Forthview School Fair
Friday 22 May
12 noon – 1.30pm.
Bouncy Castle, Inflatable Slide, Face Painting, Tombola, Bottle Stall, Hot Food, Toys, books, bric-a-brac and lots more!
Category: North Edinburgh News
Drylaw Telford in membership drive
Community Council looks to recruit new members
Drylaw Telford Community Council is urging local residents to support their neighbourhood by joining the community council. Community councillors are currently leafletting the area to encourage new people to get involved.
The leaflet drop also advertises the community council’s Annual General Meeting, which takes place next Wednesday (27 May) at 6.30pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre.
Established in 1981, Drylaw Telford CC was one of Edinburgh’s original community councils. Local community councillors led the successful campaign for a purpose-built community centre for the area in the 1990s and the community council has met at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre on the last Wednesday of the month ever since.
Why not go along next Wednesday, meet current members and find out about how you can help make Drylaw Telford a better place to be?
For further information email DTCC secretary Andrew Barnett at andrew@abarnett.net
Local youth projects share criminals’ cash!
‘Investing in our young people is always money well spent’ – Justice Secretary Michael Matheson MSP
Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG), Granton Youth Centre and The Yard (above) are among the youth projects to receive cash from the latest round of Cashback grants announced today.
In this funding round YouthLink Scotland has awarded £41,156 of CashBack funding to 17 organisations within the youth work sector in Edinburgh to deliver a whole range of projects for local young people.
The CashBack for Communities Youth Work Fund is administrated and delivered by the National Agency for Youth Work, YouthLink Scotland on behalf of Scottish Government.
Among those organisations to receive funding is The Big Project in the city’s Broomhouse area, they benefited to the tune of £4,406 to provide youth clubs twice a week for local youngsters.
Edinburgh City 6VT project have also been given a grant of £2,125 to carry on their work with local young people. Fiona Home, Development Co-ordinator for 6VT, said the support from CashBack over the years had been vital to their work with young people across the capital, especially since the project has recently had to find new premises.
“This June we move to our new location in the Grassmarket, currently we are operating out a church hall nearby. Without this support we would undoubtedly have lost contact with many of our young people, leaving them with nowhere to go and back to hanging out on the streets,” she said.
Broomhouse Young Carers were awarded £1,996 for a summer programme. The organisation offers respite to young carers aged 7-18 by way of weekly support groups, holiday programmes and residentials.
Kids in the Street, who offer street sports and coaching, have been given £2.100 for their youth activity programme. Susan Law, Administrator with KITS said: “The CashBack grant makes a huge difference to the range of sessions we can provide including girls football, street based sessions and our junior football academy.”
Restalrig’s Ripple Project received £3,105 to provide a dedicated girls-only provision to local young people at a vulnerable stage in their lives, providing them with a safe place to explore and address the issues and pressures that impact on young women. With the support and guidance of specialist youth workers, the girls also access a range of educational and leisure opportunities.
Liz Ferguson, who leads the project, said the funding helps to level the playing field for local young people. She said: ““These experiences through CashBack funding, go a long way in helping us develop confident and aspirational young women in a community of significant disadvantage.”
Commenting on the latest round of CashBack for Communities Youth Work Fund awards, Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson said: “Investing in our young people is always money well spent and I am delighted that the Scottish Government’s Cashback for Communities programme is providing this valuable funding for worthy projects across Edinburgh.
“This government is committed to ensuring all young people reach their full potential. The vast majority of them are a credit to society but we want to prevent the small minority getting involved in crime or antisocial behaviour in the first place.”
Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland, Jim Sweeney added: “Crime is a real blight on our neighbourhoods and it is right that money from the proceeds of crime goes back to the very heart of our communities, our young people. We know that youth work really does change the lives of young people, not only in Edinburgh but in every part of Scotland.”
List of Awards – City of Edinburgh (£41,156)
The BIG Project £4,406
The Broomhouse Centre £1,996
St Teresa’s Youth Club £1,800
Granton Youth Centre £3,000
Beyond Gender Youth Project £1,608
The Yard Adventure Centre £2,912
Edinburgh City Youth Cafe (6VT Youth Cafe) £2,125
Pilmeny Development Project £2,783
Canongate Youth £1,404
Kids in the Street ( KITS) £2,100
Muirhouse Youth Development Group £1,525
Wester Hailes Youth Agency £1,750
Craigentinny-Lochend Social Centre £2,880
The Ripple Project £3,105
Jack Kane Community Centre £1,938
Citadel Youth Centre £4,674
Ferrywell Youth Project £1,150
Edinburgh: it’s time to get it right
Granton Improvement Society’s SHAERON AVERBUCH bemoans Edinburgh planners’ lack of vision …
Last Thursday (14 May), I went to see the proceedings made by the Edinburgh Planning Committee regarding the final approval of the Local Development Plan (LDP).
It was very impressive to see how many residents groups and community councillors were clearly against the proposed plans for further housing allocations in their areas. This was for good reason in the main, although all acknowledged the undeniable need for housing to meet the rapid city growth. However, none of the parties – with the exception of the Willie Black who represented the Granton Improvement Society – wanted the new homes in their areas, mostly because there was not the road infrastructure to deal with the extra traffic that this would incur, particularly in the Brunstane and Barnton areas.
The other resounding fact raising concern by the majority of the groups presenting a deputation against the LDP was in regard to the majority of proposed new housing eating into the remaining green belt areas, particularly in the west of the city and again the Brunstane and Cammo areas. Gilmerton and Moredun also seemed to have great reservations.
Questions were raised by the various deputations asking why the brown field sites could not be utilised for housing instead. Willie Black of the Granton Improvement Society was vociferous in his demand to welcome further development for the area he represented and another representative from a different ward again emphatically stressed that the Edinburgh Planning Department, after a very lengthy assessment process, had granted permissions to Forth Ports PLC when set up as such to undertake a vast amount of housing under a phased development plan and why was there not further actions on this.
A further clear question asked by members of the various deputations was around whether it was correct that Councillor Frank Ross should be present on the Planning Committee when he was also on the board of so many of the cities development holding companies.
A series of other legal questions were raised by a Mr Kelly, Professor of Law at Edinburgh University as to whether the LDP was on par and could meet the scrutiny set out in the guidelines of the Scottish Governments SES Plan. More on this can be found online.
In another capacity as a member of the JUMP (Joined Up Master Planning) Group I would like to take the opportunity to add my personal opinion and that is that the City itself has identified the north area of the city as having the most scope for further regeneration.
Housing is a significant part of that. However, so much has already been compromised along the Edinburgh waterfront and there is nothing that has given anything back to existing communities or to compensate for loss of heritage, green space and natural habitats. No one can deny that what has happened in Leith Docks and Newhaven is only part of a longer term phased plan.
This is one reason why the previously mentioned Granton Improvement Society had proposed a three part plan for the historic walled garden at Granton, hoping instead to preserve the garden and establish an international garden festival, outdoor swimming facilities and artisans village to complement the other activities and create a destination on an otherwise derelict and forgotten area of the city.
This three part project would wash it’s face financially, genuinely offering jobs and training opportunities for young people and others and as a social enterprise, give back a percentage of the profits to support or start other projects in the area. So what’s not to like? https://grantonimprovementsociety.wordpress.org
Perhaps in the newly adopted LDP the City could take the bull by the horns this time round to ensure that – when further development does take place in the Waterfront area that it is done sensitively and that other planning criteria might possibly be introduced and applied, ie., aesthetics, design and scrutiny of building materials and a very strong cultural plan that also encompasses or encourages the creation of natural habitats and public access to enjoy recreational activities. Schools, shops and visitors centres are also required.
We need to demand more from our City Councillors, who not only hold the purse strings and the permission to transfer assets to communities should the situation arise. Well at least that is what all we community groups are hoping for under the new Community Empowerment Act legislation. Will this even scratch the surface of Edinburgh’s tough, tougher and toughest, overtly anti-community empowerment SKIN!!
My final comment is that Edinburgh is a world class city with UNESCO world heritage status. The Edinburgh Waterfront area and those linked to it must be recognised to be capable of international merit and to be valued more by local people.
The City of Edinburgh NEEDS a Cultural Plan. It should be applying to be City of Culture and to have an EXPO in the North Edinburgh Area. The City should be looking at other world class small cities with waterfronts and waterways and doing all it’s power to literally catch up with competitors and show a new stronger identity delivered through added value, people power, contemporary culture, ecological sensitivity and an understanding of urbanism requirements for the 21st Century and beyond.
Lets stop Edinburgh getting it wrong and start getting it right!
Shaeron Averbuch, Granton Improvement Society
On the record
New exhibition celebrates the people behind 150 years of records
A new exhibition telling the 150 year old story of the men and women responsible for Scotland’s public records opens today (19 May) at the National Records of Scotland on Princes Street.
‘Recording Angels: Scottish Registrars since 1855’ uses previously unseen documents to tell the human story behind the millions of documents that record the lives of every person in Scotland.
In 1865, ten years after civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in Scotland, local registrars banded together to form the Association of Registrars of Scotland. The Association is believed to be the oldest society of registrars in Europe, if not the world.
For the past 150 years the Association has worked with the Registrar General for Scotland to help shape modern registration practice, and supported registrars in their work of accurately recording life events of people in Scotland.
The Scottish Government, local authorities and the NHS use the detailed information in order to plan and provide public services. The Registrar General for Scotland oversees the work of local registrars, and the rich archive of registers they create is searchable through the official family history website ScotlandsPeople.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish Government, said: “Thanks to the hard work of forward-thinking registrars, Scotland’s rich social history has been preserved and recorded for the ages. Their work underpins the delivery of vital services by the NHS in Scotland, by the Scottish Government and by local authorities, and has created a rich genealogical resource for everyone to use and enjoy.
“I’m delighted that the National Records of Scotland is marking over 150 years of co-operation between the Registrar General for Scotland and local registrars in delivering a service that directly benefits people in Scotland every day.”
Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said: “This year National Records of Scotland celebrates the milestone of 160 years since civil registration began in Scotland, and we congratulate the Association of Registrars of Scotland on their 150th anniversary. We work closely with local registrars and the Association to deliver vital services to the public. We are proud to be part of a unique and historic partnership that creates a resource that is used in many different ways for the public good.”
Shirley Dickie, the Secretary of the Association of Registrars of Scotland, said:“The Association of Registrars of Scotland is proud to be marking 150 years of public service. Our members not only have personal contact with people at important times of their lives, but for 150 years have helped deliver a very highly-regarded registration service, which underpins so many public services that benefit everybody in Scotland.”
The ‘Recording Angels: Scottish registrars since 1855’exhibition can be seen at the National Records of Scotland, General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 19 May – 26 June, Monday to Friday, 9.00 – 4.30. Free admission.
Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership meets next Monday
Local crime and Raeburn Place issues on the agenda
The next public meeting of the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership takes place next Monday 25 May at Blackhall Library from 6.30pm. Agenda and papers are now available online and can be found here.
If you have concerns about crime / housebreaking in your neighbourhood, come hear from Inspector Happs about some of the work that is taking place to tackle this.
Also, Raeburn Place: what are your views on traffic / waste / street furniture, etc ? Come and share them!
Leading by example: share your views on community leadership
Community Leadership College – a game of two halves!
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard played his last game in front of his beloved Kop at the weekend. ‘Legend’ is an overused word, but in a football mad city, Liverpool-born and bred Gerrard personifies the word. Gifted, determined, he’s a giant who leads by example, inspiring and motivating those around him to give every last ounce for the cause.
What’s Stevie G got to do with Muirhouse and West Pilton? Well it’s not so much Gerrard the sporting hero, it’s his leadership qualities we’re interested in – and are the same qualities and skills needed by local people to speak up on behalf of their communities?
We’re running a series of ‘conversation cafe’ events across Muirhouse and West Pilton to get your views and opinions on what YOU need to be a more effective community activist, volunteer or campaigner.
We’ve almost reached ‘half-time’ – we’ve held four sessions and have at least four more planned (with more to be added too) so it’s not too late to share your views over coffee and biscuits. It’s a game of two halves!
Come along to any of the following sessons:
Monday 18 May: West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, 4 – 6pm
Thursday 21 May: North Edinburgh Arts, 2 – 4pm
Monday 25 May: North Edinburgh Arts, 11am – 1pm
Monday 1 June: West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, 4 – 6pm.
It would be great to see you!
For further information email: Comlc2015@outlook.com
Our city by numbers
Edinburgh’s better by degree!
The percentage of the Edinburgh workforce with a degree level qualification or equivalent has risen from 46 per cent in 2013 to 54 per cent in 2015, according to the education and skills section of the latest Edinburgh by Numbers.
This is just one of many fascinating facts about the city in the latest online document, produced by the City of Edinburgh Council for investors, entrepreneurs and anyone else with an interest in Edinburgh. It also includes sections on people, quality of life, environment, work, social economy, economy and enterprise, tourism, travel and connectivity, and housing.
Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “The facts in the latest edition of Edinburgh by Numbers speak for themselves and show the city has much to celebrate this year. The document is an essential resource for anyone looking to invest in the city or simply looking for key facts and figures about the capital.
“The data is extremely encouraging and shows that the number of people educated to degree level has shot up since 2013. It also further strengthens our reputation as a knowledge based economy, enhancing the attractiveness of Edinburgh for employers to locate or expand their business.
“The figures relating to the economy are strong with foreign direct investments creating 1,860 jobs in 2014. In terms of our social economy, the largest 70 local charities recorded £28.9m in donations in 2014. On a lighter note, those planning to visit Edinburgh in the winter will be pleased to know that our average rainfall from Novemberto February is almost half that of the UK average.”
First Minister confirms 500 extra apprenticeships
youth employment boost at start of Apprenticeship Week
An extra 500 Modern Apprenticeship places will be funded over the next year following a £3.8 million investment, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed today.
The funding will also be used to create more opportunities for young people still at school through work-based Foundation Apprenticeships for senior secondary pupils, which will provide industry recognised qualifications and first hand insight into the world of work.
The 500 places – announced to mark the start of Scottish Apprenticeship Week – are the first step to expand Skills Development Scotland’s current apprentice programme from 25,000 to 30,000 by 2020.
The First Minister met with some of the female apprentice mechanics at GTG Training which is owned by Arnold Clark, to highlight the opportunities open to young women through the new funding to encourage them to consider roles traditionally filled by men.
Arnold Clark has seen 160 apprentices starting this year – of whom 31 are female.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “It’s vitally important that all of our young people in Scotland – no matter their background – have the opportunities available to get on in life.
“Apprenticeships not only offer our young people better job prospects – they also have a positive impact on businesses and industry, bringing value to employers and our economy.
“We have already seen youth unemployment reach its lowest level in seven years and with further investment in our young workforce – like these 500 apprenticeships – we can hope to see that continue to improve.
“I also want to make sure that these opportunities are open to everyone. Traditionally, some sectors have been dominated by men and women have felt that there are barriers to them entering.
“As we continue the expansion of our successful apprenticeship programmes we need to make sure that more young women are aware of the tremendous opportunities that an apprenticeship provides.
“I want our young women – as well as our young men – to be inspired and supported to achieve whatever they want in life.”
Carol Henry, Group HR Director, Arnold Clark said: “As a large employer and supporter of developing the young workforce of Scotland, I am pleased to see the continued efforts being made around the extension of apprenticeships. For young people to succeed in today’s workplace, it is essential that they are equipped with the right skills and knowledge. The public and private sector have an important role to play in ensuring valuable learning opportunities continue to be available to young people.”
News of the extra 500 places follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s announcement of a £125,000 investment to support female apprenticeships.
Women will receive further help in taking up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from a new programme to support Modern Apprenticeships (MAs).
The Scottish Government is investing a further £125,000 in the CareerWISE initiative to raise awareness of STEM MAs to girls and their parents, break down barriers to women taking them up and showcase employers taking action to address gender diversity in MAs.
CareerWISE, which is delivered by Equate Scotland at Edinburgh Napier University, was created in 2013 to raise awareness of STEM careers for girls from school age onwards.
The announcement coincides with the start of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2015, the annual showcase to highlight the benefits of MAs to both employers and potential trainees.
Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham said: “The CareerWISE programme has made a considerable impact over the last 18 months however there remains the need to address gender balance in the STEM sectors in Scotland.
“The Scottish Government still firmly believes that there is no such thing as a job for a boy or a job for a girl. Our continued support for the CareerWISE programme and its new focus to support young women access STEM MAs sits at the heart of our drive for a more productive and fairer work place.
“I am very pleased to be able to fund this very specific piece of work that CareerWISE will take forward. This is further illustration of our determination to respond positively to recommendations of the report into Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.
“We need more women to take up non-traditional career paths to achieve gender equality in the workplace. We are also committed to creating 30,000 new MA opportunities every year by 2020 and more women placed in STEM sectors will help us move towards that goal.
“This year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Week looks like being the biggest yet with dozens of events up and down the country with a number of Scottish ministers getting involved in both local and national initiatives. BT have already seized the initiative by announcing 90 new MA posts on Friday, and I hope the next week’s activity encourages even more employers to consider the advantages of MAs to their business and the wider economy.”
Skills Development Scotland, Chief Executive, Damien Yeates, said: “Modern Apprenticeships provide excellent opportunities for young people to work, learn and earn.
“Programmes such as CareerWISE help young women see the real benefits of Modern Apprenticeships and work-based learning as valuable career options.
“We want Scottish Apprenticeship Week to inspire young people to find out about apprenticeships and take up the great opportunities apprenticeships provide to give their careers a great start.”
Linda Somerville, Project Director at Equate Scotland,added: “Building on the success with Careerwise, Equate Scotland will partner with employers to encourage them to take positive action to offer young women access to MAs, to address skills shortages in these sectors.”
Planning’s a thorny issue
Caerhays Castle project shows the virtue of patience
Planning is often a thorny issue. Planning applications, large and small, are often high on the agenda of community councils across the country and many community groups bemoan the pace of change when dealing with planning issues.
Locally, both the Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden and Granton Improvement Society have recently been critical of how long it takes to get decisions made and that’s particularly frustrating when you are eager to get to work to improve your environment.
Patience is certainly required when dealing with bureaucracy – a quality, incidentally, gardeners have in abundance – and sometimes good things come to those who wait. I saw this good news story from faraway Cornwall and immediately thought of our local groups:
A fifteen year restoration project is finally reaching completion at Caerhays Castle.
A new collection of wild-collected Rhododendrons, originating from the same species of Chinese seed that was first collected by plant hunters Ernest Wilson and George Forrest,has just been planted on the estate as the culmination of a 15 year project to restore the Caerhays Rhododendron Collection to its former glory.
The new planting setting out to replace many of the original Caerhays Rhododendrons which were lost when they matured and began dying out in the 1960’s.
The life span of taller growing Rhododendron species is a maximum of 60-80 years with smaller growing species dying in a much shorter timescale. Caerhays historic Rhododendrons dated back to 1905 when seed from China was brought over from plant hunting expeditions, so plants were not easily replaced.
The solution to the decline of Rhododendrons in the gardens was to go back to China to re-obtain wild collected seeds from the species which had died out. So in 1999 Caerhays started contributing to Alan Clark’s field trips to Yunnan, Sichuan, North Vietnam and North India in return for a selection of his wild collected Rhododendron seed.
After Clark’s successful trips, a selection of seed lists was drawn up to try to reintroduce the specific species of Rhododendrons known to have been lost since the 1960s. By 2013 vanloads of young Rhododendron species (three of most species) arrived at Caerhays and were grown on and nurtured in nursery beds at the castle until ready for planting.
The woodland garden was extensively cleared and in spring 2015 the new collection of around 60 wild collected Rhododendron species was finally transplanted into the 25 acre garden in Old Park Wood.
The new Rhododendron species are located in a prime position in the centre of the wood with dappled shade where the soil is richest and where wind damage is least likely. So, barring climatic disasters, the Rhododendron species collection should soon be restored to its former glory.
Jaimie Parsons, head gardener, said: “The excitement of growing on these species for myself and the team has matched the excitement of gardeners at Caerhays over 100 years ago seeing these new plants from China grow and flower for the first time.”
So, patience and perseverance … maybe there’s time yet to see Granton Castle’s Walled Garden restored to it’s former glory, or a glorious Flower Festival lighting up currently neglected brownfield site land …