WPWGCC AGM!
Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee, is guest speaker at West Pilton West Granton Community Council’s annual general meeting next month.
Her theme, appropriately enough, is ‘The Changing Role of Community Councils’.
The meeting will take place in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on Tuesday 2 June at 7pm. All welcome.
For further information contact W Black (Secretary) on 07515686421, email w.black@blueyonder.co.uk
Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s small community grants fund is available again this year to support small, one-off projects. Proposed projects should show how they help progress one of our four key priorities and any group that is constituted and has a bank account can apply.
We have £26301 to allocated this year and welcome applications now for our meeting on 25 May. Other applications can be assessed and decided at future meetings.
Please click here for guidance and application form.
There IS such a thing as a free lunch!
MUIRHOUSE CENTIPEDE PROJECT
Open Lunch Meeting
Tuesday 28 April, 12 noon
North Edinburgh Arts
An informal (free!) lunch to chat about your ideas about how we can make use of the brownfield sites until the houses are built on them. We would love to see you there! Open to all.
Do you remember the wishing tree in 2014?
We asked local residents to tell us what they want to see happen in the area. Now with the endorsement of the City of Edinburgh Council, we are helping to make some of the wishes come true!
This is the start of a wide range of community activity across the brown field sites in Muirhouse. In partnership with the council, we are looking for ideas for temporary activities that brighten up the community until the houses get built.
Community Gardens are a great way to:
Improve health and wellbeing
Grow your own food
Meet new people
Socialise with friends
Learn new skills
Have fun and relax
And now you have the chance to create your own community garden with Centipede Project, then as part of the development of the empty sites by the City of Edinburgh Council. This includes the land near Pennywell Gardens and Muirhouse Avenue until the new houses get built.
How can you be involved?
Attend our free open lunch to share your ideas!
Tuesday 28 April
North Edinburgh Arts
12noon
Get in touch if you’re interested in being involved:
Email: centipedeproject@outlook.com
Telephone: 0131 315 2151 (ask for Joanne)
In Person: We are based in North Edinburgh Arts
Download our leaflets with all upcoming events here and here.
Councillor Gavin Barrie, Convenor of the Licensing Regulatory Committee would like to extend an invitation to a meeting on Wednesday, 29 April 2015 from 6pm – 7.30pm in the European Room at City Chambers.
There have been many queries from organisers so this evening should provide lots of useful information for those of you who are thinking of organising a Community Event or Gala Day.
Councillor Maureen Child will join us to sit on the panel for the Question & Answer session along with Catherine Scanlin, Licensing Manager and Gordon Hunter, Licensing Policy & Project Officer.
Agenda:
6pm Coffee
6.15pm Introduction from Councillor Barrie
6.25pm Presentation from the Licensing Service
6.45pm Questions and Answer Session
7.15pm Closing remarks
Could you please confirm your attendance by emailing isla.burton@edinburgh.gov.uk
Please let us know if you require any assistance to attend or take part e.g. large print, disabled access requirements, travel arrangements, hearing loop, etc. We look forward to meeting you all!
It’s all happening on our local cycle paths on Sunday
Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust is running an event on the cycle paths in North Edinburgh this coming Sunday (writes ELGT’s Mark Sydenham).
Over the past few months we have been working at Fiveways Junction on some landscaping improvements to make Fiveways a landmark on the cycle paths.
Volunteers from Pilton Equalities Project and MYDG have been hard at work carrying out some woodland management and undergrowth clearance in the surrounding woodlands, opening the area up and cutting back overhanging ivy and branches to make the paths brighter and safer.
Royston Wardieburn Community Centre have been working on a six week project on the cycle paths with one of their groups, which has included learning about the paths and their history, and planting some fruit bushes.
This coming Sunday, we are inviting everyone to come along and take part. We have fruit and other bushes to plant, as well as other activities. We will have prizes and goodies to give away too!.
To win one of the prizes, we have a little quiz/treasure hunt – to get the questions, turn up to either the Crewe Toll bridge (over Ferry Road) or King George V Park (Canonmills) between 1pm and 1.30pm and then search out the answers on your way to Fiveways (make sure you get there by 1.30!).
Or just come along to Fiveways and join in the activities between 1pm and 4pm.
There is more information here:
http://www.innertubemap.com/2015/04/26-april-fiveways-junction-makeover-day/
and we will be putting more things up on our Facebook page too
(https://www.facebook.com/pages/Edinburgh-Lothians-Greenspace-Trust/192106231309?ref=hl)
We hope to see some of you on Sunday!
Mark Sydenham, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Telephone 445 4025
Government beefs up Community Empowerment Bill to encourage community participation in decision-making
More community involvement in the decisions of public bodies will strengthen democracy, according to Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi .
A change to the Community Empowerment Bill, agreed by the Local Government and Regeneration Committee last week, encourages public bodies to promote and facilitate participation with people and communities in decision making and budget setting.
The move follows huge participation in last year’s independence referendum.
Ministers will also have powers to require public bodies to engage if they fail to do so.
Speaking at the Community Development Alliance Scotland conference in Glasgow earlier this week, Mr Biagi said: “Involving people and communities in decision-making unquestionably makes for better decisions.
“As the referendum demonstrated, people will get involved when they understand the issues at stake and know that they can make a difference. It’s my job to ensure that enthusiasm continues and make it clear that people know their voice matters.
“Participation is about more than consulting, it is about empowering communities to shape decisions and have a say on how ideas are delivered.
“18 Scottish councils have taken up the Government’s offer of training and support for participatory budgeting projects, giving communities the chance to have their say on local budgets. That helps build community capacity while ensuring the public sector understands local needs and priorities and can target budgets more effectively to improve services.
“More participation brings fresh perspectives, strengthens democracy and will help build a fairer Scotland.”
Fiona Garven, Chair of Community Development Alliance Scotland said: “CDAS welcomes the changes to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill which will pave the way for communities to be involved in meaningful decisions about how public money is spent.
“We are encouraged that the legislation will also require processes to be put in place to support communities and community organisations to engage with public bodies to raise awareness of local issues and to contribute to more effective shaping and delivery of local services.
“Such support will be important to encourage the involvement of a diverse range of communities in local democratic processes and achieve a rebalance of power across all sections of Scottish society.”
The Community Chat Cafe invites you to share food, language and culture. Join us for our free, friendly, sociable lunches and practice your English – all welcome!
Wednesday 25 February
Wednesday 11 March
Wednesday 25 March
12.30 – 2pm at Pilton Community Health Project, Boswall Parkway
A creche is available but must be booked by calling Rachel: on 07891 525663 or Julie on 07958 540 438.
Community Chat Cafe is organised by the Living in Harmony Group and North Edinburgh Timebank
From the board at Tenants and Residents In Muirhouse please find attached our Minutes for Meeting on 10 February 2015 (below).
Tenants & Residents In Muirhouse (TRIM)
Website – http://muirhouseresidents.co.
Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/
Also on Twitter – http://twitter.com/
Trinity Community Council meets tonight at St Serf’s Church at 7pm. The main item for discussion is local parking.
Local residents are invited to come along and have their say tonight
visit trinitycommunitycouncil.wordpress.com for more information
FACENorth is working for the community … in all weathers!
Over the last three months FACENorth (Focussing on Alternatives to Crime Edinburgh North), in partnership with POP (Preventative Opportunities Programme) have been working with a core group of eight to ten young people running a series of work parties at Towford Outdoor Centre, the bothy owned and managed by Muirhouse Youth Development Group and MYAdventure. As well as working at Towford the group has painted the café in PYCP and bag-packed at Sainsbury’s in Craigleith to raise money for MYDG.
This group of young people has been helping get Towford ready for use by the wider community whilst gaining real work experience, working as part of a team, following instructions, preparing and cooking their own meals, preparing a dinner table, washing up after themselves, showing respect for themselves, their environment and for others, planning and implementing ideas, conservation training, learning about their own and a new environment and most importantly putting something back into their own Community.
When we started, there was no heating or hot water in the bothy, few lights downstairs and very basic cooking facilities, so with some nights dropping to below freezing the warmth of sleeping bags at night with a meal and hot drink were very welcome!
So far the group has removed an unsafe, old mouldy shed which had stood unused for a number of years and turned the space left into to a temporary car parking space. They have also planted trees, removed old wood from around the site, cleared work areas, helped to create a temporary road surface at the entrance to the Centre, dug out trenches to create a drainage system to stop the access road from flooding, removed root systems around the trenches and carried out general labouring work.
With the Centre being surrounded by over 17 acres of ground including hills, forest and a large pond, the group intends to return to dig more trenches and create a proper road drainage system using underground pipes etc., create a new access road to the centre with an asphalt/concrete surface, clear an old deforested area to help create a football pitch/camp area, assist in the planning and creation of a bike and walking track, clear and drain the pond area and re-route part of a river to run through the pond to allow this to be used for fishing, canoeing and wildlife area!
Once plans are finalised for the remembrance area for Mikaeel Kular the group is keen to contribute to getting this ready so that whole community of North Edinburgh has somewhere to spend some quiet reflection time.
At Pilton Youth and Children’s Project the group has painted the café area (above), creating a brighter more user friendly area for centre users to enjoy and the group will shortly be taking part in a conservation project based on the local cycle paths.
