Mark Lazarowicz MP put down a Parliamentary motion, an ‘Early Day Motion’, last week to congratulate Edinburgh’s Professor Peter Higgs on the award of this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics. Among those supporting the North and Leith MP’s motion were fellow Edinburgh MPs Alistair Darling and Mike Crockart.
Professor Peter Higgs, who is now Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, was awarded the prize in recognition of his theoretical discovery of the origins of mass of the fundamental particles that make up the world. His theoretical work first published in 1964 was confirmed in July 2012 – almost half a century later – by the Hadron Collider based in Switzerland showing just how groundbreaking his work was.
A shy and modest man, Professor Higgs shares the prize with a Belgian physicist,François Englert, who also published on the same subject in the summer of 1964.
Mark Lazarowicz said: “Professor Higgs’ achievement has at last received the long awaited recognition of the award of the Nobel Prize, and as the MP for the constituency where Professor Higgs lives I wanted to make sure that achievement and award was marked by Parliament also.”
Professor Higgs has announced that he will formally retire next year, when he is 85.
Local people wishing to vote in three city Community Council elections will be able to do so online for the first time.
Following the closure of the nomination period, there were more prospective community councillors than there were places available in three areas – Craigmillar, Liberton & District and Portobello – so elections are now taking place, and for the first time an online option has been introduced making it easier for more people to take part. Votes can now be registered securely over a special website until the voting period closes at 8pm on 24 October.
All voters on the electoral roll in the three areas are being given the opportunity to vote over the internet, or they can attend a polling place on the 24 October to vote in person if they would prefer. Postal votes are also available for residents who prefer this option.
Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhood Committee, said: “Our aim is to deliver democratic processes that people can take part in and trust. To offer a range of options for voting, including online voting, we hope to make it easier for people to have a say and that can only be a good thing for local communities. We hope that by offering flexible ways to vote that it will attract even more interest in these elections.
“Community Councils are an ideal way to support communities to thrive, to allow people from all backgrounds to meet and share ideas and to make change happen. They are a fantastic way of making public sector agencies aware of the needs of local areas, and can really help to make changes for the better.”
Community Councils each receive a grant to cover running costs and training is available for the members. They are represented on each of the city’s 12 Neighbourhood Partnerships and work alongside elected members, representatives from NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, the voluntary sector and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Community councils were first established in Edinburgh in 1980 and now more than 500 people are members of 41 community councils across the city. While elections are needed in three neighbourhoods, however, other areas are still looking for local people to make up their full complement of community councillors. Nominations are currently being sought for new members of the Gilmerton/Inch Community Council, and Drylaw Telford – one of the city’s original community councils – is one of a number of community councils with vacant positions.
“Following the nomination period we have five vacancies so we are very keen to encourage residents – old and new – to get involved”, said Alex Dale, chairman of Drylaw Telford. “Anyone interested in find out a bit about what we do should check out our website, or better still come along to our next regular monthly meeting on Wednesday 30 October at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre. Our meetings are always open to the public and It would be great to sign up some enthusiastic new members.”
Alex Dale (left) with former DTCC chair Mike Clark
Thinking of building a bonfire? The simple advice from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is: DON’T!
It is much safer to attend an organised public display.
Fire crews in Scotland are up to four times busier on 5 November than any other night of the year. Wasting time and resources attending unsafe or uncontrolled bonfires could mean a critical delay in local fire crews attending a real life threatening emergency.
Within neighbourhoods affected by deliberate fire setting and fire vandalism at this or any other time of year, the public safety message is that fire setting is an offence: don’t accept it, report it.
The public are requested to pass on any information about who may be responsible for fire setting and fire vandalism to Police Scotland using the 101 non-emergency number or Scotland Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.
The firework safety message to teachers, parents and young people is that fireworks are dangerous explosives that must be purchased and handled by adults. It is an offence for young people to purchase, be in possession of or set off fireworks.
A £125,000 investment by the City of Edinburgh Council is to make swimming more accessible and more affordable for hundreds of young children and families across the Capital. A range of measures will be introduced over the next two years that will increase swimming provision and access to pools and schools for those who need it most – with free swimming for primary school children during the October school holidays!
The programme involves a ‘raft’ of measures including:
· free swimming during school holidays,
· top up swimming classes for P2-3 pupils,
· free family splash time sessions
· swimming classes for women and children from BME communities.
Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Swimming is a fantastic activity that is not only fun but keeps you fit and healthy too. The purpose behind providing a free programme of swimming is to open up our pool facilities to those that may never have tried swimming before or to encourage parents to take their children along for a fun family swim.
“We’ve worked closely with our partners in Edinburgh Leisure and sportscotland to produce a programme that specifically targets children and adults who need support the most and also benefits the most number of people for the money available. It builds on what was proposed by Splashback and, I believe, goes even further to ensure that children from all over the city have the opportunity both to learn to swim and enjoy it at the same time.”
Between Saturday 12 October and Monday 21 October, free swimming for primary school children will be available between 12-4pm in four city pools every day during the school holidays (with some exceptions – see Edinburgh Leisure website and Wester Hailes Education Centre websitefor details). The pools are Leith Victoria Swim Centre, Gracemount Leisure Centre, Dalry Swim Centre and Wester Hailes Education Centre.
These free swim session for juniors will be repeated during school holidays until April 2015 and will also include the pool at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre when it reopens after rfurbishment and upgrading later this month.
Further to this, from January, the Council will also provide additional swimming lessons for P2/3 pupils in eighteen schools designated as ‘positive action’ schools (where over 40% of pupils are entitled to free school meals). These will be run with Edinburgh Leisure who will provide additional teaching support to help these children develop early aquatic skills, knowledge of pool safety, and in many cases, introduce them to swimming for the first time.
Also early next year the Council will launch a ‘Family Splash Time’ programme which will provide parents and their children with eight weeks of fun, two-hour, swim sessions funded as part of this investment.
The Council also proposes to extend the successful ‘Female Only Swim’ sessions held at Leith Victoria to other parts of the Capital next year. These sessions are targeted specifically at the BME community where cultural and religious barriers may prevent women from participating in swimming.
The £125,000 funding for accessible and affordable swimming was agreed by the Capital Coalition earlier this year in recognition of Splashback’s commitment to increasing swimming opportunities for young people.
Graeme Gardiner, Director of Operations at Edinburgh Leisure said: ‘We are delighted to be supporting this swimming initiative. We passionately believe in the positive impact that sport and physical activity can have on individuals and communities and we want to inspire everyone in the city to be more active and healthy. This swimming initiative provides a great way of encouraging people to get active and try out swimming.”
People in Leith will soon be asked by Leith Neighbourhood Partnership to decide how a pot of more than £20,000 in funding should be spent on projects that benefit their local community.
Now in its fourth year, £eith Decides, allows community groups to apply for grants of up to £1,000 each. Once the applications are in, local people are invited to vote on which projects they would most like to see receive the money. A special public event will take place in February, at which members of the public will get the chance to learn about applicants and their projects.
Previous successful applicants include Prospect Bank School Parents’ Association for an outdoor climbing frame, the Goosander Resident’s Association for a living garden, the Citadel Youth Centre for a young mums’ parenting course, and the North Edinburgh Dementia Care group, which ran podiatry sessions for older clients.
This year’s application period is now open and runs until November 8, when a Steering Group made up of local people will consider all applications to make sure that they meet the criteria – Advice is available on how to meet the criteria.
Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “£eith Decides has proven to be extremely popular, and many new applicants came forward last year. It was fantastic that so many worthwhile projects, all of which have made a difference to people, were given help in this way.
“The public event held as part of the process gave community groups the opportunity to raise awareness about their work too. Neighbourhood Partnership events like this are valued by people who welcome the opportunity to make decisions about the area in which they live.”
Friday’sWorld Cafe (18 October) is shaping up to a great one, with Samba Sene providing some music
and a celebration of Black History Month.
The menu will include beans in coconut sauce, two types of curry and some apple crumble thanks to Abundance, who harvest fruit trees in people’s gardens for apples!
Places are limited so please call 0131 551 1671 to book your place and avoid disappointment! It costs £5 for adults and £2.50 for children.
The World Cafe’s at 5.30pm onwards at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, Muirhouse (next to the library).
Police in North Edinburgh are carrying out an initiative to prevent youths riding stolen motorcycles and cars in the area. The four-week operation involves a team of police and council officers working in the Muirhouse, Pilton and waterfront areas to prevent the theft of motorcycles and youths riding around local estates.
As well as an increase in foot patrols, officers have been utilising hand held cameras to capture potential evidence and to identify offenders. The police helicopter – a regular sight (and sound!) over North Edinburgh recently – is also being utilised to provide a bird’s eye view of the problem, enabling officers to get to the right locations quickly to ensure they can recover stolen vehicles.
The police have also enlisted the support of the City of Edinburgh Council’s local Environmental Wardens who have been checking likely disposal areas as part of their patrols and specialist Roads Policing resources have also been drafted in to assist.
Inspector Mark Rennie of Drylaw Police Station said: “There has been a significant amount of concern in the local community over this problem and we’ve been working hard over the summer to ensure we can provide additional resources into the area to prevent it.
“Since the beginning of August we have recovered 40 stolen vehicles and charged 20 youths with related offences but our aim is to prevent this type of risk taking behaviour over the longer term. As well as talking with young people at local schools about the risks, we will be speaking with local youth groups and agencies with a view to making every effort to divert those involved into positive activities in their community.
“We’ve had great support from our community groups and elected representatives who can see the efforts being made and how the use of the helicopter is often quickly preventing any escalation on the evenings when the problems occur.
“I’d like to thank residents who have already called us with information and would ask anyone to call us immediately if they see what they believe to be a stolen motorcycle being used or hidden by youths in the area.
“To keep local people up to date we are putting out regular updates of our progress on our local twitter account and I’d encourage residents to follow it for additional information: @EdinNorthPolice.”
The City of Edinburgh Council’s Community Safety Leader, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “The theft of motorbikes and cars by young people has become a real problem in the north of Edinburgh and one that I know is a matter of great concern to the local community. I am very glad to see additional Police resources being used to tackle this extremely serious issue and by working with local people I am confident that the initiative will be a great success. I would urge anyone with suspicions that a vehicle that might be stolen to contact the Police so that they can respond quickly and hopefully stop this worrying trend.”
Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101, or make an anonymous report through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Local activists Tenants and Residents in Pilton (TRIP) are hosting two drop-in sessions at West Pilton Neighbouhood Centre tomorrow (Monday) – at lunchtime from 1- 2.30pm and again in the evening from 6 – 7.30pm.
Edinburgh has won a top prize at the Britain in Bloom National Awards. Scotland’s capital city beat off competition from every corner of the UK to win the prestigious Gold award in the Large City category, it was announced at a ceremony last night (Saturday 12 October).
City council Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “This is fantastic news, I am delighted that Edinburgh has won such a prestigious award. This is entirely due to the talents and sheer hard work of our many Friends of Parks’ groups, community volunteers and the Council’s parks team. Edinburgh is a stunning city with beautiful parks and green spaces, and we will continue to work towards protecting and enhancing them.”
Britain in Bloom is an annual competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.
