Community Councils – Page 21 – The NEN

Community council elections go hi-tech!

Local people wishing to vote in three city Community Council elections will be able to do so online for the first time.

Following the closure of the nomination period, there were more prospective community councillors than there were places available in three areas – Craigmillar, Liberton & District and Portobello – so elections are now taking place, and for the first time an online option has been introduced making it easier for more people to take part. Votes can now be registered securely over a special website until the voting period closes at 8pm on 24 October.

All voters on the electoral roll in the three areas are being given the opportunity to vote over the internet, or they can attend a polling place on the 24 October to vote in person if they would prefer. Postal votes are also available for residents who prefer this option.

Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhood Committee, said: “Our aim is to deliver democratic processes that people can take part in and trust. To offer a range of options for voting, including online voting, we hope to make it easier for people to have a say and that can only be a good thing for local communities. We hope that by offering flexible ways to vote that it will attract even more interest in these elections.

“Community Councils are an ideal way to support communities to thrive, to allow people from all backgrounds to meet and share ideas and to make change happen. They are a fantastic way of making public sector agencies aware of the needs of local areas, and can really help to make changes for the better.”

Community Councils each receive a grant to cover running costs and training is available for the members. They are represented on each of the city’s 12 Neighbourhood Partnerships and work alongside elected members, representatives from NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, the voluntary sector and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Community councils were first established in Edinburgh in 1980 and now more than 500 people are members of 41 community councils across the city. While elections are needed in three neighbourhoods, however, other areas are still looking for local people to make up their full complement of community councillors. Nominations are currently being sought for new members of the Gilmerton/Inch Community Council, and Drylaw Telford – one of the city’s original community councils – is one of a number of community councils with vacant positions.

“Following the nomination period we have five vacancies so we are very keen to encourage residents – old and new – to get involved”, said Alex Dale, chairman of Drylaw Telford. “Anyone interested in find out a bit about what we do should check out our website, or better still come along to our next regular monthly meeting on Wednesday 30 October at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre. Our meetings are always open to the public and It would be great to sign up some enthusiastic new members.”

Alex Dale (left) with former DTCC chair Mike Clark

Last call for community councillors

Elected Representative CC Application Form 2013

Do you care about your community? Would you like to make your neighbourhood a better place to live? Well, there’s still time to put your name forward to become a community councillor – but nominations close at 4pm TODAY!

Indications are that nomination forms have not exactly been flooding in to Returning Officers in some neighbourhoods so far so it’s hoped that there will be a last-minute rush today!

Community councils are groups of people who care about their community and want to make their area a better place to live. Community councils give residents a say in how their communities are run by representing the views of local people on Neighbourhood Partnerships and convey these views to the Council and other organisations and agencies.

In North Edinburgh, Drylaw Telford was one of the city’s original community councils while Muirhouse Salvesen (pictured below), West Pilton/West Granton and Granton and District were formed to give communities a voice in new community planning arrangements when Neighbourhood Partnerships were introduced in 2007.

Community councils are always keen to hear from local people, and want more people to get involved in their work. They usually meet once a month, and in between meetings many organise and support local projects and initiatives that help the community or improve the area.

Get involved – get that nomination form completed and handed in today!

The inaugural meeting of Muirhouse Salvesen Community Council in March 2007

Extra £1 million to let there be light

Aged lampposts in Edinburgh will be replaced with more energy-efficient equipment after an additional £1 million was sourced this year, the city council has announced.

The extra funding will be used to replace up to 760 old concrete and steel lampposts which failed an independent risk-based structural test.

The new aluminium columns are the first choice in street lighting designs as they do not need ongoing maintenance and have a design life of more than 50 years – almost double the design life of the old concrete and steel columns. They are also built using recycled material and can be recycled again at the end of their life.

Street lighting electricity costs are predicted to double by 2020 and the new posts will be fitted with energy-efficient white light lanterns, which will support the drive to reduce electricity costs whilst helping the Council to meet environmental targets.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, said: “Replacing old lampposts with modern aluminium columns makes both environmental and financial sense. They last up to twice as long as the traditional designs, and can even be recycled once finished with.

This would be an ideal opportunity to save energy and our carbon footprint, as well as to reduce the amount paid to light the city. It would also help to improve safety of residents and visitors.”

The new street lights have not met with universal approval, however. Drylaw Telford Community Council raised concerns over the positioning and power of new lights when they were installed late in 2011.

Community council treasurer Jackie Brown said then: “The new lights are lower and less powerful so don’t shed nearly as much light. Older members of the community are feeling vulnerable. Some of them are carrying torches so that they can see where to put the key in the door lock when they get home, while some others are avoiding going out altogether when it gets dark. It’s not only older people who are affected by the new lights, though – lots of people are not happy with the new lights.”

The community council has since been working with council officers to improve lighting in problem areas, and recently conducted a consultation in Wester Drylaw Place.

Community council chairman Alex Dale said: “We publicised the consultation with flyers and leaflets and highlighted the issue on our website, but the volume of response to the survey was slightly disappointing – in all there were 19 postcard responses, and two further replies via Survey Monkey.

“The community council subsequently agreed to ask the council to close the consultation period and to go with the preferred choice of the respondents. It’s just a pity that at the end of the day a bit of apathy crept in to the whole campaign – it has been a lengthy process – but in the end we achieved some sort of democratic decision so for the Community Council it was a bit of success.”

Light at the end of the tunnel, indeed!

Community Councils: get involved!

A drive is under way to encourage more people to join their local community council and help represent the views of residents in their area.

Elections for all of Edinburgh’s community councils are due to take place in September, but some have struggled in the past to attract new members and all are keen to have fresh input. A campaign is now underway to seek nominations to ensure that community councils can continue to thrive and play an important role in the health of the capital’s neighbourhoods.

Cllr Maureen Child (pictured above) , Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods committee, urged people to get involved: “It’s all about local residents working together to make a difference to where they live. In my experience, the best community councils involve folk of all ages and backgrounds, but they rely on people putting themselves forward. I completely understand it may be a little daunting for those who haven’t been involved in anything like this before, but help and advice is available.”

Jim Henry, the chair of Liberton & District Community Council, said: “Community councils act as a voice that gives residents an opportunity to use their local knowledge to influence the future of their area. We also get involved in a wide range of activities to improve our communities, including clean-ups and gala days. Without the work of community councils, the city and its neighbourhoods would be a poorer place.”

Community Councils receive a grant to cover running costs and training is available. They are represented on each of the 12 Neighbourhood Partnerships established across the city and work alongside elected members, representatives from NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, the voluntary sector and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to improve the local area and allocate local grants.

Anyone aged 16 years or older and registered to vote can join. People can find their local community council using the Council’s interactive map.

More information and advice is available from:

Eileen Hewitt, Community Council Liaison Officer, on 0131 469 3838 or y email at community.councils@ednburgh.gov.uk
www.edinburgh.gov.uk/communitycouncils http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/ (neighbourhood partnerships)

What’s your experience of Community Councils? Do they make a difference? Let us know!

Volunteers’ Week: Saluting the unsung heroes

Drylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale was presented with the Thomas Tierney Award for Good Citizenship at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre last week. Alex was joined by friends and family, members of the Tierney family and community councillors at a short reception to celebrate the event.

Tam Tierney was a celebrated community activist from Wester Drylaw who was heavily involved in many of the positive things that were happening in the Greater Pilton area in the eighties and nineties. Goodness, we are talking about the last century here …

To mention just a few of Tam’s many community activities, he was a mainstay of Pilton Sporting Club, chaired Craigroyston Community Centre, was an active member of Drylaw Telford Community Council and was also part of the steering group – and then a member of the management committee – of Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre which opened in 1995.

Tam’s death came as a real blow; of course to his family, but also to Drylaw and the wider community. After all, Tam was involved in so much: he had huge experience and a legion of useful contacts he’d built up over the years. No-one’s irreplaceable, but Tam’s passing left a considerable void.

Drylaw Telford Community Council wanted to mark Tam’s contribution to community life in Greater Pilton, not only celebrating his achievements but also to try to encourage others to become active within their community. We came up with the idea of the annual Thomas (note the ‘posh’ use of the Sunday name!) Tierney Award for Good Citizenship.

Every year since 2000, the community council has chosen a new recipient of the Award. They are all very different, and each was nominated for a wide variety of reasons. The one thing they have in common, however – indeed the one thing they must have in common – is that they do something that makes the Drylaw Telford neighbourhood a better place to live. Individuals do that in so many ways – helping out as a volunteer with local projects, doing their neighbours’ shopping, supporting local groups by serving on management committees … there are lots of ways to do things for your community.

Last week, Alex Dale became the latest recipient of the award. Alex’s nomination was well-deserved. He first got involved in community activities shortly after his retirement from the Forestry Commission – and I don’t think he’s put his feet up since!

Alex got involved when he opposed a proposal to build houses on designated green spaces in Drylaw, and it was a natural progression that he went on to get involved in the community council’s fledgling Open Space sub-group in 2006.

In the Open Space sub group the community council worked in partnership with other organisations including the Pilton Partnership and Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust to map all of Drylaw Telford’s green spaces, then consulted with local residents to find out what we should try to do with these spaces. It was no small task – indeed, it was the biggest initiative the community council had ever undertaken, by far – but it proved worthwhile, with open spaces in both Easter and Wester Drylaw upgraded with the ongoing support of the city council.

Volunteers like Alex helped to make that Open Space initiative a success, and all that legwork clearly didn’t put him off – he joined the community council at the last elections and became Chair last May. He’s also an active and enthusiastic member of North Edinburgh News’ board of directors.

I’ve never known anyone to have a greater appetite for meetings than Alex. I think he lives by the philosophy: ‘a day without meetings is like a day without sunshine!’ But the key to successful participation at meetings is to understand what is being discussed, make a contribution and then report back in a way that your colleagues can understand – and Alex is excellent at this. Whether it’s Neighbourhood Partnerships, NEP group or Transport Forum, Alex will attend, comprehend and then explain what transpired there. Our community council is now possibly the best informed in Edinburgh!

Diligent, reliable and conscientious may not be exciting adjectives, but activists who possess these qualities are worth their weight in gold; every community needs one and Drylaw Telford is very lucky to have one in Alex.

Dedicated activists are thin on the ground – North Edinburgh has lost two leading lights this year in Billy Anderson and, more recently, Brian Robertson – and it makes you appreciate all the more those unsung heroes who quietly go about their business to make their neighbourhood a better place to live – not for personal gain or reward, but because they care for and about their communities. Commitment like that is needed just as much now as it ever was.

All types of people do still give up their time, joining together to campaign for improvements – often uniting over threats or unwelcome intrusions into their communities, but sometimes coming together to campaign for positive things too: like the upgrading of green spaces or a new Neighbourhood Centre in Drylaw – or the reopening of a community asset like Leith Waterworld. In Drylaw, we can identify with and feel the pain of the Splashback campaigners – we’ve tasted that bitter taste of defeat on occasion too. Community activism can sometimes feel like one step forward, two steps back – but it does mean that, when you do win a small victory, it tastes even sweeter. You remember the ones you win because they don’t come around too often.

So many thanks and congratulations to Alex, indeed to volunteers everywhere – and with community council elections looming let’s hope a few like him can be encouraged to step forward: your community needs you!

Full agenda for community council meeting

Drylaw Telford Community Council members will have plenty to discuss at next week’s regular monthly meeting. The possible introduction of new priority parking regulations in Maidencraig and Telford, the 21st Century Homes planning application for the vacant site off Ferry Road, the community council’s website and The Thomas Tierney Award recipient for 2013 – carried over from last month – are all on the agenda for discussion. There may also be time to discuss this year’s community council elections and there’s likely to be an update on the De Vere planning application for Helix House at Crewe Toll.

The meeting wll be held on Wednesday 27 March at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, and, as always, members of the public are most welcome to attend. Hope to see you there!

Have your say on improving the Trinity area

Improving everyday life in Trinity – we need your views!

Trinity Priorities Event

Trinity Academy, Main Hall

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Drop in anytime between 5pm and 9pm

Refreshments provided

Forth Neighbourhood Partnership is holding a consultation event to get the views of Trinity residents on what they would like to see done to improve the Trinity area. We would like to encourage local residents to come along to Trinity Academy and give their views on what they think should be the priorities for action by the Neighbourhood Partnership in 2013/14.

They will also have an opportunity to see an exhibition on some of the improvements in the Trinity area funded by the Neighbourhood Environment Programme.

This will be an informal event where people can drop in at any time between 5pm and 9pm – Local Councillors, Trinity Community Councillors and officers from City of Edinburgh Council and Lothian & Borders Police will be available to answer questions.

For further information contact Forth Neigbourhood Partnership development officer Jim Pattison, telephone 529 5082 or email jim.pattison@edinburgh.gov.uk

Community talks transport at Inverleith conference

Around ninety people attended Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s ‘On the Move’ event held in Broughton High School last week. The theme of the evening was transport, and local residents were encouraged to share their opinions at the ’round-robin’-style event.

Participants moved from table to table to discuss a new topic, with each conversation supported by and helped along by an expert from that particular field. The six themes were public transport, winter weather planning, cycling and walking, road maintenance, road safety and parking – and unsurprisingly each topic generated healthy discussion and debate!

The views expressed at the event were all noted and the main findings and suggestions will help to guide transport planning policy both in Inverleith and further afield. Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership convener Councillor Gavin Barrie thanked organisers and participants and said: “It was great to see so many people here at Broughton High School, with everyone contributing to an interesting and informative debate. I’ve no doubt that all of the councillors and officers here this evening are listening ans want to hear what you have to say, but we can only do that when you talk to us and you’ve done that tonight. We may not like everything we’ve heard, but this has been a very useful and worthwhile exercise for all of us – thank you for participating.”

Broughton High School students were heavily involved in all aspects of the event, and they did a superb job – from providing the music and technical support to presenting and live ‘tweeting’ – posting discussions as they happened around the tables out to the worldwide web, sharing Inverleith’s thoughts on transport with the whole of cyberspace!

And the Broughton students haven’t quite finished yet – the NEN’s been promised a report and pictures of the conference; we’ll share these with you as soon as we have them!

Community councillors needed

The decision to postpone community council elections this year is causing problems for some local community councils. Drylaw Telford and West Granton West Pilton Community Councils are just two who are looking to co-opt new blood to fill gaps until new community councils are formed at elections next year.

Alex Dale, chair of Drylaw Telford CC, said: “Our particular problem is that we only had one member who lives in the Telford area, and she no longer attends our monthly meetings. Telford has it’s own problems – inconsiderate parking is a big issue there – and it would be good if our community council had some ‘local knowledge’ of what’s going on there, from someone who actually lives in Telford. Our community council has some vacancies so we’re looking to co-opt a member from Telford to fill a gap that really needs to be filled before next year’s elections – Telford is not being adequately represented on our community council and we want to put that right as soon as we can”.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Drylaw Telford Community Council – the group meets on the last Wednesday of the month in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre – or you’d like to find out more, email chairman Alex Dale at alex.dale@blueyonder.co.uk

West Granton West Pilton Community Council has also found it difficult to retain active members, and they’re on the lookout for new volunteers too. A spokesperson said: “There was some initial enthusiasm when our community council was first established but interested waned very quickly and we’ve had problems almost ever since. We recently had leaflets printed and delivered across the area to encourage residents to get involved but the response has been disappointing. We’ll plod on, but we could really use enthusiastic new members – realistically, we’re not expecting a mad rush, though. Community councils have not caught the imagination here.”

If you’re interested in getting involved in West Pilton West Granton Community Council call West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on 551 3194 or the Prentice Centre on 552 0485, leave your details and the community council will contact you.

Edinburgh’s community council elections should have been taking place around now but the city council decided to delay the elections until October 2013.

What can be done to make community councils more relevant?

Do you attend your local community council meeting – are they just talking shops or do they get things done in your area?

Let us know!