Show them you care: public meeting to discuss Granton Marina plans

‘We are fed up being ignored’ – Granton & District Community Council

Following the last community council meeting that was well attended by groups and residents in the area we were asked to organise a public meeting to get our views heard on this development.

We are fed up being ignored. Our wishes discarded. No longer. We have an opportunity to really make a noise about this. Please come along and make your voice heard.

The meeting is on Thursday 9 April

at Royston & Wardieburn Community Centre – 7pm.

Please tell as many people as you know. The developer was invited and said no. Show them you do care!

Granton & District Community Council

Regeneration Drop-In at Community Shop today

Want to find out more about your community’s regeneration? Then the Community Shop’s the place to be over lunchtime today …

The Regenration drop-in provides another opportunity for the community to meet the team who are carrying out regeneration within their neighbourhood.

Representatives from the Council, NHS Lothian and Urban Union will be there to answer any questions about the new homes, NHS led partnership centre and also to talk about job and training opportunities as part of the wider community benefits.

Why not pop in and find out what’s happening in your neighbourhood?

Building New Futures drop in 270315

Soapbox: Fixing North Edinburgh

Muirhouse man and award-winning film maker Garry Fraser gives his take on his community’s current problems …

It’s kinda ironic that the police put out their chopper every night and day, costing some were like £400 grand per month. The aim of this chopper is to catch the young team in their stolen cars and bikes. A’m sure the figures are out but North Edinburgh has the highest crime rate in Scotland. They have evicted folk, jailed folk, issued community sentence orders and then cut off another generation to jail as they are too old.

None of their policies work, which leaves the System scratching its head wondering ‘what are we doing wrong?’ You have a massive college in North Edinburgh where folk from around the world come to study – but only two streets away it’s another world. They shipped everybody out of Muirhouse when knocking down the Pennywell flats. Over the years they took away most forms of economic growth: i.e. the pipes and the gas works even Granton’s fishing boats.

Every local MP & MSP & councillor get in to their comfy seats and forget about this and do nothing, apart from sit over an HIV & smack epidemic that of course lasted through the 80’s & 90’s – now comes weed & legal highs.

Its like south central Edinburgh.. How many police stay in the area were they enforce the morals? How many of those wee guys, if trained in whatever, would probably take a job or go and study but only if they were helped and supported through the college system. Every brickie or trades guy who makes it from Muirhouse, Pilton, Royston or Drylaw ends up being one of the best on the site – that’s a fact …

Most folk down there who get a real chance and opportunity in work or education grab it with both hands as they know what the alternative is … that’s robbing, stealing, dealing and living within the chains of masculinity. That is now, because there are no real opportunities.

Ye need to empower a community and let them come up wi’ their own solutions. You need to invest in education to reduce the gap in equality.

You need to have a rehab or treatment centre bang in the community to get three generations of methadone and other daft prescription drugs clean: ye can’t sell green to addicts through drugs policies then jail folk for selling weed to pay for food, power and for some their own smoke.

Ye can’t put shops with pubs chippy’s and bookies then wonder why folk get addicted to putting bets on! Fatty foods, drink then say ‘Oh, why are they dying of preventable illnesses well before their time?’

When I went to college they say I saved them £1.6 million over three years in the social return on investment – imagine what these wee guys now are costing?

See whoever gets elected for the North Edinburgh do you think they will do anything about these injustices while they say they wish to cut austerity?

I taught maself to read, taught maself to write, love ma people and these rich folk take take take & give nothing back apart from academic reports done by their pals.

The system is rigged …

See city streets exhibition

A touring exhibition tracing 100 years of town planning in Edinburgh opened at the historic Museum of Edinburgh on Saturday.

The 100 Years of Planning temporary display, which launched at the city council’s Waverley Court headquarters in September before touring different corners of the city, takes the visitor through ten decades of the Edinburgh skyline from 1914 to the present day.

From the father of modern town planning, Sir Patrick Geddes, to the man who designed Edinburgh’s iconic police boxes, Ebenezer James Macrae, the exhibition takes a look at the personalities who have made significant contributions to the cityscape of the Capital.

Providing a remarkable insight into the changes which have occurred in the city over the last hundred years, the exhibition presents the opportunity to learn lessons from the past. As Edinburgh adapts to the changing social and economic conditions of the future, Sir Patrick Geddes’ concept of ‘Conservative Surgery’ – keeping the best from the past whilst improving the environment of the city for the future – will remain an important consideration for planning.

Edinburgh was at the forefront of town planning many years before the establishment of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and the New Town of Edinburgh, built between 1765 and 1850, is considered to be a masterpiece of city planning. Along with the Old Town, this area of Edinburgh is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Councillor Ian Perry, Convener of the Planning Committee, said: “This exhibition offers a fantastic opportunity to take stock of planning in Edinburgh over the last century. Our Edinburgh World Heritage site is part of the city’s international status and the display provides visitors with a great insight into how this has been achieved.”

Councillor Richard Lewis, Convener of the Culture and Sport Committee, added: “Above the entranceway to the Museum of Edinburgh there is a an old Latin inscription which translates as Today to me, tomorrow to thee. To me, this sums up Edinburgh’s streets and buildings which change and grow as the city gets older and is inherited by new generations. A timeline will run through the exhibition so that visitors can understand the city’s architecture and streets in context with other events that took place in the city and the wider world over the last 100 years.”

The Museum of Edinburgh is housed in a series of 16th to 18th century buildings arranged around a close off the Royal Mile, making parts of the site up to 500 years old. The exhibition is free to enter and will remain in the Museum until 20 June 2015.

Visit the exhibition to find out about some of the important personalities that have shaped the streets and skyline of Edinburgh

1920s: Sir Patrick Geddes – Edinburgh is fortunate to be so closely associated with Geddes, the father of modern town planning in the 1920s.

1930s: Ebenezer James Macrae – Macrae was influential, both as an early adopter and promoter of the idea of conservation, and as the creator of large swathes of inter-war Council house schemes, numerous schools, and the iconic Edinburgh police boxes.

1940s: Sir Patrick Abercrombie – Patrick Abercrombie was an extremely influential figure in UK planning. Abercrombie’s proposals for Princes Street included the creation of three separate decks. The upper level was to be a service road with all traffic diverted from it. The middle level, in the gardens, to be a car park and promenade area, with traffic restricted to a tunnel a level underneath.

1950s: Councillor Pat Rogan – Rogan was a prominent campaigner in the move to improve slum housing in Edinburgh. He took Harold Wilson on a tour of the slums, and the future prime minister pronounced them the worst he had ever seen.

1960s: Sir Basil Spence – was one of the most important and versatile British architects of the post-War period. He is associated with many buildings of the period including the design of residential blocks on the Canongate (1961-69), Mortonhall Crematorium (1967), and Edinburgh University library on George Square (1965).

1970s: Desmond Hodges OBE – Desmond Hodges became the first Director of the Edinburgh New Town Conservation Committee (ENTCC) in 1972. During his 22 years overseeing the project, the ENTCC carried out over 1,200 repair projects and offered over £7.5 million in grants.

1980s: Sir Terry Farrell – An architect, he has been influential in Edinburgh’s modern changes and was responsible for the Edinburgh Exchange District as well as designing the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

1990s: Professor David Begg – Professor David Begg was a Convenor of Transport who promoted innovative transport policies in the 1990s. His policies included giving buses priority on key ‘greenway’ routes, such as banning cars from driving along Princes Street. Many people strongly disagreed with his methods, but they set out the transport agenda that is still pursued today.

2000s: Enric Miralles – Miralles was a Spanish architect and graduate from the School of Architecture Barcelona, whose largest project came in the form of the Scottish Parliament Building.

Granton’s Walled Garden – update

Hi all,

A quick update to say the deputation to the City Chambers went really well with a decision made to review the outdated ‘minded to grant’ planning permission for the 17 luxury townhouses.

I didn’t expect local councillors to be so surprised by this garden’s existence, age and rarity, or the fact that it was a council arms-length company’s responsibility. Heartening indeed was their decision to review the individual planning application by WEL from 2003, in light of new planning policies meant to protect the Historic Environment and Scotland’s Cultural Heritage. Hopefully this time they will refuse it in recognition of the value of this garden as incredibly rare and valuable heritage greenspace.

STV News wrote a good covering article on our deputation (link below):

plea-to-save-grantons-forgotten-walled-garden-put-to-council

Next meeting

Thursday 12 March

6-7.30pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.

Please send in any agenda points you wish discussed.
Hopefully some of you can make this date and time.

Kirsty Sutherland,

Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden

PS: Can everyone fill in a membership form if you haven’t done so already, postcode is handy to identify areas support is coming from, full address isn’t needed unless you wish to receive correspondence by post rather than e-mail.

For more information check out Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden on FaceBook

Granton Community Council rejects marina plan

Granton & District Community Council Meeting has opposed the latest plans to redevelop Granton Marina. At their February meeting the community council agreed that the revised plans will not best serve Granton residents and they also called for improved community engagement.

Their response to the application reads:

“This community council notes the planning application by Granton Central Development.

Whilst we recognise that the Granton harbour area does require to be developed for the betterment of the local community we do not consider that the current application does this. In particular we are concerned about:

Density and scale of the housing that does not provide a sense of place
Lack of green space for children to play
Insufficient transport modelling with a focus on car use
Centralisation of retail outlets

We believe that achieving an environment in which people are encouraged to participate in the community and enjoy the city’s streets has a number of secondary long-term benefits of immense importance – for example, increased economic activity, better health from more active lifestyles and enhanced sense of personal safety and community. The current application does not do this and we agree to formally object to the current plan.

We further call on the Planning Department of CEC to arrange a Charettesplus community planning event. Charretteplus builds upon the traditional charrette model of engagement, promoted and supported by the Scottish Government through their Charrette Mainstreaming Programme. Charretteplus delivers more, to a greater number of people and provide the whole community input on what they would like to see in their community.”

The meeting discussed a wide range of issues as well as the marina planning application – on a busy agenda 20mph zones, the waterfront development and the city council’s budget were all discussed; see below for the Secretary’s report.

Secretary Report_Feb2015_v01

Dave Macnab (Secretary)

Granton and District Community Council
http://grantonanddistrictcommunitycouncil.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantonDistCC

Community Regeneration: what is it all about?

Blue sky thinking: Granton Improvement Society calls for real community planning

The idea of “community regeneration” certainly is not new but at this time in Scotland, with new Scottish government legislation on Community Empowerment, the time is now better than ever before for communities to take more control of assets. We can shape our community involving all who live, work and play within it. Now that would be real community regeneration!

Politicians talk about regeneration but do they deliver? What does that mean for the residents of North Edinburgh? We have a badly needed housing development in Muirhouse but without complementary services. The rest of the locality is left to decay with budget cuts making it harder for politicians (the council) to regenerate the larger area.

The people of the area know what is needed to regenerate their environment and it is not just housing. The Granton on Sea project can be the corner stone of such development. A project that provides benefits across a wide spectrum of issues that have been unresolved over the past 20 years – even though the area was designated as a major regeneration area within the City of Edinburgh.

A community regeneration project requires the assets of the community to be in total, outright ownership of that community: this is not in place.

Why then, when Scottish government policy is to transfer assets to communities have EDI, chaired by Councillor Frank Ross who is also convenor of the Economic Development committee, denied the project Granton on Sea the opportunity to begin one of Scotland’s largest and most ambitious regeneration plans?

The EDI Finance Director and Waterfront manager both recommended that Granton Improvement Society be given a two year period where it would fully develop the project with the Lottery’s Growing Community Assets unit. After eighteen months it would begin to provide employment, training, tourism opportunities, visitors and more economic benefits to North Edinburgh.

How will the project bring benefit?

The acquisition of the land by the Granton Improvement Society will see the development of 54 luxury houses stopped and replaced with an International Garden Festival and create artisan studios in green space on the adjoining plot of land.

The proposal will provide upwards of 100 permanent full time and part-time jobs, training and education in horticulture and other professions and trades. It will be an opportunity for local people to start up business in affordable workspaces. The unique visitor attraction of the International Garden Festival where each year it is different will ensure returning visitors to the project. That influx of tourists both national and international will see their spending retained in the local economy.

The real main benefit that the Granton on Sea project will bring is a local charity The Granton Improvement Society, whose main objective is the regeneration of the North Edinburgh area. It will manage the income from the artisan village and the Garden Festival for the benefit of other projects throughout the North Edinburgh area.

What do we need from you, the community?

This community has waited for regeneration benefits for decades with the community being told that the benefits are coming, this has clearly not happened. We are not giving up! We are asking you to join the Granton Improvement Society and create a place for people to live work and play!

Application forms for the Granton Improvement Society can be downloaded at

https://grantonimprovementsociety.wordpress.com/

and are available from the secretary, email

info@grantonimprovementsociety.org

Letters: where have all the bathrooms gone?

Dear Editor

In the latest edition of NEN, Edinburgh Council brag about the regeneration of Pennywell/Muirhouse with the building of the new houses, which is good – but as a long-standing tenant I would like to know where the new kitchen and bathrooms for which we have been waiting years have gone?

Thomas Scott (by email)

The future of Granton Harbour?

A steady stream of interested local residents called in to Granton Youth Centre to see the latest plans for Granton Marina earlier this month.

The latest plan is to create a ‘unique coastal community’, featuring:

1500 new homes (with parking provision for each one)
An international-standard five-star marina and Spa Hotel with 113 bedrooms and a restaurant/bar seating 125, plus coffee shop,
A health spa with indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi
Conference facilities
A marina and boatyard with 400 berths
30,000 sq m of retail, leisure and business space
‘Best of Scotland’ indoor market
Fashion outlet mall
A food court and restaurants
Covered walkway to and from car parking
A multi-storey car park
The Granton spur section of the tram line (with a tram stop) is also factored in.

Views on the day were divided. Some welcome the idea of long-overdue investment in an area with undoubted potential, while others have major concerns over the traffic implications.

One Lower Granton Road resident said: “We’ve seen plans like this before and they’ve come to nothing so I won’t be holding my breath. Personally I don’t think many local residents would have too much difficulty with what’s being proposed but for one major drawback – traffic.

“First the heavy lorries when the site is being constructed, then the sheer volume of traffic a development of this nature could bring is a real worry. We could see thousands of additional cars – visitors and residents – on local roads.

“Roads and traffic have been a problem down here for years and can’t cope with the volume of traffic as it is – these proposals would make it a hell of a lot worse. Planners will have to consider ways of resolving that, because if they don’t this development is a non-starter.”

Developers will examine comments made on the day and produce a report before moving on to the next stage of the planning process. There’s clearly a lot more talking to be done.

Housing Minister visits North Edinburgh

‘ a fantastic example of how housing can transform a community’ – Housing Minister Margaret Burgess MSP

Housing Minister Margaret Burgess MSP joined Edinburgh’s Housing Convener Councillor Cammy Day for a tour of the 719 house Pennywell construction site earlier today.

Pennywell is one of Scotland’s largest housing-led regeneration projects and is set to provide 356 social and mid-market rent homes, along with 363 new properties for private sale. The extensive development, which is being built by developers Urban Union, is a result of a major investment of £42 million by the City of Edinburgh Council and includes £7.9 million grant funding from the Scottish Government.

Housing Minister, Margaret Burgess, said: “Making sure everyone in Scotland has access to good quality housing is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s drive to secure economic growth, strengthen communities and tackle inequalities.

“Of the 719 houses being built, I am delighted to see that 356 will be affordable homes and that the area will benefit from £7.9 million of Scottish Government funding on top of the significant investment from the City of Edinburgh Council.

“These new homes will replace poor quality housing and will give the area a new lease of life. In addition to this the project is delivering community benefits by supporting apprenticeships.

“It is an honour to launch the Pennywell and Muirhouse Regeneration, which is one of the largest housing led regeneration projects in Scotland, and is a fantastic example of how housing can transform a community.”

Housing Convener, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “Pennywell is a fantastic development and will greatly enhance the area. We are committed to investing in high quality, energy efficient, affordable housing and this is the perfect example of how this can be achieved.

“The project has already created jobs for local people and I am confident that Pennywell will be an asset, not only to its residents, but as part of the overall regeneration of the north of Edinburgh.”

The construction of the new homes will bring 60 new jobs and apprenticeships to the area, along with 180 work experience placements. Cllr Day and the Minister met with local resident Courtney Rankine during the visit, who gained employment as an administrator on the project.

Local people have also been heavily involved in shaping plans for the public spaces within the development and the overall master plan for the area.

After a tour of the construction site – and a flying visit to Muirhouse Community Shop -they then visited Lindsey Wilson, a tenant of a new Council property in nearby West Pilton Crescent. Like the homes under construction in Pennywell, her flat is a modern, energy efficient home and gave the Minister an insight into how the completed properties on the development will look.

Both West Pilton Crescent and Pennywell are part of the Council’s 21st Century Homes project, which aims to create high quality social housing by developing brownfield sites across the Capital.

Lindsey (pictured below with 17 month old son Dylan) said: “My new home is amazing! I was given notice to leave my private let and I was staying in temporary accommodation before I got this place. This is luxury compared to my private let – it is so much bigger, cleaner and warmer. I was spending £40 per week on my pre-payment meter in my last house but now I’m only spending £11, which is fantastic.

“My housing officer has been great and is always there if I have any issues. The kids love the playground and see the green space as their garden! I have just got a job down in Morrison’s – I start tomorrow – and things are really working out well for me.”

In response to the high demand for affordable homes in Edinburgh, 21st Century Homes will deliver 1,400 new properties for rent and sale throughout the city. The first to be built by the project were in the Gracemount area, where 87 homes were created, along with 12 shared equity properties.

Phase two of this development is now underway and coincides with the construction of 94 new Council homes in West Pilton Crescent and Greendykes. Plans to expand the project in other parts of the Capital by a further 400 houses are also currently being considered.

Janice Russell, Director of Urban Union, said: “Pennywell Living is one of the largest projects of its kind in Scotland, and we are pleased to share its progress with the Housing Minister today.

“The development is about much more than just bringing high quality new homes to the area. We are working in partnership with the Council to create a sustainable community that people want to live in. We are committed to delivering jobs and training opportunities, public open space and an art works strategy which will provide a range of activities and events for community involvement.

“By creating a sense of place we hope to attract a vibrant mix of people to the area, encouraging pride in the community and ultimately driving genuine regeneration in Pennywell.”