Category: Waterfront

Drive-through flu vaccination clinics open in Edinburgh

Drive-through clinics have been opened by the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (EHSCP) in Edinburgh this weekend to make it as quick, safe and easy as possible for people to get their flu vaccine.

The clinics will continue to operate on weekends in October and November and each site can vaccinate up to 500 people a day.

As well as over 65s, pregnant people and those at risk due to existing health conditions, this year unpaid carers and those who lived with people who shielded during lockdown will be offered a free flu jab.

By developing flu drive throughs, everyone entitled to a free flu vaccine from a household can attend at the same time. For those who don’t have access to a car, a series of walk through clinics are being arranged and Edinburgh locations will be available on the NHS Inform website once confirmed.

Keeping the people of Edinburgh safe and healthy is a priority, so before the jab is administered, a nurse will ask some questions to make sure it is safe to administer the vaccine. The person receiving the jab doesn’t need to leave their car and will also be asked to wait 15 minutes before leaving the clinic to ensure there’s no reaction to the vaccine.

If you are eligible for a free flu vaccine, or for more information, go to www.nhsinform.scot/flu to find out where you can get your jab in Edinburgh. If you qualify for a free vaccine you’ll be given a time to attend a clinic after completing a short questionnaire.

Judith Proctor, Chief Officer for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “As part of our mission to support a caring, healthier and safer Edinburgh, we’re committed to making it even easier to get a flu vaccine this year. The flu vaccine is an important health protection measure and we want to make sure that everyone who is eligible has access to the vaccine.

“To keep the people of Edinburgh safe, and to respect physical distancing measures, we have confirmed a range of Edinburgh venues to offer access to the flu vaccine, including a drive through service at sites across the city. This is the first time a drive through model has been used for vaccinations in Scotland, and could provide a blueprint for how to deliver vaccination programmes successfully in the future.

“Details of where people can go to receive a flu vaccine will be available on the NHS Inform website.”

Blackhall Medical Centre, Muirhouse Medical Group, Crewe Medical Centre and Davidson’s Mains Medical Centre patients will be directed to a walk-through facility at Pennywell All Care Centre or the drive-through at Scottish Gas HQ on Granton waterfront.

Second COVID newsletter produced

North Edinburgh’s COVID-19 Food Share Consortium has produced a second newsletter.

The limited print run eight page publication will initially be distributed through the Group’s food distribution network and will also be available at local projects and offices.

For further information please email northedinnews@gmail.com

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Lottery cash for Granton Castle Walled Garden

Lottery boost for Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden

The Friends’ group’s Gillean Paterson explained: “We received £10,000 from the National Lottery to match fund the grant from The Robertson Trust.

“The money is specifically to employ a Community Project Development Officer for one year to put in place plans for the garden.

“These include more community veg growing, a green gym, planting a miniforest to increase biodiversity, longer opening times – and that’s just to begin with!”

A busy year ahead for the Walled Garden team!

Coastguard safety tips

PoliceScotland works extremely closely with HM Coastguard to jointly keep people safe on our coastline and beaches.

Ssee some safety tips (below) from our Coastguard colleagues on how to keep safe this summer:

Check the weather forecast & tide times
Read local hazard signs
Leave inflatables at home – as they can very easily drift out to sea
Keep a close eye on your family
Have a fully charged mobile phone
Have a meeting place if you get separated

Lastly – consider taking a photo of your family or group at the start of your seaside day. Should a family member go missing, you will have an up-to-date photo including an accurate clothing description.

In a coastal emergency, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard

#WaterSafety
#999Coastguard
#BeBeachSafe
#FloatToLive
#RespectTheWater
Maritime and Coastguard Agency

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Her Majesty’s (HM) Coastguard are urging every parent to be aware of the potential dangers of rip currents to be beach safe.

RNLI lifeguards can't be everywhere this summer; protect your family, follow safety advice, save lives.
Be beach safe this summer

On Sunday 26 July, seven people, including five teenagers were lucky to be rescued after being caught in a strong, fast moving current in Wales.

And at the start of the month, RNLI lifeguards leapt to the rescue of 12 unsuspecting bathers who were swept off their feet by a rip current into rough seas at a beach in Cornwall.

Last year, RNLI lifeguards dealt with more than 1,500 incidents involving rip currents, saving the lives of 95 people caught in them.

Gareth Morrison, RNLI Head of Water Safety, said: ‘Our coastline is a fantastic place to spend time together as a family but there are also plenty of potential dangers, especially for those who aren’t fully aware of their surroundings.

‘The main one is rip currents which cause most incidents in the water that RNLI lifeguards deal within the UK.’

‘We are seeing a spike in incidents this summer involving these potentially deadly currents, which move even faster than an Olympic swimmer and can quickly drag people into deep water a long way from the shore.

‘It’s important that anybody venturing in or near the sea knows, not just what rip currents are, but how to react if they are caught in one or see someone else in trouble.

‘They are difficult to spot and even the most experienced and strongest swimmers can find themselves caught out so it’s important where possible to use beaches that have lifeguards patrolling on them.’

If you find yourself caught in a rip current, try to remember the following key safety advice:

  • Don’t try to swim against it, you will quickly get exhausted.
  • If you can stand, wade don’t swim.
  • If you can, swim parallel to the shore until free of the rip and then head for shore.
  • If you can’t swim – FLOAT to live by leaning back in the water, extending your arms and legs, and resisting the urge to thrash around to gain control of your breathing.
  • Always raise your hand and shout for help.
  • If you see anyone else in trouble, alert the lifeguards or call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

Off-duty Aberdovey lifeboat crew member Arwel Jones was one of those who sprang into action on Sunday afternoon after his wife spotted two teenagers struggling in the water.

Together with some lifeguard friends and former lifeboat crew who happened to be wind and kitesurfing, they pulled seven people to safety.

‘They were just so lucky the right people happened to be in the right place at the right time,’ said Arwel. ‘There was even a doctor on the beach by chance, when we got them out of the water.

‘It’s a scary thought but a few seconds here or there and it could have been a very different outcome.’

While rip currents are not the only danger at the coast with tidal cut-offs and inflatables also the cause of many emergency calls, they make up the majority of incidents in the water for RNLI lifeguards and are a major cause of accidental drowning across the world.

The RNLI and Coastguard strongly advise against taking inflatables to the beach and urge people to be aware of the tide times and local hazards to avoid getting into trouble.

Director of HM Coastguard Claire Hughes said: ‘We’ve seen so many times how easy it is to get caught out by the sea.

‘That is why it is important to swim or bodyboard on lifeguarded beaches, stay within your depth, swim parallel to the shore and keep a close eye on friends and family at the beach and in the water.

‘Make sure you are always contactable at the coast by carrying a fully-charged mobile phone and if you get into trouble or see someone else in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.’

For further information on the beach safety campaign visit: rnli.org/beach2020

A full list of lifeguarded beaches can be found here: rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeguarded-beaches

Thieves steal tools worth over £30,000 from Edinburgh College construction centre

Police are appealing for information after thieves broke into Edinburgh College Forthside building on West Shore Road, sometime between Wednesday 1 July and Wednesday 8 July.

Hand and desktop power tools valued between £30,000 and £40,000 were stolen from the College’s Construction Centre for Excellence.

Detective Inspector Kevin Tait said : ‘The building is a training facility for students to train in the professions of bricklaying roofing and joinery.

“Enquiries are currently ongoing into the break-in and we would ask anyone with anyone information to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting 962 of Wednesday 8 July’.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Support in North Edinburgh

Local organisations have put together a booklet listing mental health & wellbeing support services in North Edinburgh (see below).

If you need support call the new Community Wellbeing Helpline on 0131 332 8773.

CALA goes to town with Leith waterfront homes

A MODERN reimagining of the city townhouse has been launched to the market at a sought-after Leith development.

Comprising plenty of flexible space set across three levels, The Brae townhouse by CALA Homes (East) is the latest housetype to be launched by the developer at its popular Waterfront Plaza development.

Designed with city professionals, growing families and downsizers in mind, its carefully created layout can be adapted to cater for different and evolving needs, while also providing all the extra room needed for visiting family and friends.

With the first two of these three bedroom townhouses now available for reservation, priced at £495,000 and £500,000 respectively, CALA also plan to launch a townhouse showhome in late summer/early autumn; this will initially be able to be viewed virtually from the comfort of your own home, until it is deemed safe to host private appointments.

At the start of the lockdown it also launched its Remote Reservations service, which has proven popular in enabling buyers to confidently secure their new dream home from the comfort of their current home, with the fee fully refundable. Buyers can also opt to use the developer’s other helpful services such as its Part Exchange or Guaranteed Buyer services.

Philip Hogg, Sales and Marketing Director with CALA Homes (East), said: “There is a real community building at Waterfront Plaza – and that is owing in part to the brilliant range of apartments and homes, attracting a diverse range of buyers.

“We’ve already seen the sell-out success of the colony apartments and duplexes – a style of home intrinsic to Edinburgh.

“These townhouses are again so familiar to the city. Yet our design teams have been able to build on everything we love with traditional townhouses; that sense of height, large windows and grand hallways – with modern twists throughout including a first floor private terrace to reflect how we live now.”

On the ground floor, a family room the breadth of the property offers a range of potential uses, while a third bedroom could easily be repurposed into the ultimate home office, boosted with fibre connectivity direct into the home available. A utility room, WC and storage space add further real world practicality.

Upstairs a formal lounge with two Juliet balconies is just a few steps from a contemporary open-plan kitchen and dining area. This space is made even more impressive with sliding glass doors to a copious, first floor terrace, which also provides a cover for the private parking space below, with many offering south facing aspects to maximise sunlight.

The top floor is reserved for two impressive, near mirror-image en suite bedrooms, both exceeding five by three metres and including built in storage and their own private Juliet balconies. The en suites suit every preference, with one offering a bath and the other a shower.

Further to the balconies and the spacious terrace, a low-maintenance garden means the home offers easy living that blends inside and outside space across all its levels.

Ewan McIntyre, Managing Director with EMA Architecture and Design, who designed the homes in partnership with CALA’s in-house teams, said: “It’s a real privilege to be able to work with CALA on a site as special as this. CALA’s particular approach has enabled us to design a broad range of high quality and innovative family homes for the site, including these townhouses.

“The opportunity to design homes for families to live in a waterside setting in Edinburgh is very rare and we’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve here.”

Set in the heart of the thriving Leith shoreline, recently crowned the Best Place to Live in Scotland by The Sunday Times, Waterfront Plaza benefits from a range of vibrant bars, cafes and restaurants, as well as all the amenities of Ocean Terminal which is situated directly opposite.

The development follows on from nearby successful projects by CALA at Albert Dock, Trinity Park and Ten Brunswick Road.

Accessing the capital city centre is made easy with regular bus services and cycle paths. By car, the M8, M9 and the A90 are all within easy reach via the city bypass.