One Day outdoor courses in May – some places still remaining:
Friday 20th – Geocaching Introduction.
Using navigational techniques to find, hide and seek containers at specific locations marked by global coordinates. Once you learn the skills you can keep going worldwide and keep having fun. An experienced and friendly tutor can reveal tips and techniques in this course from 10am-3pm.
Saturday 21st – Archaeology of the Cammo Estate.
Learn about the old and more modern archaeology and the digs taking place in this lovely environment. The tutor can answer any queries for a fun day out. Runs from 10am – 3pm.
Sunday 22nd – Photography Workshop at the High Street.
Find little nooks, statues and crannies and discover how to make best use of your camera. The session is from 10am – 3pm.
Very reasonable charges from £16.50-£20.63 for a day of enjoyment, exercise and extraordinary well-being to celebrate mental Health Awareness
For more information and to enrol follow link below:
The Local Government Election results for Edinburgh’s 17 wards have been announced at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) following the vote on Thursday 5 May.
In total, 63 councillors have been elected to become the City of Edinburgh Council, with a 47.2% overall turnout for the city. A full list of councillors elected is available on the Council website.
The breakdown of elected members by party is:
Scottish National Party: 19 (No change on 2017 result) Scottish Labour Party: 13 (+1) Scottish Liberal Democrats: 12 (+6) Scottish Green Party: 10 (+2) Scottish Conservative and Unionist: 9 (-9)
Returning Officer Andrew Kerr announced the results over the course of the day. He said: “I’m pleased that so many people have turned out to have their say in Edinburgh. Thanks to voters for taking the time to participate, demonstrating the importance of local services to the public.
“I want to congratulate the successful candidates, and welcome new councillors to their role at the Council. I look forward to working with them all over the next five years.
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our Election team, whose hard work and dedication has enabled the smooth running of this election. It’s no mean feat, particularly here in the Capital, with 300 polling stations to set up and hundreds of staff to recruit and train.
“The team worked particularly hard to replace polling places, ending our use of schools, while ensuring each venue was as accessible and welcoming as possible for all voters.”
It’s likely that the SNP will be seeking to form new alliances this weekend as they seek to form a new administration. While the SNP are the biggest party, with 19 of Edinburgh’s 63 councillors, they do not have a majority and they will have to work with others to get their programme through.
Scottish Labout leader has all but ruled out any deal with the SNP, so there will be no ‘Capital Coalition III’ with Labour in Edinburgh.
Mr Sarwar told journalists at the launch of the Labour Party’s manifesto last month: “We’ve had difficult situations in the past where decisions have been made by a Scottish Executive Committee that individual councils haven’t liked. But the reality is, it’s always been the case that the Scottish Executive Committee would sign off on any agreements.
“And I think it’s right for us to say we shouldn’t be picking and choosing which is the good versus the bad. Both are bad for our country. Both are decimating local communities. And therefore I think it’s right that we see no formal coalition with the SNP or the Tories.”
Scottish Labour won’t renege on this commitment, will they?
For further details of the results and the Local Government Election, please see the Elections section of the Council website.
A major milestone has been reached in the build of the new Meadowbank Sports Centre with the completion certificate being issued to the main contractors Graham Construction.
This enables the project to progress to the next stage – Edinburgh Leisure can now begin preparing the building for opening. Although an official opening date to the public has yet to be announced, it is expected that Meadowbank will be open around the start of the summer holidays.
The original Meadowbank was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games and was used by various clubs and sporting celebrities. The closure of the flagship venue on 3 December 2017 marked the end of an era and the start of a new one as the building was decommissioned to make way for a new state-of-the-art sports centre for people in Edinburgh and beyond to enjoy for decades to come.
The new Meadowbank was originally scheduled to reopen in 2020, but the two-year pandemic, various lockdowns and issues with building supplies and contractor resourcing, which affected the building industry, meant that delays were inevitable.
June Peebles, CEO of Edinburgh Leisure said: “We’re delighted that the finishing line is now in sight for the opening of this new flagship venue. The opportunity to be involved in such a major build project is special and I’m very grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council for involving Edinburgh Leisure in all aspects of this exciting investment into the City’s wellbeing.
“It’s been great to be involved in the project from day one however the level of excitement has certainly increased as we begin preparations for opening”.
“The new Meadowbank will undoubtedly pick up where the old Meadowbank left off; providing countless opportunities for generations to come to participate in physical activity and sport. New sporting memories will be created, and we can’t wait to welcome the people of Edinburgh and beyond, into the new venue.”
June Peebles added: “Now that the completion certificate has been issued, we will be spending the following weeks with final snagging, fit out items, finalising operating arrangements and a comprehensive staff training programme before we finally open the building.
“So, keep your eyes on social media and Edinburgh Leisure’s website for more announcements about the official opening date. We can’t wait to welcome you into the impressive new Meadowbank!”
Council Leader Adam McVey said: “It’s great news that this latest milestone has been reached today, which means the new Meadowbank Sports Centre is one step closer to throwing its doors open to the public.
“This glimpse behind-the-scenes shows what we’ve got to look forward to – one of the country’s top community sports centres with some of the most state-of-the-art fitness facilities in the UK.
“We’ve been working closely with Edinburgh Leisure throughout the development of this flagship project to make sure that the centre provides the very best in sport and physical activity, while prioritising participation and accessibility.
“Now, as June and her team put the finishing touches to the building and finalise arrangements for opening, we’re counting down the weeks before everyone can enjoy this fantastic facility”.
Trinity Academy pupils who will be voting for the first time have been to visit their nearest polling place Summerside Bowling Club as the countdown continues to the local elections this Thursday (5 May).
Trinity Academy S5 pupil Luke Norman is looking forward to casting his first ever vote on Thursday 5 May 2022. He said: “I’m excited to be voting for the first time. I think it’s really important for young people to take part in elections and use their voice.
“It’s our future. The councillors that we help elect next week will make important decisions on education and many other issues that are important to us.”
Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh, said: “The local elections are under a week away now. We have been working to reduce our use of schools on election day and I’m delighted that this year there will be no interruption to the school day for Edinburgh’s pupils.
“Due to this, you might have a different polling place this time. Check your polling card carefully or use the online tool to find out where to vote on 5 May.
“Our elections pages also contain useful information on how the single transferable vote system works, ie that you need to use numbers to rank as many or as few candidates as you choose in order of preference.
“And if you’ve applied for and received a postal ballot pack, remember to return it as soon as possible to make sure your vote counts.”
A total of 399,239 people are registered to vote in Edinburgh, of whom 96,671 have applied to vote by post.
FORTH Neighbourhood Network will meet online tomorrow evening at 6pm.
AGENDA
Welcome & Apologies
Notes of Meeting of 19th January 2022 and matters arising (circulated)
Forth NN Neighbourhood Environmental Programme (NEP) HRA update – George Norval / David Delargy
Forth NN current Priority: Poverty, including food poverty update – Biddy Kelly, Response and Recovery Group
Community Grants Fund – review of the past year plus funding panel decisions
Any other Business
Dates of Next Meetings: 22nd June 2022, 14th Sept 2022, 14th Dec 2022.
For further information please contact Elaine Lennon, North West Lifelong Learning Development Officer, telephone 529 5270, email Elaine.Lennon@edinburgh.gov.uk
Costs for using electric vehicle chargers owned and provided by the City of Edinburgh Council will be introduced on Sunday, 1 May.
Charges, which will be displayed at existing charging points, were agreed as part of the budget-setting process earlier this year.
Any revenue generated will be used to fund the ongoing costs associated with our electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In March we began work to introduce 81 chargers (141 bays) in residential streets and park and ride sites around the city, which will be available for use by summer.
Charges and maximum stay periods depend on the type of charger (standard, fast or rapid) with full details available on the Council website.
Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “We’re in the process of introducing even more electric vehicle charging points across the city, which will provide additional fast, convenient charging for people living in and travelling to and from the city.
“Increasing this kind of infrastructure is essential for supporting people to make the shift to more sustainable forms of transport, like electric cars, which is vital if we are to become net zero by 2030. Any income generated from charges introduced next month will help us to maintain and continue developing our charging network.”
Councillor Karen Doran, Transport and Environment Vice Convener, said: “It’s really encouraging that so many people are choosing to switch to electric vehicles, and we want to help even more people to make this choice.
“We set costs for using our chargers as part of the budget this year, and tariffs will be clearly displayed on charging points and on our website.”
Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians
Tuesday the 21st of June will be Make Music Day and Edinburgh City Libraries are calling out to all musicians, groups, ensembles, choirs, orchestras to join us. The service will be putting together a varied program to fill midsummers day with music:
‘In 2019 we ran successful programs of events in Central, Morningside, Craigmillar and Stockbridge Libraries (see poster below).
With a range if groups performing Opera to Klezmer, recorder solo’s to the Rolling Hills Chorus. In 2020 and 2021 we were forced online with a curtailed but no less interesting program of events with choirs, instrumentalists and the Libraries staff singing the Make Music Day anthems Bring Me Sunshine and Stand By Me.
Make Music Day started life 40 years ago in 1982. In France under President Mitterrand’s Socialist Party Maurice Fleuret , was appointed as Director of Music and Dance at the French Ministry of Culture with a responsibility for festivals and events.
He immediately saw that there was a discrepancy in the number of children and adults able to play musical instruments and the numbers who actually participated in any form of music making.
Fete da la Musique was born. His, Fleuret’s, statement rang loud “Music is everywhere and the concert is nowhere” and mission statement for day became, amateur and professional musician should give of their time freely and that all performances should to be free to attend, forty years on those statements are pretty much the same.
Year on year the festival grew and not just in France, by the early 90s the festival had become an event in approximately 80 countries and this year that number stands at 126 countries around the world. The 21st of June was chosen as it is normally the longest day of the year or the summer solstice.
If you wished, and some people do, you could have musical events from the early hours when the sun rises to when it sets late in the evening, and those performances could be anywhere street corners, driveways, concert halls, Libraries, Bandstands, telephone boxes. Anywhere and everywhere, performed and watched by anyone and everyone.
In that spirit, this year we are back and able to welcome musicians into the building to perform and we will welcome audiences to the Library to watch live music.
Please get in touch with us and give us a description of what you do or what you would like to do on the 21st of June, if you are able to link us to any online examples of your previous work, would be useful, but certainly not essential.
* Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians!
There are just two weeks left to have your say on the governance, scope and operation of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) for Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is made up of representatives from City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian, Third Sector representatives, service users and carers.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, through its Chief Officer has responsibility for the planning, resourcing and the operational oversight of a wide range of health and social care services.
The City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian are consulting on a general update to the Scheme of Integration – the document which outlines the governance, scope and operation of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
The consultation is being conducted to help further inform and finalise this revision of the scheme.
You are invited to participate in the consultation, by providing your views on the revised Scheme of Integration:
A programme which provides paths to employment for disabled young adults has returned, with new opportunities for internships in the Capital.
Edinburgh’s Project SEARCH has been helping people to gain vital employment skills and prepare for work since 2014 and is back after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic.
This year, 21 young people will be able to take forward placements, including roles with the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian. For the first time, seven of these positions will be available with Virgin Hotels Edinburgh, which has signed up to become the programme’s first new employer in seven years.
Internships will be complemented with additional training and a ‘ready for work’ qualification from Edinburgh College.
Councillor Kate Campbell, Edinburgh’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Our goal is that 100% of the people who join Project SEARCH find employment before the end of the course or quickly after graduating.
“It’s an opportunity to support young people so that they can build confidence and learn the skills they’ll need to have fulfilling careers. But it’s also an opportunity for organisations to learn how they can become better employers, providing opportunities for young disabled people who may face additional barriers, and even more so with the pandemic.
“As employers learn more about the benefits to their organisation from becoming a disability confident employer, I hope opportunities for young disabled people will increase across the city.
“So, it’s fantastic to have private sector, as well as public sector, employers involved this year.”
Mandy Watt, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Vice Convener, added: “Some of the young people applying to Project SEARCH have graduated from school virtually – and now they face the prospect of not knowing how to take their first step into the world of work.
“Disability shouldn’t be a barrier to entering employment, but we know that all too often it is. Programmes like this are working to change things and open learning and employment opportunities for our young people, allowing them to work towards their own futures.
“The addition of Virgin Hotels to the list of employers on board is really welcome news. It sets a new standard for other organisations to consider signing up. As one of the city’s newest hotels, the partnership will create even more diverse roles for people to try out and learn from.”
Adam Gray, Regional Director of People, Scotland for Virgin Hotels said: “We are really looking forward to being the first hospitality organisation to take part in Project SEARCH in Edinburgh.
“Our new hotel opening creates lot of opportunity for employment in Edinburgh and we feel the young people from Project SEARCH are a great fit for Virgin. We pride ourselves on creating an open, diverse culture for our teammates where they can come to work and be their true self.
“We cannot wait to get started meeting the young people and creating meaningful placement opportunities for them.”
Rory Young, a Project SEARCH graduate who now works full time for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I joined Project SEARCH in August 2019 and completed three placements during my internship.
“The Project really helped me to gain a variety of office-based work experience and increase my confidence within a workplace and I was supported with job seeking and job skills.
“I’ve now working as a Licensing Support Assistant. I do a variety of tasks such as dealing with all mail, printing, and issuing licenses, updating licence records, and supporting colleagues who are managing applications. I’m really enjoying the job and have fitted in really well with all my colleagues.”
The Project SEARCH course has been designed to support young people to learn relevant and transferrable skills while working in a business environment. Participants will take part in three internships where they can learn new skills and improve their confidence, while gaining over 800 hours of work practice.
Everyone enrolled will be supported by an employment specialist and a learning and engagement officer and all study works towards an SQA Employability Award that demonstrates job readiness to employers.
Types of internships available previously have included administration, reception, mailroom, catering, hospitality, librarian, portering, domestic assistant, stores department and clinical support work.
To be eligible for Edinburgh Project SEARCH you must:
Be between 16 and 29 years old
Want to secure a full-time job (16+ hours)
Be based in the Lothians
Have a recognised disability
Be willing to commit to the programme full-time for one year
Be able to travel alone or learn how to do this by the time the course starts.
Council Leader Adam McVey has written to the Russian Ambassador in London to state that Russia’s Consulate is no longer welcome in Scotland’s Capital city.
In line with the decision made by Council on 17 March, the strongly worded letter to Mr Andrey Kelin says the City of Edinburgh Council has severed all existing and future engagements with the Russian Consulate, until Russia withdraws from Ukraine.
In it, the Leader clarifies that this move is a measure against Russia’s war and it’s ruler – and does not oppose Russian citizens, many of whom have expressed opposition to their country’s territorial policies.
Council Leader Adam McVey said: ““Countless Russians around the world and here in Edinburgh have spoken out against this war – but it isn’t these courageous people of conscience the Russian Consulate or Russian Ambassador stand for. Their offices represent Putin’s tyrannical regime and the horrific war crimes being made against Ukraine.
“Our ties will be severed for as long as this illegal invasion persists and our solidarity will remain with the people of Ukraine, many of whom have fled their home country to seek refuge here in Edinburgh. We will continue to do everything within our power to ensure they feel safe, heard and welcome in our city from the moment they land.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day commented: “As a city, we condemn the actions of Putin’s regime and all those who support it by remaining silent. This includes the Russian Consulate and Russian Ambassador, which are no longer welcome in Edinburgh, and I hope this letter spells out our stance loud and clear.
“It’s one of many symbolic actions we are taking against Russia’s war on Ukraine, alongside giving the Freedom of the City to Ukraine’s heroic political leaders Volodymyr Zelensky and Vitali Klitschko, flying the Ukrainian flag above the City Chambers and lighting up the Granton gasholder blue and yellow.
“Our most vital work, however, is taking place on the ground. We’re supporting aid efforts to Poland and Ukraine and helping refugees settle into new lives. We are working closely with partners across all sectors on this and have allocated £100,000 of Council funding to support it.”
The letter in full:
Dear Mr Andrei Kelin,
At the City of Edinburgh Full Council meeting on March 17th 2022, Councillors from all parties voted unanimously to condemn the brutal war perpetuated by Russia and made clear that the Russian Consulate is no longer welcome in Edinburgh until Russia stops this illegal war and Russian troops leave Ukrainian soil.
The Council also agreed to sever all existing and future engagements with the Russian Consul.We are joining many others in opposing this Russian invasion and the murder of innocent Ukrainians.
However, even as those measures are taken, we make clear that our city is not an enemy of the Russian people, we recognise the courageous actions across the Russian population who have expressed opposition to this war at great cost to themselves at the hands of their own Government in Moscow.
We are witnessing the actions of the Government you represent, and the murder of brave Ukrainian civilians and soldiers- which will be investigated as war crimes in due course. Our wholehearted sympathy and thoughts are with the Ukrainian people is resisting the Russian Government’s illegal and senseless war.
Until Russia withdraws from Ukraine, I reiterate that we will not be accepting any civic invitations or collaborations of any kind and I ask that you withdraw the Consul from our City immediately- they are not welcome in Edinburgh.
