Tag: city council

Edinburgh’s Winter Festivals: The more you spend, the more you save, says Underbelly

Underbelly shares annual report on Edinburgh’s world-renowned Winter Festivals – Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

  • Combined contract for Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay saves the city £1million per year.
  • 183,857 people attended Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and there was a 3% rise in total attenders from Edinburgh.
  • 2018 registered 929,219 unique visitors to Edinburgh’s Christmas
  • 28,000 tickets to Edinburgh’s Christmas given away to young people, community groups and charities in the city
  • Edinburgh’s Christmas raised £44,000 for charity
  • 99% of people rated Edinburgh’s Christmas very good or good.
  • Community benefit calculated as £1,176,000

Continue reading Edinburgh’s Winter Festivals: The more you spend, the more you save, says Underbelly

“A major, modern, capital”: Transport Convener talks city centre transformation

Edinburgh is changing. We are facing a 15% increase over two decades in the number of people who live here, our economy is growing and attracting more commuters into Edinburgh and tourist visitors are numerous (writes city council Transport convener Cllr Lesley Macinnes).

Continue reading “A major, modern, capital”: Transport Convener talks city centre transformation

Brown Bin Permits are in the post

Residents who have signed up for the next garden waste service year in Edinburgh have started to receive their permit stickers through the post.

A total of 68,705 households registered for the fortnightly brown bin collections during the six-week sign-up period over the summer.

More than 75,000 individual permits were applied for, meaning a proportion of applicants paid for more than one brown bin.

Residents who have signed up to the service are urged to get in touch with the Council if they haven’t received their permits by Monday evening [30 September].

Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “We’re almost at the start of our new service year for garden waste collections, so if you signed up over the summer, look out for your permit sticker landing on your doormat in the coming days.

“Last year, green-minded residents helped us send more than 9,000 tonnes of garden waste to be turned into compost for gardens, parks and farmland and we hope to recycle even more this coming service year.”

The next opportunity to sign up to the garden waste service will take place between 20 January and 3 February 2020.

What’s on at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh this October half term

Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, the collection of 13 venues and monuments across the city, are full of exhibitions, events and experiences to keep the kids entertained this half term.

From climbing the steps of ancient monuments, to catching the final weekend of a 5* art exhibition, there’s something for all interests and ages. Continue reading What’s on at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh this October half term

Trinity student educates councillors about climate change

Councillors to take a lead from city’s youth

Trinity Academy pupil Sandy Boyd is one of the leading lights behind today’s Edinburgh Youth Climate Strike, which is expected to attract around 10,000 people onto the capital’s streets to demand action on climate change.

Sandy met councillors at the City Chambers yesterday to explain the reasons for the youth action and to encouraged the ‘auld yins’ to follow the lead of young people across the globe.

School strike actions will take place in 150 countries today and are the latest – and likely to be the biggest so far – in a series of actions first initiated by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg last year.

Young people will be central to the development of plans to make Edinburgh carbon neutral by 2030, senior councillors have pledged.

Depute Leader (and former youth worker) Cammy Day and SNP Councillor Ellie Bird, who is Edinburgh’s ‘young people’s tsar’, are joint leaders of the city council during the absence of council leader Cllr Adam McVey. The Forth councillors  invited Sandy to meet them in the City Chambers yesterday.
In a ‘positive and productive’ discussion, they agreed that young people would be at the core of the city’s climate change strategy.
Cllr Day said: “It was really encouraging to meet Sandy today and we definitely see this as the start of a meaningful dialogue to ensure that young people and their ideas are absolutely at the heart of our plans for a carbon neutral city by 2030.
“He shared a number of very useful ideas on how we can best communicate with our younger citizens, such as organising meetings outwith school hours and avoiding rigid agendas in favour of inviting participants to set the themes and discussion topics themselves.”
Cllr Bird said: “We’re working with partners to pull together plans for a major climate conference in Edinburgh in early 2020 and at our meeting today we committed to engage fully with Sandy and his peers so that they’re integral to this event.
“We’re looking forward to many more opportunities to hear directly from and work closely with the young people of this city. Their voices are critical to any debate about the future of the planet.”
The Forth councillors are among a number of city councillors who plan to attend today’s march in the city centre.
Cllr Day added: “I think we and all our partners, including Police Scotland, fully support the right of residents of all ages to make their voices heard peacefully.
I’m looking forward to a positive, safe and good-natured event that will go down in our city’s history books for all the right reasons.”
Cllr Bird added: “Sandy and his group are to be congratulated for everything they’re doing to get this vital issue high up on the news agenda and I wish them all the best for a great turnout.”

City parking proposals ‘respond to community concerns’

Telford to become a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ)

Councillors have approved recommendations to progress proposals addressing parking pressures across Edinburgh, following the publication of findings from a citywide strategic review of parking.

The decision will see 25 new Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) created across the city and a host of Priority Parking Areas will also be introduced.

Continue reading City parking proposals ‘respond to community concerns’

New housing phase completed at Western Harbour

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart met new residents during a visit to Western Gateway  last week. The Minister’s visit marked the completion of the first phase of mid-rent housing delivery at Western Harbour. Continue reading New housing phase completed at Western Harbour