Latest Picardy Place proposals up for discussion

Further improvements have been made to the proposed designs for Picardy Place ahead of a series of public engagement events. The revised proposals include greater public realm provision outside St Mary’s Cathedral, which would allow the much-loved Paolozzi statues to return to their current position once works in the area are complete. Continue reading Latest Picardy Place proposals up for discussion

Opening up the arts: council funding for community groups

Stimulating artistic and cultural events across the length and breadth of the Capital is the drive behind a new £60,000 City of Edinburgh Council fund. The one-off ‘Local Events Fund’ aims to inspire audiences and artists who might otherwise not have the chance to participate in cultural ventures to take up the artistic challenge. Continue reading Opening up the arts: council funding for community groups

Play your part? Citizens invited to help set Edinburgh’s budget

“We have a strong track record of effective financial management” – Finance Convener Alisdair Rankin

Edinburgh residents are being asked for their views on changes to council services for the 2018/19 budget, which will be set early next year.  Continue reading Play your part? Citizens invited to help set Edinburgh’s budget

City council sets up homelessness taskforce

New group aims to end use of B & B accommodation

The city council has created a new homelessness task force to investigate the growing problem in the city. Chaired by the ‘Homelessness Champion’, Councillor Kate Campbell, the task force will review the use of bed and breakfast accommodation and explore alternatives that could better meet the needs of individuals and families, with an aim to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation. Continue reading City council sets up homelessness taskforce

Edinburgh Compact 2017 launched

EVOC AGM and conference to focus on place

Compact Voice, the latest guide to Edinburgh’s third sector and it’s work with public service partners, has been launched. The report is packed with facts and figures about the capital’s voluntary sector: how it is made up, how it organises itself, how it is funded and Compact Voice also covers current concerns and issues for the sector. Well worth a read.

 

A5 Compact Brochure 2017 [FINAL] 3A5 Compact Brochure 2017

 

Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council’s (EVOC) annual general meeting and conference takes place on Tuesday 7 November from 9am – 2pm. There are still a handful of places available, so sign up for your free place now! 

Book Your Free Place

This year’s Conference will focus on how we use constructed space to think differently, collaborate and participate. Keynote speakers are city council leader Councillor Adam McVey and Diarmaid Lawlor of Architecture & Design Scotland.

Workshops on the day are:

  • Partnership Working With School Communities
  • Prevention Within the Context of Grants Review and Funding Cuts*
  • Good Governance – Doing Things Right Means Doing the Right Things
  • Participatory Budgeting an Effective Tool for Community Engagement?
  • Social (in)security

*We have updated our workshop on setting up a Commission on Prevention to look specifically at prevention in the context of funding and grants, in light of the review of the Health and Social Care grants programme.

All workshops will be available to sign up to on the day, and you can find more information about the topics and speakers by visiting the website.

Edinburgh gears up for winter

As the clocks are wound back and Guy Fawkes Night approaches, winter is well on its way, and Edinburgh is fully prepared for the colder months ahead. Plans, which draw on decades of winter weather experience, are already in place, with a fleet of gritting lorries, snow ploughs and mini tractors serviced and ready to go, as well as more than 14,000 tonnes of grit stockpiled in anticipation of icy conditions.

Continue reading Edinburgh gears up for winter

Deirdre Brock: “City of Edinburgh Music School must stay open”

Following reports that the City of Edinburgh Music School faces an uncertain future, Deidre Brock MP has written to the Council’s Education Committee calling for a rethink and assurances that the specialist service will remain open. The school is based in Flora Stevenson Primary and in Broughton High, in Deidre’s Edinburgh North and Leith constituency. Continue reading Deirdre Brock: “City of Edinburgh Music School must stay open”

Starting gun sounds for historic Leith Fort site

A partnership between Port of Leith Housing Association,the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government has delivered a new community of affordable homes in Leith. An opening ceremony will take place today at the site of the 18th century Leith Fort, which was the original home of Edinburgh Castle’s world famous One o’clock gun. Continue reading Starting gun sounds for historic Leith Fort site