Edinburgh is now just weeks away from becoming Scotland’s first 20mph city as signs and lines start to go down for the final phase in a citywide rollout of calmer speeds. The final phase goes live on 5 March. Continue reading City nears 20mph completion
Homeless families will no longer be living in bed and breakfast accommodation by June this year. That was one of the outcomes agreed at the first meeting of the city council’s homelessness task force at the end of last year, and a report outlining next steps has now been agreed by councillors at the Housing and Economy Committee.
Continue reading No more B & Bs for homeless families, says council task force
Community members have officially marked the completion of phase two of Edinburgh’s major Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme.
Pupils from Roseburn Primary School joined Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, to cut the ribbon on a new bridge across the river, built as part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s multi-million pound project, which has been delivered significantly under budget. Continue reading Second phase of flood prevention scheme completed
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and City of Edinburgh Council have announced the latest beneficiaries of the city’s Culture Fund. Among them is North Edinburgh Arts, who receive £5000 to work in a new collaboration with Magnetic North to develop a new piece of family music-theatre.
Continue reading Tattoo Culture Fund cash for North Edinburgh project
Continue reading Councillors to discuss ‘pedestrian-friendly’ Picardy Place plans
The City of Edinburgh Council is set to keep the city moving throughout this week’s wintry conditions. With the city facing freezing temperatures, snow and ice, plans are underway to minimise any resulting disruption.
Continue reading Keeping Edinburgh moving – whatever the weather
END THE HORROR of SLUM HOMELESS HOSTELS IN EDINBURGH
Wednesday 17 January 10am – 11.30am
Abbots House 10 Links Place EH6 7EZ
Continue reading Homes for Everyone: Solidarity protest with homeless people
“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” – Councillor Gavin Barrie, Housing & Economy convener
An Economy Strategy to tackle inequality and poverty in the Capital has been published by the city council. The draft strategy which will be considered by councillors at the Housing and Economy Committee on Thursday, recognises that although Edinburgh remains the second most prosperous UK city outside London, jobs growth alone has not been sufficient to tackle poverty and deliver sustained improvements in living standards for everyone.
Consultation carried out with all political parties and businesses, as well as local communities and the third sector, revealed a consensus of opinion that Edinburgh’s economy should aim to create jobs and inspire innovation but that it should also do much more to ensure that the benefits of that prosperity are accessible to all residents across the city.
It has been created around three themes – innovation, inclusion and collaboration and includes ten steps to achieve this goal. The council alone cannot achieve this and needs ownership and leadership from other city partners such as the Edinburgh Partnership and Edinburgh Business Forum.
Cllr Gavin Barrie, Housing and Economy Convener, said: “Our Economy Strategy sees an important shift in the focus of our work to help Edinburgh’s economy to grow. It is going from strength to strength and has shown great resilience during tough economic times. The time has come, however, to take a good look at why there are still people living in Edinburgh who are not sharing in this prosperity.
“We need to grow our economy so that it is fair in terms of wages, opportunity, access to housing, education and good careers. Much of that work has already started through our commitment to build 20,000 new affordable homes in the city and the £1.1b Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region deal, which will provide £300m for world leading data innovation centres, £25m for regional skills programme to support improved career opportunities for disadvantaged groups and £65m of new funding for housing to unlock strategic development sites.
“The strategy also fits in well with the most recent Scottish Government Economic Strategy and UK Industrial Strategy, both of which have placed increasing emphasis on the need for inclusive growth for our economy.
“Locally, the strategy also represents one of the first major practical steps towards achieving the City Vision for 2050 that we have been developing with contributions from people across the city since September 2016.”
Hugh Rutherford, Chair of the Edinburgh Business Forum, said: “To stay ahead of our global competitors, Edinburgh needs a laser focus on our world leading sectors – financial services, tech, life sciences, creative industries and tourism.
“But we need more than sectoral growth – we need responsible and sustainable ‘good growth’, making sure everyone benefits in a way that’s not happened before. Crucial to the success of this will be the private sector, all levels of education, and the third and public sectors working together to achieve this common goal.”
Ella Simpson, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council, said: “I am pleased the Strategy explicitly acknowledges poverty and inequality in the City and highlights actions which aim to reduce the impact on people’s lives. The strategy needs to recognise the existing communities and people as the bedrock for fair growth in the city and it is important that we provide support to business, from all sectors, to be the best employers they can be.”
The Strategy’s ten steps, which all have their own actions plans.
Establish Edinburgh as the data capital of Europe.
Develop Edinburgh as a city of resilient businesses with the space to grow.
Create a step change in the growth of green and socially responsible business in Edinburgh.
Deliver new approaches to tackling the barriers that reinforce worklessness, poverty and inequality.
Reform Edinburgh’s education and skills landscape to meet the needs of our changing economy.
Deepen our relationships with employers to unlock good career opportunities.
Create a transformational city centre fit to power Scotland’s economy.
Build a world class Waterfront, and deliver business and residential growth in West Edinburgh.
Build affordable places for people to live and work.
Deliver sustainable and inclusive growth in our world leading culture and tourism sectors.
Edinburgh is set to dazzle next month with the launch of Edinburgh Lumen, a stunning immersive visual and sound display that will brighten up the city centre’s dark winter nights.
Continue reading Edinburgh set to dazzle in February as Lumen lights up city centre
Education Convener Councillor Ian Perry explained the benefits of larger schools as part of the current review into west and south west Edinburgh schools in yesterday’s Edinburgh Evening News:
There has been a lot of debate over the proposals for changes to schools in the west and south west of the city over the past six weeks.
Much of the focus has been on the potential impact any changes might have on local communities but it’s important to highlight the benefits that state of the art schools of an optimum size can bring for pupils and communities.
Everyone agrees that we must prioritise the learning needs of all our young people and focus on our aspirations for them and future generations – we are not talking about the educational impact over the next six years but the next sixty years.
Larger and newer schools can provide enhanced opportunities on site for all pupils both within and out with the curriculum. More pupils mean more staff so the curriculum choice can be expanded with extra subjects and advanced levels on offer to increase their learning experience. A wider curriculum, increased sporting facilities and opportunities for more varied cultural/social clubs can only be of benefit for our pupils. Over three quarters of our high school pupils, around 15,000 young people, are currently or soon will be educated in new or refurbished buildings.
Active links with special schools, such as those between Currie Community High and Woodlands, would still be maintained and where possible enhanced. Myself and my Vice Convener, Councillor Alison Dickie, have already met with the Woodlands head teacher and members of the parent council to reassure them.
Some questions have been raised that suggest vulnerable pupils may not be supported in a larger school. This is not borne out by the experiences of our other larger schools in the city. We saw this on a recent visit to a 1,200 pupil high school with inclusion and nurture spaces that allow those pupils who need additional support a place where they can feel safe and be supported.
Everyone should remember that we are only at the informal consultation stage with the review and I want to repeat our appeal to hear people’s ideas and solutions. As part of that process we will hold events at schools later this month and in early February which will allow discussion of the ideas proposed with Council officers. An update on the discussions and recommendations about what should happen next will come to the Education, Children and Families Committee in March.
Yes, change brings with it hurdles to overcome but if everyone works together it can only be positive. Where community links presently exist with schools these will be maintained and if possible expanded and new schools, like the one proposed in the west of the city, will have new and strong community links established.
We’re determined to improve attainment and achievement for all and to make sure no child is left behind. The educational outcomes for our young people should be at the heart of our future plans and providing schools that fully meet the needs of our learners is key to our success moving forward.
Full details of the schools review can be found on the Council website.
