Category: Pennywell

Mass Vaccination venues go live in Lothian next week

The first mass COVID-19 vaccination centres are preparing to go live in Lothian, starting from next week. Centres in Edinburgh and West Lothian will begin vaccinating patients on Monday February 1st as part of Wave Two of the national vaccination programme.

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) will play host to a centre capable of vaccinating more than 21,000 people a week through 45 stations.

Strathbrock Partnership Centre in Broxburn, West Lothian, will also open for vaccinations on Monday with six stations, capable of vaccinating 2352 people every week, before the centre moves to Pyramids Business Park on February 15, which will provide 14,280 vaccinations every week at 34 stations.

A drive-through vaccination centre will follow when it is launched on February 10 at Queen Margaret University in East Lothian. It will have 16 stations and be capable of vaccinating 8,000 people a week.

David Small, Director of Primary Care Transformation and executive lead for the vaccination programme, NHS Lothian, said: “NHS Lothian has already vaccinated the vast majority of the first cohort to be prioritised.

“NHS Lothian is right on track with Phase One of the vaccination programme. During that first phase, a total of 3564 residents in care homes across Lothian have been given the vaccine. A further 47,742 health and social care workers and care home staff have also been vaccinated, as well as over 800 hospital inpatients over the age of 80.

“GP practices continue to deliver the injections as fast as their vaccine supplies allow. Thousands of doses of the vaccine have been distributed directly to GP practices across all four regions and they are on track to ensure that over 80% of people over the age of 80 are vaccinated as a priority by 31st January with the rest of this age group completed by 5th February. 

“Our teams have done a fantastic job to bring us to this point and I’m really proud of the hard work and effort that has been achieved.

“This is a significant moment as we embark on Wave Two of the largest vaccination programme that has ever been undertaken.

“We need to vaccinate as many people as we possibly can to help save lives and provide protection to help communities get back to normal. We therefore urge people to attend their appointment once they are notified of the details.

“The vaccination programme is one of three critical ways we are all working together to beat this virus, along with the testing programme which helps prevent its spread and the rules in place that we all know to follow. These three planks form our route out of this pandemic.”

NHS Lothian has been working with councils, health and social care partnerships and other partners in recent weeks to ensure the sites are ready.

A team of around 350 volunteer vaccinators, with a vast array of experience from a huge number of clinical roles in Lothian, has also been created to work in the mass vaccination sites. They will be supported by around 100 administrative staff.

The centres are the first of a total of 15 to be rolled out across Lothian.

On February 15, a vaccination centre with 32 stations will be created at Edinburgh Park in the former Royal Bank of Scotland building, as well as another venue at the Royal Highland Showground, near Edinburgh Airport will open in March.

Centres will be run on smaller scale in more community hubs in Midlothian Community Hospital and East Lothian Community Hospital as well as health and partnership centres in Sighthill, Pennywell, Craigmillar, Leith and Gracemount in Edinburgh, and Strathbrock and Howden in West Lothian.

People aged between 75-79 and those most clinically vulnerable will be given appointments to be vaccinated by their GP, while those aged between 70-74 and 65 to 69 will be invited into mass vaccination sites and smaller community venues for their injections.

Patients are being urged to keep their first appointment in order to provide protection to as many people, as quickly as possible even if their appointment venue may not be the one that is closest to where they live

Smaller community clinics will deliver vaccinations in the local area for people with complex needs or who, for other reasons, absolutely cannot and would not be expected to travel to a mass centre.

If patients absolutely cannot keep the appointment they have been given, they are being asked to call the COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013 to rearrange their appointment. If they are aged 75 and over, they should phone their GP practice to rearrange your appointment.

Mr Small added: “A vaccination appointment, like any other medical appointment, is considered essential during the COVID-19 global pandemic. When patients receive an appointment, we really would urge them to keep it, even if it is at a centre which is not closest to their home. We need to move fast.

“I would also ask patients to stay safe by following the Scottish Government guidance currently in place, by wearing a mask and maintaining physical distancing as they travel to and from vaccination centres across Lothian.

“Parking will be available around some venues and public transport operators are all following Scottish Government transport guidance for safe travel.

“When you arrive at your appointment, make sure to wear a mask and bring your appointment letter with you to avoid any unnecessary delays.”

More details and information about the venues can be found on NHS Lothian’s website https://www.nhslothian.scot/Coronavirus/Vaccine/Pages/default.aspx

Or for more information about the vaccine and appointments on NHS Inform.scot.

Help is at Hand: Local Pantry opening hours update

Due to the pandemic restrictions the main North Edinburgh Arts venue will remain closed, but the NEA Pantry (in the old Co-op building on Pennywell Road) is open today from 10-2pm for new members, resuming usual hours from next Wednesday 13 January.

FRESH START PANTRY

New opening hours for Fresh Start Pantry on Ferry Road Drive

If you need help or advice, please call our North Edinburgh phoneline on 0131 356 0220 and we will help or signpost to who can!

GRANTON:HUB PANTRY

The first pantry of the New Year took place yesterday (Wednesday 6th January) from 11 – 12pm.

The pantry will continue to run on Wednesday’s on a fortnightly basis – next one will be Wednesday 20 January.

Thank you for the produce supplied by FareShareRoyal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Edinburgh Food for Good/Refugee Community Kitchen.

For more information contact community@grantonhub.org

There’s also daily food support from Leith-based Empty Kitchens Full Hearts:

Advice and support still available at Granton Information Centre despite latest lockdown

Following the latest coronavirus guidelines announced on Monday, Granton Information Centre staff are working from home and our office on West Granton Road will remain closed for the foreseeable future – BUT PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT WE ARE STILL OPERATING!

You can contact us by email at info@gic.org.uk or by calling 0131 551 2459 or 0131 552 0458.

Any messages left on our answering machine will be dealt with as soon as possible – please ensure you clearly leave your full name and telephone number when leaving a message.

Let’s all play our part in keeping each other safe, stopping this terrible virus and getting life back to normal!

Go-ahead for local Hub as North Edinburgh Arts is granted community ownership

As part of the ongoing regeneration programme around MacMillan Square, North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) has now been granted full community ownership in a community asset transfer from the City of Edinburgh Council, with the additional transfer of a plot of land to the north of the centre.

We are now working in partnership with the Council to create plans for an extended creative and community hub for the area, to be named the MacMillan Hub. 

The objective is to create a community and neighbourhood hub promoting culture, learning, work and well-being in and around the town centre. Everyone at NEA is excited about the possibilities this will bring to our community.

The plans include:

  • a refurbished and redesigned North Edinburgh Arts venue promoting the highest quality culture, arts and meeting space
  • a new Muirhouse Library
  • a new Learning and Skills Hub
  • a new Early Years Centre
  • housing for rent

NEA is already a well loved destination for locals but has outgrown its building. To meet the needs for future generations we need to redevelop as part of this new Hub. To find out more about our plans view the ​film​ below.  

nea-fundraiser_dvdDownload

We are fundraising for this redevelopment, to get involved contact us ​or make a donation.

You can download Draft Plans-October 2020 to see draft plans, building visualisations and more information about proposed plans.

The plans ensure the accessible, welcoming and much needed community space, using environment-friendly build and innovative design techniques. The community space will reflect current community aspirations, while being flexible enough to respond to unplanned future demand.

Award winning Richard Murphy Architects have been appointed by Robertson and with the Council and NEA to design the MacMillan Hub. Working together with a view to submitting a joint detailed planning permission in December 2020 to start the build in 2021 and open in the summer of 2022.

To share your comments and submit any suggestions, email admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

Other useful links about our story, Community Asset Transfer and plans:

North Edinburgh Arts secures Scottish Land Funs-Press Release

NEA to become a community owned hub-Press Release

NEA Business Plan 2020 – Community Enterprise

Have your say on North Edinburgh’s active travel connections

Residents in north Edinburgh are being invited to help shape a key project to improve connections and public spaces in their local community.

The city council is asking people from across Muirhouse, Pilton, Granton and Drylaw to contribute to the future of Pennywell Road and its links to existing paths at Crewe Toll, Gypsy Brae, Silverknowes and West Granton Access Road.

Through the North Edinburgh Active Travel (NEAT) Connections scheme we’re proposing changes to Pennywell Road and the surrounding area. These include increasing space available for walking, cycling and wheeling, making it easier to access local shops and community spaces without the use of a car and working with members of the community to improve public areas and green spaces.

We’re seeking feedback from residents via a dedicated Commonplace map, a tool recently used as part of Spaces for People engagement, which attracted more than 4000 comments.

This will help to identify existing problem areas and opportunities for new crossings, green spaces or where other improvements could be made.

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: This project will create a much more welcoming, relaxed environment for those travelling on foot, bike or wheelchair.

“We’ve already seen how temporary Spaces for People initiatives across the city have encouraged people to walk, wheel or cycle and we want to see this happen long-term, with the associated benefits to health and the environment.

“Of course, we want any changes to work for all the people who live and spend time in this area, which is why we want to hear what they think and where improvements can be made. By sharing their thoughts and ideas they can help shape the final design, which will make travel to nearby schools, shops and local areas much easier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Interim Head of Infrastructure Delivery for Sustrans Scotland, Chiquita Elvin, said: “Despite being close to existing walking, cycling and wheeling routes, such as the North Edinburgh Path Network, it can be challenging to access them for Muirhouse and Pilton due to the volume of traffic and the focus on roads in the original design of the area.

“We want the local community to tell us how we can make walking, cycling and wheeling easier for them, be that with new path connections, wider pavements, dedicated space for cycling or new crossings. These changes have the potential to transform how people get around North Edinburgh and every opinion matters.”

As well as benefiting local residents, changes could make it easier for travel to Craigroyston Community High School, Craigroyston Primary, Oaklands Primary, Forthview Primary and the new civic centre being developed at the former Muirhouse Shopping Centre.

In addition to the Commonplace website locals can leave their feedback on maps displayed in the North Edinburgh Arts centre café. 

NEAT Connections has been funded through Sustrans’ Scotland’s Places for Everyone programme, with support from Transport Scotland.

Separate temporary measures to make cycling safer and easier on Pennywell Road, Muirhouse Parkway and Ferry Road are currently in place and have been implemented through the Spaces for People programme.

Urban Union helps Edinburgh’s homeless with Christmas donation

Regeneration firm Urban Union is donating £1,500 to support homeless charities across Edinburgh this festive season.

Crisis in Scotland will receive a cash boost from the developer behind Pennywell Living, to support people homeless in Scotland this Christmas. The donation has been made in lieu of the firm’s annual staff Christmas party, with Turning Point also being recipients of the donation. 

Crisis in Scotland will be using the money to help its front-line team and 250+ volunteers provide people with hot meals, personalised wellbeing packs, online activities (including entertainment, learning and wellbeing) and a telephone befriending service throughout December.

Urban Union has also embarked on a new partnership with Invisible Cities, an Edinburgh-based social enterprise that trains people affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides.

Work is currently underway on a new tour celebrating the rich history of Glasgow’s Gorbals area which is home to Urban Union’s first development, Laurieston Living.

Neil McKay, Managing Director of Urban Union, said: “Our focus at Urban Union is to not only build new homes, but to create strong relationships and support the communities in which our developments are based.

“We are pleased to be able to support Crisis as well as work with organisations like Turning Point and Invisible Cities, who carry out brilliant work supporting the displaced and vulnerable across Edinburgh and Glasgow.

“We hope our donations will allow them to continue to provide crucial and important services through what are difficult times for many over Christmas.”

Crisis’ Edinburgh Skylight centre provides expert support and advice to homeless people to help them leave homelessness behind for good. How Crisis helps someone depends on their individual needs and situation, so it could be that they help someone to find a home and settle in, work together to help them gain new skills and find a job, or improve their overall health and wellbeing.

Kirsty Potter, Fundraising Manager from Crisis in Scotland, said: “We are very grateful for this generous donation from Urban Union which will make a real difference to people in Scotland without a home this Christmas.

“It will help bring comfort and dignity to people being supported in hotels, BnBs and other forms of temporary accommodation this Christmas. Everyone deserves a home, and donations like this will help people in incredibly challenging situations access the support they need to end their homelessness for good.”

City of Edinburgh Council’s Convener of Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Councillor Kate Campbell said: “We’ve worked together to put our most vulnerable residents first during this crisis – but the biggest challenges are still to come.

“Making sure people can access the right support when and where they need it is an absolute priority. So it’s great to see these funds going to Crisis and Turning Point to help them help others. Particularly at this time of year”

Urban Union will also be donating funds to Turning Point Scotland which provides support for people who are dealing with mental health conditions, learning disabilities or are homeless.

The charity has led the way in its introduction of the Housing First approach to homelessness in Scotland – by granting secure accommodation as a first step in addressing the issues that led to the situation, rather than the last and being given as proof of recovery.

In addition to the donations, the regeneration specialist has partnered with Invisible Cities to train up to eight people who have experienced homelessness and develop a new walking tour proposed to launch in early 2021.

The group will undertake training to help with confidence building, public speaking and customer service skills and have the opportunity to become an official Invisible Cities guide or access further support to pursue a career path of interest to them.

Urban Union regenerates areas across Scotland to create revitalised communities through building new, high quality, affordable homes.

Across each of its developments, Urban Union aims to deliver sustainable long-term benefits to the new and surrounding neighbourhoods, with job and training opportunities, ensuring the community will benefit from the projects for years to come.

WALL OF SHAME

Muirhouse residents highlight council’s repairs failures

  • This afternoon Muirhouse Living Rent members will be highlighting Edinburgh council’s home repairs failures in chalk outside Pennywell Road shops before hand delivering their demands regarding the repairs process within Edinburgh Council properties to council buildings on West Pilton Gardens
  • This action comes after repeated instances of residents’ repairs’ needs being ignored, delayed or delivered to a poor standard and seeks to call Edinburgh council’s attention to the wider repairs system
  • Tenants demand that Edinburgh city council introduce measure to improve delays, satisfaction and communication regarding repairs

Today, from 1pm – 3.30pm, Living Rent members from Muirhouse will gather to protest the failure of Edinburgh City Council to provide an adequate standard of repairs to council properties in the area.

Members’ will write a wall of complaints in chalk complying with social distancing measures to bring the council’s attention to the significant delays, lack of communication, and poor quality repairs across these properties which have left many residents living with long-term mould, damp, drafts, and leaks.

Information received from a Freedom of Information request shows that despite there being less than 5,000 council properties in the North West locality of the city, to date there are 1,390 uncompleted repairs jobs.

Residents also learned that in the last year alone, the council received over 2,815 repairs complaints relating to heating systems and 1,472 relating to plumbing works with the average time taken for a repair to be completed being 35 days – this is despite a 2019 Edinburgh council report revealing that 90% of homes in Muirhouse required repairs [1].

Ongoing issues with severe damp, mould, and leaks in Muirhouse residents’ homes is contributing to respiratory health problems with one resident being told by her doctor that her mould-ridden property was no longer safe for her and her child to live in.

Edinburgh council advice to residents suffering with extreme mould and damp is to ventilate and heat the property, but owing to the structural insulation problems across many of the blocks, heating the properties sufficiently is a costly process.

Some families across the blocks estimate their winter heating costs to be as high as £50/week – adding to problems of fuel poverty in an area where one in three children live in poverty [2].

Amidst a global pandemic, accessing secure, safe and quality housing is more important than ever, and residents fear that the upcoming winter will exacerbate the consequences of unaddressed repairs issues.

Following the chalk wall of shame on Pennywell Road, tenants will proceed to march down to the West Pilton Gardens Council offices where they plan to deliver their letter of demands by hand.

These demands include:

– A new system by which tenants must sign-off on all repairs jobs prior to the council closing the case
– Tenants to be given ‘repairs process’ satisfaction forms after the completion of each repair
– Having a named council employee who works in the repairs department who is designated to be responsible for all repairs cases across Muirhouse
– Tenants to be given a deadline for any second repairs visits within 24 hours of the first visit by a tradesperson or council worker
– Tenants request Edinburgh council provide a reasonable timescale within which all repairs should be resolved

Muirhouse tenant and Living Rent member, Shafiq, said: “I have been waiting for over nine months for a leak repair. My home is permanently damp and causing respiratory problems during a pandemic – and I’m not even living in the worst flat in my building!”

Another Muirhouse-based Living Rent member highlighted that “this type of behaviour by Edinburgh council shows the need for an in depth review of their system which is clearly failing tenants in the middle of a pandemic, when access to warm, secure and quality housing is crucial to health”.

Notes

[1]https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/edinburgh-council-finds-90-cent-muirhouse-flats-need-repair-141071

[2]https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/shameful-figures-show-extent-child-18153034

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-45508172

[4] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/authority-acting-like-a-slum-landlord-wbncv9nr8

[5] https://nen.press/2018/09/13/slum-landlord-muirhouse-high-rise-conditions-insufferable/

www.livingrent.org

MUIRHOUSE DESERVES BETTER: Day Of Action


📍Thurs 26th 13:00 at Pennywell Road shops: https://fb.me/e/LVcOQRcz

Living Rent Muirhouse members are inviting local residents and union members to draw in chalk their housing problems which are not being dealt with by their landlord – Edinburgh City Council.

Members and residents will then hand in a list of their demands about repairs to the Edinburgh City Council offices. This has gone on for long enough: Muirhouse Deserves Better!

SOCIALLY DISTANCED/ COVID MEASURES

– online tweets and fb posts for those shielding
– masks and hand sanitiser provided
– physically distancing measures enacted

Green light for ‘town centre’ regeneration projects

Funding for Pennywell Culture & Learning Hub and Granton Station

Five projects across the city are to benefit from the city council’s Town Centre Fund. Gracemount public realm, Craigmillar town centre, Westside Plaza Phase 3, Granton Station, Pentlands Community Space and Pennywell Hub have all been chosen to receive a share of the £1.454 million being allocated.

The funding for all of these local projects was passed at today’s City of Edinburgh Council full council meeting.

The money is part of £3.567 million of total investment that the City of Edinburgh Council received, over two rounds, from the Scottish Government Town Centre Fund. The funding seeks to drive local economic activity and invest in inclusive growth which supports town centres to become more diverse and sustainable, creating more vibrant, creative, enterprising and accessible places for their communities.

Local MSP, Ben Macpherson, has said that “the £747,000 investment for the Granton Station project will create a new destination in the heart of North Edinburgh for locals and visitors alike, and is an exciting aspect of the wider Waterfront development.”

Edinburgh Pentlands MSP, Gordon MacDonald, was also delighted to see “two brilliant local projects in Edinburgh Pentlands receiving the backing they need to take them another step closer to becoming a reality” as Westside Plaza Phase 3 and Pentlands Community Space were confirmed as they received £300,000 and £75,000 respectively.

The projects receiving funding also includes the Craigmillar town centre project and their bid to receive £170,000.

This funding will support them to turn a vacant site in the heart of the Craigmillar regeneration area into a hub for the local community and provide spaces for new and existing businesses.

The Edinburgh East MP, Tommy Sheppard, has said “This is an imaginative project that can help stimulate business in Craigmillar in a way that works with the grain of social distancing. It’s the kind of smart, targeted investment we need to bounce back from the pandemic.”

Commenting on the city wide funding, Convener of Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Cllr Kate Campbell, said: “We know that the impact on businesses from the pandemic has been especially hard, and that jobs and livelihoods are at risk. It’s important that we are doing everything we can to boost economic activity in our town centres so this allocation of additional funding to the Town Centres fund could not have come at a better time.

“We’re investing in public realm in areas of the city that we know have high levels of poverty. These are communities that need this investment.

“Most of these projects focus on transforming public realm. At Granton and Craigmillar this is going further, and creating a space that can be used for outdoor markets and pop up food and drink stalls.

“I’m really pleased that we are creating economic opportunities in the communities that will really feel the benefit. It’s about quality of life – creating public space that is safe, well designed, pedestrian and cycle friendly, and a place that people want to be. When we create spaces like this, we encourage people to use their local town centres in a way that’s good for the community and good for local businesses.

“The other benefit of these projects is that they all involve construction – so at the same time as benefiting communities, and improving public space, we’re also creating jobs at a time when they are desperately needed.”

Operation Moonbeam: Enquiries ongoing following Bonfire Night incidents

Investigations are under way following a number of serious incidents across Scotland on Bonfire Night.  

Police officers and firefighters were attacked with fireworks and other objects being thrown at them. On other occasions, groups caused damage to cars and properties.  

In Edinburgh police received reports of anti-social behaviour in Pennywell Place.  Officers attended and a 16-year-old male youth was arrested and is subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal.

In Hay Avenue, officers had to deal with a large group of youths throwing fireworks and bricks at them. A police vehicle was also damaged in this incident. Officers also attended Arthur’s Seat where groups of youths had gathered with fireworks and a bonfire was alight.

In Glasgow, officers came under attack in Dale Street with youths throwing fireworks at them. In Glenisla Street, a police officer was struck on the head with a firework. He was treated at the scene and continued his shift.

In Kendoon Avenue, police received a report of a vehicle on fire. Officers attended and the police car’s windscreen was smashed, resulting in an officer washing glass from his eye. He continued on duty and one man was arrested.

In Auchmead Road, Greenock, an unauthorised bonfire event resulted in firefighters and officers being attacked as youths threw fireworks and bottles. Public order officers were deployed to deal with the incident. A 15-year old male youth was arrested and charged.  He is subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal.

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs said: “As the Chief Constable has said, it is disgraceful and deplorable when officers and staff are subjected to violence during the course of their duties.

“Across the country, the overwhelming majority of the public enjoyed Bonfire Night safely and responsibly and I want to thank them for heeding our advice. However, I am disappointed at the level of disorder and anti-social behaviour seen last night. A minority of people’s behaviour has once again put lives at risk. It also places intense pressure on the emergency services and impacts severely on local communities.

“The evening of Thursday, 5 November, 2020, saw a number of serious incidents arising throughout Scotland that required Operation Moonbeam resources to support local policing colleagues.

“The majority of these incidents involved young people. To be absolutely clear, such actions are dangerous and cause harm to the public and emergency service workers. 

“We will not tolerate such acts and you may not have been arrested last night but rest assured, officers are carrying out follow-up investigations to identify those involved and responsible. Additional officers will continue to be deployed over the coming days to support local divisions.”

Dispersal Zones remain in place until midnight tonight.