MS Teams Meeting on Tuesday 22 October 2024 from 6-7:30pm
In advance of Community Council elections in February 2025, we are reaching out to invite you to the above meeting to discuss how community councils and the Council can collaboratively work together to promote community councils.
Some of the areas we are keen explore are:
Positively communicating to the public who community councils are and the work they do.
Encouraging membership to community councils.
Promoting upcoming community councils elections in February 2025.
If you would like to attend, please use the MS Teams link below:
Be in for just a penny and lose the pounds in time for Christmas. Edinburgh Leisure is reducing their normal joining fee to just 1p on any of their swim, gym, fitness classes, and climb memberships meaning there’s no excuse not to get fit and manage your well-being in the run up to the festive period.
The offer is available from Friday, 20 October until Sunday, 5 November 2023 and is available to buy online only or in venue.
As everyone is different and needs to find their own way to a healthy and active life, Edinburgh Leisure offers a range of different membership options to suit everyone including swim, gym and fitness class only to full monthly memberships.
By offering different types of membership, people can match their activity preferences to their pocket.
With 50+ venues including 1 climbing centre, 12 swimming pools including five Victorian pools, 15 gyms, and 750+ fitness classes per week, Edinburgh Leisure is the ‘biggest club in town’ providing the widest range of fitness classes, state of the art facilities and community-based programmes across the capital.
So, wherever you’re at on the map or in life, Edinburgh Leisure has something to suit your needs.
Inspire kids to get the active habit. With Edinburgh Leisure’s Young Explorer soft-play membership, children get to sample the world of sport and fitness from an early age.
For new customers signing up to become a member in October, December is completely free. And for existing members referring a friend, if their friends join, the existing member will also receive a free month in December.
From only £17.99* per month, the Young Explorer Soft Play Membership offers incredible value, fantastic flexibility and of course, will keep little ones entertained and burning off energy as they explore the amazing soft plays.
Little adventurers can visit as many times as they wish, enjoying unlimited fun at any of Edinburgh Leisure’s three soft play venues across the city at Clambers at the Royal Commonwealth Pool, Tumbles at Portobello, and Scrambles at EICA: Ratho.
Edinburgh Leisure’s play frames are suitable for children up to ten years old and there are frames for babies, toddlers, and juniors up to 10 years. Each venue has a café where healthy snacks and tasty treats can be enjoyed.
With great member benefits including special offers, members’ events and other exclusive perks, the Edinburgh Leisure soft play is only available to buy online.
MEETING DATES: TWO drop-in consultation sessions on Monday 7 August and Tuesday 15 August and the Teams meeting set for Thursday 17 August.**
Community Councillors are invited to ‘make initial contributions and suggestions regarding the existing Community Council scheme and boundaries and to ‘provide feedback and recommendations for any proposed changes that you believe would be beneficial’.
This invitation was discussed at the Members’ Board last Thursday. Here are some issues we think are worth your attention:
A] Community Council Boundaries
1. New community council wards:
How many and where?
On the basis of what growth projections for city expansion?
What data sources are to be used?
2. Size of community council wards:
On what basis will the size of community council areas be reviewed and targeted?
What data sources are to be used?
What intentions are there to reduce a wide dispersion (imbalance) in community council area ‘size’ (number of residents) across the city?
What could be done to ‘rebalance’?
3. Boundaries:
Boundary changes should be fully explained and justified to residents.
What will be done to reshape boundaries, in order to reduce the incidence of community council ‘crossover’ into two (or even three) City Councillor electoral wards, so that the ‘mapping’ of a community council to one and only one (four-strong) group of City Councillors is tightened up? (A community council area perimeter should be bounded within a single electoral ward.)
What measures will then be introduced to improve liaison and coordination across electoral wards and in turn across Localities?
B] Scheme for Community Councils
1. Minimum number of ‘elected community council members’ (2019 Scheme, Para 6.24):
There is evident current strain on a number of community councils, stemming from a fall-away in the participation of active elected members towards or below the critical level of ‘half of the maximum permitted elected membership’.
In light of that, what new flexible support measures can CEC Governance introduce to the Scheme rules in order to avoid (in such circumstances) the undue lapse of community councils into an ‘inactive state’ (whereby residents are then ‘disenfranchised’)?
2. Resourcing of a community council (2019 Scheme, Paras 11.9 and 11.11):
Contemporary ‘support needs’ for a well-functioning community council nowadays centre on IT, on website maintenance and repair, on technical assistance with AV equipment for hybrid meetings, all alongside the minuting and reporting of community council proceedings.
The absence of such support blunts a community council’s effectiveness in its core role and its ambition, especially when ‘something goes wrong’.
The need for CEC operational support now goes well beyond ‘additional support services/resourcing, such as photocopying and distribution of community council minutes and agendas and (also) free lets of halls for community council meetings’, as offered in the 2019 Scheme Review.
There is a case for a (much) stronger CEC commitment to dependable, core operational back-up of community councils’ governance and administration work.
What new avenues of operational (and financial) assistance can CEC look to introduce in this current Scheme Review?
**Here are the dates, and the opportunity to put some meaningful questions to CEC.
Monday 7 August 2023 17.00-19.30 Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, EH8 8BG, Ground Floor, Room 15
Tuesday 15 August 2023 13.00-16.00 Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, EH8 8BG, Ground Floor, Room 15
Thursday 17 August 2023 17.00-19.30 Virtual meeting held via Microsoft Teams – if you would like to attend please make contact with CEC (by email to community.councils@edinburgh.gov.uk) no later than 14.00 on 17 August 2023 to confirm your attendance and request the link to join the session.
First of all, we hope you enjoyed the Picnic in the Park on Sunday 19th June in collaboration with the Friends of Victoria Park and the Victoria Park Allotment Holders. There seemed to be hundreds of people there, all having a great time. We hope you caught up with some old friends and made some new ones.
Next in the calendar will be our second Annual General Meeting. This will be held on Saturday 2nd July and members will be receiving their own invitation to attend in person this year, now that Covid restrictions have been relaxed. There will be more details in the members’ invitations.
If you think you are already a member, but have not received the AGM invitation by email in the last few days, please do get in touch with us to check your membership status by emailing admin@heartofnewhaven.co.uk .
Just a reminder that receiving this newsletter does not necessarily mean that you are a member. You might just have signed up to receive the newsletter but not joined as a member.
Check out our website for membership conditions, which are purely geographical. If you live in our area of benefit (there’s a map on the website) then you can become a full member with voting rights.
If you live outside the area then you can still become an associate member but will not be able to vote at the AGM.
Joining is free. If you haven’t joined and wish to, then you can find the form under JOIN on the website.
The Trustees look forward to meeting members in person, many of them for the first time, and discussing our exciting plans for the future.
We would also like to use this newsletter to introduce you to a new member of our team. Bryan McCarthy joins us as our new Volunteer Coordinator.
One of our trustees, Christine McDerment has been on the other end of the volunteering email address up until now, but Bryan has stepped up and answered the call for some help.
Bryan is originally from Cork, Ireland, but moved to Edinburgh five years ago and has been living in Leith while working in criminal justice with Edinburgh City Council. “I have always enjoyed volunteering in my spare time and am excited to put my energy into coordinating the volunteering activities of Heart of Newhaven,” he says.
Now, a reminder: we are looking for volunteers to get involved in reminiscence training.
Sharing family stories is therapeutic and instructive, not to mention enjoyable. If you’re interested in helping to record people’s stories and memories, to then share with the community, then please get in touch. We have secured funding for this, so the training would be free for the participants.
Contact: judy.crabb@heartofnewhaven.co.uk
or Christine.mcderment@heartofnewhaven.co.uk
Remember to check the website regularly for blogs.
The month of May saw a visit to the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, with whom we hope to collaborate on exhibitions and events in the future. As well as their regular collection they also offer temporary exhibitions and the current one runs until 19th June.
You can find the blogs, including Culture & Heritage and View From The Chair, under BLOGS on the website.
Join the adventure with Edinburgh Leisure’s Young Explorer soft-play membership. A place for children to explore, have fun and be active at Edinburgh Leisure’s three soft play venues.
There has never been a better time to sign up for the soft play membership as Clambers at the Royal Commonwealth Pool has just completed an exciting refurbishment. Join in March 2022 and receive the month of May free.
The Young Explorer soft play membership gives unlimited soft play at three Edinburgh venues from only £16.70 per month for one child, £28.00 for two children, £33.80 for three children and £39.50 for four children.
The membership offers incredible value, fantastic flexibility and of course, will keep little ones entertained and burning off energy as they explore the amazing soft plays.
Young explorers can visit as many times as they wish, enjoying unlimited fun at any of Edinburgh Leisure’s three soft play venues across the city at Tumbles at Portobello, Scrambles at EICA: Ratho and Clambers at the Royal Commonwealth Pool.
Clambers has a brand-new frame for babies, toddlers, and juniors, with an aquatic theme and is designed so parents can supervise easily, and children can play freely all within a securely gated area.
There are slides, an upper storey football pitch and many more exciting features to explore. Its party room and Café Refresh has also been rebranded featuring hero character Skye and her mountain friends and both areas have new tables and chairs; its café servery has been extended; and the reception desk has been replaced.
Edinburgh Leisure’s play frames are suitable for children up to ten years old. Each venue has a café where healthy snacks and tasty treats can be enjoyed.
And with Scottish Government restrictions easing, there is no longer the need to pre-book sessions. In addition, 90-minute sessions are also available, in addition to shorter 60-minute sessions.
New group to advise government on environmental crises
Scientists, climate and nature professionals have been appointed to a new group of international experts, tasked with advising the Scottish Government on environmental issues.
Formed as a commitment for the first 100 days of government, the First Minister’s Environmental Council will focus on Scotland’s ambitious trajectory, drawing on global best practice to keep Scotland at the forefront of tackling the climate emergency and ecological decline.
The council will be co-chaired by the First Minister and Professor Sir Ian Boyd, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Its members include Scottish wildlife filmmaker and presenter Gordon Buchanan MBE and Dame Ellen MacArthur, the successful solo long-distance yachtswoman and champion for the circular economy.
The group will meet regularly to discuss a range of environmental issues, such as biodiversity, marine resources, waste, and the nature-based aspects of climate change and the Just Transition, before presenting their proposed work areas and future plans in a report at COP26.
The First Minister said: “The scientific report earlier this month from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) signalled a code red for humanity – it makes absolutely clear the severe threat and heightened risk posed by the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
“It is crucial that the international community takes this opportunity to significantly raise global climate action and ambition. With COP26 coming to Glasgow, Scotland has a unique opportunity to show leadership on the international stage.
“That’s why we committed to appoint, within the first 100 days of this government, environmental experts from around the world, to advise on international best practice to help us tackle this unprecedented challenge. The group will balance experience, a strong international perspective, the youth voice, and topical awareness, at the highest, global level.
“As well as acting as a sounding board for our near term policies, the group will advise us on the long-term policy trajectory for Scotland – taking into account the opportunities that becoming a net-zero society presents: growing our economy, improving our health and wellbeing and protecting Scotland’s iconic natural environment.”
MEMBERS:
Professor Sir Ian L Boyd FRSB FRSE FRS (Co-Chair), University of St Andrews, President-elect of the Royal Society of Biology
Professor Ian Bateman OBE, US-NAS, FBA, FRSA, FRSB, Director of Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute, University of Exeter Business School
Gordon Buchanan MBE, award-winning wildlife camera-man and presenter
Revati Campbell, MSYP for Dundee West
Professor Gretchen Daily, Bing Professor of Environmental Science, Stanford University, USA Faculty Director – The Natural Capital Project
Professor Sandra Diaz, National University of Cordoba, Argentina
Susan Davies FRSB, Chief Executive, Scottish Seabird Centre
Erin Fowler, University of Glasgow
Dame Ellen MacArthur, Founder & Chair of Trustees Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Professor Yadvinder Malhi, University of Oxford
Dr Ece Özdemiroğlu, founding director of eftec (economics for the environment consultancy)
Dr Dilys Roe, Principal Researcher and Team Leader (Biodiversity) and Chair, IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi), International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Dame Julia Slingo FRS, Chief Scientist of the UK Met Office (2009 -2016)
Professor Pete Smith FRS, FRSE, FNA, FEurASc, FI Soil Sci., FRSB, Professor of Soils & Global Change, University of Aberdeen
We are abandoning our usual monthly newsletter schedule to send you this advice that there is little time remaining if you wish to become a member of HoNC before our first AGM.
The AGM has now been set for Thursday 29th April and because of the admin work required, you must apply for membership before the 1st April.
New member applications will then be verified and confirmed by the board at their next meeting on 7th April and official notice of the AGM and all that entails will be sent out by the 13th.
Do consider becoming a member. It costs nothing and if you live in our area of benefit it ensures you have a say in who runs the charity and what they do. There is a simple form to fill in on the website under JOIN US.
The AGM may well be rather strange this year because of Covid. Only a small number of people constituting the required quorum will be allowed to be present in person. Everyone else will be invited to an online meeting. It also means that those voting members not present in person will have to send in a proxy voting form, but all that will be explained in the notice of meeting which will be sent by email to members only.
In other news, we are so pleased to report that there was a tremendous response to our initial Crowdfunding appeal which has helped us pay for professional fees. The many supportive comments have also provided welcome proof that we are not working in vain.
Here are some of the things supporters said:
This is a brilliant project that will deliver huge community benefits. It’s well thought-out and is being impressively well-organised.
Amazing project to support the community and get everyone of all ages together!
Great to see this project making progress – all strength to your elbows for what will be a tremendous asset for the community.
Fantastic work, well done to all involved.
Meanwhile our volunteers are working away in the background on greening projects, lending a neighbourly hand in the community and spreading the word, while we deal with preparing for our very first AGM, a momentous stage in our progress.
The trustees are looking forward to seeing you there.
Don’t forget to keep checking the website. There’s always something new. April will see the addition of the first of a two-part blog by Bill Hall about fishing in the Forth.
There will be no April newsletter and the next communication will be with members only, by the 13th April. The next newsletter will be in May, after the AGM.
Where have the past two years gone? On 4th October 2018 in Victory Primary School there were lots of ideas on what the Community could do here once the children moved to their new school, then still in the planning stages.
We were warned that our dreams would take time and effort and there were delays. The new school building, first scheduled to be opened last August, will be completed one day despite, like so much else, being affected by Covid 19. We are working steadily on ways to promote a better normal as soon as we can. More on that next time.
Meanwhile the Heart of Newhaven Community with our iconic logo is steadily growing with people like you keen to support our programme of ideas.
This update comes hard on the heels of one you may have just received about Membership of our SCIO – Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. It’s a bit technical, so I’ll try to explain.
We registered the Heart of Newhaven Community SCIO SC049919, as the first step to qualify for the Community Asset Transfer of Victoria Primary School.
Our SCIO constitution allows different categories of membership and the letter sent recently showed which one we think fits you as you register, as I hope you will.
Depending on which category you fall into, membership will give you a vote at meetings and so enable you to have your say in deciding what happens.
The “Asset” (the whole of the current school site) to be “Transferred” will belong to the Charity on behalf of the whole community: so the name Heart of Newhaven Community is apt.
But it’s not just a place. The beating pulse of the whole community already exists in people – YOU! – living human beings. A really good way to help create what the name shows is to register on the form you’ve hopefully been sent.
If you have any questions about membership, haven’t had a letter, or think you received the wrong one, then you can find out more HERE on the website. If you’re still in doubt, please feel free to contact me directly at chair@heartofnewhaven.co.uk and I’ll try to help.
But you will also continue to receive this more general Mailchimp email at least every month unless you unsubscribe if you no longer want to be bothered. Surely not! This is how you can keep up to date.
I hope the next one will be more exciting but we are definitely not just dreaming the time away and the next two years should be very impressive.
Rodney Matthews Chair and Vision Facilitator, The Heart of Newhaven Community
Edinburgh Leisure gym and fitness customers can now get in the swing of it, with a golf bolt-on membership, which will give unlimited access to six stunning golf courses all within driving range of the city centre.Continue reading Fore! Get into the swing with golf bolt-on
