New era for Edinburgh as Labour and SNP join forces

Labour and the SNP have vowed to work together to take Edinburgh forward following the local council elections on 3 May. The two parties finished first and second in the city council elections and, with a strong mandate from the electorate, they’ve jointly signed up to a ‘Contract with the Capital’.

No one political party could win an overall majority following the 3 May vote and negotiations with other parties were always going to be necessary to form a new administration. The election result – Labour 20, SNP 18, Conservative 11, Green 6 and Lib-Dems just 3 – left Labour, as the largest group, a number of options.

The resulting coalition with the SNP was a surprise for many; apart from the obvious party political differences at a national level – unionism or independence – there are some potentially fiery personality clashes too; some senior Labour figures have never forgiven former ‘comrade’ Steve Cardownie for defecting to the SNP back in 2006.

However it seems that there are now more issues that unite rather than divide the two groups, and group leaders Andrew Burns and Steve Cardownie have agreed to work together for the good of the city through a ‘contract with the capital’ which will ‘build a more co-operative and prosperous Edinburgh that benefits every individual and community’.

The agreement includes more than 50 pledges that the administration will be judged on, with a review going to Council each year detailing what progress has been made on meeting those aims.

Labour group leader Councillor Andrew Burns said: “Edinburgh is internationally recognised as a fantastic city. It is successful, prosperous and a great place to live and work. Yet our city has major challenges and we need to acknowledge that we have some work to do to rebuild trust between the residents of Edinburgh and their elected representatives. Tackling these requires strong leadership, which we will provide, as well as the political stability created by having a 38-strong coalition between the Council’s two largest parties.”

Councillor Steve Cardownie, leader of the SNP group, added: “This new contract with the capital marks a fresh start with a Council willing to listen to local people and work together with local communities, businesses and the voluntary sector. Together, we will move Edinburgh forward for the benefit of the city and its people, with decision-making that shows we are listening to public opinion.”

The agreement sets out six key priorities:

  • ensuring every child in Edinburgh has the      best start in life
  • reducing poverty, inequality and deprivation
  • providing for Edinburgh ‘s prosperity
  • strengthening and supporting our communities      and keeping them safe
  • ensuring Edinburgh, and its residents, are well cared-for; and
  • maintaining and improving the quality of life in Edinburgh.

Council Chief Executive Sue Bruce said: “The agreement lays out the goals that officers will be charged with delivering on behalf of the whole Council. It is a challenging set of objectives, as it rightly should be for a capital city. I’m very much looking forward to working with councillors, the senior management team, partner organisations and all of our committed staff on achieving them.”

The new administration has one distinct advantage over the outgoing one – experience. When the last administration came to power only Cllr Cardownie has any experience of running departments – while there were many Lib Dems councillors with years of experience, none had experience of power or responsibility, and there was a whole raft of councillors with no experience of local government at all. Almost from day one, the administration found itself on the back foot with a botched school closures programme and throughout it’s time in power it was beset with problems – in particular the tram fiasco, undoubtedly the biggest factor in the Lib-Dems dramatic demise on 3 May.

The new administration contains a good mix of politicians with strong experience of running departments, councillors with some experience under their belts and a fresh new intake – hopefully with fresh new ideas. There’s no doubt they’ll all have learned from the mistakes of the last administration – and that’s got to be good for Edinburgh.

Senior civic and committee positions will formally agreed at the first meeting of the new Council on Thursday (17 May).

Spartans Breastfeeding Cafe is open

Local mum Becky Smith cut a cake to officially open the new Spartans Breastfeeding Café earlier today.  Becky and her two-year old son James were joined by Spartans’ development manager Dougie Samuel and a happy team of NHS Lothian professionals to mark the occasion.

The Spartans breast-feeding café is a friendly, informal setting where mums who are breastfeeding – or pregnant women – can drop in for a chat about breastfeeding with local health visitors and midwives.  And as well as being a great place for advice, support, encouragement and information, it’s also a great place to meet other mums who are breastfeeding – and tea and coffee is free!

Any breastfeeding, even for a short time, is beneficial for you and your baby. Having good information about breastfeeding, plus support and advice, will help you – and your baby – get off to a good start and will help you to keep going.  

Welcoming the new café, NHS Lothian’s Katy Ruggeri, clinical manager for Midwifery Services, said: “It seems such a long time ago that we first talked about the need for a local breastfeeding support group, how we could set one up and how to move things on. I’m delighted that, with the tremendous support of Spartans, we have been able to secure this venue. It’s really great to see the community working hand in hand with NHS Lothian and it’s a credit to everyone who has been involved. I hope the project grows and grows and I’m really looking forward to coming back to see how the project is developing.”

 Spartans’ Dougie Samuel said: “Since we’ve been established here we’ve always tried to ensure that Spartans would be at the heart of the community so we are delighted to welcome the breastfeeding café to Spartans. This initiative follows on from the Spartans Smilers project we undertook with Cathy (Wood, North West Local Health Partnership public health practitioner) and her NHS Lothian colleagues and we hope it will be just as successful.”

Mum Becky Smith added: “I think this is a great idea and the area definitely needs something like this. It’s good to have this advice available locally without having to go to a clinic or surgery and it will be a good place to meet other local mums as well.”

Spartans Breastfeeding Café takes place every Monday from 12.15 to 1.45pm at Spartans Community Football Academy off Pilton Drive. For further information, contact your local midwife or health visitor or just drop in to Spartans Breastfeeding Café.

Sun comes out for Victoria’s fun day

 

Scotland rugby legend Gavin Hastings joined in the fun and games when he formally opened  Royal Victoria Hospital’s Open Day yesterday – and after days of miserable weather the sun was a very welcome visitor too!

The Open Day was a final opportunity to have a look round the old hospital on Craigleith Road – services are transferred to a new state-of-the-art Royal Victoria Building at the nearby Western General Hospital next month.

There was a fascinating photo and exhibits display inside the hospital while out in the grounds there was a magician, disco, football, stalls, bouncy castle, face painting and even some birds of prey.

If you missed yesterday’s event, don’t despair – there will be another one at the new Royal Victoria Building at the Western in a fortnight’s time! It’s a chance to see the magnificent new facilities there – can’t promise any sunshine, though!

WIG to tackle housing issues at public meeting

Women’s International Group (WIG) is holding a public meeting to discuss housing issues next Thursday evening (17 May) at 6.15pm in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. All welcome. 
A spokesperson for WIG said: “A number of housing officials, local councillors and reps from the Tenants Federation will be in attendance to respond to questions/issues from the floor.  One of the aims of the meeting is to raise awareness about some of the changes which are going to affect  local people currently claiming benefits (e.g. the bedroom tax/under occupancy penalty which will result in any working household with an extra bedroom losing part of their housing benefit; and the benefit cap  which will be deducted via people’s housing benefit and universal credit. These are important issues and we hope to see a lot of people attend the meeting”.
The Women’s International Group (WIG) was established at a succesful event organised to celebrate International Women’s Day in March (pictured below).

Grassroots Gala gathers pace

There’s a lot to be done, but organisers of this summer’s Community Fun Day at West Pilton Park remain on-course to make it a day to remember.

Group member Sean Gardiner told NEN:  “We have now submitted all our applications for funding, the park and the neighbourhood centre and we are still recruiting volunteers. We’re also looking for traders to book stalls and we ask anyone who wishes to contact us to use wpmcgala@gmail.com. We are also still looking for any pictures taken by the public of  previous gala days.”

You can keep up to date with the group’s activities through their website at www.westpiltonandmuirhousegala.co.uk

Food for Thought …

Pilton Community Health Project’s ANITA AGGARWAL tells us about North Edinburgh’s new food forum … and rhubarb!

‘Food for thought’ – Pilton’s community food forum 

It’s a winner of a name and an idea that is starting to bear fruit. The newly established community food forum is now called ‘food for thought’.  John Muir, who works at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, won the competition to name the group and a shiny new recipe book.  We had plenty of other good entries, we thought this one summed up our ideas best.

Lots of people have told us they are interested in food and either want the chance to get involved with food projects or are already involved.  The food forum aims to link up work which is already going on and work together to make more ‘foody’ things happen in the area.

At the next meeting we will be planning food events in the summer.  Come along if you are interested in getting involved.  It will take place on Thursday 24 May at 10am at Pilton Community Health Project.  Call Anita on 0131 551 1671 for more information or to book a crèche space.

Watch out for more information from the food for thought forum. 

Food things for you to get involved with:

Mondays for 6 weeks from 1 May 7 – 9pm Mexican Cooking course Craigroyston High School  538 7285

Every Tuesday, 10 -12     Barri Grubb’s cooking club Pilton Community Health Project  551 1671

Every Tuesday, 10.30      Granton Community Gardeners  Meet at Salvation Army.  gardengranton@gmail.com

Every Tuesday, 10 – 12    Food co-op West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre  551 3194

Everyday:

Food blog Drylaw cooking group http://drylawcookinggroup.wordpress.com/

Community Cafes – North Edinburgh Arts, Royston Wardieburn and Muirhouse Millennium Centre.

Rhubarb Recipe

We have still got a way to go before there are lots of good fruit and vegetables growing in Scotland, but I have a friend who lives in Granton who is eating rhubarb from his garden already, so here is a lovely rhubarb recipe from the Love food, hate waste Scotland website http://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Rhubarb, Apple and Orange Compote

Serve this compote for a delicious breakfast with yoghurt and a bowl of muesli. This recipe also works well with pears instead of apples. Recipe author: Caroline Marson, Banbury.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 250g rhubarb, sliced
  • 1-2 apples peeled , cored and bruises cut away, cut into cubes
  • 50ml orange juice
  • 25g caster sugar
  • Yoghurt

Method:

  1. Combine the rhubarb, apples, orange juice and sugar in a pan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes or until fruit is tender.
  2. Remove from heat and cool. Serve spooned over muesli with fruit juice and yogurt.

Gardening tips – Rhubarb grows like a weed in Scotland; you don’t even need to look after it and it is happy in a shady corner.

Healthy fact – It’s a great source of fibre, but don’t eat too much as it acts as a laxative!

Strange but true Rhubarb is the only vegetable used as a fruit.

Gavin Hastings to open closing hospital’s open day!

Last chance to visit the old Royal Victoria Hospital 

Scots rugby legend Gavin Hastings will kick off an open day at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) on Craigleith Road tomorrow. Saturday’s event has been organised to celebrate the history of the landmark hospital which has provided healthcare services to the local community for over 128 years.

Saturday’s event takes place before services at the hospital are relocated to the new Royal Victoria Building at the Western General and will be a chance for the local community to bid a fond farewell.

The RVH, established in 1894 by Sir Robert William Philip, was originally created as a tuberculosis sanatorium before it evolved into a care of the elderly hospital. A special display of memorabilia and photographs taken throughout the ages will take centre stage during the day, along with attractions including a magician, bouncy castle, tombola with prizes and even a falconry display.

The event takes place on Saturday from 10 – 4pm, with the official opening by Gavin Hastings at midday.

Gavin, who won 61 Scottish caps during an outstanding rugby career, said: “The Royal Victoria Hospital has held a special place in the hearts of the local community for a long time. Being part of this community myself, it is a great opportunity for me to get involved and I would encourage everyone to come and celebrate the history of this landmark hospital.”

The new Royal Victoria Building, built nearby on the Western General Hospital site, has been designed to provide the highest quality healthcare services in a modern setting. It will become a new landmark in healthcare history when it opens, as the first of its kind in Scotland to have all the patient accommodation being single en-suite rooms.

Construction company Laing O’Rourke, who are responsible for the construction of the new Royal Victoria Building, will also provide a display for the open day to show the future of healthcare services for the elderly.

The new building was officially handed over to NHS Lothian last month and the first patients are expected to arrive in June. A second open day will be held to give local residents and interested groups an opportunity to see the facilities in the new Royal Victoria Building.

The Royal Victoria Hospital site will be put on the market this summer.

Source – a healthy appetite for info at PCHP!

It’s been a hectic time at Pilton Community Heath Project (PCHP). Over the last few months the project has recruited a new coordinator, organised a successful Food Festival and then launched Source, an exciting new information room at their Boswall Parkway office, during an Open Day!

New coordinator Jen Richards (pictured below)  took up her new post in March – one of her first tasks was handing out Yummy Food Festival flyers in the pouring rain in Pennywell Road, and it’s been full on ever since!

“There’s nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end!” she said. “The weather was awful that day but we were really delighted to see so many people attending the Food Festival – it really was a great success.”

Jen had previous experience at PCHP when she worked with the Barri Grubb project, so she knew what to expect when she returned to Pilton.

“It’s a small but very motivated team, and it’s sometimes a case of all hands to the pumps! Like everyone else we’d like to have more resources but we make sure that we make the most of what we have. PCHP has a proud history, a very good reputation and is well known in the local area and beyond. It’s great to be back in North Edinburgh, meeting up with former colleagues again and I’ll be making contact with a wide range of community groups and organisations in the weeks ahead. Yes, we’ll continue to face challenges but we have a dedicated and very committed team and I’m very excited about our future”.

Since the Yummy Food Festival, PCHP has gone on to open Source, a new community health information resource, during their Open Day on 29 March (the highlight of which was a cookery demonstration and tasting sessions with North Edinburgh’s own Yummy Mummies!)

 PCHP senior project worker Anita Aggarwal said that the Source idea had come from local people themselves. She explained: “People who live locally told us that they want access to clear, accurate, information about health issues, and Source is our answer to this request. Source is our new health information resource, where our friendly volunteers can help you find information about health and community issues. We have a wide range of leaflets and books, as well as internet access to make sure you can get the information you need, and if we don’t have it ourselves, we know someone who does! We want local people to come in and check us out. It’s a great opportunity to get clued up and become confident about dealing with health issues.”

The new Source room is a really welcoming and comfortable space, much appreciated by staff, volunteers and visitors. The room was created with the help and hard work of Edinburgh’s Telford College students (pictured). Emma Castle, Learner Development Tutor of Woodwork and Masonry Trades, said: “Our students thoroughly enjoyed their work at Pilton Community Health Project and got a lot out of it. We’d like to thank Mark Smith Glazing, who kindly donated the glass for the project, and we are all delighted that the resource is being enjoyed by the local community”. 

Source is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to midday.

Total Craigroyston – improving outcomes for children and families

Total Craigroyston is the latest ‘early intervention’ strategy to support families with children in North Edinburgh. Total Craigroyston Manager CHRISTINE MACKAY explains what it’s all about …

Total Craigroyston has been set up  to encourage  all the various organisation which work with Children and Families to work together to  improve outcomes for children and families in the neighbourhood around Craigroyston Community High School.

Our initial focus will be on children who are looked after by the Council to ensure that they have all the support they need to give them the best opportunity to succeed in their lives. We will also be working to reduce the need for children to go into care, and that means finding ways to  support families at an earlier stage and in a variety of ways.

The idea is to take a holistic approach – ensuring that all of the local resources in both the statutory and the voluntary sectors are on the same page, facing the same direction and contributing to the agreed outcomes. It may be that we need to change how some of our services are delivered so that we can offer support at an earlier stage and we want to involve local people as well as local staff  in helping us think what changes might be necessary.

We held a meeting in mid-March, bringing together the local Neighbourhood Partnership, the Edinburgh Partnership and the Total Craigroyston steering group (pictured below) to start the discussion and what everyone agreed on was the need to ensure that local residents, service users and local staff are completely involved in shaping the direction of Total Craigroyston.

To help us do this we have been working with an organisation called  SNOOK, and over the month of June we will be running a series of events and workshops aimed at local residents, service users and local staff so that we can  come up with a set of ideas and proposals, based on local knowledge and expertise,  that we can take forward.

A Design Workshop will be held on Monday 28 May from 9.30 – 12.30 in Craigroyston Community High  School. Come along and give your ideas for changing the way we do things. A crèche is available but places must be booked. Please contact Stephen Straiton on 469 3375 or email Stephen.straiton@edinburgh.gov.uk

On Saturday 2 June, the SNOOK team will be out and about at Muirhouse Shopping Centre, North Edinburgh Arts and Muirhouse Library  speaking  to local people and hearing views.

A Young People Speak Out  session will  be held in Pilton Youth and Children’s Project  on  Wed 6 June  from 7 – 9pm to help us gather young people’s views.

A Prototyping Lab (don’t be put off by the title!!) will be held on Monday 18 June from 10 – 4pm in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre. This will give the SNOOK team an opportunity to present the ideas that have been gathered and to have a think about the ones we want to take forward. A crèche is available but places must be booked. Please contact Stephen Straiton on 469 3375 or email Stephen.straiton@edinburgh.gov.uk

If you are interested in being involved in any way or you have ideas or a story to tell about your involvement with local services please get in touch. We are based at the Local Neighbourhood Office in West Pilton Gardens. Tel no 529 5050. email Christine.mackay@edinburgh.gov.uk. Please contact us if you’d like more information.

 

Christine Mackay

Manager, Total Craigroyston