as for sale on a website. The bike has now been recovered and returned to its owner.

PS Tom Mallinson, who runs the Quarterlight team, said: “We have solved almost seventy crimes since Quarterlight began and well over half of these relate to vehicle crime. We are quite clear with offenders – we will continue to investigate all crimes linked to vehicles across the city.

“Many of these individuals will be involved in assaults, hate crimes, vandalisms and serious driving offences while in the commission of motor vehicle offences and our team has prioritised access to forensic services, CCTV and national vehicle crime experts to combat the challenge of autocrime.”

Chief Superintendent Mark Williams, who oversees Operation Quarterlight locally, pressed home the point about car security and improving results. He said: “We have seen a week on week increase in detection rates, as well as a driving down of car crime as the message gets out.

“We have increased preventative night time patrols in hot spot areas and officers have conducted over a hundred searches resulting in numerous arrests.

“We still want car owners to be careful – secure their vehicles, park in well-lit and overlooked spots and ensure valuable items are removed or at least not on show in their vehicles.”

Spartans: be the twelfth man!

spartansLocal club The Spartans play Berwick Rangers this Saturday (7 February) at Ainslie Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.  If we win we will make history as the first non-league team to play in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup for 55 years! 

This Cross-Border clash sees the Lowland League title holders take on their third SPFL opponents on the Road to Hampden. We have already beaten Clyde and Morton and in both games the bumper home support has made all the difference.

Can you be the twelfth man on 7 February?  We are making a big plea for everyone in the North Edinburgh community to come along and back their local team as we aim to make history! 

The TV cameras will be along, “Pulse of the Place” our local Samba band will provide the pre match entertainment and hundreds of local youngsters will be bringing a real family atmosphere.  It promises to be a magical afternoon.

Our Ainslie Park arena holds 3500 people, with 500 seats in our covered stand.  Kick-off is at 3pm so please come down early if you want a seat. 

Admission is £12 for adults, £8 for concessions and Under 12 s are free (pay at gate) – continuing our commitment to offer affordable football for all.  With a bumper crowd expected, we have entrances open on both Pilton Drive and Pilton Avenue.

You can keep up to date with the pre-match news, previews and interviews on our hat-trick of social media sources:

website: www.spartansfc.com,

twitter: @spartansfc and Facebook: Spartans FC

The Spartans Football Club

| Live together, Play together, Win together

Drylaw’s looking for a local hero

It’s Tierney Award nomination time in Drylaw Telford

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Do you know someone who gave up their time to help the Drylaw Telford community last year? A local volunteer who went that extra mile to support a neighbour, or a person who’s worked to improve the local environment or enhance the quality of life in the neighbourhood? If so, Drylaw  Telford Community Council wants to hear from you!

The community council is now seeking nominations for the Thomas Tierney Award for Good Citizenship 2014.

Tam Tierney was a committed community activist from Wester Drylaw who was involved in many of the positive things that happening in the old Greater Pilton area during the eighties and nineties. He was a stalwart of Pilton Sporting Club, chaired Craigroyston Community Centre for many years and was also an active and enthusiastic member of Drylaw Telford Community Council. Tam was also part of the steering group and a member of the first management committee of Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, which first opened it’s doors twenty years ago in 1995.

When Tam passed away in 1999, Drylaw Telford Community Council decided to mark his contribution to community life – not only to celebrate his achievements but also to try to encourage others to become more active within their community.

Every year since 2000, the community council has chosen a new recipient of the Award. They are all very different, and every one has been nominated for a different reason, but they share one thing in common: they freely contribute their time to do something that makes the Drylaw Telford neighbourhood a better place to live.

Former recipients have done that in many ways – helping out as a volunteer with local projects, doing their neighbours’ shopping, supporting local groups by serving on management committees … and some have done all of these things and more!

Drylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale – who himself received the award in 2012 – said: “The Thomas Tierney Award is an important date on our community council calendar and is usually the best attended meeting of the year. We are looking forward to receiving nominations and the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our local unsung heroes.”

Nomination forms are now available at Drylaw Parish Church and Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre and forms can also be downloaded at Drylaw Telford Community Council’s website.

All completed forms must be returned by 25 February.

If you think you know someone from the area who deserves recognition for their community spirit, visit the community council’s website at www.drylawtelfordcc.co.uk or email Secretary@drylawtelfordcc.co.uk for further information.

Thomas Tierney Award Poster

 

Boy knocked down on Groathill Road North

Accident

A five year old boy has been hit by a vehicle near Ferryhill Primary School on Groathill Road North.

The accident happened at around 2.45pm this afternoon. The boy was treated by medical staff at the scene before being transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. His condition is not thought to be serious.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police in Edinburgh attended a road traffic collision involving a five-year-old child outside Ferryhill Primary School this afternoon. The child was taken to the Sick Kids Hospital to be treated for a minor injury.”

A similar accident involving a child happened close to the same spot in 2012 and Easter Drylaw Residents Association has campaigned on the issue of local road safety for over three years.

Witnesses should contact Police Scotland on 101

 

Drylaw Telford CC meeting date

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Drylaw Telford Community Council will hold their first meeting of 2015 on Wednesday 28 January at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre. All welcome.

AGENDA

1 Welcome

2 Attendees

3 Apologies for Absence

4 Approve Minutes of the last meeting (26th November 2104) & any matters arising

5 Reports :-

• Police Report
• Councillors Report
• Treasurer’s Report
• EDRA (Easter Drylaw Residents Association)
• Telford Reps Report

6 Parking Issues Drylaw Shops (Update)

7 Thomas Tierney 2015

8 Correspondence

9 Date of Next Meeting (25th Febuary 2015).

Happy birthday Nan!

DRYLAW’S NAN IS ONE HUNDRED

118_2520Born before the outbreak of the First World War, Drylaw woman Nan Macdonald celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends at Drylaw Parish Church yesterday. Guests were entertained with jazz and traditional Scottish music and shared lots and lots of stories and happy memories.

Nan is quite fragile these days and she is currently in an Inverleith nursing home, but as ever Nan’s husband of 73 years Harry was never far from his wife’s side – looking particular dapper in his maroon jacket and proudly sporting his Foundation of Hearts tie!

The pair met in the late 1930s when Harry was a butcher boy and Nan was helping to look after her father’s house. They shared many interests, particularly cycling and spent many happy weekends together on bike rides up to the north of Scotland.

The Second World War intervened but didn’t end the couple’s courtship – Harry got leave during naval service and he and Nan were married in Stockbridge Church on February 22 1941.

After the war the couple set up home in Drylaw where the Macdonalds had three children – George, Henry and Evelyn. Since then clan has continued to grow and grow, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren came from near and far to join yesterday’s celebrations.

Harry, incidentally, has a wee while to wait for his telegram from the Queen – he claims he’s Nan’s  ‘toy boy’ – he’s only 98!

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