The NEN – North Edinburgh News – Page 3680 – The community media resource for north Edinburgh

MHA welcomes tenants to new homes

Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) has announced the completion of the first batch of flats within their latest development. The flats, on Macgill Drive at the end of Muirhouse Avenue, are part of their second development on the old BT Training Ground site.

MHA accepted handover of twelve cottage flats yesterday. The flats are all main door, within a traditional four in a block design, and are all one bedrooms. They are aimed at an older age group and the ground floor flats are fully accessible to wheelchair users.

The flats benefit from an efficient gas central heating system and reach the Silver Sustainable Standard of energy efficiency. The ground floor flats have a wet floor shower room, and the upper flats have an over bath shower.

All tenants will have access to a shared garden which in the next year will be developed to meet the tenant’s needs. This includes drying areas and amenity space. MHA will maintain the shared garden area and we hope it will be well used as a communal area.

Of the twelve flats, seven have been allocated to existing tenants of MHA who are either downsizing from family houses or require a ground floor flat due to medical reasons while the remaining five have been allocated to applicants from Edindex.

As a result of twelve new units being built, 19 households have been housed or re-housed to suit their current needs.

May and Alan Price (above) are among the families on the move. “We have lived at Muirhouse Close for eighteen years – since the houses were built,” May said. “Our family has grown up and moved on now and it made sense for us to move to a smaller home. I really like the new flat and I think this will be great for us; perfect, really.”

MHA Chairperson Roy Douglas (pictured above with Bank of Scotland’s Douglas Spowart) said: “We’re delighted to welcome our residents to their new homes today and we hope they will be very happy here. Everyone is impressed with the quality of these new flats and of course we will have more to come in the summer. These are exciting times for MHA!”

The second phase of the development also includes some mid-market flats which will be available in July. These two bedroom flats will be marketed by Muirhouse Homes, and are targeted at households in employment who do not require Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance. Advertising will start soon locally, and then will be expanded to cover the city.

If you are interested you can register your contact details with MHA and you will then be included in the marketing mailing list. Contact 336-5282 or email mh4@muirhouseha.org.uk

Operation Quarterlight: cracking down on car crime

Quarterlight update: six arrests last week

Operation Quarterlight is a Police Scotland initiative aimed at tackling motor vehicle crime in hotspot areas. Since the start of the initiative in January 2015, local officers involved in the operation have made 24 arrests and solved 68 crimes related to motor vehicle offences.

In the last week officers in Edinburgh have arrested five men and one woman for various offences related to motor vehicles crimes. Of those arrested a 22-year-old man has been remanded in custody on multiple charges.

Additionally in the last week there has been 15 stop searches in hotspot areas and 41 bail curfew checks completed on some of Edinburgh’s most prolific offenders.

Police have also charged a 41-year-old woman with the theft of a pedal cycle. This had previously been advertised as for sale on a website. The bike has now been recovered and returned to its owner.

PS Tom Mallinson, who runs the Quarterlight team, said: “We have solved almost seventy crimes since Quarterlight began and well over half of these relate to vehicle crime. We are quite clear with offenders – we will continue to investigate all crimes linked to vehicles across the city.

“Many of these individuals will be involved in assaults, hate crimes, vandalisms and serious driving offences while in the commission of motor vehicle offences and our team has prioritised access to forensic services, CCTV and national vehicle crime experts to combat the challenge of autocrime.”

Chief Superintendent Mark Williams, who oversees Operation Quarterlight locally, pressed home the point about car security and improving results. He said: “We have seen a week on week increase in detection rates, as well as a driving down of car crime as the message gets out.

“We have increased preventative night time patrols in hot spot areas and officers have conducted over a hundred searches resulting in numerous arrests.

“We still want car owners to be careful – secure their vehicles, park in well-lit and overlooked spots and ensure valuable items are removed or at least not on show in their vehicles.”

#StrongerNorth update: Young people and our community

#Stronger North: working with our young people

Work with primary aged children

As part of a new role created by Total Craigroyston Team, it was agreed that a youth worker would work in four of the local primary schools to deliver a programme called ‘Respect in the Community.’

The aim was to help primary aged children understand the importance of safety in the community, publicise all the activities that are available after school and help them make good choices about what they do with their time after school.

The youngsters make a map of their community in the first session, showing where many of the positive activities take place. They look at what makes a safe community for everyone and think about they can keep themselves safe as well as looking out for others.

At a later stage they have the opportunity to identify where they feel safe themselves or not. We’ve found that many of our primary children are very well aware of and have experienced some of the issues that make them feel unsafe.

A big part of the programme is helping children develop the skills to make good decisions especially where they might feel tempted by friends to take part in behaviour that causes distress to others. In small groups they think about developing a community campaign about combating anti-social behaviour and then present their ideas to their classmates.

The programme has gone down very well with P5, P6 and P7’s in Pirniehall and St David’s, has just started in Craigroyston Primary and will be starting very soon in Forthview.

Reward Scheme

We’ve developed a loyalty card so that youngsters who are positive participants in youth clubs and sports clubs can gather points and receive a reward. It will run until Easter to see if it will be successful. So far Ainslie Park Leisure Centre and Craigroyston Community High School has offered free swims for individuals and families and each of the youth organisations involved has agreed to run a special reward night for those involved.

Teenagers

As well as all the youth clubs and sports opportunities that are available in the community , we have developed some out of hours sessions for teenagers – offering them the opportunity to get involved in activities later at night in an effort to combat the idea that there is nothing to do. If these sessions go well then more can be offered. These activities are taking place in Spartans and Pilton Youth and Children’s Project.

Face North (above) is a special project, working with some of the young people who are involved in anti-social behaviour and so far we have been able to involve these young people in working at Towford, the bothy owned by My Adventure. To help get the Bothy ready for use by local groups and organisations they have helped with basic maintenance, cleared ground, laid paths, chopped down and replanted trees and completed some minor repairs. They have also painted the kitchen area in Pilton Youth and Children’s Project and will soon be doing some environmental work on the cycle path.

The Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme is being implemented in local High Schools as well as in the local community. This gives older young people the training and skills to work with younger ones and help them think through how they would handle a wide range of tricky incidents giving young people and the community the confidence to speak up against and challenge issues such as bullying or other types of anti-Social behaviour.

Sessions for parents will be run towards the end of February – look out for dates or contact Community Learning and Development worker Sarah Neal if you are interested in attending. Her number is 552 5700.

STV Appeal supports Fresh Start

North Edinburgh based community project Fresh Start has received £2,000 from the STV Appeal 2014.

Based on Ferry Road Drive, Fresh Start is an Edinburgh charity that helps people who have been homeless by providing starter packs of essential household items. For many people who have been homeless and have lost everything, the packs provide a real lifeline in the early days of a new tenancy. Last year the charity created 10,973 packs to help over 2000 new households, helping to make a huge difference to the quality of people’s lives in their new home. The grant from the STV Appeal will be used to help Fresh Start increase the number of packs it produces and delivers in 2015.

Keith Robertson, managing director at Fresh Start, said: “These packs help to relieve the financial burden and initial stress that many new tenants face, especially when providing for households with children.”

Sir Tom Hunter, trustee of the STV Appeal, said: “Yet again the people of Scotland have cast their vote – end child poverty. Through the STV Appeal we are attempting to deliver sustainable solutions to do just that. It is simply unacceptable in modern Scotland to still have young people debilitated by poverty, through this project and many more the people of Scotland are doing their level best to combat poverty.”

This year’s STV Appeal is now well underway with an exciting line-up of fundraising activities planned for 2015.

More Power to the People!

Another £5.6 million for People and Communities Fund

A fund which gives community groups the power to tackle poverty and inequalities in their areas has been given a £5.6 million funding boost.

Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil confirmed community-led regeneration will be given extra support through the People and Communities Fund (PCF), on a visit to the Broomhouse Health Strategy Group this morning.

The People and Communities Fund will be increased from £9.4 million to £15 million as it benefits from support through the dedicated £10 million funding for Empowering Communities announced by the First Minister last November.

This investment builds on the Government’s commitment to giving people the power to take charge and make changes in their own communities.

The additional funding will be allocated to a variety of projects, including community groups who are promoting change in disadvantaged communities through training, employment, healthy eating and volunteering opportunities.

Mr Neil made the announcement ahead of this afternoon’s Stage 1 Debate for the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill. He said:

“We know every community in Scotland has different needs, and that we all have our own ideas about how we can make our areas better.

“This Government recognises that by giving communities the power and confidence to shape their own futures, we can tackle poverty and address inequalities more effectively.

“Through the People and Communities Fund we will provide money direct to community groups to help them tackle local issues on their own terms.

“This new money will support the aims of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill, which will give people a stronger voice in the decisions that matter to them and will help communities who wish to take over public land and buildings.”

Since PCF launched in 2012, 156 projects have received funding worth £18.3 million those projects include the Broomhouse Health Strategy Group which was awarded almost £30,000 to run cookery and exercise sessions which encourage local people to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The sessions have helped increase self-esteem and confidence among local people, many of whom had never cooked a meal from scratch before, and it has supported their skills development with some developing the confidence to move into local volunteering roles.

Lucy Aitchison, from the Broomhouse Health Strategy Group said: “It’s been great to develop our health and wellbeing services, and you can see them making a real difference to people’s lives.

“To give people the skills to be able to look after themselves and their family more healthily is really significant. We’re so pleased to have the support to be able to address these local needs.”

For more information about the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill visit:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/engage

Details on The People and Communities Fund can be viewed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/community/pcf

Spartans: be the twelfth man!

Local club The Spartans play Berwick Rangers this Saturday (7 February) at Ainslie Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. If we win we will make history as the first non-league team to play in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup for 55 years!

This Cross-Border clash sees the Lowland League title holders take on their third SPFL opponents on the Road to Hampden. We have already beaten Clyde and Morton and in both games the bumper home support has made all the difference.

Can you be the twelfth man on 7 February? We are making a big plea for everyone in the North Edinburgh community to come along and back their local team as we aim to make history!

The TV cameras will be along, “Pulse of the Place” our local Samba band will provide the pre match entertainment and hundreds of local youngsters will be bringing a real family atmosphere. It promises to be a magical afternoon.

Our Ainslie Park arena holds 3500 people, with 500 seats in our covered stand. Kick-off is at 3pm so please come down early if you want a seat.

Admission is £12 for adults, £8 for concessions and Under 12 s are free (pay at gate) – continuing our commitment to offer affordable football for all. With a bumper crowd expected, we have entrances open on both Pilton Drive and Pilton Avenue.

You can keep up to date with the pre-match news, previews and interviews on our hat-trick of social media sources:

website: www.spartansfc.com,

twitter: @spartansfc and Facebook: Spartans FC

The Spartans Football Club

| Live together, Play together, Win together

Safer Internet seminar

Last chance to book – you do not have to be working online to make use of this session, or be an ‘expert’ in social media!

As in previous years, as part of Safer Internet Day 2015 we will be hosting a seminar especially for youth workers on Tuesday 10 February at Gilmerton Community Centre from 6– 8pm.

Booking is essential for this event as there are only limited spaces at the centre. The seminar is open to all youth workers across the City, Council or voluntary sector, paid staff or volunteers.

For the seminar, Liz Ely from Zero Tolerance will present their research on young people’s attitudes and then take us through some of the useful approaches that they have developed for youth workers in their ‘Under Pressure’ resource.

http://zerotolerance.org.uk/sites/all/files/Peer%20Research_1.pdf
http://zerotolerance.org.uk/UnderPressure

This promises to be an engaging seminar in an area of concern for many young people, parents and workers. To book your place, please email:

gavin.crosby@edinburgh.gov.uk

with your name, email address and organisation.

Places will be limited to one per centre in the first instance, any spare places will be offered up to others nearer the event.

Places may be available to non-youth work agencies (e.g. housing, social workers or teachers) but priority will be given to youth work staff.

Inverleith NP: Nature in your Neighbourhood

Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership

Monday 23 February 6.30 -8.30pm, Blackhall Library

You are warmly invited to the next meeting of the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership. The main theme for this meeting is ‘Edinburgh Living Landscapes’ where you can have a say in identifying potential areas to be part of this project to create, restore and connect green areas of the city, making attractive and biodiverse landscapes to be enjoyed by residents and visitors.

There will also be a presentation on local roads and pavements budgets – come find out how much we have and how we decide where it gets spent!

Also, come and see a display of plans for Fet-Lor Youth Club’s new building and hear decisions by Board on our Community Grants Fund applications.

We’d love to see you and full papers will be available in advance of meeting by following this link:

http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbourhood-partnerships/inverleith/downloads/links-to-inverleith-np-papers/

The meeting will take place on

Monday 23 February at Blackhall Library, 6.30 – 8.30pm.

INP ad

Elaine Lennon, Partnership Development Officer
Tel: 0131 529 5270

Homing in on private renting

Shortage of private-rented accommodation likely to worsen, says new report

Over 40% of people who have tried to find private-rented accommodation in Scotland in the last five years have found it difficult to do so, according to a new poll.

The poll found that 23% of respondents had tried to find accommodation in the private rented sector (PRS) in the previous five years and, out of those people, 43% had found it “Quite Difficult” or “Very Difficult” to find a suitable property.

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) and the Council of Letting Agents (CLA), who jointly commissioned the poll, believes the figures indicate a shortage of supply in the private rented sector which is likely to become worse in the coming years.

SAL and the CLA, representing landlords and lettings agents across Scotland, would like to see the Scottish Government address this shortage by creating an environment which encourages investment in the PRS, whilst driving up standards and ensuring value for money for tenants.

John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords said: “Although the PRS in Scotland sometimes has a poor reputation, this poll shows that significant number of people are trying to access the market and that many of them are not able to find suitable accommodation.

“We are acutely aware of the need to introduce measures which protect tenants from poor treatment by landlords and letting agents and will work with all parties to drive these rogue companies and individuals out of the sector. At the same time, however, it is important to take measures which encourage investment in the PRS.

“Landlords and letting agents must be given the confidence to invest in the housing sector as well as be encouraged to refurbish properties and make them available for rent. They needed to be able to evict tenants who indulge in anti-social behaviour or repossess properties that have been abandoned to so that properties can be let to responsible tenants looking for accommodation and help meet the increased demand.”

Shelter Scotland launched their ‘Make Renting Right’ campaign last October. The charity wants to see a private rented sector that’s fit for purpose, working both for people who live in rented housing and landlords who let out their properties.

Shelter is calling for:

Stability for people wanting to make rented housing their home.
Flexibility for people to stay in their home as long as they need.
A modern tenancy that gives security and flexibility for tenants AND landlords.
A fair system for sorting out renting problems when they occur.
Predictable rents for tenants and landlords.

In their latest report published last month, Shelter Scotland noted a sharp rise in the percentage of all homeless applications coming from the private rented sector.

‘Homelessness in Scotland 2014 – Getting Behind the Statistics‘ was released following analysis of the latest Scottish Government’s annual homelessness figures. The report acknowledges that, while there has been progress, the headline statistics don’t tell the full story.

Shelter’s report paints a picture of the changing shape of homelessness in Scotland:

A worrying trend showing 18% of all homeless applications now come from the private rented sector, a proportionate rise of 38% in the last five years. 18% of all homeless applications is also disproportionate to the sector’s size, which is 13% of all housing.
the number of people who gave ‘long-term roofless’ as their previous housing circumstance rose by 24%
the number of households found intentionally homeless by their local authority had risen
the proportion of homeless applications from single people over 25 years old is rising compared with other age groups
youth homelessness is at 13.7 per 1,000

Influencing your Parliament

Scottish Parliament Community Conference this month

Local people keen to have their voice heard by their MSP and the Scottish Parliament can discover how to run a social media campaign, secure media stories on the issues that affect them, petition the Parliament and even hold their own Holyrood event, by attending a conference at Dumfries’ Easterbrook Hall on Saturday 21 February.

At the Scottish Parliament Communities Conference, local MSPs Elaine Murray and Alex Fergusson will share expert advice on how to help your MSP help you, with interactive workshops run throughout the day, led by MSPs and the Scottish Parliament’s expert staff.

Engagement can result in a wide range of actions, including parliamentary debate, changes to law and policy direction.

Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries said: “When an issue matters, and when it is within Holyrood’s power to help, engaging with MSPs and the Scottish Parliament can be a direct way for individuals, community groups and organisations to be heard.”

He went on: “We want to make sure that people from across Dumfries and Galloway know how to engage with us, their local MSPs, and to know that the Scottish Parliament belongs to them. The conference is all about helping make sure their voice is heard. I hope to meet many people from across the South West who feel strongly about an issue, so I can share a range of ways the Scottish Parliament can help make a positive difference to people’s lives in their local community, or even throughout Scotland.”

Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire said: ““We’re looking forward to meeting as many local community organisations, charities, social enterprises, tenants and residents groups, local campaign organisations, volunteers and youth groups as possible. But we also want to hear from individuals with an important issue to share. Only by hearing from people who have perhaps never been involved with the Parliament or politics before can we continue to raise the profile of a wide variety of important issues and give the people of Dumfries and Galloway a voice.”

In addition to Ms Murray and Mr Ferguson, other MSPs leading workshops on the day include Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland; John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland; Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland and Aileen McLeod, Minister for Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform.

Joyce Harkness is a campaigner and social enterprise manager from Hightae near Lochmaben. She said: “It’s great news that the Communities Conference is coming to Dumfries. I would encourage anyone who wants to kick-start getting their voice heard at the Scottish Parliament to come to Easterbrook Hall on the 21st.

“I’ve attended Scottish Parliament community workshops in the past and they’ve been invaluable. When I was campaigning for better rural transport for older people across Dumfries and Galloway, working with the Parliament really helped get our issues raised in a positive way. The MSPs and Parliamentary staff really listen and have great ideas and practical advice that’s specially tailored to your campaign. The sheer range of ways you can engage with Parliament can be a real eye-opener.”