Tag: engagement

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils meets online this Thursday

The Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC) will meet on Thursday 26 May, at 7pm on Zoom.

(See the Zoom link at the foot of this email.)

*** Agenda ***

1. Presentation by Charlie Raeburn on the ‘Observatory for Sport in Scotland’.

This is a community sports initiative — involving central and local government, as well as the private sector — aimed at tacking Scotland’s health and activity crisis. (See https://oss.scot.)

2. Best practice for community council treasurers? Solutions to banking problems for small organizations? Discussion led by Judy Wightman, EACC Treasurer and Chair of Ratho & District Community Council. 

3. Removal of litter bins from parks and greenspaces. Issue to be raised by Tim Parker, Trinity Community Council.

4. Any other business.

EACC meeting, 26 May 2022 19:00 

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8213251547?pwd=cVM5Y1pQZFUrZVV2cnIwUDV1MjF5QT09

SIMON HOLLEDGE

Secretary, Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC)

Simon.Holledge@gmail.com

@EdinCCs

Equality Network volunteers help shape housing service of the future

A GROUP of volunteers is being assembled to shape a leading housing provider’s future equality framework and policy.

Leading housing provider, Bield has committed to putting its tenants and community members at the forefront of decisions on equality, launching its bespoke ‘Equality Network’ group.

The network will be made up of tenants and Bield officers who will work together with the aim of increasing awareness and understanding of the needs of people with protected characteristics and while working to ensure the necessary services are provided to them.

This is one of many tenant-led initiatives at Bield as it focuses on achieving more participation and engagement amongst service users.

Head of Policy at Bield, Zhan McIntyre, who has been overseeing the launch said: “The need for an equality group was identified as part of the last tenant engagement strategy. We’ve since placed a greater focus on people with protected characteristics to ensure there is a safe space to voice needs and opinions.

“The network hopes to engage people to both discuss their needs and also identify what we could do differently to further develop the inclusive features that already exist.

“The volunteers who take part are absolutely essential as they will shape how our equality framework will look and work here out, so we’d love to hear from anyone interested in joining.”

Anyone who is currently a customer of Bield and is passionate about improving the services is welcome to join. Members are required to attend quarterly meetings but do not need any particular skill sets or knowledge.

The principal idea behind the network is to diversify the body of people at Bield who are in charge of influencing and implementing policy with a hope that a variety of cultures, backgrounds and experiences will lend itself to a more holistic and representative committee. 

To join contact: feedback@bield.co.uk or visit https://www.bield.co.uk/tenant-engagement-and-participation for more information.

Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ ethos is also promoted with this project through encouraging older people across its 180 developments to live independent, social lives by working with their peers and sharing their own ideas.

To find out more about Bield, visit https://www.bield.co.uk/housing-and-other-services or follow them on Facebook @bieldhousingandcare and Twitter @BieldScotland.

Community councillors to meet council candidates at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre

DRYLAW Telford Community Council will meet tomorrow (Wednesday 27th April) at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre..

With the council elections just a week away, the Community Council has invited Inverleith ward candidates along for an informal opportunity to meet CC members and find out what issues are important to them.

Unfortunately the meeting is not open to the public.

Secretary Pam Higgins explained: “Due to covid restrictions – room size specifically – we cannot accommodate an open meeting at present.

“This is a meeting for the candidates to meet their potential Community Council so that the transition is easier post elections. We hope that in the near future we can fully open up to the community again.”

The following ten candidates are standing in Inverleith:

  • Jule BANDEL – Scottish Green Party
  • Stuart HERRING – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
  • Phil HOLDEN – Scottish Family Party: Pro-Family, Pro-Marriage, Pro-Life
  • Tam LAIRD – Scottish Libertarian Party
  • Stephen MCNAMARA – Independent
  • Max MITCHELL – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
  • Mhairi MUNRO-BAIN – Labour and Co-operative Party
  • Vicky NICOLSON – Scottish National Party (SNP)
  • Hal OSLER – Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Malcolm Alexander WOOD – Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Four of them will be elected to represent Inverleith next Thursday.

Inverleith councillors elected last time (May 2017) were:

Gavin BARRIE – Scottish National Party (SNP)

Max MITCHELL – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Hal OSLER – Scottish Liberal Democrats

Iain WHYTE – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

Edinburgh Association of Community Councils: Spring Update

After the series of four winter meetings in November, December, January and February — when we approved a new constitution for EACC — we’ve taken a pause before our next ordinary meeting, provisionally scheduled for Thursday 26 May at 7pm on Zoom. 

Please let me know if you want to raise any particular issue at the May meeting. 

In the future, we may resume the special meetings that were a feature of EACC activities in 2020-1, when we covered public spaces management, carbon neutrality, and biodiversity. 

Possible future subjects are local democracy, best practice on making and analysing consultations, and practical approaches to energy efficiency and de-carbonization. We may also include the ‘held-over’ subject of guidance for community council treasurers.

The EACC Appeal (for funding – Ed.) was successful. As of now, we have received at least £700 from some 16 community councils. We hope this will enable us to to pay for a minutes secretary and establish a new website. We will also have a new bank account. 

The edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk domain is no longer functional — it always was problematic — so my email address is now Simon.Holledge@gmail.com.

SIMON HOLLEDGE

Secretary, Edinburgh Association of Community Councils (EACC)

Forth and Inverleith Voluntary Sector Forum meets today

Forth and Inverleith Voluntary Sector Forum will meet meet online today – Wednesday 30th March – at 1.30pm.

Draft notes from the last meeting are attached.

For meeting login details please contact EVOC Community Planning Development Worker Kate Barrett on 0131 555 9100 or email kate.barrett@evoc.org.uk

18.01.22-Forth-Inverleith-VSF-Draft-NotesDownload

Can You Dig It? Weekly gardening sessions at Lauriston Farm

Our weekly drop-in community gardening sessions, on Thursdays from 1 – 3pm, are open to everyone.

The community garden is inside the allotment, go through the gate from the back of Toby Carvery car park, past the containers, and its the gate on your right.

Last week we prepped beds, planted strawberries, beans and peas. More bed prep and making paths and areas for fruit bushes for this week.

Dress for the weather, wellies for the mud are best”

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