Seconds out, round two: Battle lines drawn in leafy Cramond
The two opposing sides in a planning dispute are slugging it out in a social media battle for community support – and the bruising encounter’s taking place in genteel Cramond. Continue reading Cramond Action Group issues last ditch appeal
PlayTalkRead, the Scottish Government’s early years campaign, has reached a record number of new families in 2015, the Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell has revealed. Continue reading Terrific year for PlayTalkRead
Dear Editor
There are many schemes, plans and ideas on how, why and what development should take place in Edinburgh, particularly North Edinburgh; some are official, others from private investors.
Although these us some attempt at public consultation it is mostly: ‘do you wish to suggest amendments to the plan?’ There is little intention to start, as it should, to find out the needs and concerns of the people first.
Official boards are on display in many places advertising areas of land set aside for business or other ‘strategic’ development. One does not see official boards setting aside areas of land for the community to use for leisure and pleasure!
If the rate of development continues as outlined in official plans and schemes there will be little open space left in which to relax and take pleasure in visiting. New plan will follow new plan; a developers’ paradise – Edinburgh must not become a city of buildings and traffic congestion.
A. Delahoy
A public consultation into how the future of Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland should be shaped closes tomorrow.
Anyone interested in commenting on the Main Issues Report, which will be used to develop plans to accommodate the area’s future growth, have until the consultation ends on 30 September.
Feedback received will help identify people’s key issues and priorities and will be used to form a strategic development plan for the area. This will inform the Local Development Plan for each local authority area in the region, focusing on long-term strategic level planning matters such as housing, economic growth, green networks and infrastructure.
Councillor Ian Perry, Chair of the SESplan Committee, said: “The South East of Scotland faces serious challenges as a result of population increases and projected future growth. It is vital that we plan now to make sure we have adequate housing and infrastructure, while protecting the environment.
“This means that we have to think creatively and innovatively to find solutions that will help ensure the continued success and growth of the area.
“The response we have received from local residents so far has been very encouraging but there is still plenty of time to have their views heard. Their comments will help us to make decisions that play a vital role in shaping the future of the region.”
Comment on the consultation through the SESplan website.
A steady stream of interested local residents called in to Granton Youth Centre to see the latest plans for Granton Marina earlier this month.
The latest plan is to create a ‘unique coastal community’, featuring:
Views on the day were divided. Some welcome the idea of long-overdue investment in an area with undoubted potential, while others have major concerns over the traffic implications.
One Lower Granton Road resident said: “We’ve seen plans like this before and they’ve come to nothing so I won’t be holding my breath. Personally I don’t think many local residents would have too much difficulty with what’s being proposed but for one major drawback – traffic.
“First the heavy lorries when the site is being constructed, then the sheer volume of traffic a development of this nature could bring is a real worry. We could see thousands of additional cars – visitors and residents – on local roads.
“Roads and traffic have been a problem down here for years and can’t cope with the volume of traffic as it is – these proposals would make it a hell of a lot worse. Planners will have to consider ways of resolving that, because if they don’t this development is a non-starter.”
Developers will examine comments made on the day and produce a report before moving on to the next stage of the planning process. There’s clearly a lot more talking to be done.
Regeneration’s back on the agenda as conference hears of ‘growing optimism’
It was one of Europe’s most ambitious regeneration programmes – an opportunity to clean up a massive brownfield site, create new communities and link Edinburgh’s city centre with the sea. Hotels, new homes, schools and small businesses were to be built on the old industrial waterfront, all served by a modern, efficient tram network. There was even talk of a floating island – but then came the recession …
That was six years ago, but the economy is recovering at last and there’s growing optimism that Edinburgh’s waterfront can now fulfil it’s undoubted potential.
Forth Neighbourhood Partnership and local community councils organised a community conference at Edinburgh College on Granton’s waterfront last weekend to inform local residents about what’s happening now and what plans are in place to regenerate the waterfront area. Around sixty delegates attended the ‘Buiding New Futures’ event and heard speakers outline plans that could see North Edinburgh transformed over the coming years.
It’s well known that Edinburgh has a severe housing shortage, and with growing pressure on Edinburgh’s cherished green belt the opportunity to build new homes on brownfield sites must be seized. Speakers from National Grid and the city council outlined plans to build thousands of new homes along the waterfront, and highlighted prospects of local employment opportunities as the regeneration gathers momentum.
A major house building initiative is already well underway in the area: as part of the 21st Century Homes programme, the Council is about to let their first new homes in a generation. Work is also underway on the former Craigroyston High School site which will form the first phase of plans to build over 700 new homes for sale and rent over the next eight to ten years in Pennywell and Muirhouse.
People living in these new homes will need services, of course, and health provision in the area is already under strain. NHS Lothian Partnership Development Manager Steven Whitton outlined the latest plans for a major new health facility, the North West Edinburgh Partnership Centre – that’s only a working title, mind, there’s got to be a catchier name than that!
The £12m Centre in Pennywell (above) will focus on child health and family support services and will house a new GP surgery, community nursing and midwifery services, dentistry, podiatry, physiotherapy and child health services. The centre will also provide facilities for social work and some voluntary sector organisations and is expected to open in September 2016.
Given the sheer scale of the regeneration project – the many different elements of the area’s development and the number of partner organisations involved – it was impossible to cover all aspects in minute detail, but the conference provided a timely update to local residents and Forth Neighbourhood Partnership plans to work with the local community councils to ensure that neighbourhoods are kept informed and involved as work progresses.
Forth Neighbourhood Partnership’s chairperson Councillor Cammy Day (pictured above) said: “I was pleased to see a great turnout at the event, and the diverse groups of people who are keen to take part in shaping their new and existing neighbourhoods.
“The conference provided a fantastic opportunity for the community to get to know more about regeneration taking place and to meet with key landowners and developers. This is not just about much-needed affordable homes, but the creation of jobs and training opportunities, leisure facilities and attracting investment into this area.
“This event isn’t a one-off either, I will be establishing a local development group where the community, council, developers and landowners in Granton Waterfront can get around the table, discuss plans at an early stage to shape and influence proposals, where possible, to meet our needs. It was a great start to what I hope will be a long-term partnership between the community and all those involved in regenerating this part of North Edinburgh.”
West Pilton & West Granton community councillor Willie Black, who was involved in organising the event, said: “The conference gave the community the opportunity to hear all the major players outline their plans for the regeneration of the waterfront and beyond – and to have their say. Everyone who was there though it was useful, but where now? A new regeneration forum group is to be set up and over the next few weeks community organisations will be invited to join and help build on the conference.”
Granton Improvement Society’s Barbara Robertson said: “Our stall attracted a lot of interest, particularly in the proposed Garden Festival and artisans’ village, and we’re pleased Cammy supports our project and wants to see it included in the area’s regeneration. The success of the conference showed the enthusiasm of the community to be involved in planning the regeneration of their area and paved the way for a new forum for the community to have their say.”
Some cynics will say ‘we’ve heard it all before’, but what about the next generation? Members of North Edinburgh’s Young People’s Forum attended the event and their feedback was very positive. Among their comments: ‘Feels like most of us if not all of us now know more about what is happening in the area’, ‘it’d be great to have more events like this to feed back on plans and what has been done’ and ‘feel more involved in what is happening and with what is going on in the area’. One suggested: ‘it would be good to say what has been done in relation to what the community has asked for – like a ‘you said – we did’ kind of thing’. Oh, and not so many big words next time please!
Building New Futures? Maybe this time …
Trinity Community Council has commented on Edinburgh’s latest Local Development Plan:
The City of Edinburgh Council’s latest Local Development Plan shows more than 17,000 new houses to be built on either side of the Trinity area. Trinity comprises about 4,000 houses currently so that is a very significant increase in nearby housing stock. There will also be two new Primary Schools, additional shopping at Granton and Leith and major industrial development at Leith docks.
Despite this, the plan contains no corresponding transport proposals. Will Trinity be the jam in the sandwich between developments at Leith and Granton? The previous plan depended on the tram to Newhaven taking the strain but the scrapping of that extension has not been replaced by any alternative.
Unless the plan recognises the need, transport will only be reviewed piecemeal as developments are built – with all that implies for impatient motorists taking shortcuts through residential areas.
There is also concern about possible impact on parking – already causing a number of problems and made worse by apparent lack of enforcement. One suggestion is to introduce Priority Parking but this would cost residents for their permit. More info at
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20083/parking_permits/451/priority_parking
We will push for a review of roads, transport (including bus services) and parking in north Edinburgh as part of the Plan rather than as an afterthought.
Trinity Community Council
NOTE:
Comments on Edinburgh’s Local Development Plan must be received by this Friday – 3 October
It’s now less than a week away, but there’s still time to book your place at Building New Futures, Forth’s regeneration conference:
If you live, visit or work in the north of the city, you may be aware of regeneration activity underway. Here in the Forth Neighbourhood, a number of projects have started or are under development. The Forth Neighbourhood Partnership and local Community Councils feel that this is a good time to bring together as many of those involved with managing or developing local regeneration to engage with the wider Forth community.
The Forth Regeneration event will take place on Saturday 27 September in Edinburgh College – Granton Campus from 10am – 2pm.
The event has been designed to be interactive and allow people the opportunity to fully understand and influence, where possible, current regeneration activity and future proposals. Information and discussion groups will take place around:
· New homes and improved public space in Pennywell/Muirhouse and health facilities;
· Proposals for Granton Waterfront;
· Wider investment across Forth, identifying challenges and opportunities.
An overview of the Second Proposed Local Development Plan will help set the scene before we head into discussion groups around the above three key areas.
A light lunch is available. Please let us know if you require any childcare arrangements.
Use the link below to book a place. If you have already booked, there is no need to re-book – please forward to anyone you think may be interested in attending.
Scott Donkin | Partnership & Information Manager | North Neighbourhood | Services for Communities | The City of Edinburgh Council | 8 West Pilton Gardens EH4 4DP | Tel 0131 529 5001 |scott.donkin@edinburgh.gov.uk
An opportunity to find out more and have your say on the area’s regeneration …
If you live, visit or work in the north of the city, you may be aware of regeneration activity underway. Here in the Forth Neighbourhood, a number of projects have started or are under development. The Forth Neighbourhood Partnership and local Community Councils feel that this is a good time to bring together as many of those involved with managing or developing local regeneration to engage with the wider Forth community.
The Forth Regeneration event will take place on Saturday 27 September in Edinburgh College – Granton Campus from 10:00 – 14:00.
The event has been designed to be interactive and allow people the opportunity to fully understand and influence, where possible, current regeneration activity and future proposals. Information and discussion groups will take place around:
· New homes, improved public space and health facilities in Pennywell/Muirhouse
· Proposals for Granton Waterfront
· Wider investment across Forth, identifying challenges and opportunities.
An overview of the Second Proposed Local Development Plan will help set the scene before we head into discussion groups around the above three key areas.
A light lunch is available. Please let us know if you require any childcare arrangements.
To book a place, please use the link below. If you have already booked, there is no need to re-book.
Scott Donkin
Partnership & Information Manager | North Neighbourhood
NHS Lothian’s plans to develop the Royal Victoria Hospital site off Craigleith Road have been submitted, and members of the public can see what is being proposed at a session in Comely Bank early next month.
NHS Lothian plans to develop the site to provide a range of accommodation – both residential and non-residential – to meet the health and social care needs of older people, but also to market the remainder of the site as a ‘residential development opportunity’.
The public consultation session will be held at St Ninian’s Church, Comely Bank from midday – 8pm on Thursday 4 September.
PAN_Royal_Victoria_Hospital_Site
