Details of a community event, which will give north Edinburgh locals the opportunity to tell politicians what improvements are needed in the area, have been announced.
The ‘upside down hustings’, organised by Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP), will bring together community campaigners, residents, councillors, and MSPs to debate issues such as mental health services, the environment and housing.
The event will take place at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre, Pilton Drive North, on 23 November at 6pm. Media are invited to attend. Members of the public can book their place at:
Grassroots representatives confirmed for the event are:
- Mhairi Curan, community activist
- Sara Martin, Parklife (Friends of West Pilton Park)
- Sandra Marshall, community activist
- Danielle Ward, North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum
- Roy Douglas, North Edinburgh Housing Action Group
Andrew Paterson, Research and Policy Officer from CHEX will also give context on how policy is changing to give communities more voice.
Politicians who have confirmed their attendance are:
- Ally Broughton, Scottish Green Party candidate for Forth
- Jim Campbell, Conservative candidate for Forth
- Vicki Redpath, Labour Councillor for Forth
- Alex Cole-Hamilton, Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh West
- Ben Macpherson SNP MSP for Edinburgh North and Leith.
All current Councillors for Forth and Inverleith, as well as those from their Parties who support the development of the manifestos, have been invited.
Anita Aggarwal, PCHP’s Community Development Manager, said: “By flipping the traditional hustings model on its head and creating an opportunity for the people of north Edinburgh to discuss the changes they want in the areas, we hope to influence political parties’ manifestos for next year’s city council elections. We hope this will be the start of a constructive dialogue with local politicians through until next year’s elections and beyond.
“While parts of Edinburgh continue to prosper there remain some serious social and economic inequalities between different parts of the city. Men in the most deprived areas of Edinburgh can expect to live over ten years less than those areas with the lowest levels of deprivation.”
The outputs from the debate will also be fed into the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision.