Tag: wasps

Green light for Wasps to get Granton Station buzzing

Arts and social enterprise charity, Wasps, is to breathe new life into the former Granton Station after the Finance and Resources Committee approved their lease yesterday.

The Edwardian former station is to be transformed into a cultural and creative hub by Wasps, Scotland’s largest provider of studio space for artists and creative industries.

The first spades were put in the ground in June to bring the historic former Granton Station back to life as a high-quality creative workspace within the community, with a new public square in front of the building for pop-up events and recreation.

At a cost of around £4.75m, the project is being part-funded through Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund support and town centre funding. This project is part of the Council’s £1.3bn wider regeneration of the area.

Wasps is set to move into the building in 2022 to create the cultural hub, providing space to support around 40 jobs, as well as helping around 100 people each year with creative business development opportunities.

The Glasgow-based social enterprise charity will deliver a heritage programme for local people and railway enthusiasts on the unique history of the location, as well as providing exhibition space to showcase local talent. They’ll also host workshops and a series of outdoor and online events for locals, with the potential to attract thousands of visitors to the area.

Councillor Rob Munn, Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, said: “I’m delighted that the Committee has approved the lease for this historic building so Wasps can now start putting their exciting plans into place to bring this fantastic piece of Edwardian architecture back to life.

“The arts and cultural activities and events planned by them will attract thousands of visitors to Granton Waterfront, as well as nurturing artistic and cultural talent in the local area.

Depute Council Leader Cammy Day, said: “In June, we saw the first spades going in the ground to create this fantastic new space for artistic and cultural talent and we’ll soon be announcing the name of the new square being developed in front of it.

“The new hub run by Wasps will be a key focal point in our wider £1.3bn regeneration of the local area, creating new homes, jobs and communities. I’ve met with Wasps recently and I’m keen to see them work with existing local community groups.

“I’m very much looking forward to working with Wasps as they move forward and develop their exciting plans for the building and the wider Granton Waterfront area and beyond.

Audrey Carlin, Wasps’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Wasps and for the area, as part of a wider cultural regeneration initiative. Wasps already supports 180 artists in Edinburgh, and this new facility, at the gateway into Granton, will incubate more digitally based creative people.

“On completion it will attract a diverse and vibrant community to the heart of Granton, and provide new opportunities for established communities in North Edinburgh, while acknowledging the heritage of the building and its connection to the city.

“The project also offers new employment and community engagement opportunities, something we have helped to foster successfully at other locations across Scotland.”

Fruit flies, fleas and bedbugs: the top three pests we’re searching the internet to remove

  • Fruit flies top the list of Britain’s most troublesome pests as new research reveals the top infestations we’re trying to get rid of
  • Fleas are in second and bedbugs are third in skin crawling analysis of Google search data

A new study has found that the UK’s most Googled pest problem is fruit flies. The tiny fly tops the list for the most searched pest at the end of the phrase ‘how to get rid of … ‘

The research by experts 24/7 Pest Control found that other popular – or rather unpopular – searches are fleas in second, bed bugs in third and rats in fourth.

Fifth place belongs to mice, while perennial picnic ruiner the wasp is in fifth. Ants take seventh place, flies are in eighth, silverfish are ninth and moles are the tenth most searched pest.

Although arachnophobia is a common fear, searches for “how to get rid of spiders” rank outside the top ten in 11th position.

Searches for how to eradicate fruit flies total more than 19,000 on average each month. “How to get rid of fleas” is searched an average of just over 16,000 times each month, while advice on bed bugs receives a similar number.

The study also analysed search trends, finding that searches for how to get rid of fruit flies spike each year in August, and in 2020 the phrase received its highest ever number of searches.

Fruit flies are especially common toward the end of summer because they are attracted to ripened or fermenting fruits and vegetables, making foods like bananas, potatoes and onions, which are often unrefrigerated, a key source of contamination.

Fleas provoke a similar late-summer spike with searches at their highest in August and September.

“How to get rid of bed bugs” doesn’t follow such a clear pattern, however April 2020, just as the UK’s first national lockdown had begun, saw the highest ever number of searches for the phrase.

Commenting on the results, a spokesperson for 24/7 Pest Control said: “These results show that a pest doesn’t need to be big to cause problems. Fleas and bedbugs can be particularly difficult to get rid of, so the infestation can eat away at you in more ways than one.

“Although people might feel embarrassed about their pest problems, the volume of monthly searches shows that they’re very common across the country.”

Globally the biggest pest problem that people are hoping to eradicate is flies, followed by rats, with mice in third, while ants are in fourth and bed bugs are fifth.

The research was carried out by 24/7 Pest Control, which aims to provide effective pest control services and make them as easily available as possible.

The UK’s most Googled pest problems, ranked by monthly average number of searches

  1. fruit flies – 19,100
  2. fleas – 16,300
  3. bed bugs – 16,100
  4. rats – 13,000
  5. mice – 12,200
  6. wasps – 11,000
  7. ants – 10,300
  8. flies – 8,100
  9. silverfish – 6,400
  10. moles – 6,000

www.247pestcontrol.co.uk