UPDATE: Around 2.55pm on Wednesday, 11 October, 2023, the body of a man was discovered next to an industrial estate in Newhailes Road, Musselburgh.
Formal identification is still to take place, however the next of kin of missing man Martin Sinnett, 70, has been informed.
Police officers were in Musselburgh yesterday to stop and speak to motorists two weeks on from when missing man Martin Sinnett, 70, was last seen.
The last confirmed sighting of Martin was around 9.20am on Tuesday, 26 September, in Newhailes Road, Musselburgh, where he was seen walking south away from the Shell petrol station at the junction with Edinburgh Road.
Shortly before this sighting, he was seen around 8.45am on North High Street.
Martin is believed to have walked to the Musselburgh area from Edinburgh, having been sighted outside a motorbike training centre in Seafield Road around 6.45am.
Inspector Colin Fordyce said yesterday: “We are becoming increasingly concerned for Martin’s welfare, particularly given his age and the length of time he has now been missing.
“Officers will be stopping motorists this morning, exactly two weeks on from when Martin was last seen, in a bid to glean any information which could lead to tracing him.
“We are looking to speak to people who take this route through Musselburgh regularly and asking them to cast their minds back to the morning of Tuesday, 26 September, to consider whether they may have seen Martin in the area or have dash-cam footage.
“We would also urge people to continue to check any outbuildings and garden sheds in case Martin has sought shelter somewhere.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0708 of 26 September.
A six-week consultation is asking residents, businesses and other interested groups how they think Seafield could be transformed and regenerated into a vibrant new 20-minute neighbourhood.
The consultation is being run by the City of Edinburgh Council and Seafield: Connecting Coastal Communities*.
The local community is being invited to attend two events where they can give their views in person. Those attending will be asked what they like best about the area just now, what kind of housing they would like built there in the future and how the existing promenade could be improved.
The consultation is also seeking to get views from the local community on what other facilities they would like in the area such as health centres, schools and shops as well as how public transport could be improved.
Thursday, 27 April between 3pm – 8pm at The Ripple Project Cafe, 198 Restalrig Road South, Craigentinny.
Saturday, 29 April Between 12:30pm – 3:30pm Bellfield (Celebration Foyer) 16B Bellfield Street, Portobello.
Cllr James Dalgleish Planning Convener said: “This part of our precious coast in Edinburgh has been highlighted as an area which can be greatly improved and regenerated in our draft City Plan 2030, currently with Scottish Ministers for approval.
“We’re at an early stage looking at how we can use sustainable 20-minute neighbourhood principles at Seafield, a new way of thinking for us in Edinburgh. We want to make Seafield more sustainable, with improved access to quality services.
“This is the start of a conversation with the local community to empower them to help us to make this happen. A 20-minute neighbourhood in Edinburgh is about living well locally, giving residents the ability to meet most of their daily needs by walking, cycling, wheeling or taking public transport. Residents will be able to live, shop, work and travel more easily and enjoy well-connected spaces with and improved greener public transport.
“I’d encourage everyone with a link to Seafield to come along and tell us how what kind of homes and other facilities they would like to see built at Seafield for future generations to come. If you can’t make the events please do fill out our short survey as it’s really important we hear from as many people as possible about this important regeneration project for the city.
“The next stage is for the Council to share a draft vision for feedback before consulting on a draft masterplan for Seafield this summer. This will then be presented to the Council’s Planning Committee for approval.”
*Seafield: Connecting Coastal Communities is a group made up of the following community councils:
Detectives in Edinburgh are appealing for information after a man was assaulted and robbed by three youths in Seafield.
Around 5.30pm on Tuesday (24 January 2023) the man sustained minor injuries after three males struck him on the head with a weapon and stole his rucksack and laptop as he made his way along the cycle path between Seafield Street and Pirniefield.
The suspects are described as:
The first was around 14-years-old, with a Scottish accent, slim build, wearing a snood, dressed in black and riding a black scooter.
The second, with the weapon, was about 16/17-years-old, stocky build, 5ft 9, Scottish accent, wearing a dark hoodie with the hood tied tight, red snood, black jogging bottoms and black trainers.
The third was around 14/15-years-old, wearing dark clothing and silver trainers. Both were on electric bikes.
Detective Sergeant Keith Taylor, Violence Reduction Unit, said: “Extensive enquiries are ongoing to trace the people responsible, and we encourage anyone with information about this attack to contact police.
“Think back, did you see these three youths in the area around this time?
“We are also appealing for anyone who may have relevant dash-cam footage from the Seafield Road area around 5.30pm on Tuesday to get in touch.
“Please contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting reference number 3094 of Tuesday, 24 January, 2023.”
Motorpoint, the UK’s largest independent retailer of cars and vans will open the doors to its new Edinburgh store in September 2022.
Motorpoint Edinburgh, located in Baileyfield Road, Portabello is now recruiting 30 new team members across Sales, Service, Administration and Vehicle Preparation.
Motorpoint already has a well-established store in Glasgow with a record of selling a nearly new vehicle to every postcode in Scotland.
Employing more than 900 people across the UK, Motorpoint recently achieved number one position on the Best Companies to Work for in the Automotive Sector 2022 list.
The 33,000 sq. ft Edinburgh store will stock around 400 Clean Air Compliant vehicles on site with 1000’s more available via Motorpoint’s online store.
The Motorpoint Price Promise means that Motorpoint guarantees to provide its customers with cars and vans at Unbeatable Prices.
Up to 30 new jobs are being created in Edinburgh by Motorpoint, the UK’s largest independent car retailer of nearly new cars and vans.
Located at Motorpoint’s stylish new store at 25 Baileyfield Road, the new roles will include positions in Sales, Service, Administration and Vehicle Preparation.
Richard Start, Regional Retail Director at Motorpoint Edinburgh said: “We are excited about the opening of our new store in Edinburgh. We are busy transforming the site with an extensive multimillion pound investment to get ready for our September 2022 opening day. We are now keen to recruit team members to join us at our new Edinburgh store.
“We are looking for up to 30 new colleagues to join our team and there’s a range of roles to apply for. We offer a great remuneration and benefits package and are looking for motivated people who want to be a part of Motorpoint’s ongoing nationwide success story.
“We already have a strong Motorpoint presence in Scotland with a well-established store in Glasgow and our Preparation Centre in Motherwell. We’ve sold a car to every postcode in Scotland and are proud of our award-winning track record for delivering first class customer service.
Hannah Litt, Motorpoint’s Head of Recruitment and Inclusion said: “We are extremely proud of our company culture and our record as an equal opportunities’ employer.
“We have a strong focus on providing an exceptional working environment. Our staff enjoy a fantastic range of benefits and there is wealth of opportunity for career development and progression within Motorpoint.
“We have a strong ethos of being part of the wider community in the areas where our stores are located; we have an active fundraising programme that supports local and national charities and events.”
Head over to Motorpoint’s careers page at careers.motorpoint.co.uk or find out more on our LinkedIn company page or Twitter page.
Developers, Manse (Seafield) LLP and J. Smart & Co. (Contractors) PLC have jointly submitted a planning application for the delivery of an exciting residential development on the site of the former Vauxhall Garage on Seafield Road East.
The proposed redevelopment will act as a catalyst for the overall regeneration of Seafield and see the delivery of up to 220 much-needed new homes, including affordable housing, on a brownfield site currently used as car showrooms.
The application for Planning Permission in Principle (PPiP), has been designed to meet the aspiration of the City Council for the delivery of sustainable new residential development on brownfield sites within the City.
The Seafield area is currently dominated by industrial and car retail operations and the existing Local Development Plan envisages alternative uses, such as residential, to be acceptable in the area.
The City Council’s recently published Proposed City Plan 2030 also sets out a long-term vision for this part of the city as a substantial new urban residential quarter. The Manse and Smart proposals present an ideal opportunity for the early realisation of this vision.
A public consultation event was held in February last year and feedback from this has been incorporated into the emerging proposals and a series of positive pre-application meetings has been held with City Council planning, highways, flood, environmental and landscape officials.
It is expected that, subject to successful determination of the application, redevelopment of the property could begin in 2023 following the relocation of the car showrooms to new purpose-built facilities.
Commenting on this, Colin MacPherson from Manse said: “We are delighted to be bringing forward this planning application for Seafield. It will serve to act as a much-needed catalyst, meeting Council aspirations for the overall regeneration of the area and its desire for residential development on brownfield sites to meet the city’s housing needs.”
Comprehensive Design Architects(CDA) has filed outline plans to build a mixed-use development with 285 apartments on Leith’s Salamander Street.
Landowner John G Russell (Transport) Ltd said properties on the 3.4-acre site are surplus to requirements and plans to demolish these buildings ahead of the redevelopment of the site.
The redevelopment proposes a residential-led, mixed-use development which would offer approximately 300 new residential apartments of which 25% will be affordable homes in line with council planning policy.
Commercial uses will be provided at ground floor level and other ancillary development will include car parking, access, landscaping and associated infrastructure.
In a planning statement submitted with the plans, CDA wrote: “The varying scale of the proposal looks to add visual interest to the design whilst minimising any potential canyoning effect on the narrow width of Salamander Street.
“By increasing the height of the buildings the overall built footprint on the site can be reduced thus freeing up space for external amenity as well as pedestrian, cycle and vehicle access.
“Although accommodation at ground floor is limited due to flood levels, upper ground floor flats will have private gardens providing amenity as well as defensible zones.”
The public will be given a chance to have their say on proposals to deliver residential-led development at 22-25 Seafield Road.
Manse (Seafield) LLP will be holding a web-based, digital consultation for their exciting residential-led mixed-use development at Seafield Road. This is at the site of the current Peter Vardy Vauxhall Garage along with neighbouring Arnold Clark and Buccleuch Property sites on Seafield Road.
The wider Seafield area, of which this forms part, is allocated for residential development in City of Edinburgh Council’s Choices for City Plan 2030. This is the first stage in the development of the Local Development Plan, which guides future development in the city.
Manse (Seafield) LLP has now submitted a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN), which signals the intent to submit a planning application following the consultation with the City of Edinburgh Council.
The Scottish Government has suspended in-person public consultation events due to COVID-19.
Full details about the proposals will be made available to the public at 9 am on 28 January on the dedicated project website: (http://seafieldroad.scot/). An online consultation will take place between 3pm and 7pm.
Consultants will be available during those hours to answer any questions and receive feedback through a two-way chat system. Feedback can also be submitted via the website and information will be made available in paper format, if requested.
Any representations or suggestions for changes to the proposals shared during the online event will be included in a Pre-Application Consultation report to accompany future applications.
Manse will work with the City of Edinburgh Council, Craigentinny and Meadowbank Community Council, and other stakeholders, to ensure the delivery of this new, exciting community quarter in line with the aspirations of the emerging Local Development Plan.
Commenting on this, Colin MacPherson from Manse LLP said:“We’re thrilled to be giving the public the chance to have a say on the future of Seafield.
“These proposals will greatly assist in the regeneration of this part of the city, and we are consulting extensively to ensure that that the public have an opportunity to input their views and help us shape our ambitious proposals.”
Proposals have been put forward by Manse (Seafield) LLP for the delivery of an exciting residential-led mixed-use development on the site of the current Peter Vardy Vauxhall Garage on Seafield Road (24 Seafield Road).
The wider general Seafield site, of which this forms part, is allocated for residential development in City of Edinburgh Council’s Choices for City Plan 2030. This the first stage in the development of the Local Development Plan, which guides future development in the city.
A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN), which signals the intent to submit a planning application following consultation has now been submitted by Manse (Seafield) LLP to City of Edinburgh Council.
While ideally it would be good see the delivery of the whole Seafield site at the same time, not all sites can come forward simultaneously for a variety of reasons. This includes the issue of long leases in place with current tenants and the existing business plans of landowners. This can therefore mean that it will be over 10 years before some areas of Seafield could be developed.
Delivery of this first phase will instil investor confidence that the whole area can ultimately be built out.
The known challenges in building out some of the larger Masterplan sites around the city, even when the market is positive, also demonstrates why landowner buy-in to kick-start this process is essential. This will inspire confidence that not only this site, but that the wider Seafield area is deliverable, and is especially important as when it comes to economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The submission of the PAN will allow the public to engage in the process and assist with the Sounding Board discussions / debates that are taking place involving local stakeholders. A digital consultation event will take place on Thursday 28th January from 3pm-7pm and can be accessed at www.seafieldroad.scot.
In addition, a PAN submission will deliver detailed input from Council officers (including highways, flood, landscape, environmental, education) and other parties such as Scottish Water / SEPA. as site designs cannot be meaningfully progressed without knowing the site’s key technical constraints and opportunities.
Manse have also commissioned research work on transport, ground conditions and drainage infrastructure both locally and for the wider area.
This will assist in proactively informing the layout, land uses and overall design and ensures the Masterplan Principles for the whole Seafield area are developed with sound underlying technical information.
Manse will work with City of Edinburgh Council, Craigentinny and Meadowbank Community Council as well as other stakeholders, to ensure the delivery of this new, exciting community quarter in line with the aspirations of the Local Development Plan.
Colin MacPherson from Manse said: “We are delighted to be bringing forward these exciting proposals for Seafield, which will serve to demonstrate that not only this site, but development of the wider area is achievable.
“As we have seen with major Masterplan sites across the city, building out an area with the complexity of the whole Seafield will take some time. Our proposals for this first phase will hopefully serve to kick-start that process and instil investor confidence in its deliverability.
“We look forward to continuing to engage with local stakeholders and the community as a whole as we progress this process.”
Police investigating the discovery of the remains of a baby in East Edinburgh are appealing to the public for information that can assist their inquiries.
The remains were discovered in undergrowth around 5pm on Sunday (July 29), by a member of the public who was walking his dog on Restalrig Path, near Seafield Cemetery.
Inquiries are underway in order to identify the remains and establish how they came to be located in the area, which has been cordoned off while forensic and other inquiries take place at the scene. Officers are also carrying out inquiries in the local community to gather further information.
Detective Chief Inspector David McLaren said: “Our investigation to establish the identity of the baby and how it came to be on Restalrig Path is at a very early stage.
“However regardless of the circumstances surrounding this baby’s death there is clearly a mother out there who may be in need of either medical attention or emotional support.
“Our priority at this time is to locate her and provide her with all the help and support we can. If the mother reads this appeal then I would urge her to get in touch, and I want to reassure her that we have her welfare at heart.
“In addition, I would urge anyone who has used Restalrig Path in the last few days or weeks, who has seen something suspicious or unusual that may assist our investigation, to contact us.”
Anyone with information should contact Police Scotland on 101, or make an anonymous report through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
