summit – Page 2 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Letter: Mayhem in The Meadows

Summit and Action Plan urgently needed, says resident

Mayhem in the Meadows

Over the course of six months between May and October 1886, 135 years ago, the Edinburgh International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art attracted an incredible 2.7 million visitors to Scotland’s capital.

An astonishing 30,000 people attended on the first day, with 10,000 season tickets sold at one guinea each.

The exhibition’s enormous main pavilion was a sight to behold. It filled the Meadows Parkland between Brougham Place and what is now Jawbone Walk. The domed roof kissed the sky at 120 feet tall and was decorated with the signs of the zodiac.

I was struck as to what our forefathers responsible for creating and attending this would have thought after witnessing the events in the Meadows on Saturday (3^rd April).

What occurred has been well documented:

– https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-meadows-chaos-sees-teen-20319859

– and I won’t spend much time on this, but the scenes of violence, anti-social behaviour and urinating/defecating in neighbouring streets and on the Meadows was something those of us living locally should not have to put up with.

We have had enough.

It should also be noted that this is not a one-off. Roseneath Place for example is commonly used effectively as a public toilet known as the “pee street” and the rubbish left after such occasions on the Meadows is appalling. We are sick and tired of having to go out and clean up and am sure council workers have better things to do.

Without urgent action a long summer lies ahead and what is happening is in clear breach of the Covid-restrictions.

I am conscious that this has been a difficult time for young people, especially on their mental health, but behaviour like this cannot and should not be tolerated, especially as we are going through a fragile Covid-recovery.

The Meadows is now “the place” to go for teenagers, with thousands congregating and clearly overwhelming police, who I have considerable sympathy with and are in an incredibly difficult situation. Large groups are in clear breach of the Covid-regulations and it should be noted that these are not just local teenagers, with large numbers arriving in taxis/using public transport.

A combination of deterring groups of teenagers from attending plus cracking down on anti-social behaviour for those who do is vital. I have a few suggestions which may want to be considered/built on.

A Meadows’ summit needs to be implemented very quickly to look at what can be done to try and prevent this happening again through delivering an action plan. Not something in six-months time, but now.

Such a group could involve key representatives from the Council – council officials and councillors – MP; community councils, Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links, retailers and police (am conscious given the election there is no MSP(s)). This can clearly be pulled together very quickly given the wonders of modern technology.

Some thoughts for consideration below:

Licensing – it was clear from the young people queuing outside shops locally that a large number were underage and should not have been able to buy alcohol. The impact of alcohol on behaviour was clear for all to see. A reminder to shop-owners of their responsibilities is a suggestion.
Toilets – a lack of toilets is an issue. We have to acknowledge that even if we manage to deter groups of teenagers attending and breaching Covid-regulations, they are not enough facilities to accommodate. The provision of some portaloos would be an option, preventing people urinating/defecating in local streets.
Bins – unfortunately many are too lazy to take their rubbish to a bin or take it away. The provision of some black bins on the Meadows itself may be an issue and implementation of a BYOB – Bring Your Own Bag Campaign – tied in with some environmental messaging. Although I am conscious of the potential impact of locating bins on the grass. Potential also to use park wardens (as per 4)) to distribute bags.
Park wardens – provision of park wardens handing out bags, implementing fines for those littering. The presence of someone on Roseneath Place on a summer’s day as a deterrent to those using it as a public toilet would be welcomed.
CCTV – has the potential to deter if people know they are being “caught on camera”. For those engaging in anti-social behaviour there is the evidence to convict.
Police – having to deal with this is a massive waste of police resources, which can be deployed elsewhere. Groups of individuals must be deterred from attending, but there does however require to be a police presence to crack down on those who do, with a zero- tolerance message. Early intervention through a strong presence early on has the potential to prevent having to address out of control crowds later on. This includes removing alcohol, breaking up crowds and implementing fines.
Parental responsibility – parents clearly have a responsibility in ascertaining what their children are up to. Could a communication maybe be sent by the Council to parents to explain what has been happening, for them to question where their children are going when out and where they have been, and to also highlight the Covid-restrictions?

Ultimately, addressing issues after they happen is much more resource-intensive than trying to prevent them occurring in the first place.

These are a few suggestions any group may want to look at. The Meadows is a much-loved and appreciated resource, and we must all act to try and keep it that way.

Yours with thanks and for consideration

Alex Orr

Prime Minister: G20 must work together to defeat the pandemic and protect the planet

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge G20 leaders to take more ambitious action to defeat the pandemic and address climate change, as he attends a virtual summit this weekend.

Hosted by Saudi Arabia, the G20 Summit will bring together world leaders for two days of discussions on how to drive the global recovery from coronavirus and build back better.

At a session on ‘Overcoming the Pandemic and Restoring Growth and Jobs’ today [Saturday 21st], Boris Johnson will note the UK’s commitment to equitable global access for coronavirus vaccines and encourage others to step up and support the COVAX initiative, to ensure developing countries are not frozen out of the race for a vaccine.

On Sunday [22nd], he will welcome recent Net Zero commitments from a number of G20 countries at a session on ‘Building an Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Future’, and call on others to make the same pledge. Ahead of the Climate Ambition Summit co-hosted by the UK on December 12th, the Prime Minister will warn that we risk failing future generations if states do not take bold steps to reduce their emissions.

Speaking ahead of the G20, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The G20 committed in March to do ‘whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic and protect lives and livelihoods’. As we meet this weekend, we must hold ourselves to account for that promise.

“If we harness the collective ingenuity and resources of the G20, we can chart a path out of the pandemic and build a better, greener future.”

The Prime Minister is attending the G20 remotely from Downing Street on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd November. Both sessions are expected to take place in the afternoon.

Craigroyston summit: ‘a common focus to drive up standards’

‘everyone around the table shared my desire to ensure Scottish education is the best it can be’ – Education Secretary John Swinney

Headteachers across Scotland will be provided with extra support to deliver excellence in schools and work to close the attainment gap, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday as she hosted a summit on raising attainment in Scotland’s schools. Continue reading Craigroyston summit: ‘a common focus to drive up standards’

Summit to tackle child abuse

“We must act now to ensure we offer the best protection to all of our children and young people. This summit is a welcome step in that direction.” – ACC Malcolm Graham, Police Scotland

The Scottish Government is to host a summit on protecting our children and young people this week. Ministers, local authorities and children’s charities will meet in Edinburgh on Wednesday to discuss how they can work together to ensure child protection policies are as robust as possible to keep our young people safe.

Local authorities across Scotland are attending the summit alongside police, health boards, Children in Scotland, Barnardo’s Scotland, WithScotland, the Care inspectorate and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Children’s charities, police and young people are being consulted on the shape of the campaign to ensure it reaches those who are at risk of exploitation and makes a real measurable difference to tackling the issue, and a wide-ranging public information campaign to tackle child sexual exploitation is being launched by the Scottish Government later this year.

The Scottish Government unveiled a national action plan on child sexual exploitation to the Scottish Parliament last November which was published alongside a report from Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock into the working of the Scottish Child Protection System.

The summit was one of the key recommendations of the report to address the findings of recent Care Inspectorate reports and ensure roles and responsibilities are clear.

Education Secretary Angela Constance said: “The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority for this Government and an issue we take extremely seriously. That’s why we work continuously with law enforcement, children’s charities, Parliament and others to protect children from abuse and target those who attempt to prey on them.

“This week’s summit, our wide ranging national action plan and the commissioning of the Jackie Brock report are a few of a number of steps we are taking to protect our children. Our public information campaign to be launched this year will build on this activity to safeguard young people at risk before they become targets of this terrible crime.”

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham, Police Scotland lead for Public Protection said: “Protecting children and tackling all forms of child abuse is a priority for Police Scotland. It is a complex and challenging area of policing, often with different challenges in different areas. As Police Scotland, we bring a consistent approach to tackling offending against children in all its forms: child abuse or child sexual exploitation, and increasingly, online offending which can add an international dimension to our investigations.

“Prevention has to be our focus going forward and we are committed to working collaboratively with our local partners, both statutory and non-statutory and within local communities, to identify where there is risk and to take a proactive, multi agency approach to protecting children and young people. More than anything we must listen to young people and build their confidence that they will be heard and that we will act.

“Our new National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, which will be deployed into each of our 14 divisions when there are complex enquiries and as part of the local multi agency response to child protection, will enhance further our approach to supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice.

“We must act now to ensure we offer the best protection to all of our children and young people. This summit is a welcome step in that direction.”

Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “We are pleased to be contributing to this important event which demonstrates a serious commitment to tackling the horrendous crime of child sexual exploitation.

”Barnardo’s Scotland has over 20 years experience of supporting exploited children and we know it is vital that all agencies work together to both support children and tackle the perpetrators of these vile crimes.”