Tag: city council

Edinburgh appoints visitor levy forum leader

Julie Ashworth will lead the new forum to advise the Council on all matters related to establishing Edinburgh’s Visitor Levy and its ongoing performance.

A recruitment panel, comprising senior representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Visit Scotland and Edinburgh Association of Community Councils, identified the experienced executive as the ideal candidate to establish and lead the Visitor Levy Forum.

Councillors formally agreed to the appointment at the full Council meeting on Thursday 8 May.

Julie brings to the role considerable experience in complex stakeholder management and financial planning, and is a skilled networker with a strong track record of building relationships across multiple industry sectors, local and national governments.

She is founder and CEO of BroadReach Leadership Consultancy, whose clients span retail, technology, travel, education and the arts.

An Edinburgh resident, she currently serves as a Public Interest Board Trustee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, is Chair of the Board for the University of Aberdeen and has been a longstanding member of the Institute of Directors, where she is Chair of the Scotland Board.

She also contributes on a cross-party working group at the Scottish Parliament and is a member of the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Business Group.

She has previously held executive and advisory positions with leading organisations operating in the retail sector including Marks and Spencer, Liberty of London, IBM, the Spirit Group and Clear Returns.

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “I’m delighted that Julie has been appointed as Chair of the Visitor Levy Forum. This independent role will be important in helping to deliver the scheme in a way that benefits everyone living, working in and visiting Edinburgh, making sure big decisions are taken in a way that supports the whole city.

“Julie’s proven ability to analyse important information and make sound decisions in high profile organisations will be a great asset to this new position. We believe her clear, determined and approachable style mean she is the right person to establish and lead a well-balanced forum where all views are given fair representation.

“The levy is a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in the future of our city, and with Julie onboard as forum chair, we are well placed to deliver a scheme that will enhance and sustain the things that make Edinburgh such a great place to live in and visit.”

Commenting on her appointment, Julie Ashworth said: “I am excited to get to work with establishing the forum and encouraging a broad range of views from businesses and communities across the city.

“We are entering a busy period as we build up to the implementation of the levy, and getting underway with the forum is a big opportunity for all of us.

“As a long-time resident of the city, I am passionate about Edinburgh’s heritage and future success. I strongly believe the forum can play a very important role in helping the levy to be delivered in a way that is fair, just and brings benefits to everyone in the years to come.”

Julie’s first task will be to establish the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Forum in line with the duties set out in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act, with the first meeting taking place before 24 July 2025.

The forum’s purpose is to discuss and advise the Council on matters to do with the levy, including advising the Council on any recommended modifications to the scheme at the formal three-year review point.

The forum will also be consulted on how the income from the levy will be invested and invited to review and comment on the performance of the scheme and investments once in place. Decisions on amendments to the scheme and how the proceeds from the levy are invested will ultimately be taken by councillors.

It will comprise an equal number of representatives from the community and businesses operating in the city’s visitor economy, and aim for at least 40 per cent of the representatives to be women.

Council officers responsible for the investment streams and officers from the Council’s Programme Management Office will attend forum meetings and may make recommendations to the forum, but will not be members of the forum itself.

Cyber attack on Edinburgh’s schools and early years network

COUNCIL STATEMENT ISSUED LAST NIGHT:

This afternoon (Friday) we noticed some unusual e-mail activity on our schools and early years IT network.

As a precautionary measure we have reset passwords across our schools and early years network – including those of our learners and students. 

We have issued communications to all parents/carers and schools to advise of the phishing attempt and explain the action that we have had to take to make sure our IT networks remain secure and protected.

Schools and early years staff will be prompted to reset their own password on their return to school.

Students currently sitting exams will be given priority support to reset their password. They can access their personal revision materials by going to their school tomorrow (Saturday 10 May) between 10.15am -12 noon and a member of staff will issue them with a new password.

Study resources are also available on the information for parents/carers webpage on the Council’s website.

Education, Children and Families Convener Councillor James Dalgleish said yesterday: “This afternoon vigilant colleagues noticed some unusual and suspicious activity on our schools and early years IT network.

“As a result, we took the precautionary decision to immediately reset passwords for all users across our education service.

“We have contacted all parents, carers and schools to update them and explain the situation.

“I fully appreciate the impact this will have, particularly on those students preparing for their exams next week – but, unfortunately, we had no choice. This was a difficult but necessary decision to ensure our networks remain secure and protected.

“I want to reassure our students that they are our priority and that we are doing everything we can to make sure they can get back online as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are signposting them study support materials available elsewhere and individual schools will be uploading these to their websites too.

“We have created a dedicated webpage on the council website and will update this with further information as and when we get it.

“I’d like to thank colleagues for their vigilance and quick thinking today – and for their ongoing work over the weekend to minimise the impact on our students and their families.”

No data has been compromised. The council has have been in touch with SQA and EIS to make them aware of this attempted phishing incident. CEC is re also keeping Scottish Government’s cyber co-ordination centre updated.

Edinburgh Partnership launches review of longer-term support for the city’s third sector

The Edinburgh Partnership is conducting a review of how it supports and works with third sector organisations in Edinburgh.

The review into the relationship between the public sector and third sector in Edinburgh seeks to improve funding certainty in future years. This includes how grant funding and commissioning is delivered, how third sector organisations monitor and report on their work, and what in-kind support is provided.

Third sector organisations of all types – voluntary, social enterprises and charities – are being asked to share their views through the City of Edinburgh Council’s Consultation Hub survey or by attending a workshop.

The results will be reported to the Policy and Sustainability Committee in August.

Council Leader and Chair of the Edinburgh Partnership, Jane Meagher, said: “The third sector provides vital support to local communities, with many giving direct support to the most vulnerable in our city. 

“We know that they, like the Council, are under significant financial pressure and that there needs to be longer-term change in how they are supported by us and our partners.

“We want to hear about how we can make it simpler, provide more stability, and work better together to help vulnerable people. You can share your views through the council’s consultation hub webpage, or by attending one of the workshops.”

Workshops run from Monday 19 May until Thursday 5 June. Details are available on the Consultation Hub and booking is required.

As part of the city’s commitment to help the sector, the council has dedicated £3.5m this year to help organisations impacted by unexpected loss of grant funding or reduced commissioning.

Visit the Council’s website for more information about the Third Sector Resilience Fund.

Capital House set to host the capital’s newest Premier Inn

Whitbread submits a planning application for a new 195-bedroom hotel on Festival Square in the heart of Edinburgh city centre

Whitbread PLC, the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, has submitted plans to transform Capital House into a 195-bedroom Premier Inn, with a commitment to investing more than £21 million in the conversion of the existing building into a hotel.

After acquiring the 65,350 sq ft gross office block off Lothian Road last year, Whitbread has been preparing a planning application to change the use of the building to a hotel, which was submitted to Edinburgh City Council on 2nd May.

The plans involve the conversion of the existing building and rear extension of the 1980s office into a latest format Premier Inn hotel with a ground floor restaurant and bar. 

The Capital House Premier Inn is expected to generate an additional £8.1 million per year in visitor expenditure through the external spending of more than 56,000 guests which are predicted to stay at the hotel every year.  Half of this external expenditure is anticipated to be spent supporting city centre businesses. 

The proposals signal the latest commitment from Whitbread to invest in Edinburgh as the business continues to see strong long-term potential for its bedrooms across the capital city.

Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Scotland at Whitbread, said: ““The visitor economy in Edinburgh is thriving but there remains an unmet demand for additional budget hotel rooms in the city.  Capital House represents an excellent opportunity for us to deliver new Premier Inn bedrooms at affordable prices for our customers in a fantastic city centre location.

“The location is ideal for both business and leisure customers.  It is sustainable and highly accessible with direct bus, tram and rail networks within a short walk, it’s a stone’s throw from the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and Exchange District and is close to tourist destinations like Edinburgh Castle, Usher Hall and other theatres.

“We’re thrilled to submit proposals to transform this underused office building and bring life back into this corner of Festival Square.  We are investing £21 million into delivering the new hotel which will generate over £8 million of additional guest spend into the Edinburgh economy each year and create more than 30 new hospitality jobs. We look forward to working with Edinburgh City Council to progress the application towards determination.”

Whitbread currently welcomes close to a million visitors to its established network of 14 Premier Inn hotels within the City of Edinburgh Council area. The business calculates its guests staying at these hotels generate more than £32 million in visitor expenditure to the Edinburgh economy every year.

More widely, across the UK & Ireland Whitbread currently offers its customers a choice of more than 85,500 Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn bedrooms and the company sees the long-term potential for 125,000 bedrooms in these two core markets.

Over 150 children and young people take part in The Big Sports Day

In a first-of-its-kind event for the city, over 150 children and young people from Special Schools and mainstream primary and secondary schools took part in The Big Sports Day.

The event was held at the Saughton Athletics Track and invoilved children and young people with with a physical disability learn,ing difficulty or autism.

Organised by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Active Schools team and Youth Work Development Workers based at Gorgie Mills school, children and young people took part in a range of sports, facilitated by a range of trusted providers, including: football, frame running, cycling, tennis, karate, rugby, archery, cricket and lots more.

Groups of pupils rotated around three or four specific activity stations catering to their individual needs and abilities. Edinburgh College students volunteered their support on the day.

The event was partly funded through the Edinburgh 900 fund with a one -off amount secured to run The Big Sports Day event.

Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener, said: “It is truly fantastic to see that this community event was attended by so many learners from across the city and to hear that a great time was had by all!

“Having fun through sport and keeping active is an important part of the curriculum across all Edinburgh schools and it’s brilliant that learners had the chance to try out a range of different sports.”

Council continues to grow Waverley Court Partnership Hub

Creative Scotland and British Transport Police will move into the Waverley Court Partnership Hub.

They will join SEPA, Visit Scotland, Skills Development Scotland and Balfour Beatty, which are already based at the Council headquarters on East Market Street. Scottish Water is also due to move into the building later this year.

The decision by the Council’s Finance and Resources Committee to lease the space will grow the number of organisations based in Waverley Court to eight and annually raise £1.7m in total.

British Transport Police will move into the courtyard by the end of 2025, occupying about 40 desks, while Creative Scotland will move into the ground floor this autumn, occupying 60 desks.

The council will continue to retain at least 60% of the desk space within Waverley Court and discussions will continue to take place with other interested public sector partners.

Councillor Mandy Watt, Finance and Resources Convener, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming Creative Scotland and the British Transport Police into Waverley Court, which is quickly becoming a true Partnership Hub, with organisations from all sides of the public sector joining forces to make greater use of the space and share expertise.

“By welcoming these organisations in, we are generating significant income for the Council and making sure our Headquarters are operated in the most sustainable, efficient, and collaborative way.”

Boost to local services from taxes on empty shops and second homes

Hundreds of buildings have been brought back into use and over £10 million has been raised for council services thanks to new tax-raising powers adopted by the council.

Since 1 April 2024, following changes to Scottish Government legislation, a 200% Council Tax charge has been applied to second homes. At the same time, non-domestic rates relief on empty commercial properties has been capped at three months.

The move has encouraged the occupation and active use of at least 206 commercial properties and 52 homes, helping to stimulate the local economy and lived in homes during Edinburgh’s Housing Emergency.

Finance and Resources Convener, Councillor Mandy Watt, said: “By making these changes, we’re not only raising millions of pounds for the council at a time when we face huge financial challenges – we’re successfully encouraging property owners to bring buildings back into their proper use. 

“It is well known that Edinburgh faces a chronic shortage of housing, which led us to become the first city in Scotland to declare a housing emergency. it is in the whole city’s best interests to allow those who have more than one home to contribute where they can towards addressing this crisis and supporting their local services.

“Likewise, I’m pleased to see our new rate relief policy working well. It’s about enhancing communities, stimulating the economy and putting underused buildings to better use. Some of these properties have been empty for years and under the previous regulations owners didn’t have to pay rates.”

Over £450,000 in funding awarded to seven projects for tree planting in Scotland’s cities and towns

WINDFALL FOR GRANTON COMMUNITY GARDENERS

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The Urban Forestry Programme is supporting projects in urban areas to help more people experience the benefits of trees

Future Woodlands Scotland (FWS), the charity dedicated to creating and conserving woodlands across Scotland, has selected the first seven projects to receive large grants of up to £100,000 from its Urban Forestry Programme Challenge Fund. 

The Urban Forestry Programme is an ambitious ten-year project that sees FWS working alongside project founding partner bp to support and improve green spaces in Scotland’s cities, towns, and urban areas. 

The seven successful projects focus on increasing access to green spaces in underserved areas, promoting biodiversity, and enhancing the quality of life for residents. They aim to create a long-lasting impact on local communities, offering opportunities for outdoor education, mental and physical health improvement, and strengthening community ties.

The projects include: 

  1. Govanhill Baths Community Trust, Creative Canopy Project, Glasgow (above)

An arts and environmental project based in Govanhill which invites residents, artists and growers to co-create a dispersed orchard across the neighbourhood. 

  1. Glasgow City Council, The Glasgow Canopy Project

Planting street trees, woodland planting, hedgerows and habitat creation in the Govan and Dalmarnock areas of Glasgow. 

  1. St Marks Primary School, Planting our Way to a Better Future, Glasgow

Planting a combination of whips and standard trees in school grounds in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire. 

  1. Edible Estates, Nature Around Us, Edinburgh (above)

Working with residents, schools and community organisations to establish woodlands and orchards within two council housing estates in Edinburgh. 

  1. West Lothian Council, West Lothian Urban Tree Planting Project

Planting trees in parks and public green spaces, residential areas and school grounds and giving residents the opportunity to be involved. 

  1. South Lanarkshire Council, Removing Barriers to Tree Planting

Planting trees in strategic locations across South Lanarkshire, with a link to Clyde Climate Forest to allow collaboration with partners. 

  1. City of Edinburgh Council, Canopy Communities Project

A partnership project with Granton Community Gardeners to support tree planting and ecological connectivity in three areas of the city including co-design with residents. 

Funding for these projects follows an announcement earlier this year about the first three projects – Friends of Inch Park, Friends of Linn Park and Norton Park SCIO – to receive small grants of almost £51,000 between them.  

A total of 33 applications were submitted across two competitive grant categories: projects ranging from £2,000 to £20,000, and those ranging from £20,000 to £100,000.  

Shireen Chambers, CEO of FWS said: “It’s been fantastic to see the response to the first year of the Urban Forestry Programme Challenge Fund with 10 projects selected for funding across both grant categories. 

“We looked for projects with a strong urban focus which prioritise areas most in need of trees and woodlands. We want to ensure everyone can benefit from trees – by learning about them, engaging in their care or simply spending time around them. 

“These greening projects will bring more trees into the heart of our towns and cities – enhancing spaces, strengthening communities and helping more people connect with nature.  

“We are proud to lead this important initiative with the backing of our founding partner bp and we look forward to seeing how these projects create lasting change over the coming years.” 

Projects were chosen based on the contribution they could make to the Urban Forestry Programme goal of helping towns and cities across Scotland achieve the 3:30:300 rule: everyone should see three trees from their home, every neighbourhood should have 30% tree canopy and quality green space within 300 metres 

The City of Edinburgh Council was awarded £100,000 over three years to recruit a Canopy Development Officer for its Canopy Communities project.  

The project will support the co-design of greener spaces in three areas of the city, educating residents on species, biodiversity and the importance of trees, with the aim of achieving 30% canopy cover. 

City of Edinburgh Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “Trees make life better for everyone and this is an opportunity to plant more, where people want them.

“We know just how important green spaces are to people’s health and wellbeing and initiatives like Canopy Communities, alongside others like our commitment to become a Million Tree City by 2030 and our Thriving Green spaces 2050 strategy, are about involving communities to create, protect, and sustain woodland and biodiversity across Edinburgh. 

“I’m delighted with this funding, which will let us progress essential work on our Canopy Communities project. It recognises the impact this project will have on enhancing and growing green space in the city where it is most needed.” 

Increasing the number of trees in Scotland’s cities and towns is crucial in supporting the journey to net zero and delivering a wide range of socio-economic benefits. Urban tree cover is currently less than 16%, much lower than the EU average of 30.2%. 

Applications for funding were assessed using the Tree Equity tool, which was created to address imbalances in urban tree distribution by American Forests, a US non-profit organisation, and was brought to the UK by the Woodland Trust and Centre for Sustainable Healthcare.   

In addition to the 10 funded projects, the Urban Forestry Programme has also supported two pilot projects: a fruit and nut tree planting project in Stirling, and a tree warden volunteer scheme in Glasgow. 

Applications for the 2025 Urban Forestry Programme Challenge Fund will open in November.

More information on the Urban Forestry programme is available at www.futurewoodlands.org.uk

Making housing accessible in Edinburgh

COUNCIL HOSTS ACCESSIBLE HOUSING SUMMIT

An event held last week (Tuesday 22 April) at the City Chambers brought together the Council and partners to take steps toward building, adapting, and finding accessible homes across the Capital.

Hosted by the City of Edinburgh Council, the Accessible Housing Summit convened representatives from the third sector, housing associations and the private sector.

Through a series of roundtable discussions, participants explored three key areas: delivering new accessible homes, improving access to existing housing, and ensuring the best use of homes already available.

The event builds on insights from the 2022 Accessible Housing Study and feedback gathered from tenants, residents and partners gathered during consultations on the Council’s draft Local Housing Strategy.

In a tangible step forward, the Council recently began construction on a new residential development in Newington. Once complete, the site will provide 19 modern, fully wheelchair accessible homes available for social rent.

Attendees will now consider what actions can be taken forward to address improving access to information, advice on accessible housing and planning for new accessible homes in Edinburgh.

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Lezley Marion Cameron said: “As Edinburgh’s population grows and changes, so do the housing needs of our residents. We must therefore strive to ensure that everyone – irrespective of their health circumstances and accessibility requirements – has a home they can live in with dignity and comfort.

“Whilst this is a national issue, the City of Edinburgh Council faces unique challenges, including being landlord of a high number of older, flatted properties which can often be harder and costly to adapt.  

“It is vital for us to understand the nature, context, and complexity of the barriers to providing fully accessible housing and to work closely and collaboratively with our partners and organisations leading this crucial work to deliver the accessible housing our citizens need now and in the future.”