Tag: city council

LIFTing the lid on Scotland’s new social security system

LIFT (Low Income Families Together) organised an event to give local people an opportunity to learn more about the ongoing changes to the welfare and benefits system yesterday. Around sixty people attended the Scotland’s New Social Security System: What Does It Mean for You? conference in Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre yesterday. Continue reading LIFTing the lid on Scotland’s new social security system

Syrian Refugee: Wightman raises concerns over accommodation

Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman is raising fresh concerns about the case of Shahbaz Ali, a Syrian refugee who was stabbed in an alleged racist attack in Edinburgh earlier this month.

Mr Ali has internal bleeding after collapsing while being discharged from hospital and it has now emerged that the City of Edinburgh Council has not allowed Mr Ali’s father to sign a lease on behalf of his son, nor is the Council prepared to visit Mr Ali in hospital to obtain a signature.

The property he was given is in a poor state – dirty and with only one bed and nothing else for furniture. He was promised a clean and furnished property. Mr Ali’s father wanted access to the property to tidy and furnish it, so it is a welcoming and safe environment for his son to recover in.

Andy Wightman MSP said: “It is absolutely appalling what this young man and his family have gone through in the last week.

“At last Thursday’s First Minister’s Questions, the First Minister responded to my question about the attack on Mr Ali by saying that, ‘We want Scotland to be—and to be seen to be—a refuge from war and persecution… The Scottish Government will do what we can, with the local authority in Edinburgh and other groups, to provide as much reassurance and support as possible.’ Clearly that means providing appropriate accommodation.

“However, the difficulties faced by Mr Ali’s father yesterday (Monday) suggest that the City of Edinburgh Council is failing in its duty to house vulnerable refugees. Why did Mr Ali’s father face so many unnecessary barriers when all he wanted to do was to create a safe and welcoming environment for his son to recover from this most malicious of criminal acts?

“The current systems in place to house vulnerable people, including refugees, in Edinburgh need to be rapidly re-assessed. I am shocked by reports of the treatment Mr Ali’s family received yesterday and I urge those responsible to act swiftly to uphold Mr Ali’s human rights in this situation.”

Council leader Cllr Adam McVey said yesterday that access to the flat will be available today and that the council will be doing all it can to support Mr Ali and his family. 

An online fundraising appeal Shabaz Ali Appeal – Scotland Says NO To Racism has so far raised over £11,000. You can contribute at https://mydonate.bt.com/events/saynotoracism/464056

It would be good to think this story might yet have a happy ending …

Playtime in Edinburgh

It’s an image which harks back to a bygone era when there was less traffic on our roads and parents felt safer letting their kids play outside … but soon the sight of children playing hopscotch and skipping on the streets while neighbours chat and get to know each other could become common again in Edinburgh thanks to a successful pilot project. Continue reading Playtime in Edinburgh

AYE, RIGHT? Edinburgh folk love life in the capital, says city council

Residents continue to enjoy life in the Capital, according to the Edinburgh People Survey 2017 – the largest study of its kind in Scotland. Of the 5,180 respondents to the annual survey, 95% said they were satisfied with Edinburgh as a place to live, while 69% said they were content with the way the Council manages the city – up from 66% the previous year.

Continue reading AYE, RIGHT? Edinburgh folk love life in the capital, says city council

Housing and Economy Convener wants ‘prosperity for everyone’

Housing and Economy Convener, Cllr Kate Campbell, has sets out her vision to bring prosperity to every neighbourhood in the city:

It is very well known that Edinburgh remains the most prosperous UK city outside London. In my new role as Housing and Economy Convener of the City of Edinburgh Council, my first priority is going to be to ensure that this prosperity reaches everyone, in every neighbourhood of the city.

I recognise that jobs growth alone has not been sufficient to deliver sustained improvements in living standards for everyone and the time has come to take a good look at why there are still people living in Edinburgh who are not sharing in this prosperity. At the heart of our economy strategy is the message that everyone must have the opportunity to benefit from Edinburgh’s success.

Our economy is going from strength to strength and has shown great resilience during tough economic times but we need to be fairer to everyone in terms of wages, opportunity, access to housing, education and good careers if we are to help it to grow further. It is also vital to the city’s economy that housing remains affordable in the city.

The economy strategy, which will be presented in June 2018 for approval, will set out an action plan to tackle inequality and poverty. This is an important shift in the focus of our work.

My passion lies in tackling Edinburgh’s chronic housing shortage.  My first task, as chair of the homelessness task force, is to stop families with children being temporarily housed in bed and breakfasts by June, as we know this can make schooling children and access to cooking facilities difficult.  I will also reduce the number of people being temporarily housed in B&Bs and the time they spend in them. It is also vitally important that we reduce the number of people sleeping rough.

Along with our housing association partners, we are delivering the biggest council-led affordable housing programme in the UK with 20,000 affordable homes planned for the next decade. This will help us to tackle the shortage of good quality homes for people on low and middle incomes in the city. There are currently over 2000 affordable and low cost homes under construction on 31 sites across the Edinburgh.  This will make a big difference, but it’s just the start.

To help support the Capital’s continued growth, as a Council, we are also taking a proactive approach to stimulate development.

One of our priorities is to unlock brownfield sites for house builders and developers so that they can deliver the quality housing that we so desperately need and the space to allow businesses to start up, grow and thrive.

Last month we bought the National Grid site at Granton on Edinburgh’s Waterfront. This purchase is another step towards the delivery of The Granton Masterplan. An ambitious vision that will see the area transformed into a vibrant new community. This is hugely important to us as the Waterfront is one of seven key strategic development areas identified in the Edinburgh and South East City Region Deal, signed by all partners last summer.

In addition to the land for housing, community and business development, the site, set in parkland, includes an iconic last remaining gas holder in the city and the former Granton railway station, both of which are grade B listed buildings. Given the significance of these structures they will form a key role in the development proposals for the land and give a focus and identity to the new community.

Over in the west of the city we built industrial units after carrying out research which identified an increasing shortage of good quality industrial space. These units are now fully let. It is clear that there is a need for quality accommodation for businesses that are struggling to expand. Although all of the units are now let, officers are still receiving enquiries and this is a model we are keen to replicate elsewhere in the future.

The population in Edinburgh is at an all-time high and continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. This growth brings challenges of increased pressure on housing, transport and public services and I look forward to playing my part in ensuring that everyone in the city has the opportunity to access quality jobs and housing in the future.

This article first appeared in The Scotsman on 4th May.