Inverleith Community Conference: still time to book your place

Inverleith’s annual community conference takes place on Thursday 30 October from 6 – 9pm in Broughton High School. The theme of this year’s event is ‘increasing walking and cycling in Inverleith‘ – and there’s still time to book your place …

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Come join us on Thursday 30th October from 6-9pm at Broughton High School to find out about tips, advice and support available to help you get started, to share your thoughts on how we can get people in Inverleith walking and cycling more, and what the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership can do to make this happen!

The evening will include marketplace where organisations and businesses will be on hand to showcase their work and services and offer tips and advice to take up or increase your walking and cycling. Then we will have a chance to share views, discuss issues and consider solutions to increasing physical activity in Inverleith. Teas, coffees and biscuits will be provided.

Email Anne Brown to book your place here

or book quickly and easily here through eventbrite

Email Elaine Lennon for more information.

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Lazarowicz: take the brakes off cycling funding

Mark Lazarowicz MP has highlighted progress in Edinburgh to make cycling safer and more attractive but stressed much needs to be done if the UK is to emulate countries like the Netherlands or Denmark.

The North & Leith MP spoke in a Westminster debate on cycling policy yesterday. He said: “The Pedal on Parliament each year shows just how much enthusiasm there is here in Edinburgh for cycling and the City Council deserves praise for its commitment through funding and other initiatives.

“There is still a long way to go however with cycling only making up 2% of all journeys in the UK each year compared to 27% of those in the Netherlands and 19% of journeys in Denmark.

“Cycling has real benefits to offer, it’s healthy, cuts the number of cars on the roads and with it pollution and accidents but we need to integrate it fully into transport infrastructure and make sure funding is there to do it.”

In 2012 City of Edinburgh Council made a commitment to increase cycling’s share of the transport budget by 1% each year and it has stuck to it: from 5% two years ago it now stands at 7%. The city council is also consulting on the extension of 20mph zones in Edinburgh.

 Mark Lazarowicz’s speech can be found in full here.

NOTE: If you’re interested in cycling, walking and sustainable transport issues don’t miss Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s community conference on Thursday 30 October. Details below:

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Blackhall Athletic nets Neighbourhood support

Nigel handshakeInverleith Neighbourhood Partnership recently awarded a community grant to local sports club Blackhall Athletic. The club used the funding to equip some of their teams with new tops, and INP Convener Councillor Nigel Bagshaw called in to a training session at Broughton High School to meet players and coaches last week.

Nigel said: “It’s great to support local initiatives like this. Community grants can make a real difference to small organisations and we’re delighted to be able to help Blackhall Athletic, who are doing a great job with our young people”.

Blackhall1Blackhall Athletic’s John Adams said: “We spend an awful lot of time trying to raise funds to support club activities but everyone knows how difficult that has been in recent times. We are constantly working at it and we hope to be self-sustaining in the future, but in the meantime this grant is really welcome. Quite simply, without this support we would not be able to continue to do what we do – so we are all really grateful to Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership”.

Blackhall Athletic is run by twenty-five adult volunteers who carry out a variety of tasks including coaching, first aid, administration and and committee duties. The club
currently has five teams, four boys and one girls, and they plan to start two more over the coming months – giving well over one hundred local boys and girls the opportunity to regularly take part in active sport.

Blackhall aJohn added: “As well as the sporting element, there are other benefits too. All of our boys and girls will, through training and playing, undertake over 180 hours of physical activity which is a health benefit.

“And then there’s teamwork. Our players come from all over the area; they go to different schools and come from different backgrounds but they are all the same when they put on the club strip. This teaches them that they must all work together to achieve success and the young people learn the life skills they will need as they grow into adulthood.”

That sounds like a home ‘win, win’ for both Blackhall Athletic and the wider Inverleith community.

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Inverleith Community Conference

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INP CONFERENCE

The theme for this year isincreasing walking and cycling in Inverleith’ and we’d like to invite everyone living, working or travelling in Inverleith to have a say on how we can make walking and cycling easier, safer and more welcoming for all

Please come along and share your thoughts on how we can get people in Inverleith walking and cycling more, to pick up tips, advice and support and also to help us identify what the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership can do to make it happen.

Come join us on Thursday 30 October

from 6-9pm at Broughton High School

We’d also welcome local organisations to come along and display information on how you can help us achieve this!

Contact elaine.lennon@edinburgh.gov.uk for more info. or to book your place, email anne.brown@ea.edin.sch.uk

 

Fun in the park, by George!

Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s BIG Search finished with a flourish at King George V Park on Monday, with an afternoon of family fun and games.

Thanks to the Friends of KGV and Scotland Yard Parks for the photographs, and Mark Sydenham of Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust for sending them on to us.

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Counting down to Inverleith’s BIG Search

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A fun quest for all the family!

For all ages (teams of up to 6 people one of whom must be named responsible adult) to explore the neighbourhood by following clues and questions, then bringing the completed sheets back to King George V Park for an afternoon of fun activities including BBQ and the launch of new park play equipment! Monday 4th August.

BIG SEARCH

See attached flyer for details

Magic! Roundabout’s finished!


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The long-running saga of the Groathill Road North roundabout is over. Contractors MW Groundworks laid the last turf and put the finishing touches to the roundabout earlier this week.

“It’s good news”, said Alex Dale, chair of Drylaw Telford Community Council. “We were delighted when the city council agreed to ‘re-adopt’ the roundabout and it’s good to see the work now completed. I think the landscaping team have done a fine job and the roundabout’s looking really great.”

Community councillors spent have spent many hours discussing the controversial roundabout upgrade over the last two years, so Alex is pleased that there’s a happy ending at last.

“It will be a relief to drop the roundabout from community council agendas – it’s been a regular discussion item for such a long time and it will be good to cross it off the list and move on to new issues.”

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Blooming marvellous! The end’s in sight – in a roundabout way

Drylaw Telford Community Council’s final meeting of the year takes place next Wednesday. The meeting could also see an end to one of the organisation’s longest-running sagas – the Groathill Road North roundabout.
The state of the roundabout has been making some local residents cross almost since the railings were removed there three years ago. Neighbourhood Partnership funding was allocated to Drylaw’s gardening group to undertake environmental improvements on the site, but a catalogue of problems with successive subcontractors has seen the roundabout become an untidy eyesore.
Drylaw Telford CC’s chair Alex Dale has had a series of meetings with North’s Environmental Manager Steven Cuthill to resolve the long-running issue, and a proposal to transform the troubled roundabout will be tabled at next week’s meeting.
Alex Dale said: “Steven produced the proposal at Inverleith Neighbourhood partnership’s last Clean, Green & Safe meeting and explained that this is a proposal and is still being  costed. Steven will be attending our community council meeting on the 27th to discuss this  proposal or listen to any other ideas the community would like to take forward  instead.
“We have the choice to accept this or offer Steven an alternative plan. It  will all be up for discussion on the night and if we can agree on something then it should bring the long ongoing saga to a conclusion!”
So there you have it – if the proposal is accepted Groathill Road roundabout will have ‘complete ground cover during summer within two seasons’ – blooming marvellous!
The meeting takes place in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre on Wednesday 27 November at 7pm. All welcome.
that roundabout