Tag: Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

HELP! Community Councils umbrella body funding appeal

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils appeals to members for financial support

The Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC) is making a one-time appeal for funds.

Like community councils, we need to pay for a website, video-conferencing and meeting facilities, and help with documenting meetings etc. 

Unlike community councils, we are not receiving financial support from either the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) or the Edinburgh Partnership, the higher level body to which both CEC and EACC belong.

Why is this? Community councils are statutory bodies and EACC is officially recognised by CEC as representing them in Edinburgh. Until a few years ago, EACC were getting a grant, similar to those given to individual community councils. This was authorised by Edinburgh Partnership, but paid by CEC from its community services budget. 

Paul Lawrence, CEC Director of Place, has told us that funding hasn’t been provided to EACC since 2017-8. Inevitably there are conflicting explanations of why. We asked Paula McLeay, CEC Head of Policy and Insight, if the grant could be reinstated, but the answer was no. 

EACC is unique among Edinburgh Partnership members in being totally voluntary and unfunded. This is unsustainable and we will continue to negotiate for the grant to be restored. 

In the meantime we have no money, so we are launching this appeal for funds from Edinburgh’s community councils. (As a guide we are hoping to raise about £500 to maintain basic services.)

If you are willing to support EACC, we would be very grateful if you could send us funds by bank transfer:

Account number              30120430
Sort code                         82 68 00
Account name                  Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

Or, by cheque, by post to:

Mrs J Wightman
17 Bonnington
Kirknewton
Midlothian
EH27 8BB

Simon Holledge, Secretary
Judy Wightman, Treasurer

EACC: Sharing Ideas About Biodiversity video conference

The next Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC) video conference will be on Thursday 23 September at 7pm on Zoom. 

It will be a special meeting devoted to: 

Sharing ideas about biodiversity: Copenhagen, Oslo and Edinburgh

Speakers:

Dr Max Coleman, of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Chair of the Edinburgh Biodiversity Partnership, on Why cities are important for nature

Lea Brinkkjær Estø, City of Copenhagen, on Nature in Copenhagen: improving biodiversity to benefit society

Outline: The Copenhagen municipality system, Physical improvement through biodiversity, Approach to nature/biodiversity through education, Using biodiversity and nature to support positive developments in areas of deprivation and unemployment.

Caroline Peacock, Biodiversity Officer, City of Edinburgh Council on Biodiversity in Edinburgh

Outline: A natural capital; citizens and partners working for biodiversity; naturalising City parks; creating natural networks for a climate ready city.

Dr Terje Laskemoen, Head of Department Nature and Pollution, Agency for Urban Environment, City of Oslo, on Biological diversity in the city of Oslo – measures and management

Outline: The city of Oslo, with its geographical location, houses the largest biological diversity in Norway. Many of the most important biological qualities are found in the built-up zone and on the islands just outside the city centre. In the presentation, some of the most important measures to safeguard biodiversity in Oslo will be shown.

The Eventbrite page for 23 September is now open for ticket registration:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sharing-ideas-about-biodiversity-copenhagen-oslo-and-edinburgh-tickets-173688656447

This meeting is open to the public, but priority will be given to questions from community councillors. The meeting will be recorded and may be published later. Please note that by joining the meeting you are giving your consent for the meeting to be recorded.

Simon Holledge

EACC Secretary

Community Planning: Edinburgh Association of Community Councils meets tonight

The Edinburgh Asociation of Community Councils (EACC) meets online tonight at 7pm.

Up for discussion is the Edinburgh Partnership’s draft Community Council Reform Implementation Plan (below)

In an email to community councils before the meeting EACC Chair Stve Kerr said: “I attach a draft implementation table which includes issues that have been covered in the initial discussion between the EACC Steering Group and senior City of Edinburgh Council officers. 

“The list is not exhaustive, and I would welcome your thoughts on whether the areas covered are appropriate and additional issues that you wish to see addressed.

“I hope that as many of you as possible can participate in the discussion to ensure that the views of all 44-member Community Councils are represented.”

EP-Community-Council-Reform-Plan-09.09.21Download

***Agenda for 9 September***

1. Steve Kerr, Chair of EACC, will give an update on the Edinburgh Partnership Improvement Plan’s Community Council Reform Programme.

2. Daisy Narayanan, Senior Manager, Place Making and Mobility for the City of Edinburgh Council, will introduce her new job, with a remit that includes ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’, City Centre Transformation, City Mobility Plan, and the Low Emission Zone (LEZ).

3. An LEZ team member will introduce the project and the current consultation which lasts until 20 September (to be confirmed).

4. Discussion about the National Care Service.

5. Any other business.

This meeting is open to the public, but priority will be given to questions from community councillors. The meeting will be recorded.

Please note that by joining the meeting you are giving your consent for the meeting to be recorded.

Community councils to set agenda for September EACC meeting

The next ordinary meeting of Edinburgh Association of Community Councils will be on 9th September.

What would you like to discuss? What issues do you want to raise?

Community councillors, send us a DM, or an email to the Secretary at Secretary@EdinburghCommunityCouncils.org.uk.

We’d like to hear from you!

Remember there’s free training available for community councillors too:

Free courses for community councillors from the Improvement Service and The Open University in Scotland are available in digital skills, business skills, finance and fundraising, and community and society.

Sign up online and complete them in your own time:

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/skills-supportOU-CC

EACC Special Meeting: Carbon Neutrality Edinburgh 2030

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils
The next EACC video conference will be on 22 April, at 7pm, on Zoom. 

 It will be a special meeting devoted to:  Carbon neutrality Edinburgh 2030: what it means and how we get there!  

Speakers: 

Dr Sam Gardner, Chair Edinburgh Climate Commission and Head of Climate Change & Sustainability at Scottish Power, on Turning climate ambition to action 

Øystein Leonardsen, Senior Advisor to the City of Copenhagen, Lecturer at Roskilde University. Manager of Copenhagen’s Green and Just Transition Program, on Copenhagen carbon neutrality 2025 

Paula McLeay, Policy and Insight Senior Manager, City of Edinburgh Council, on Edinburgh: a net zero city by 2030 

Professor Sandy Halliday, Director of the Gaia Group, Chartered Engineer and author of Sustainable Construction (2018), on Carbon neutrality for the built environment 

Special guest: Karine Hertzberg, Special Adviser on International Climate Cooperation, Department for Environment and Transport, City of Oslo  

This meeting is open to the public, but priority will be given to questions from community councillors. The meeting will be recorded and may be published later.

Please note that by joining the meeting you are giving your consent for the meeting to be recorded. 

The Eventbrite meeting page for 22 April is now open for registration:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/carbon-neutrality-edinburgh-2030-tickets-150301667333 

Simon Holledge

Secretary, Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC)

Simon.Holledge@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

EACC event to discuss capital’s public spaces

The Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC) will be holding a special meeting entitled Events in the New Green Edinburgh — the Public Spaces Management Plan (PSMP) Exercise, this Thursday 10 December at 7pm by Zoom.

Registration is by Eventbrite at:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/events-in-the-new-green-edinburgh-public-spaces-management-plan-psmp-tickets-130883386733

The City of Edinburgh has just launched an extensive stakeholder consultation about “how Edinburgh manages its public outside space for events, filming and festivals . . based around key principles/guidelines that will apply across the whole of Edinburgh.”

Leading our discussion on the Public Spaces Management Plan will be: 

Cliff Hague, Emeritus Professor of Planning and Spatial Development at Heriot-Watt University, Chair of the Cockburn Association: Pitfalls and potholes: managing Edinburgh’s public spaces 

Mariana Trusson, former Chair of the Edinburgh Sustainable Development Partnership (ESDP): Environmental protection, carbon neutrality and sustainability: events and festivals in public spaces 

This will be followed by a contribution by a leading City of Edinburgh councillor or official.

Jim Scanlon (Leith Links Community Council) and another community councillor will talk about local issues with the PSMP.

This meeting is open to the public, but priority will be given to questions from community councillors. 

The meeting will be recorded and may be published later. Please note that by joining the meeting you are giving your consent for the meeting to be recorded.

Simon Holledge
_________________________________________
Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC)
EACC Secretary
Simon.Holledge@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

Have your say on short term lets

Short-term Lets Workshop tomorrow


The Scottish Government are holding a workshop with urban residents tomorrow (Thursday 1 October) from 4.30pm – 6.00pm, on the subject of short-term lets.
 
This is in connection with the detailed proposals published on 14 September, see: https://consult.gov.scot/housing-services-policy-unit/short-term-lets-licensing-scheme/
 
The Scottish Government are hosting the event using Webex, and still have a small number of spaces available.

They appreciate this is short notice, but if anybody in the community council network wishes to attend, they’d be grateful if you could respond to: shorttermlets@gov.scot and joining details will be sent to them.

For those unable to join, they are inviting written submissions to the consultation until 16 October.
 
Simon Holledge

Secretary, Edinburgh Assocation of Community Councils

EACC meeting cancelled

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils will now meet in October

We are sorry to notify CC members that we have decided to cancel the next meeting due to be held on Thursday 24th September 2020.

Unfortunately, due to holidays and other issues, we have not been able to tie up with speakers nor obtain sufficient information on current issues to make a meeting worthwhile for those representatives who normally attend. 

We are planning to hold a virtual meeting on Thursday 22nd October 2020 with a full agenda of items raised by representatives. It would still be helpful if issues of concern raised at CC meetings were notified to the Secretary in order that we can circulate relevant information to attendees.

We still proposed to hold an AGM on Thursday 19th November 2020.

We apologise for the late cancellation of next Thursday’s meeting.      

Kind regards

John Tibbitt

Chair, Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

chair@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk

Edinburgh’s community council umbrella body AGM this week

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

This is a reminder that the 2019 Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday 21st November 2019 at 7 pm in the European Room, City Chambers.

The full papers and reports from Chair and Secretary are attached HERE. Continue reading Edinburgh’s community council umbrella body AGM this week