Work to start on Foot of the Walk junction

The next phase of the Leith Programme is due to get under way on Monday (16 February), focusing on upgrading the junction at the Foot of the Walk.

Contractors MacLay Civil Engineering Ltd, who are carrying out the project on the Council’s behalf, have begun preparing the site for the works, which are expected to take 15 weeks to complete.

Aimed at simplifying and improving the junction, the redesign will see four improved pedestrian crossings installed at the bottom of Leith Walk, Duke Street, Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.

Once fully operational the junction will allow pedestrians to cross more easily than at present, enhancing the overall accessibility of the area in line with the design principles of the Leith Programme.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “We’ve been delighted with the positive feedback we’ve had on how much the Leith Programme has already transformed the look and feel of Leith Walk and we know residents and businesses are keen to see the Foot of the Walk brought up to a similar standard.

“As always, every effort will be made to keep noise and disruption to an absolute minimum and we appreciate the public’s patience while this next phase of work is carried out.”

Traffic management arrangements have been drawn up in order to minimise disruption to traffic flow as far as possible. Constitution Street will be closed at its junction with Leith Walk for the duration of the works and local access to this area will be via Laurie Street, Queen Charlotte Street or Bernard Street.

Meanwhile, three-way temporary traffic lights will be in operation at the main Leith Walk junction to control traffic flow.

For details of the most up to date information regarding any bus diversions and traffic conditions affecting Leith Walk, members of the public are advised to keep an eye on Lothian Buses’ website or Twitter account as well as @edintravel.

BP petrol station robbery: do you recognise this man?

Police Scotland have released images of a male they wish to identify in connection with a recent armed robbery at the Leith end of Ferry Road.

The incident happened at 10pm on Sunday 18 January when a male threatened the lone member of staff at the BP petrol station on Ferry Road near Leith Library. He was armed with a handgun.

The man pictured is described as being white and aged between 35 and 45 years old. He has a slim build and a ginger/greying goatee and moustache. He was wearing a black hooded top, blue jeans, a brown three-quarter-length jacket and tab ankle boots.

He was also possibly wearing a grey checked scarf and black gloves and carrying a brown leather bag.

Police are now looking to speak to the male, and anyone who recognises him is asked to contact police immediately.

Detective Constable Mark Seymour said: “We are keen to speak to this man. Despite extensive enquiries to find him, we have still to identify him. I am sure that someone knows who he is, and I would ask them to come forward to assist us. Similarly I would appeal to the male himself to get in touch with us.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101, or the charity Crimestoppers in complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.

All change! Climate funding for Leith projects

£2.86 m to local communities to help tackle climate change

Two Leith-based community projects are among thirty-three organisations from across the country to receive grants from the latest round of Climate Challenge Funding announced today.

The Fund has helped communities throughout Scotland reduce, reuse and recycle their waste, increase the energy efficiency of homes and community buildings, encourage active travel and the use of low-carbon transport, and promote and produce local food.

Leith Schools Food Project will receive almost £109,000 and The Himalayan Centre Climate Change Hub will receive over £70,500 from the fund.

Leith Schools Food Project, run by Leith Community Crops in Pots, will reduce food-related carbon emissions through the establishment of community growing space at three local primary schools and initiatives to encourage production and consumption of local, lower carbon produce. Additional project activities include a programme to help reduce food waste and encourage composting. (£108,966)

The Himalayan Centre Climate Change Hub will operate from the Himalayan Centre for Arts & Culture in Leith, Edinburgh. Advice will be available to help the local community reduce home energy use and carbon emissions with the hub also providing a meeting space to learn more about climate change. A bike pool and cycle training will support lower carbon travel while swap shop events will re-use items that would have been destined for landfill. (£70,510).

Announcing the awards, Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod said the awards will support local communities to take action on climate change and move to low-carbon living.

Dr McLeod said: “Climate change is one of the most serious challenges to global society and the natural environment both at home and abroad. We know that reducing greenhouse gas emissions isn’t easy, but the Scottish Government takes climate change extremely seriously. This is why we have set the most ambitious global targets to cut emissions.

“Some of the best initiatives to reduce carbon are devised and delivered at a local level. That is why I’m delighted to announce the latest round of grant awards. Beyond doubt, the Climate Challenge Fund is making a real difference in our transition to a low carbon future.

“To date we have invested £64.4 million in the Climate Challenge Fund and helped 527 community led organisations across the length and breadth of Scotland tackle climate change at a local level.”

Derek Robertson, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “We congratulate the latest projects to be awarded Climate Challenge Fund and Junior Climate Challenge Fund grants and look forward to working closely with them in the implementation of their projects.

“Keep Scotland Beautiful is very proud to support community action on climate change through our management and development of the Climate Challenge Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government and see it as part of our work to help make Scotland clean and green, today and tomorrow.”

Other city projects to receive good news today are Community Alliance Trust’s Magdalene Community Food Growing Project (£119,251) and central Edinburgh student-led co-operative SHRUB (The Swap and Reuse Hub) who receive over £87,000.

For all full list of successful applicants see below:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/ccf/projects/CCF20

Students focus on stardust spectacular

Edinburgh College photographers throw spotlight on students’ winter showbiz special

A student photography exhibition celebrating Edinburgh College performing arts students’ winter showbiz spectacular is now on display at Leith’s Creative Exchange.

The exhibition showcases the college’s recent show We Are Made of Stardust, developed and performed by Edinburgh College students. Two HND Photography students – Tracey Largue and Sara Thomson – took the photos of the show that feature in the exhibition, showing off the vibrancy, energy and emotion of the performance.

We Are Made of Stardust, which featured HND Year 2 Acting and Performance students, was devised by lecturer Scott Johnston and formed using the cast’s own ideas and stories. The 30 young actors in training shared their personal tales of love, loss and life with the audience in performances at the college’s Perfoming Arts Studio Scotland (PASS).

Marjory Crooks, curriculum manager for broadcast media, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to see examples of the highly professional work produced by two of our photography students. The students on our various creative industries courses are encouraged to collaborate on projects to develop their practical skills and share their learning experiences.”

Scott Johnston said: “This was an incredibly successful show in terms of audience feedback which was universally extraordinarily positive. The cast all learned from each other by sharing ideas and experiences. This helped build the actors as a team, an essential part of working in any field but especially in theatre.”

The We Are Made of Stardust exhibition at Creative Exchange on Constitution Street runs until Friday 30 January, 9am – 5pm each day.

Edinburgh College is currently recruiting for a range of courses in the Creative Industries starting this month including evening classes in Digital Photography: Studio Image Manipulation and Photography: Introduction to Portraiture. For more details on these and other courses, visit www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk.

Police seek witnesses to Easter Road assault

Police are appealing for witnesses following a serious assault on Easter Road on Thursday. The incident took place at around 11am near the Londis convenience store.

A 57-year-old man was walking his dog, when a male walked passed him before punching him to the face. During an ensuing violent struggle between the two men the victim was bitten on the cheek.

Eventually, the victim was assisted by the driver of a white minibus who drove him away from the area. Officers are now urging anyone who can assist with their enquiry to come forward.

The suspect is described as white, 25 to 30 years old and between 5 ft’ 5 and 5 ft’10 inches tall with short bright ginger hair. He was wearing a grey zip-up hooded top, with a Hibs crest on the left chest, black top underneath and dark trousers and trainers.

Constable Andrew McMath said: “This incident quickly escalated from a verbal altercation into quite a serious attack, which left the victim with a painful facial injury.

“I would urge anyone who remembers seeing anything suspicious in Easter Road on Thursday morning to contact police immediately. Similarly, if anyone can help us to identify and trace the man responsible for this assault, they should also get in touch.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or alternatively, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

PoLHA appoints new Director of Finance

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has appointed a new Director of Finance. Heather Kiteley has 20 years of finance experience across not for profit, charitable and commercial organisations.

Having joined from another housing association, Heather (pictured above) will lead the finance team to ensure the Association’s finance functions and services are effectively managed and delivered. She will also provide support to PoLHA’s governing bodies and senior management, ensuring they are provided with relevant and accurate information to support the decision making process in accordance with good practice and the Association’s rules and policies.

Heather said: “I am delighted to have joined PoLHA. I look forward to working with the staff, senior management team and Board to develop and monitor the delivery of strategic and operating plans.”

Heather is a Chartered Management Accountant and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and has an MBA with a specialism in strategic planning. She is also a committee member of the CIMA Edinburgh branch and the CIMA Scotland area.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of PoLHA, said: “I am pleased to welcome Heather to PoLHA. Her knowledge, skills and experience will be of great benefit to the Association.”

WW1 commemorations come to Leith

Activity to be held in Leith, Gretna, Stirling and Dundee this year

Leith, Gretna, Stirling and Dundee will host national events in 2015 to mark the centenary of First World War dates with particular resonance for Scotland and the Scots, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop announced yesterday.

The focus of the Scottish Commemorations Programme in its second year will extend from the capital to include other areas of Scotland whose communities are closely associated with the anniversaries being marked.

On May 22 and 23, Gretna and Leith in Edinburgh will mark the centenary of the Quintinshill Rail Disaster (pictured above), a train crash on the Caledonian Railway Mainline just outside the Border town that claimed the lives of 216 of the Leith-based 7th Battalion TheRoyal Scots, Territorial Force as they journeyed to Liverpool prior to sailing for Gallipoli. To this day Quintinshill remains the worst rail crash to have ever happened in the UK in terms of loss of life.

On June 4 and 6, Stirling will host a national commemoration to mark the 100-year anniversary of the date the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division arrived in Gallipoli after training in Stirling. The division, including many Scottish battalions, left from Larbert on 21 and 22 May and landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on June 4 to take part in the allied naval and military operation to force the Dardanelles which aimed to secure entry to the Black Sea and to the then capital of Turkey, Istanbul.

On September 26, Dundee will host a national event to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of Loos, in which around 30,000 Scots fought. Battalions from every Scottish regiment fought in the Battle of Loos and suffered huge numbers of casualties. Of the 21,000 killed, over 7,000 were Scottish soldiers. Almost every town and village in Scotland was affected by the losses at Loos. Six Battalions of the Black Watch, mostly drawn from Dundee and its surrounding counties, took part. The 4th Black Watch, “Dundee’s Own”, suffered huge losses with 57% of men killed or wounded on the first day of battle. The beacon on top of the Dundee Law War Memorial is lit annually to remember the fallen.

Through the Scottish Commemorations Panel, Ministers are liaising with Stirling Council, Dundee City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Royal Scots Regimental Association on arrangements for each event. Further details will be announced later in the year.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “Throughout 2015 – the busiest year in Scotland’s five-year commemorations programme – we will continue to encourage people in all parts of Scotland to join with us to consider the impact of the First World War, which claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Scots and left many more injured or disabled.

“The Quintinshill Rail Disaster, Gallipoli campaign and Battle of Loos each had a profound and long-lasting impact on Scotland and it is right that we pause to remember each event, and the Scottish communities who were affected.

“The First World War had a significant and broad impact on our nation. Through our national commemorations the people of Scotland will have opportunities to reflect on its lasting social and civic legacy.”

Norman Drummond, Chair of the Scottish Commemorations Panel, said:

“This year commemorations will again be taking place all over Scotland to mark the centenary of events which had such a huge impact on the people of Scotland in the communities which were most affected.

“2015 will be the busiest year in Scotland’s five-year commemorations programme, and we will further pause to reflect on the horror of war, the service and sacrifice of our servicemen and women and of those at home, and the lessons we continue to learn from World War One.”

Records reveal story of Leither who signed up on Boxing Day

Archivists uncover the story of Leith volunteer

A hundred years ago today a young Leith butcher took the ‘King’s shilling’ and volunteered to join the British Army, pledging to play his part in the ‘war to end all wars’.

Scotland’s national archivists this week unearthed John Claperton’s registration certificate, issued on Boxing Day 1914 by the Army Recruiting Office then based in Cockburn Street, Edinburgh.

The discovery of the certificate, ‘of a man who is willing to serve his King and Country as a Soldier for the War’ prompted record keepers at National Records of Scotland to find out more about John’s First World War story.

By 13 January 1915, John, a 20 year-old butcher, had formally enlisted in the Army and went on to serve in the 9th Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment, then in the 12th Machine Gun Corps.

John was one of more than 650,000 Scots who served in the First World War, leaving his parents, George and Mary Clapperton and their Dalmeny Street home behind him.

After three years stationed in Kilmarnock and Grantham, Private John Warnock Clapperton was sent on active service to France, where he was badly wounded and left with no option but to have his right arm amputated in the field hospital.

The operation prevented John from completing his duties overseas and forced his return across the Channel, to hospitals in Reading and later in Edinburgh where he underwent further treatment. John’s devastating injury in the field may have saved his life.

In February 1919 John Warnock Clapperton was discharged from both the Edinburgh War Hospital at Bangour and the Armed Forces.

Unlike more than 100,000 Scots who never returned, John survived the Great War and returned to Leith where he later married Catherine Martin in 1941. John died in 1966, aged 71.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “The First World War claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Scots and left many more, like Private John Clapperton, injured or disabled. No home, workplace or community was left untouched by the brutal effects of that war, leaving John’s family, and families across Scotland with no option but to come to terms with the devastating consequences.

“John’s is a story that will be familiar to many whose fathers, grandfathers, uncles and brothers went off to battle a century ago. Through the work of the Scottish Commemorations Panel, from 2014 to 2019 the Scottish Government is encouraging people of all ages across Scotland to recognise the significant and broad impact the First World War had on our nation and its people, and to reflect on its lasting social and civic legacy.

“John’s registration certificate has given us an interesting insight into the life of a young Scot whose wartime Christmas a 100 years ago would have been quite different to ours today.

“The document is one of millions proudly preserved in our national archive by National Records of Scotland. Its discovery demonstrates the rich heritage of Scotland’s people and shows how powerfully archives connect us directly to people and events in our past.”

Man dies in Ferry Road accident

A man has been killed after falling under a truck during a street altercation. Jaime Brynes, 36, died in hospital following the accident on Ferry Road in Leith yesterday morning.

Mr Brynes is believed to have fell into the road during a heated argument on the pavement. His death is being treated as non-suspicious, police said.

The section of road between North Fort Street and Newhaven Road was closed for several hours while the emergency services attended the scene and did not reopen until mid-afternoon.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police in Edinburgh attended a road traffic collision involving a truck and 36-year-old Jaime Brynes on Ferry Road at around 9am.

“The Scottish Ambulance Service treated Mr Brynes at the scene but he later passed away at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. “His death is being treated as non-suspicious and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”

Councillors to consider trams to Leith

Councillors asked to support new £400,000 trams report

Councillors are to consider whether Edinburgh’s tram line should be extended into Leith. The line currently stops at York Place, but transport leader Cllr Lesley Hinds argues that Edinburgh must look forward to compete with successful capital cities.

Councillors are being asked to support the commissioning of a £400,000 report to examine the implications of extending the line. If councillors do give the go-ahead, it’s expected they will consider the report’s findings early next year.

Some will question the wisdom of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money on yet another tram report – particularly given Edinburgh’s current budget difficulties – but Transport and Environment convener Lesley Hinds says the city must move forward.

“If you look at any capital city that’s successful in Europe and throughout the world, we need to invest in our local transport and we need to encourage people to walk and to cycle,” she said. “We are going to have an increased population and more visitors so we need to ensure we have investment in a public transport system and that means looking forward.”

Tram lines to Leith and Granton’s new waterfront were key elements of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE’s) original plans for a tram network – the first construction work started in Leith in 2007 – but the ambitious project was beset with difficulty and controversy almost from the outset.

When it began running in May, Edinburgh’s tram service was a single line from York Place to the airport, not a network – and even this was years late and over £400 million over budget.

The Scottish government announced a public inquiry into the trams project in June, and last month the inquiry was upgraded from a non-statutory to a statutory inquiry when chairman Lord Hardie complained that some key witnesses had failed to co-operate with is investigations. The change in status means that these individuals must now give evidence – and face possible imprisonment if they fail to do so.

The terms of reference of the Edinburgh Trams inquiry are:

To inquire into the delivery of the Edinburgh Trams project (‘the project’), from proposals for the project emerging to its completion, including the procurement and contract preparation, its governance, project management and delivery structures, and oversight of the relevant contracts, in order to establish why the project incurred delays, cost considerably more than originally budgeted for and delivered significantly less than was projected through reductions in scope.

To examine the consequences of the failure to deliver the project in the time, within the budget and to the extent projected.

To otherwise review the circumstances surrounding the project as necessary, in order to report to the Scottish Ministers making recommendations as to how major tram and light rail infrastructure projects of a similar nature might avoid such failures in future.