West Pilton West Granton Community Council
meets on TUESDAY 7 FEBRUARY at 7pm
in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, West Pilton Grove.
All welcome.
AGENDA
Community Council re-established in Drylaw Telford
Drylaw Telford, Craigmillar and Old Town Community Councils have now been established following a successful nomination period last month. Nominations closed on Monday and the three community councils now form part of a network of 45 community councils established across the city.
Community councils are made up of local residents and community groups such as youth forums, parent councils and student bodies. Each one is represented on the Neighbourhood Partnership for the area, where they work with local elected members, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, NHS Lothian and the voluntary sector to identify and deliver local priorities.
Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhood Committee, said: “This is a great achievement for the communities of Craigmillar, Drylaw Telford and Old Town.
“Community councils support communities to thrive and bring people together to make change happen. I look forward to hearing of the achievements that will follow in these areas.”
For more information on community councils visit www.edinburgh.gov.uk/
It may be January and things can be looking a bit cold and grey, but lots has been happening in the community gardens and the group has been busy behind the scenes too … (writes TOM KIRBY)
Here are some updates, but first, some invitations!
Burns Night Community Ceilidh, Saturday 28th Jan. TIckets now on sale from Royston Wardieburn Community Centre (just £2!)
This will be the 4th year the ceilidh has run. It’s a joint event between ourselves, Living in Harmony (at Pilton Community Health Project), and Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. There’ll be haggis neeps and tatties, performances from local musicians, poetry recitals from pupils from Granton Primary, a piper, and live music from a ceilidh band, with plenty of space to dance in the sports hall!
It always sells out, so get your tickets asap. There are still some volunteer jobs available (which come with a free ticket), if you’d like to help, there’s a meeting at PCHP on Weds 25th at 10.30am. (ask for Adam)
Gardeners Cafe, Every Monday 5.30-7.30
You may remember this from a couple of years ago, but thanks to some support from the Scottish Government’s Fair Food Transformation Fund, this has now relaunched!
All welcome every Monday 5.30-7.30 at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. The food is FREE but donations are welcome, and if you’re a regular you’re invited to join in with helping the cafe run, there are lots of volunteer roles and ways to get involved.
We’re seeing whether if we all do something to help, we can all enjoy a meal together, that is better (and much more sociable) than what we’d end up eating on our own in our separate flats!
Gardening drop ins, Every Tuesday and Saturday from 11am
Weather permitting! We meet at the community garden on the corner of Wardieburn Road and Boswall Parkway. We’re usually around for a couple of hours depending on weather and how much time/energy we’ve got that day! They’re a great way to meet new people, learn new skills, and work together on what are some very productive food gardens. All welcome, no prior gardening experience necessary! Fruit and veg is shared between the people who grow it! (or donated to the Gardeners Cafe).
Bonus Event: At the drop in on Tuesday 7th Feb, there will be a free breakfast provided by the Real Junk Food Project, who rescue and distribute food that would otherwise be wasted. They have a huge number of posh sausages left over from the Christmas Market on Princes Street, so are hosting free breakfasts around the city to use them up! (Weather permitting)
News updates:
We’ve just become a charity! Granton Community Gardeners is now a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) number: SC047087
This will hopefully mean we’re better able to support gardening, and growing, cooking and sharing food, in the area for the longer term, and able to secure more support for our work.
Who’d like to learn about baking bread?
You may remember that last year we did a crop trial of some heritage Scottish wheat, as part of a project called ‘Soil to Slice’ run by Scotland the Bread.
We had a very successful harvest, with 42kg of grain (from about 100sqm of garden). We used some of this to sow a crop for 2017, and the rest is being milled into flour. A couple of us have had some training in baking and the magical bread that is sourdough. We’re thinking of starting a bread club to practice and learn, and eat!. Anyone like to join us?
Growing wheat on street corners seems to have caught lots of people’s imagination, and we were featured on the BBC, Edinburgh Evening News, and Daily Mail.
If you’d like to get more involved in anything we do, please either reply to this email, or come and chat to us at the garden sometime. Everything we’ve achieved has just been based on someone showing up with an idea, and other people agreeing to help make it happen. It’s amazing how many skills and brilliant ideas people have round here, let’s see what we can do with 2017!
Best Wishes,
Tom
(One of the people who helps organise things)
Until 27th January – Still time to tell us your priorities for North West Locality. Please complete our short survey and please share
The 2017 – 2022 North West Locality Improvement Plan (LIP) will help coordinate how key partners including the Council, NHS, Police etc. best use available resources to meet changing demands across our communities. The LIP will also help towards the delivery of the new Edinburgh City Vision 2050. Continue reading Locality Improvement Plan: five days left to have your say
I hope you had a great Christmas and a fantastic Hogmanay. Here’s your first update of the year from TCC which includes a glance forward to events over the next 12 months. Get your diaries out!
Also a couple of supplementary attachments on the Local Improvement Plan and the ArtRoots funding for anyone who is looking for more detail on these.
Best Wishes for 2017,
Bill Rodger
ArtRoots Fund info
LIP engagement events
Nominations for three of Edinburgh’s community councils is still open – but you have just two weeks left to submit your papers. Residents of the Craigmillar, Drylaw/Telford and Old Town community council areas who are passionate about their area are invited to play an active role and have their say on local issues.
Community councils give local residents and community groups such as youth forums, parent councils and student bodies a chance to influence what happens in their area. Members get involved in a wide range of activities, comment on planning and licensing applications, take part in community campaigns and work with others to improve the local area.
Community Councils are represented on each of the 12 Neighbourhood Partnerships where they work with local elected members, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, NHS Lothian and the voluntary sector to identify and deliver local priorities.
Meetings are usually held once a month and members can get involved in a variety of issues. Recent activities include: successfully lobbying to increase the frequency of a bus service, setting up a book festival and delivering an annual health fair.
Councillor Maureen Child, Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee Convener, said: “Democracy is a powerful force at all levels. By joining your local community council you can make a real difference to your neighbourhood, meet new people, learn new skills and take action on issues raised by local residents.
“We are looking for people of all ages and from all walks of life to get involved. Ideas, energy and enthusiasm are welcomed and the Council will provide support to get the best from being a community council member. I’d like to encourage anyone who’s interested in local democracy to get involved – be part of something great.”
People aged 16 years or older and are registered to vote can join. The nomination period for the community council elections runs from Monday 9 January to Monday 30 January 2017. Elections, where required, will take place on Thursday 23 February 2017. You can apply as an individual or as a local interest group, such as a Parent Council, a Friends of Parks group or sports club.
See below for nomination forms:
Attempt to re-establish local community council
Edinburgh held the triennial community council elections last autumn, but Drylaw Telford was one of the neighbourhoods that failed to receive the minimum number of nominations required to be established. An attempt is now being made to rectify this and to re-establish Drylaw Telford Community Council once again. Continue reading Drylaw Telford to try again
Thank you for supporting our work so far. From 2017 we’re going to improve how we engage with our members and we’d love others to sign up to be new members. Please forward this onto any interested individuals, see below for more details and click on this link to complete the application process:
http://www.dadsrock.org.uk/component/content/article/2-uncategorised/13-join-us
Communities across Scotland have the opportunity to map out the future of their areas alongside design experts following the awarding of Charrette grants from the Scottish Government. Among the beneficiaries is Citizen Curator and Leith Creative, who will receive £19,400 to support an initiative to look at planning and social issues. Continue reading Better by design: Charrette cash for Leith project
