KEEP Scotland Beautiful’s #UpstreamBattle week of action is taking place from 20- 28 January, and we’ll be hosting events across the week focused on stopping litter’s journey from #Source2Sea.
Find out more about how you can get involved and what is happening near you here:
https://keepscotlandbeautiful.org/upstream-battle/raising-awareness/upstream-battle-week-of-action/
Environmental consciousness has firmly taken its place in students’ minds when making decisions about the university they wish to attend, according to latest research from corporate finance advisor, Centrus.
With 89% of 17–18-year-olds in Scotland actively planning to pursue higher education, universities are increasingly under pressure to align with their expectations, that are placing a growing emphasis on sustainability and climate responsibility.
47% of prospective university students in Scotland regard a university’s impact on the climate as an important factor in their selection decision making, with one-in-five (19%) categorising it as ‘very important’.
52% of survey respondents said a university’s energy efficiency and its use of renewable energy sources was important to them when choosing, whilst 52% said how involved the institution is in the local community weighed in on their decision-making.
Educational factors of a university remain steady in prospective students’ selection process, with the appeal of the course having the highest impact on choosing which one to attend (88%). This is closely followed by the teaching style (84%), and where the university is located (84%).
What is noteworthy however, is that a university’s environmental footprint is now considered almost as important as traditional metrics like the diversity of societies (52%), the university’s size (44%), or how old it is (33%).
Beyond the initial selection phase, students’ expectations extend to the ‘green’ credentials of their chosen university. A resounding 75% expect their university to actively engage in protecting the local environment and eco-system.
In addition, 70% expect university accommodation to use green energy, and 70% also expect all university buildings to be energy efficient. Half of respondents also confirmed that they do not want their university to invest in fossil fuels.
George Roffey, Chief Sustainability Officer of corporate finance advisor Centrus said: “There is a clear mindset among prospective university students about the importance of environmental issues and how green a university’s credentials are.
“These institutions are facing mounting pressure to meet the expectations of students, alongside other tangible social and environmental impacts. It is abundantly clear that sustainability and climate responsibility are becoming pivotal factors in the university selection process.
“For universities, this calls for a shift in some fundamental aspects of their identity. Climate change is not going away, and it must remain a core mission for higher education institutions to integrate renewable energy sources and environmental activism into their operations.
“In doing so, they will not only instil a competitive edge in attracting prospective students, but will also play a pivotal role in fostering a sustainable and responsible future, that aligns with the evolving curriculum content and the values of our new generation of students.”
• Company will begin construction of its third Scottish onshore wind farm in 12 months as Strathy Wood prepares for build out
• RWE is developing an ambitious onshore pipeline of 22 projects in Scotland and Wales as a key partner in the delivery of the energy transition
• A combined 168 megawatts of onshore wind projects, successful in the 2023 Contracts for Difference auctions, are already progressing
Scotland is at the heart of a drive by the UK’s leading power generator RWE to grow its onshore wind portfolio, with three major new projects already under construction.
The 63 megawatts (MW) Strathy Wood project in Caithness, Scotland, will become the latest to begin full construction, with pre-construction work now underway.
The start of work follows the company’s Capital Markets Day commitment to continue the pace of its UK ambition and investment, pledging to invest €8 billion into new clean energy infrastructure including in Scotland, from 2024 to 2030.
Victoria Allen, Head of Onshore Renewables Development Scotland, said: “RWE is entering 2024 strong, with our ambition in Scotland ever growing, and we are delighted to have reached significant construction milestones for Enoch Hill, Camster II and now Strathy Wood.
“Onshore wind has an important role to play in helping deliver the UK and Scottish governments’ net zero emission targets in the coming years and remains the lowest cost form of renewable electricity generation.”
Construction is already underway at Enoch Hill onshore wind project, located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The project is expected to be operational by 2025, when it will be capable of generating enough electricity for around 67,000* typical UK homes.
At 69 MW, Enoch Hill will be RWE’s largest onshore wind farm to be built in Scotland and will use 15 Nordex wind turbines, with an overall maximum tip height of 149.9m.
Camster II, a 10 turbine site, is also in construction in Caithness and sits alongside RWE’s existing operational onshore wind site, Camster. The current construction project is due to be completed in 2025 and, once fully operational, will be capable of producing up to 36 MW of renewable electricity, enough to power around 35,000* typical UK homes.
Engineering contractor Farrans is leading construction for Enoch Hill and Camster II onshore wind projects, and has worked successfully on several other RWE renewable projects across Scotland.
Strathy Wood, a 63 MW plant located in Caithness, and located near existing onshore wind farm Strathy North will begin full onsite construction later this year. The project will have 11 turbines generating enough electricity to power 68,000 homes and will be completed by 2025.
RWE has a successful history of delivering onshore wind in the UK. It already operates a portfolio of 33 onshore wind sites with a combined installed capacity of 802 MW, and now has a further 168 megawatts MW currently under construction in Scotland.
In addition, the company has a strong onshore wind development pipeline of 22 projects across Scotland and Wales, 16 will be located in Scotland, and capable of generating a significant 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electricity.
At its operating onshore wind farms, RWE is committed to supporting its neighbouring communities through flexible community benefits packages.
The three onshore wind projects which have now entered construction will leverage an investment equal to around a total of £25 million into Scottish communities, based on a 30 year operational lifetime of the projects.
This provides those communities with an opportunity to plan and develop a more sustainable future and achieve some of their bigger and more ambitious ideas.
More broadly and over their entire lifetime, the renewables projects that RWE currently operates in Scotland will contribute an additional total of more than £17 million to Scottish community benefit funds.
UK consumption is unsustainable, with the nation’s appetite for commodities including soy, cocoa, palm oil, beef and leather putting enormous pressure on forests, Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) warns today.
Forests host 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people and provide vital ecosystem services to support local and global economies. Deforestation threatens irreplaceable biodiverse habitats and contributes 11% of global carbon emissions.
The intensity of UK consumption on the world’s forests – its footprint per tonne of product consumed – is higher than that of China.
The EAC is calling on Ministers to develop a Global Footprint Indicator to demonstrate this impact to the public, and a target to reduce the UK’s impact on global deforestation. Such a measure will only be meaningful if sufficient monitoring and reporting is embedded for forest risks – including mining – so EAC recommends that the Government work with international partners to improve oversight in the UK and globally.
Through legislative provision in the Environment Act, the Government has committed to establishing a regime to require forest-based commodities to be certified as ‘sustainable’ if they are to be sold into UK markets. At COP28 the Government announced that the first four of these commodities are to be cattle products (other than dairy), cocoa, palm oil and soy, which the EAC was pleased to see.
While the Government’s intention to tackle sustainability concerns of products is welcome, EAC is concerned over the seeming lack of urgency about the implementation of this regime, given global commitments to halt and reverse current deforestation trends by 2030.
For instance, no timeline has been offered as to when this important legislation will be introduced, and its phased approach of incorporating products gradually into the regime does not reflect the necessity of tackling deforestation urgently.
The Government should also bring other forest-risk commodities, such as maize, rubber and coffee, into the certification regime as soon as possible to be ‘sustainable’.
The Committee recommends that the Government strengthens the existing legislative framework so as to prohibit financial sector businesses from trading or using commodities linked to deforestation.
At global COP summits, the UK has been instrumental in delivering ambitious agreements to address global deforestation. However, despite this, the world does not appear to be on track to halt deforestation by 2030: a key commitment made during COP26 and at the Kunming-Montreal COP15 summit in December 2022.
The Government has announced large sums for programmes on climate and nature, amounting most recently to £11.6 billion with £1.5 billion earmarked for deforestation.
However, the Committee has heard concerns that there is a lack of transparency over how this investment will be spent. The Committee is therefore calling for clarity from Ministers as to how the money will be used to support activities to halt and reverse deforestation.
The Committee was alarmed to hear from Global Witness that one person is killed every other day defending land and the environment. Indigenous peoples are protectors of the world’s forests and can possess detailed knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem trends. It is therefore critical that they are facilitated to participate fully in negotiations to address deforestation activity.
To fulfil its commitment to put environmental sustainability measures at the heart of global production and trade, the Government must ensure that biodiversity considerations are more consistently applied into its trade agreements and operations.
EAC therefore repeats its earlier calls for sustainability impact assessments to be conducted for all future trade agreements. Ministers must also develop strategies to monitor effectively and deliver environmental net gains in the UK’s international activity, including gains through halting and reversing deforestation.
Environmental Audit Committee Chair, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: “UK consumption is having an unsustainable impact on the planet at the current rate. UK markets must not be flooded with products that threaten the world’s forests, the people whose livelihoods rely on them and the precious ecosystems that call them home.
“Yet despite the recent commitment before and at COP28 to invest more in reforestation measures and The Amazon Fund to help halt the speed of global deforestation, the UK needs to take tangible steps to turn the dial at home.
“The Government’s ambition and stated commitment at COP26 to halt deforestation by 2030 was very welcome: but it is not on track now. Its legislation for a regime to require certain products to be certified as ‘sustainable’ before they can be sold in UK markets was welcome: but the implementing legislation has still not come forward. There is little sense of urgency about getting a rapid grip on the problem of deforestation, which needs to match the rhetoric.
“Countries all around the world contribute to deforestation, and the international community of course needs to do much more to tackle deforestation. Yet on some measures the intensity of UK consumption of forest-risk commodities is higher than that of China: this should serve as a wake-up call to the Government.
“To demonstrate genuine global leadership in this critical area, the UK must demonstrate domestic policy progress, and embed environmental and biodiversity protections in future trade deals.”
Enforcement against parking on pavements, parking at dropped kerbs and double parking will begin in Edinburgh on Monday, 29 January.
National regulations giving councils the power to enforce the new rules came into effect on 11 December. The change addresses the inconvenience inconsiderate parking causes to all road users, in particular those with mobility issues, visual impairments, and people with pushchairs.
Following an assessment of more than 5000 roads officers have identified a small number of streets where there is significant pavement parking and have written to these properties to help them prepare for the measures.
Once the ban is in place monitoring will continue to ascertain whether any of these streets require mitigation measures, such as double-yellow lines, to minimise potential negative impacts on the wider road network.
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “These new rules are about making our streets safer and more accessible for everyone, in particular those with visual impairments or mobility issues.
“I’ve heard from many people who say the change will make their day-to-day life much easier. I have also been pleased to hear that, as a result of our publicity campaign, pavement parking is already reducing in some areas.
“Officers have been working hard over recent months to prepare for the changes coming into force and have been in contact with residents on streets where pavement parking is a real problem. I am proud that Edinburgh is leading the way on enforcing the ban, and that all political parties here agree that no street should be exempt.
“I would expect everyone to adhere to the new prohibitions once in place, but we’ll continue to monitor streets across the city to make sure the impacts on the wider network are minimal.”
The Council has always supported a ban on pavement parking and has collaborated closely with Living Streets and Guide Dogs Scotland to lobby for the introduction of controls in Scotland. This will help ensure Edinburgh’s roads and footways are accessible for all, which is central to our vision of an equal, accessible and sustainable city as part of the City Mobility Plan.
The prohibitions first featured in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, though the necessary regulations required to support the enforcement and appeals procedures have only recently been finalised by Transport Scotland.
Anyone found to be parked on a pavement, double parked, parked at a crossing point or parked on a verge between roads and pavements could be subject to a £100 fine, reduced to £50 if paid within the first 14 days. There are no exemptions in place.
Find out more about the new parking rules, and report incorrectly parked vehicles, on the Council website.
Civil penalties totalling £85,700 have been served by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in 2023 for breaches of environmental regulation.
They include 13 Fixed Monetary Penalties of either £300 or £600 for offences such as burning waste, breaches of water use licences, discharges of sewage effluent and failing to provide SEPA with copies of documents requested in a notice.
Also served this year were a £3,500 Variable Monetary Penalty for waste offences, and a £75,000 fine under F-gas regulations.
Jennifer Shearer, Head of Enforcement at SEPA, said: “Civil penalties are a vital part of our enforcement toolkit, providing a deterrence to those who choose to ignore Scotland’s environmental regulations. Enforcement action is a key part of our job as a regulator, ensuring we disrupt and take action against those who harm the environment, communities and legitimate businesses.
“We have a range of enforcement tools available to us depending on the scale and impact of offending including disruption activities, partnership activity with other regulators and authorities, final warning letters, statutory notices, licence suspensions, fixed and variable monetary penalties and reports to Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) We’re committed to being proportionate, consistent, accountable and transparent in our enforcement outcomes.”
Civil penalties
Civil penalties sit alongside other enforcement tools available to SEPA to use when appropriate in relation to environmental offending.
Details on all the FMPs and the VMP listed below are available on SEPA’s website at Penalties imposed and undertakings accepted | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
Fixed Monetary Penalties (FMPs)
SEPA can issue FMPs for a specified offence – they are not available for all offences. FMPs are normally appropriate where an offence has not caused environmental harm or has caused minimal environmental harm with no lasting environmental effects or impacts on communities, for administrative offences and where little (if any) financial benefit arises from the offence.
FMPs in 2023:
Six for disposing of controlled waste by burning, £600 each:
George Steel Contract Services Limited, Falkirk
Stella’s Voice, Cranfield
Ian Robert Munro, Alness
The Good House Company Scotland Limited, Kinross
Bradley Morgan, Kinross
The Firm of D & J Thomson, Aberfeldy
Two for breach of a water use licence relating to discharges of surface water from a construction site, £600 each:
Bellway Homes Limited, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tough Construction Limited, Glasgow
Two for a discharge of sewage effluent to the water environment, £600 each:
Sands Caravan and Camping Limited, Wester Ross
Robert Main Ellen, Muir of Ord
One in each category as follows £300 each:
Anthony Barclay, Musselburgh – transporting controlled waste in the course of business, or otherwise with a view to profit, without a waste carrier licence.
GMR Henderson Builders Ltd, Wick – failure to complete waste transfer notes adequately.
Barry Bain, Inverness – failure to attend a compelled interview.
Variable Monetary Penalties (VMPs)
VMPs are discretionary financial penalties which SEPA can impose for a relevant offence following an appropriate investigation.
James Roberts Marshall, Perth £3,500 for allowing controlled waste to be disposed of by burial when no waste management licence was in place authorising the activity. He was also required to pay SEPA costs of £1,050.
Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2015 (the F-Gas regulations 2015)
The F-gas regulations aim to reduce the use of HFC refrigerants, through better control of their containment in existing applications and their recovery for recycling or destruction.
DSM Nutritional Products (UK) Limited, Dalry £75,000 for failing to provide a leakage detection system on equipment containing powerful greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change.
Scottish households have saved more than £3.5 billion in council tax since the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme was introduced a decade ago.
The latest figures published by the Scottish Government show 460,860 recipients received CTR in October 2023, meaning one-in-five households were benefiting from the scheme.
People on low incomes are eligible for CTR if they live in Scotland – there is no equivalent benefit in England where most councils require each household to contribute a minimum amount of council tax, irrespective of ability to do so.
People who receive CTR save on average £800 a year and become eligible for up to 35% off their water and waste charges.
As part of the 2024-25 Scottish Budget the Deputy First Minister also made £144 million available to enable local authorities to freeze Council Tax rates at their current levels, benefitting every Council Tax payer in Scotland.
Public Finance Minister Tom Arthur said: “The Council Tax Reduction scheme celebrated its tenth anniversary in April and these latest figures show the scale of support it has provided to people in Scotland over the last decade.
“Our social contract with the people of Scotland means we are committed to giving an extra helping hand through targeted additional support to those who need it most and it is important everyone is aware of the help that is available to them.
“Some people are also eligible for other council tax discounts or sometimes full exemptions, including students, people with disabilities and carers amongst others.
“I urge people to check their eligibility for council tax reduction , council tax discounts and other financial support by visiting our online resources or by contacting their local council.”
People can check whether they are eligible for Council Tax Reduction through mygov.scot or by contacting their local council.
Details of other help available including extra financial support or for things like food, heating and electricity can be found on the Scottish Government’s cost of living crisis support website.
A team at the Western General Hospital is significantly reducing operating room waste and saving money after introducing reusable surgical hats.
Generally, staff working in surgical theatres use hats as part of infection control measures and at the Western General alone they get through over 30,000 disposable hats a year.
The Breast Theatres team, eager to make their practices more sustainable, applied to NHS Lothian Charity to secure grant funding for washable hats.
Erica Revie, Consultant Surgeon in the Breast Theatres who led the project, said: “We had seen that there was a Climate Challenge Grant available from NHS Lothian Charity so we put together a proposal to try out reusable hats.
“We contacted NHS Fife, which is already using reusable hats, to discuss the practicalities of implementation, and contacted their supplier about our needs in order to undertake a trial. The Infection Prevention and Control Team and Laundry Service were also consulted to ensure we could still ensure the highest standard of cleanliness.”
Beyond cutting waste, the hats are also embroidered with individuals’ names and roles which has improved communication during emergencies when new staff enter the operating room.
Theatre Sister Lorraine Murray, who was also integral to the trial, was called to support a cardiac arrest not long after the introduction of the hats. A staff member who did not know her was able to ask her for specific help by name and instantly understand her role within the team.
“It’s an easy change to make with dual benefits – environmental savings and improved communication,” said Erica. “We encourage other departments and hospitals to embrace it.”
By switching to reusables, the Breast Theatre operating rooms have significantly reduced discarded hats. Once rolled out to the rest of the Western General, it will save the hospital over £6,000 as well as reducing their carbon footprint.
Although it would not be logistically possible to provide hats with names for all theatre staff across the health board, NHS Lothian are looking to roll out generic versions and an initial set of samples are on their way for feedback.
Dr Jane Hopton, Sustainability Lead for NHS Lothian, said: “This is a great example of another team in Lothian wanting to make a difference in their area.
“They applied for the Climate Challenge Grant and used that funding to drastically reduce the waste caused by disposable surgical hats. Well done to Erica, Lorraine and everyone else involved in making this happen.
“Providing reusable surgical hats across all theatres in NHS Lothian is an important next step in reducing waste and our environmental impact.”
Jane Greenacre, Head of Programmes at NHS Lothian Charity, said: “The Charity is delighted to be able to support staff across NHS Lothian to take forward innovative projects like this.
“The aim of our Climate Challenge Grants is to enable staff to explore initiatives that help them embed green practices into day-to-day activities and reduce the impact of healthcare on the environment.”
Commenting on the conclusion of the COP28 summit in Dubai, Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I welcome the news that an agreement has been reached at COP28, notably, the $700 million committed to address loss and damage and the pledge to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner.
“This recognition that the climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis is historic. It is disappointing that there was not a stronger resolution committing to the phase-out of all unabated fossil fuels, however we must all now work together to turn these words into action and to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.
“The agreement on loss and damage represents a significant step forward in the fight for global climate justice. We must, however, recognise that this sum is only a fraction of what will be needed to address the irreversible economic and non-economic losses which are being suffered by developing countries every year.
“We are at a pivotal moment in the fight to tackle the climate emergency and address the devastating effects of climate change – and Scotland will continue to play our part.
“It is absolutely crucial that we have political consensus on climate change – both at home and abroad – and that we work together to make a constructive contribution to addressing this monumental challenge.”
Responding to the conclusion of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, Friends of the Earth’s international climate campaigner, Rachel Kennerley – who has been attending the talks – said: “Self-interest, weak leadership and a lack of urgency by wealthy countries like the UK, Japan and US and the EU bloc, has resulted in a desperately inadequate COP28 resolution that leaves the world on a collision course with the worst of climate breakdown.
“These talks will never achieve the breakthrough we need until the rich countries that have contributed most to the climate crisis, including the UK, face up to their responsibilities by phasing out the use of fossil fuels fairly and fast and by providing adequate funding for poorer nations.
“Rishi Sunak may like to claim that the UK is showing global leadership on this issue, but under his premiership key climate policies have been watered down, his international promise to cut UK emissions by a third has veered dangerously off course and he has declared an ambition to ‘max out’ North Sea gas and oil.
“We urgently need our leaders to seize the huge opportunities growing a green economy would bring, from new, long-term jobs and lower energy bills, to improving our health and wellbeing, as well as protecting the planet for future generations.”
The final outcome of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai is not the historical deal the world needs, but it does send the signal the fossil fuel industry has been afraid of: the fossil fuel era is ending.
In response to the final COP28 outcome, Kaisa Kosonen, Senior Political Advisor at Greenpeace International said: “The signal that the fossil industry has been afraid of is there: ending the fossil fuel era, along with a call to massively scale up renewables and efficiency this decade, but it’s buried under many dangerous distractions and without sufficient means to achieve it in a fair and fast manner.
“You won’t find the words ‘phase out’ in the text, but that’s what the equitable transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C and science will necessitate, when implemented sustainably. And that’s what we’re determined to make happen, now more than ever.
“The outcome leaves poorer countries well short of the resources they will need for renewable energy transition and other needs. For the many goals of the agreement to be realised, rich countries will need to significantly step up financial support and make fossil fuel polluters pay. Only last year the fossil fuel industry made $4 trillion in profits, and they need to start paying for the harm and destruction they have caused.
“This is not the historical deal that the world needed: It has many loopholes and shortcomings. But history will be made if all those nearly 130 countries, businesses, local leaders and civil society voices, who came together to form an unprecedented force for change, now take this determination and make the fossil fuel phase out happen. Most urgently that means stopping all those expansion plans that are pushing us over the 1.5°C limit right now.”
Ghiwa Nakat, Executive Director, Greenpeace Middle East & North Africa, said: “COP28 has sent an unprecedented signal to the world that the starting gun has been fired for the end of the fossil fuel era.
“We commend the efforts of the COP presidency to conclude with a final acknowledgement of the need to transition away from fossil fuels and to mobilise climate finance with more than $700million pledged to the operationalised Loss and Damage Fund.
“But communities on the frontline of the climate catastrophe need more than this. They need to see an unwavering and resolute commitment to a rapid, equitable, and well-funded phaseout of all fossil fuels – together with a comprehensive finance package for developing countries to transition to renewables and cope with escalating climate impacts.
“We leave Dubai knowing that hope is still alive but our mission is far from over!”
Mike Robinson, chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said: “It is hard to feel any excitement about this outcome, and given these talks were hosted by the head of an oil company, many people will be completely unsurprised that the final outcome fails to give any sense of urgency and ignores what the science has been telling us for decades – ‘cop-ping out’ of delivering a long overdue agreement to urgently phase out from the coal, oil and gas that is fuelling the crisis.
“This failure means the world remains on track for catastrophic levels of heating and the debt owed to countries who did least to cause the crisis to help them to cope and recover from extreme climate impacts will only increase.
“The onus is now on individual countries to do what is so urgently needed, and channel their efforts into delivering progress, rather than impeding the necessary change. The UK Government must cancel the new oil and gas licensing round. At the same time, the Scottish Government must clearly and strongly oppose new oil development, and say no to new gas at Peterhead, while swiftly delivering a robust new climate plan that gets us on track to meeting and exceeding our climate targets through a just transition that is fairly funded by making the biggest polluters pay for their damage.”
“This failure means the world remains on track for catastrophic levels of heating and the debt owed to countries who did least to cause the crisis to help them to cope and recover from extreme climate impacts will only increase.
“The onus is now on individual countries to do what is so urgently needed, and channel their efforts into delivering progress, rather than impeding the necessary change. The UK Government must cancel the new oil and gas licensing round. At the same time, the Scottish Government must clearly and strongly oppose new oil development, and say no to new gas at Peterhead, while swiftly delivering a robust new climate plan that gets us on track to meeting and exceeding our climate targets through a just transition that is fairly funded by making the biggest polluters pay for their damage.”
Fr Leonard Chiti, Jesuit Provincial for Southern Africa and part of the SCIAF delegation at COP28 said: “COP28 has sent a clear signal that the fossil fuel era is coming to an end and that every nation must now redouble their efforts to reduce emissions in line with the 1.5C temperature goal.
“However, it simply has not gone far enough; not urgent enough, not ambitious enough. At the start of COP28, Pope Francis and many others called for the elimination of fossil fuels. This final text does not secure that, and we must now re-double our efforts towards a fossil fuel free future.”
Councillor Val Walker writes about revitalising our town and local centres with a 20-minute neighbourhood approach:
Being able to live well locally is incredibly important to our quality of life. Our town and local centres play a huge role in daily lives. Whether you live round the corner or in the surrounding area, many of us meet friends and family, shop, work, use libraries and other local services, and enjoy culture around our high streets.
The importance of town and local centres has been a leading thought in updating one of our key strategies to help people across Edinburgh live in places that are healthier, greener, more vibrant and inclusive.
The updated 20-minute neighbourhood strategy outlines our support for local living to give more people more choice within their neighbourhood, while also making it easier to travel further to reach the other services and facilities they need on public transport and by active travel. It’s one that many communities already enjoy, but sadly isn’t a universal experience for all of our residents.
Local centres that are easy to access and great places to spend time can boost our own health, help us to be more physically active, and make it easier to connect with the other people in our communities.
This work is already well underway in Craigmillar, Muirhouse and Pennywell where our regeneration projects have enhanced the local centres with the delivery of new community facilities, shops, and homes.
They will soon be joined by the new Community Hub at Macmillan Square, which will feature an early years centre, library, skills hub and expanded North Edinburgh Arts facility.
New active travel links with green spaces and areas for socialising are also being planned to make it easier to access the local centres and create a more pleasant place to live and visit.
We are also approaching the next stages of an exciting town centre revitalisation programme in Dalry and Portobello. These town centres are built around busy main roads with compromised and cramped public spaces.
Our engagement work in these areas earlier this year presented a real appetite for change and ideas for making local spaces more people-friendly. These ideas have helped shaped some of the very initial plans for development, which we will be presenting to the community through consultation next year. We strongly welcome everyone’s feedback.
This is our 20-minute neighbourhood approach in action, ensuring services and facilities are close to people, making them easier to access and helping make walking, wheeling and cycling to be the natural choice for shorter journeys.
If we work together, we can start to see how all residents throughout Edinburgh can enjoy a more thriving city that brings communities together in cleaner, greener spaces.
