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Saturday 27 September 2008

Letter from Community Council objecting to PO closure

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13/5 Spottiswoode Street

Edinburgh EH9 1EP

0131 229 8024

23 September 2008

Email: annelaird@freenet.co.uk

RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION ON CLOSURE OF WARRENDER PARK ROAD POST OFFICE EDINBURGH

The Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council strongly oppose the closure of the above post office. Aspects of your Branch Access Report were wrong and you have not carried out a sufficiently thorough inspection of the site or the alternatives which you are required to do and which you undertake to do in your Frequently Asked Questions. In order to address these issues we have looked closely at the alternatives and carried out our own consultation process by interviewing 1073 customers during the week 16 September to 22 September. This of course is less than the customers who used the Branch as we did not have the manpower to interview all customers. This response is a summation of our findings.

1 The errors in regard to Warrender Park Road Post Office.

(a) Ease of Access. There is a fundamental error here. This post office has very efficient access arrangements which work well and are frequently used. There is a bell easily reached from a wheelchair and, where necessary, the postmaster answers immediately and assists. Wheel chairs and double buggies gain easy entry. Planning Permission and grant has been obtained to ramp the step. The severely disabled who used the post office do so for all their business. The majority of the elderly and those who were disabled either walked but could not manage buses or came by car because of the ease of parking and ease of access. All in this group are extremely concerned and do not know how they are going to manage to go elsewhere for reasons explained below. Around 20% of users fell into this category.

(b) Parking. There is a parking bay immediately outside the post office as well as a lot of available parking within 20-50 yards. This is readily available parking. Our consultation showed that a number of disabled, elderly or business people who come by car use this post office because of the ease of parking and could not use others.

(c) Additional Services The Photocopying service was used regularly during the consultation period but this is not mentioned in your report.

(d) Proximity to ATM - As well as the ATM next door there is full banking service available within 125 yards.

(e) Additional retail environment. You have seriously misrepresented this. There is a plethora of shops and businesses nearby including supermarket food shops of all kinds chemist optician as well as cafes and takeaways solicitors and other businesses. You appear only to have inspected the area within 25 feet when the post office is in fact part of a shopping area which is recognized by the City of Edinburgh Council as a shopping centre of importance. I enclose a booklet “Out and About in Marchmont and Sciennes” sponsored by the Council detailing just how many shops and services are available. This is an integral part of the response and the contents of the booklet should be noted for consideration. The Post office is used by the businesses ( on one day 25% of the customers were business users who would be seriously disadvantaged by the closure).

(f) You have noted the longer opening hours but you should note also that no other post office in Edinburgh has Saturday opening until 7.30 pm. I will deal with the significance of this later.

(g) Our consultation process showed that over 85% of users of the Post Office walked to the post office (some with great difficulty and could certainly not reach another post office) and normally did so while using other businesses/shops in the area. Users are local and used ALL the facilities of Marchmont of which the post office is an integral part.

(h) This is a Parcel Force pick up point. On Saturday 20 there were 20 parcels awaiting pick up. Most of the people who pick up the parcel do not have transport and use the Saturday afternoon opening to do this.

(i) I note also from you’re your report that Marchmont Post Office is more efficient than its rivals. They deal with at a maximum 750 customer sessions per week for each serving position while the others average a maximum of 600-650. Is efficiency discounted in this process?

The report you have produced downgrades Warrender Park Post office in relation to the alternatives. In contrast you appear not to have recognized problems in relation to the other post offices. These are significant and are as follows:

2 Pertinent facts and inaccuracies in regard to alternative Post Offices:

(a) Bruntsfield This is not served by a bus from Marchmont. The walk is uphill and over treacherous slippery paths in winter. Parking is at a premium on the busy junction and it would be difficult for a blue badge holder to park immediately outside the post office. Our survey showed a lack of empty parking spaces and the configuration of roads makes it very difficult to drive round to find a space. Disabled or elderly would have to park on a “Loading area” which was also full at the time of our survey. One Bruntsfield business used the Warrender Post Office after 5 on Saturday to post 4-5 very large boxes. She cannot park near Bruntsfied and it is too far to walk with large boxes so Marchmont is her “local”and she uses it regularly.

The owner of Bruntsfield was granted Planning Permission for change of use to a restaurant and to adapt much smaller premises as the post office. This PO certainly could not cope with an increase in customers. I enclose a copy of the planning permission and also some of the complaint letters which neighbours made showing that there is tension in the neighbourhood in regard to the sub postmaster’s behaviour. We have been told that there are official complaints on his behaviour to customers and we were told on more than one occasion during our consultation he behaved rudely to customers. I understand that the level of service is not supposed to be important Why was the proposed downgrading of this post office and the obvious problems with parking and lack of public transport not of significance when considering which PO to close.

(b) Tollcross This is a major failing in the report. You have failed to note that although there is potentially easy access through double doors, one of those doors remains shut and blocked by a photocopier. There is no ease of access to the shop for a person in a wheelchair or a person with a double buggy. We have been advised that customers sometimes queue for around 45 minutes. Scottish Technical Standards for non-domestic buildings prescribe occupancy load factors for rooms and spaces without fixed seating. See Regulation 2.9.2. The floor space in Tollcross is not suitable for numbers greater than 10 people in terms of these regulations and this does not take into account the “shopping” area which sits alongside the post office counter. How will this post office cope with any extra customers?

The post office is reached over very hilly terrain. The paths are often slippery and treacherous in winter and the ground exposed. As state above over 85% of customers using Warrender PO walk. Of those who are fit enough to do so a large number work in the area and do not have not time to walk further during their break from work. This will affect staff from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Carers in the Residential Homes. Many of the community (over 52%) do not own cars and if they did so could not park nearby. The bus service is half hourly and is under threat. You have failed to take into account that although the bus stop on the south side is only 50 yards from the post office to get to the return bus stop involves a walk of three to four times that distance. The relevant crossing points are at least 150 yards from the stop.

Parking is a problem in that area and there is certainly no adjacent parking. No disabled person could park outside the post office. It is next to a busy junction and it would be hazardous for a disabled driver to alight into the junction traffic. Our survey of parking found that the nearest parking at least 70 yards away and busy. Other parking is across a busy road or over 100 yards away.

We have not done a survey of parking at other post offices but from local knowledge there is no ease of parking. Disabled access in other post offices is also more difficult. Other Post Offices nearby have similar access and parking problems. You appear to have carried out a very superficial survey of ease access to these post offices.

3 The most disturbing part of your report is that it fails to recognize whom the post office serves.

(a) By far the most important omission is the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. This is one of the leading hospitals for sick children in Scotland and their patients come from all over Scotland accompanied by their parents and often other siblings. They stay for weeks and months in accommodation in the hospital. The Family Support Unit in the hospital prepares and distributes a booklet (copy enclosed) which directs parents to the Marchmont area for all their needs. This is accompanied by the “Out and About in Marchmont and Sciennes” booklet referred to above. In addition staff from the hospital who work unsocial hours use the post office on a regular basis. Remarks from the staff interviewed in our consultation made it clear that they do not have time to go elsewhere and did not know how they would cope with their post office business. The hospital needs this post office both for displaced parents of ill children and for the staff.

(b) You have seriously underestimated the needs of the older members of our community. There are 2 Sheltered Housing complexes in the area. Homeross House has 137 apartments, some with double occupancy and Homeroyal House has 54 apartments. Having consulted with the wardens of these flats we noted that promoting independence was important to the occupants and accorded with Government guidelines for independent living. Residents are now frequently into their 90s and beyond. When they become too infirm to walk their carers run errands for them. In addition there is an alarmed retirement home for 31 flats in Meadow Place and a home for the elderly being refurbished in Chalmers Crescent. One of the principal reasons for these retiral homes being where they are is because of the facilities available within easy walking distance.

Our consultation showed that while a number of these residents are able to conduct their own business affairs and shop in the area (shops in the area deliver goods where required), they will lose their ability to conduct any post office business if the post office is closed. They cannot walk longer distances or travel on buses easily or wait for extended times at the alternative PO. Those few with cars would find it extremely difficult to park. The residents of these homes will have their independence severely reduced by the closure of Warrender PO. You will have noted from the public meeting the concern of this group of people who made a huge effort to get to the meeting because they were so worried about how they would cope with closure.

3 25% of the users use it for business purposes. The impact on businesses will be substantial. Business people cannot leave their business unattended for long and employees have restricted breaks. As well as wasting time and money for these people the last closure resulted in a reduction of turnover for adjacent businesses as people has less reason to organize shopping trips to coincide with their post office business. The greengrocers at the top of Marchmont Road saw a marked drop in business on the closure of the last post office. The regular business customers we identified were Grange Medical Centre, Currie Gilmour solicitors, Bohemia who regularly use the post office for parcel collection and delivery. We also identified a number of people who work from home and who regularly post parcels and goods. All business do not have the time to walk to the nearest post office. They are also reluctant to use a car which will not save much time since parking is scarce and queques long.

(c) There is a University Residence housing 105 1st year students within 50 yards of the Post Office who use the post office regularly to collect goods and parcels. They are particularly reliant on Saturday afternoon opening because of their commitments through the week and the ability to collect parcels with ease from the post office. There are also a sizeable number of foreign students who reported coming into the post office two or three times a week as they completed forms required by foreign students and kept contact with home

(d) This is an area of high population density. There is low car use and ownership in the area.Most parents interviewed complained of having to walk so much further with young children. One explained just how difficult it was even with older children who could not be left to access anywhere further away. Workers in the area are used to being able to “pop out” when the shop or business is quiet for 10 or 15 minutes but could not do so if they had to walk further. People who work all week find it difficult to access post offices near their work or do not have the time to spend quequing there. Saturday afternoon opening is very important to them. Our population is increasingly elderly and a number of older people interviewed lived in the flats and dreaded the thought of having to rely on bus travel to get to another post office.

Conclusion

As a Community Council we started on the campaign because we were aware that the post office was well used by local people and thought it an important service for our community. Our consultation process has confirmed that it is an essential service. The people who rely on the service given cannot go elsewhere and are in despair. We heard remarks such as “Killer” from a severely disabled man and “Nightmare” from a business user. These were far from isolated comments.

Your survey has completely underestimated the ease of access to and use by businesses and residents of this post office. What is worse you have completely misconstrued ease of access to other post offices in the area. There is low car use in the area. Residents walk and use local services. This is particularly true of our growing elderly population. The extra time it takes to walk backwards and forwards to alternatives is too great for even the fit in the community – for those with any disability it is an impossibility. Combine this with the difficulty in parking and you do have a nightmare situation for many.

Please do not close our Post Office. Our Post Office is Vital to this community.

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council.

Susie Agnew Chair

Anne Laird ViceChair

Sarah Marchbank Treasurer

Alastair Philp Neighbourhood Partnership

Susanna Lacey Secretary

Wednesday 24 September 2008

CONTROLLED PARKING ZONE-EDINBURGH

Recent information regarding controlled parking zones in Edinburgh can be accessed here:

Controlled parking zone

Choose "Parking in Edinburgh" then "Extension of the Controlled Parking Zones"

Monday 22 September 2008

Easy guide to the post office closures (if you speak Welsh)


A number of those objecting to the closure of WPK Rd Post Office received a response to their letters that included an information leaflet written in Welsh. A couple of them are pictured in the Evening News today - http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Easy-guide-to-the-post.4514275.jp

[photo (c) Evening News]

Sunday 14 September 2008

Mediation in the Planning System

Programme of Seminars: An Invitation
6, 7, 9, 10 October 2008
Planning can make an important contribution to the Scottish Government’s overall purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth in Scotland . It is Ministers’ clear view that planning should be about making things happen: an enabler rather than simply a regulator. The Government is committed to modernising the planning system to ensure that the process is efficient, inclusive, fit for purpose and promotes sustainability.

The Scottish Government is currently promoting legislative reform and making structural changes to the system. There is also a need for “everyone involved…[to] examine their respective roles in the planning system and contribute to culture change.” (PAN 81,2007). It is recognised that difficult issues arise in planning, at all stages in the process. These can be time-consuming, costly and sometimes antagonistic. There are opportunities to consider different ways of addressing these issues.

One possibility - signposted in both the 2005 White Paper Modernising the Planning System and the Planning Advice Note 81 – Planning with People - is to increase the use of mediation and mediation techniques by which those involved can be engaged in structured discussions about contentious issues with a view to seeking to resolve or narrow these quickly and constructively.

Core Solutions has been commissioned by the Scottish Government to prepare a flexible User’s Guide to help to encourage the use of mediation in the planning system, where appropriate, in order to improve outcomes and increase efficiency. The Guide is intended to build on recent experiences in Scotland and to draw lessons from what has happened elsewhere.

The Guide will inform planning authorities, developers, relevant organisations and members of the public of the possible uses of mediation and other similar techniques across the planning system. It is intended to be a practical resource for those involved in the planning system. It is intended that the Guide will be available on the Scottish Government website, possibly using a web platform with easy access to key information. The Guide will, we hope, be a starting point for generating greater understanding and promoting further use of mediation, with the ultimate aim of supporting key stakeholders in meeting the challenges of the modernised planning system.

An online survey and interviews carried out in the preparation of the Guide have indicated that there is some experience of utilising mediation in some areas within the Scottish planning system. There is significant interest amongst planning departments, developers, consultants and other interested bodies in understanding more about the role mediation could play. A number of interested parties have already offered views and these have been taken into account in the initial drafting of the Guide.

An integral part of the process in which we are engaged is to introduce and explore the use of the Guide in a programme of seminars across Scotland in October for planners, developers, public agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. This will give all those with an interest a real opportunity to be involved in further drafting and finalisation of the Guide, to provide us with feedback on its content and to maximise its practical usefulness.

The seminar programme offers the following dates and opportunities:

6 October: 12 noon - 5 pm Glasgow (Scottish Enterprise , Atlantic Quay)
7 October: 12 noon - 5 pm Edinburgh (Scottish Government, Victoria Quay)
9 October: 12 noon - 5 pm Inverness ( Highland Council, Town House)
10 October: 11 am - 4 pm Aberdeen ( Aberdeen University , tbc)


We hope that the Guide and the web platform will be available for perusal by participants prior to each event. Each seminar will be interactive, allowing time for frank discussion of issues arising. A buffet lunch will be available on each occasion.
The seminars are free and should count towards CPD points.
It is vital to the success of this initiative that those with an interest engage in the development of the Guide. We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in one of the seminars, at a venue of your choice.

Please register by Friday 12 September to enable us to finalise arrangements at each venue. Please click here to register online.
Planning Registration
We shall send further information to participants in due course.
With best wishes
John Sturrock
John Sturrock QC
Chief Executive

Register for our next highly rated mediation and conflict management course: www.core-solutions.com

Thinking Differently. Core Mediation and Core Coaching are divisions of the Core Solutions Group Limited, providers of independent mediation, facilitation and coaching services to business, the professions and organisations.
Tel: +44 (0) 131 221 2520; Fax: +44 (0) 131 221 2522; DDI: +44 (0) 131 221 2524
Core Solutions Group Limited, Rutland House, 19 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, EH1 2BB

Town Centre Meeting

Due to industrial action by Unison, the above meeting has been cancelled on 24 September and will now take place on Wednesday 1 October at 7.00 pm in the City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh. Please return the attached reply slip to me by Thursday 25 September. Some of the issues to be discussed at the meeting are:

What are the key challenges to economic and social success of town centres and local High Streets in Scotland ?

To what extent are these specific to individual towns, regional, or national in scope and scale?

What are the key actions that could be taken to support regeneration and growth of our town centres and local High Streets, and who has the remit to undertake these actions?

Views may also be sent in writing to Ross Martin at the Centre for Scottish Public Policy, Chisholm House, 1 Surgeon Square, High School Yards, Edinburgh, EH1 1LZ by 1 October
Ross Martin is also holding a surgery on Wednesday 1 October 2008, at the West Lothian Room, Midlothian Suite, Lothian Chambers on George IV Bridge , EH1 1RN . Please feel free to drop in between 3 and 5pm.

Trams in Edinburgh

Traffic Regulation Design Meetings
Details of these can be accessed at Trams for Edinburgh

Edinburgh World Heritage Newsletter September 2008

Doors Open Day 27th September 2008
Further information at info@ewht.org.uk

Edinburgh City Council Leader's Report - September 2008

The September Leader's Report from Edinburgh City Council can be accessed here
Leader's Report

Thursday 11 September 2008

Please write to object to the closure

Please write to object to the proposed closure of Warrender Park Road post office. Freepost and e-mail addresses are given in posted item (25 Aug) two below... Also examples of reasons you might wish to include of how you will be 'materially disadvantaged'.

As the Post Office Ltd press release says we need to have our letters of objection in by 29 September.

A facebook group has been established with details of other online ways to object.

Saturday 6 September 2008

Save Wrndr Pk Rd Post Office: Public Meeting Tu 9 Sep at 7:30pm


Help save the Warrender Park Road Post Office












If we are going to save this post office from closure, it is vital that as many people as possible come to the public meeting:

Tuesday 9th September

7.30pm

Marchmont St Giles church

(the church itself, not the hall).


Please, please come to it if you possibly can, this is really important for the neighbourhood.

The Marchmont and Sciennes community council will have its ordinary meeting the following day on Wednesday 10 September at 7.30pm at St Catherines church hall as usual.

Hope to see you,

Susie Agnew

Chair MSCC

update Su 7 Sep @ 21:38: Facebook group now established at http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=25576497485