City for Sale?

The commodification of our public places

One of the defining issues currently in front of the City of Edinburgh is how we value our public places. Should Princes Street Gardens be an oasis of green-ness and tranquillity, or should it be the city’s performance hub, the Go To place for happening events and Festival activities?

Should civic spaces be open for the unrestricted access of City dwellers and City visitors alike; or should they be a gated venue accessible only to ticket holders and promoters?

How we value public space is how we value the city overall. The Cockburn Association has been increasingly concerned about the commercialisation of our squares, our parks and our streets. We are concerned about the erosion of public investment in public places.

We are concerned that the voice of residents is decreasingly heard. We are concerned that this view is shared by many. Is this right?

As the city prepares numerous strategies and policies including City Plan 2030 (a new Local Development Plan) and a new Tourism Strategy, now is the time to galvanise opinion.

On Wednesday 22 January 2020, we will hold a Public Summit in the Central Hall, West Tollcross, open to all who share our concerns (and those who don’t too).

Save the Date. Further details will be available in early 2020.

Terry Levinthal

Director, The Cockburn Association

Edinburgh Civic Trust

 

WaterAid reveals the surprising New Year traditions celebrated around the world

As the new year begins, WaterAid has released a fascinating new photo gallery revealing the New Year traditions celebrated by different communities around the world.

From water fights and bathing rituals to giving chickens as a gift and using cow dung to polish the floor, the unique images reveal how people celebrate in ten countries from Cambodia to the UK and Madagascar to Japan, in the hope of bringing good health, happiness and prosperity for the New Year. Continue reading WaterAid reveals the surprising New Year traditions celebrated around the world

Aldi to open new store in Leith

Aldi has revealed plans to open six new stores in Scotland this year as part of their scontinued investment and expansion across the UK – and one of them’s in Leith.

The new stores scheduled to open over the next 12 months will be Crown Street in Glasgow, Commercial Street in Edinburgh, Rigg Street in Stewarton, Houstoun Road in Livingston, Gallowgate in Parkhead, and Gateside Commercial Park in Haddington.

It comes as Aldi announces its £25 million storage and chill facility in Bathgate will be fully operational by the end of April.

The store openings and new chill facility will create an additional 200 jobs, taking the total number of staff employed by the retailer in Scotland to 2800 by the end of 2020.

Aldi’s Project Fresh programme will also continue next year and will see investment in a further six store upgrades offering customers an enhanced shopping experience.

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Aldi opening its first store in Scotland and the 10th anniversary of the creation of its dedicated Scottish Buying Department. As part of the supermarket’s anniversary celebrations, Aldi became Kiltwalk’s official ‘Supermarket Partner’ for 2019. The retailer has confirmed it will continue to support Kiltwalk in 2020 fuelling thousands of Kiltwalkers across all four events in Scotland.

Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland said: “This is an exciting time for Aldi as we look ahead to 2020 and plan for the next 25 years in Scotland.

“Our new state-of-the-art storage and chill facility will be fully operational by the end of April, which will aid our expansion across Scotland while allowing us to increase the range of Scottish products available on our shelves.

“For several years Aldi has led the way with local sourcing, and we see Scotland as a key area of growth for the business. We’re proud to have reached our ambition to stock over 450 Scottish products significantly ahead of our target of the end of 2020, and we will continue to work in partnership with our local suppliers to increase this to over 500 locally sourced products in the next two years.

“With six new stores planned for next year and a further six being refreshed and upgraded, we’re looking forward to serving even more local communities and expanding our market share even further.

“We’re also very much looking forward to continuing our relationship with Kiltwalk and fuelling even more Kiltwalkers next year. It’s been fantastic to be involved with such an ambitious and forward-thinking charity and we’re looking forward to supplying our energy boosting snacks to participants at next year’s events.

“Hopefully Kevin the Carrot will make an appearance again as well!”

In May 2019, Aldi was crowned Scottish Sourcing Business of the Year at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards, demonstrating the supermarket’s commitment to its Scottish suppliers and to offering the finest quality, locally sourced produce at everyday low prices.

Creative writing for wellbeing at Pilton Community Health Project

PCHP’s Creative Writing group officially starts on 10th January, running every Friday from 10:30 am – 12 noon! Join us to develop your creativity in an informal & fun environment.

If you’re interested, please get in touch with Hollie: hollieruddick@pchp.org.uk or 0131 551 1671