Four men have been charged with more than 30 retail crime offences following enforcement carried out in Edinburgh.
On Tuesday (4 August) local officers, acting on intelligence gathered by the Retail Crime Taskforce, arrested a 45-year-old and 37-year-old in connection with 21 shoplifting incidents from supermarkets and convenience stores in Causewayside and Marchmont.
A 36-year-old man was also arrested for five shopliftings that took place at supermarkets in Gorgie and Chesser, while a 41-year-old was arrested in connection with five separate warrants that were all in relation to shoplifting offences in the Chesser and Gorgie areas.
Inspector David Duthie said: “These arrests are further example of the successful collaboration between divisional officers and Retail Crime Taskforce colleagues to address retail crime within the Capital.
“All reports of retail crime are treated with the utmost seriousness, and whether it’s one shoplifting incident, or several, we will use all resources at our disposal to bring offenders to justice.”
POLICE enquiries are continuing to locate 35-year-old Khasha Smith, missing from Calder Grove in Edinburgh. Officers have been distributing and pinning up posters in the local area.
Khasha’s family is extremely concerned for her and are hoping the posters remind people she’s still missing and that we are still looking for information which could help us find her.
As enquiries have progressed, police have established that the last known, confirmed sighting of Khasha was Tuesday, 10 October, 2023.
Khasha is around 5ft tall, with a slim build. She has blue eyes and long, blonde hair. She also has tattoos, one which is visible on her right wrist and says ‘Forever’.
She often visits the Gorgie, Broomhouse and Wester Hailes areas.
If anyone has seen Khasha or has any information on where she may have gone, please call Police Scotland on 101, quoting reference 3915 of 5 January.
The research has been conducted by the discount retailer in partnership with The Happiness Guy
Aldi’s Gorgie Edinburgh store has been revealed as the happiest in Scotland, following research by The UK’s Cheapest Supermarket.
The popular discount retailer worked with distinguished wellbeing expert, The Happiness Guy, to investigate the happiness levels of staff across its Scottish stores.
The survey looked at factors such as proximity to the outdoors, relationships with colleagues, tendencies to feeling joy and excitement, as well as sleeping habits to determine the happiest store in Scotland.
Aldi has 104 stores in Scotland located in all corners of the country, from Aberdeen to Hawick. The retailer, which prides itself on creating positive and supportive places to work, is set to be the highest paying supermarket in the UK following its second pay increase of 2023.
Its Gorgie store is situated on Gorgie Park Road in the west of Edinburgh. It first opened in 2009, and employs 18 staff who work hard to help shoppers pick up great deals at Aldi’s famously low prices.
Richard Holloway, Managing Director, Aldi Scotland, said:“At Aldi, creating a positive working environment where our employees feel supported and appreciated is as important to us as our commitment to bringing customers amazingly low deals on quality food and drink.
“We saw strong levels of job satisfaction across all our stores, and lots of indications that our colleagues have formed real, deep friendships with one another.
“Our Gorgie Edinburgh store is located in a bustling part of Edinburgh. A stone’s throw from the Capital City and surrounded by vibrant restaurants, cafes and bars, there is always something happening here, making it a popular area for people to live.
“Gorgie has a really solid community and our Aldi store has become an integral part of the neighborhood. We welcome a lot of the same faces on a daily basis and our staff have a really good rapport with our regular customers. While I’m sure it’s our incredibly low prices that first attract people through our doors, I am confident that it’s the high levels of customer service that sees customers coming back again and again.”
Gordon McCrorie, The Happiness Guy said: “Each of us has our own unique formula for happiness which will include things like feeling grateful, spending time with loved ones, doing things that matter to us and looking after ourselves.
“Taking responsibility for influencing our own happiness might just be the thing that improves the world we live in the most.”
The discount retailer, named UK’s cheapest supermarket for 2021 and 2022 by consumer experts, Which?, currently works with over 90 Scottish suppliers, stocking 450 Scottish products. In 2022, Aldi was awarded Scottish Sourcing Business of the Year at the Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards.
This year two Dispersal Zones are being set up in North West Edinburgh to combat antisocial behaviour and disorder over the bonfire period. The zones will be in operation between 2pm and midnight from Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th November.
Under the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004, police have a Power of Dispersal within the designated zones authorised by Superintendent David Robertson.
This means that Police can instruct any people in groups of two or more who are congregating and behaving in an antisocial manner to disperse, and if they do not live there to leave the zones, and then not to return for up to 24 hours.
If they do return, they can be arrested.
Nine dispersal zones will be set up across the city in known ‘hot spots’. As well as West Pilton and Muirhouse, zones will be established in Portobello, Loganlea, Gilmerton, Moredun, Southhouse, Gorgie and Saughton.
News of the establishment of Dispersal Zones will come as no surprise to local residents – the real surprise is that these dispersal zones will be in place over one weekend only.
Police are appealing for information after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in Edinburgh.
Around 7.55pm on Friday, 3 September, 2021, police received a report a 70-year-old man was struck by a car in Gorgie Road, near Robertson Avenue, in Edinburgh. Enquiries so far have established that two cars, a silver Jaguar and black BMW, were travelling east at this location when the pedestrian was struck.
Emergency services attended and the man was taken to hospital. Both drivers initially stopped, but the driver of the silver Jaguar, left the scene before police arrived.
Constable Denise Gall, of Dalkeith Road Policing Unit, said: “We are appealing for anyone with any information to get in touch. In particular, if anyone has a dash cam device, please check your footage as your images could assist our investigation.
“Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 3131 of 3 September, 2021.”
Developer S1 Developments is giving the public a chance to have its say on proposals for an exciting new student residential development at Edinburgh’s former Tynecastle High School site.
The development will regenerate a site that has currently lain vacant for over a decade and fallen into a state of disrepair. A full assessment has been undertaken by S1 and due to a number of constraints, the best use of the site is judged to be for car free student development, with the original category B-listed school building on McLeod Street retained and restored.
Proximity to North British Distillery, who previously owned the site, Tynecastle Stadium and the Western Approach, with issues around light, smell, noise and traffic make student accommodation a more effective use of the site than residential accommodation.
A single user operator, such as a student one, is able introduce control measures that will ensure that amenity and safety can be maintained with issues such as noise, smells and air quality easier to mitigate through a single point of control eg through the ventilation system and acoustic design.
It also affords opportunities to install site-wide green energy provision under the control of a Building Energy Management System (BEMS) to minimise energy consumption and improve sustainability.
Council guidance also points to the benefits of purpose-built student accommodation in freeing up flats for families with children and reducing issues of antisocial behaviour.
The developer submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to the City of Edinburgh Council in February informing that it intends to submit a planning application for the redevelopment of the site following a public consultation event.
The Scottish Government has suspended in-person public consultation events due to COVID-19.
Full details about the proposals will be made available to the public at 9 am on Tuesday 18th May on the dedicated project website: www.oldtynecastlehigh.com.
An online consultation will take place between 3 pm and 7pm on the same day. Consultants will be available during those hours to answer any questions and receive feedback through a two-way chat system.
Feedback can also be submitted via the website, and information will be made available in paper format if requested.
If you cannot access the exhibition boards on the day of the event, please contact Orbit Communications at hello@oldtynecastlehigh.com or Telephone: 0131 202 3259 or at 4 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JE and these can be provided.
Dan Teague, Director at S1 Developments, said:“We’re delighted to be giving the public the chance to have a say on our development proposals for the site of the former Tynecastle High School.
“As S1 Developments we develop sites to suit the location and following a full assessment of the constraints it is clear to us that student development is the most appropriate use to secure the redevelopment of the Old Tynecastle High School and develop the site in manner which is compatible with the neighbouring uses.
“Discussions have also been held with local stakeholders and community groups to also look at potential to form a new community space.
“The original school building has fallen into a sorry state since it stopped being a school in 2009. Whilst the redevelopment is challenging, we are hopeful that the proposed use brings with it an opportunity to save and renovate the original school building and continue its educational use, serving students in higher education.”
