Category: North Edinburgh News

Locals unhappy with Councilors comment

Please see below a letter received from Muirhouse Womans Group.

Dear Editor 

We are writing to you regarding an article in the Evening News on 1st September about a leaked email in which Councillor Elaine Morris described members of our community in North Edinburgh (which she represents) as ‘rabid’ and ‘anti-establishment’. 

A rep from Muirhouse Womans Groups makes her feelings know at a recent protest

We looked up ‘rabid’ in the dictionary.  One of the definitions is ‘fanatical’.  This is very insulting, as it implies that the local people who organised the public meeting to inform our community about the Council’s proposals to privatise services are stupid.  We are very angry and disgusted that Cllr Morris has such a low opinion of local people who are trying to protect the services our community needs. 

In the email, Cllr Morris referred to members of our community as ‘anti-establishment’.  If this means speaking up for our community, voicing our opinions, standing up for our rights and trying to make our community a better place to live, then we plead guilty.  We are disappointed that Cllr Morris appears to think that our community should just accept the cuts happening in our area, and not question the decisions that the Council are making.  We have the right and the duty to protect our community. 

We met Cllr Morris earlier this year to discuss our concerns about the Government’s welfare reforms after our letters to David Cameron went unanswered.  During the meeting, we explained that we were trying to make our community a better place to live.  We thought, as our Cllr, she understood this. 

We would like to remind Cllr Morris that freedom of speech is a human right which people in this community are entitled to regardless of race, nationality, sexuality or social class. 

Yours sincerely 

Sara Martin

On behalf of Muirhouse Women’s Group

Community response to Granton & District Community Council meeting

The following letter was received from a member of the community following their visit to the Granton & District Community Council meeting. NEN have written to the Community Council to give them an opportunity to respond.

 

I attended Granton &District Community Council meeting last night (September 21) never in all my years as an activist have I experienced such bullying and deceitfulness from people who are suppose to represent my area. Firstly George Gordon misinformed the meeting by claiming that the Community Council had been involved in a garden project withinCrewe Road West. This is untrue Crewe Excluded Residents through a Neighbourhood Improvement Programme (NIP) secured funding themselves for this project. Crewe Excluded Residents do not engage with the Community Council, therefore they are trying to claim credit for something they did not have a part in . Disgusting and untrustworthy. The chair Fred Marinello stated that the Community Council is not a political group, and yet key members are standing at the next council elections. Surely a vested interest?

The Chair of the meeting surely brought the Community Council into disrepute by bullying members of the group. Two Forth Ward Councilors sitting at this meeting must wonder what is going on within this Community Council .Fred Marinello constantly harassed and “bullied” members not allowing people to speak. Members of the community attended this meeting for the first time were shocked at the constant aggression that was carried out at this meeting. Cllr Steve Cardownie pointed out to the Chair about his aggressiveness and yet it continued. The Community Council spent £1700 of public money on 3 laptops what group needs 3 laptops? Surely this is a waste of money when cuts all over the city are being made? The Community Council could not justify or produce minutes from previous discussions about the amount of money spent. This is not acceptable this is really bad management. Lack of accountability makes a mockery of our democracy. . I certainly do not have faith in this community council to represent the community of Granton and local community.

Anna Hutchison

 

Bearded dragon dumped in local supermarket toilets

The owner of a bearded dragon dumped in a white bag in the toilets of an Edinburgh supermarket is being sought by animal welfare officers.

The adult male reptile was found in Morrisons on Pilton Drive on Sunday. He is now being cared for at the Scottish SPCA’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre. If caught, the owner faces a maximum of six months in prison, a £5,000 fine or both.

Inspector June Chalcroft, of the Scottish SPCA, said: “The bearded dragon was discovered inside a white sack in the ladies toilets at about 17:00.”The shop would have been fairly busy at this time, so we’re hoping members of the public may have noticed someone, probably female, carrying the sack in to the store.

“There’s no excuse for throwing an animal away like it’s a piece of rubbish, but sadly animals are regularly dumped in all sorts of unusual places including public toilets.

“We see a lot of abandoned and unwanted exotic creatures coming into our care because people underestimate the hard work and knowledge required to look after these types of animals.

“Reptiles and bearded dragons in particular have very specific needs in terms of their environment, nutrition and care.”


Inverleith Park green flag success

Inverleith Park retained it’s prestigious Green Flag Award for 2011/2012, passing assessments on a number of national criteria, such as environment, cleanliness, safety and accessibility and a flag raising ceremony took place today.

The formal raising of the flag was conducted by ward Councillor Tim McKay and he was also delighted about the award. He said “The Flag gives the public a way of realizing their parks are something to be proud off, its an indicator of a local facility being appreciated by the wider community. All our parks are important to everyone in Edinburgh, its not just your neighborhood park its good to know there are parks all over the city.”

When asked about the potential sale of the depot site Councillor McKay said “I think the sale is without doubt kicked into the long grass if not killed off. There is a paper that is due to come to Policy and Strategy committee in the future, which will kick the issue into the long grass for just now, the agents that were involved are no longer involved they were involved in proposal for some housing but that proposal is getting dropped and I cant see anything happening for the next few years.

Ritchie Fraser from the City of Edinburgh Council said “The green flag means a great deal for Inverleith Park, the award is internationally recognised award which means that the park will generate a great deal of publicity. We had to create a management plan for the park and this included, safety of the park, cleanliness of the park and whether or not everything you achieve in the park is sustainable. We are always look at ways to improve the park and toilets are something that we are looking at but as they require to be cleaned its an additional cost. We have looked at semi automated toilets but its all budget dependent”

Councillor Tim McKay (second from left) prepares to raise the Green Flag

Members from the Friends of Inverleith park group came along on the day and were delighted that the park had achieved this award for the coming year. Tony Cook, convener of the groups said “This is excellent news for the park, there is lots of activities taking place in the park from football to rugby and many more. Our group are concerned about the potential selling off of the depot site for the purpose of creating 8 luxury houses. I would now like to see real progress made in creating a toilet facility as well as a café and something that could be a youth facility in the evening.”

Click here to listen to our interview with Councillor Tim McKay and Ritchie Fraser

Local Youth Work Praised

Local youth work in North Edinburgh was today praised as being Outstanding and Sector Leading according to a government report which was published today following the inspection on the Broughton High School Learning Community by HMIe earlier this year.

The report has concluded that the Voluntary Sector and Community Learning & Development (CLD) scored an excellent in the section Impact On Young People. 

HMIe inspectors spent a week visiting local projects and meeting with various activists and community representatives to gather evidence about the services that are being offered in the local community not only on Youth Work but on Adult Work, Capacity Building, Improving Services and Improvements in Performance.

In the other areas of their work the HMIe has graded them as  Very Good. The report has highlighted certain areas of work as good practice and and in particular mention to the wide range of activities and opportunities available to young people as well ensuring that young people are involved in the local decision making process. Local project Stepping Stones was mentioned for the excellent and vital support they offer to young parents. Fet Lor Youth Centre was also highlighted for its excellent work in delivering the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to local young people who attend their youth clubs and also within the Broughton high School.

The work that Pilton Equalities Project  does with adults with additional support needs and assisting them to mange their money independently was also praised by the Inspectors. Pilton Community Health Project are making life-changing differences to the health, wellbeing and resilience of vulnerable women and their families said the report.

The HMIe have agreed that CLD and the local service providers need to improve the following areas:

Clarify and simplify the roles and functions of strategic and operational partnerships.

Further develop accredited learning opportunities for adults.

Develop use of Experiences and Outcomes within youth work practice.

Overall this was an excellent report for the Learning Community and highlights some of the excellent work that is being carried out in the Broughton Learning Community area.

You can get a copy of the report here: http://tinyurl.com/3kaxujb

Farewell to Ian Stewart and Alison Miller

North Edinburgh lost two long standing community workers last month when Ian Stewart and Alison Miller were both made redundant from their posts at North Edinburgh Trust, the former Pilton Partnerhsip. Both of them have supported many groups and have been influential on various projects and campaigns over the past 10 years.

North Edinburgh News understands that both were made redundant as a result of the North Edinburgh Trust losing its core Council funding.

Ian and Alison hosted a social gathering at the Prentice Centre prior to leaving their posts.

North Edinburgh News wishes both Ian and Alison all the best for the future.

Community project awarded grant for Granton Sur Mer

Local community project Joined Up Master Planning (JUMP) have been awarded a grant from the Awards for All strand of the

Granton Walled Garden is for sale.

Lottery to carry out a detailed community consultation on their plans for the Walled Garden area at the waterfront.

Project manager Ross McEwan said “JUMP have just received an Awards for All National Lottery grant of £10,000 to consult with the people of North Edinburgh about the use of derelict land on the Waterfront for the Granton sur Mer project. The main piece of land in question is the Walled Garden just behind Caroline Park House. This major part is owned by City of Edinburgh Council through it’s “arms” length company Waterfront Edinburgh Ltd. They just want to sell it without any community benefit.”

A council spokesperson said “We are working closely on a number of projects aimed at continuing the regeneration of the waterfront area. A developer working with an established national care home operator has agreed terms for the purchase of the walled garden site and proposals are currently being drawn up.”

Ross continued “The £1m now is all they will get and the local community will see nothing from that. What we would be giving over a ten-year period would be £6m. It is short-term economic madness.

“What impact would a care home have? You would have maybe 30 bed spaces, about 20-30 full-time jobs and nothing back into the local economy.

“The benefits are nil if a private care home operator owns one of the best sites in Edinburgh for only £1m.”

The Granton Sur Mer scheme was to include an outdoor swimming pool created from four sea containers sunk into waste ground and filled with solar-heated sea water. Changing rooms and a snack bar were also to be created.

Mr McEwan claims that his own group’s proposals would generate up to £600,000 a year through rental income from artist studios and revenue from a cafe, as well as proceeds from the garden festival.

He said that positive talks had been held with two grant-awarding bodies, while banks had expressed interest in providing funding. Any grant funding would rely on a land agreement being secured.

He said: “It is the most realistic project on the table for the Waterfront and it would not be spoiling the area with yet more blocks of mundane buildings.”

North Edinburgh Fights Back Public Meeting

North Edinburgh Fights Back a local community group campaigning against the cuts in North Edinburgh have organised a public meeting to take place on Tuesday 30th August 2011 from 6.30pm-8.00pm in the North Edinburgh Arts Centre. The group have organised speakers who will talk about the effects of the cuts to the local area.

If you would like more information on this group please search them on Facebook at North Edinburgh Fights Back where you will ind out more about the groups work and also see minutes from their meetings.

You can also visit the groups website at www.northedinburghfightsback.org.uk 

£26m in cuts made by city council in last year

The city council has made £26 million of cuts in the last year, a new report shows.
The authority’s annual efficiency statement shows that it managed to exceed its two per cent savings target by a series of savings made from operational changes.

Among the savings have been freeing up building space, changes to contracts, improving council tax collection, reducing energy costs, providing services in a different way and improving absence management.

Despite the savings, city leaders warned that more cuts are on the way.

Councillor Phil Wheeler, the city’s finance leader, said: “The fact that we have done so well only means that finding other efficiencies becomes harder.

“There will be difficult choices to make, but with ongoing pressure on public finances we will need to face those.”

City council officials are currently investigating options for sharing services with other authorities and organisations and are looking at the potential to privatise some services.

Since 2006/07, the city council has saved a total of around £117m.

Source: Edinburgh Evening News

Community Conference at Telford College – 14 June 2011

There was a healthy turnout from local people and other stakeholders to discuss the direction NEN should take. These are brief notes taken at the meeting. We also carried out a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, which has been published separately. The meeeting was ably facilitated by Maggie Mellon, for which we aere very grateful. The Board got lots of ideas for the way forward, and we will be working on them. We will keep you informed.

There was general agreement that the NEN represents:

• An information hub for the community
• A voice for local people
• It helps build community well-being

The meeting went on to discuss four key areas: content, funding, marketing and communication.

CONTENT
There should be:
• Local stories from local people
• Pictures
• A place for comments
• Local information
• Advertising
• A place for young people
• A topic of the month
• Campaigns
• Community contact list

FUNDING
We felt that the Board needs to develop a business plan, with short, medium and long-term objectives. Suggestions were:
• Identify big advertisers in the area
• Work closely with Scottish Business in the Community
• Board to build relationships
• Clarify community council grants
• Develop tactic for funding applications, support and expertise
• Identify key local partnership meeting dates for funding applications
• Aim for a “Funday” re-launch
• Consider location options for NEN
• Monthly sponsorship possibilities?
• Web-site development and investment to attract funding and readership
• Consider skills required to implement funding

MARKETING
• Identify who we are, where we are going, etc.
• Keep people informed
• Raise awareness – give people a voice

COMMUNICATION
• Positive identity – NEN should promote positive identity and values
• Local communications hub – It should provide information/communication for the community
• Community development – it should involve the community and help development

The Board will reflect on these views and implement a plan to see the paper published once again.