Marchmont & Sciennes
Community Council
Minutes of Marchmont &
Sciennes Community Council
Meeting of Wed 23rd
February, 7.30pm by Zoom.
Present: Brian Gilmore (Chair, MSCC), Rhianna Robinson (Minute Secretary),
Nigel Ayton (Grange Association), Susie Agnew (MSCC), Alison Service
(MSCC), Cllr Alison Dickie, Kayleigh Gordon (MSCC), Alastair Philip (Resident),
Ben Parker (Prospective Green Candidate - Morningside), Michael Shields,
Stephen Fox
Apologies: Anthony Holmes, Tim Pogson
Matters Arising:
Minutes have been circulated; approved
by Alison and seconded by Nigel.
Police Report:
No police report.
Meadows and Bruntsfield Links:
Mike:
He emailed Scottish Natural
Heritage with no response. Discussion of the Jawbones which are too fragile to
stand outside in elements and would have to go to a suitable indoor space. To
put in its place there was discussion of the creation of bronze replica
– need clarity on payment. The Council’s
Culture and Communities Committee had met on 1 February 2022 and noted:
“The casting of a bronze replica… would cost about £120,000
for which there is insufficient funding. Officers will progress discussions
with stakeholder and potential funders on the proposed approach and will report
back to Committee on the outcome of these discussions in due course."
With regard to events, applications
getting a bit more normal. These include the Meadows Marathon which is quite
popular. In April there is a one-day Highland games event, which is expected to
be fairly small. The Meadows Funfair will start at the end of May until mid-June.
There has also been an application for a Jubilee March in June,
coordinated with Orange Lodge for Queen’s Jubilee.
Anne received an email
regarding the temporary toilets as they were installed last summer and
extremely useful – this is still uncertainty as they require additional funding
and at present the discussion is still ongoing.
FOMBL
Report has been circulated.
Alison: Jawbones replica
discussed at meeting but no mention about funding. The issue of temporary
toilets in the Meadows was also raised in order to ensure they are in place by
early April. Apparently everything is ready to go but there’s no word on the
funding. Alison Service has asked various Councillors to help ensure this
funding is agreed.
FOMBL plan to hold monthly
Online zoom talks from September;
Volunteers have recently planted
10 new trees.
New playground equipment for
the Links expected soon.
City Councillor Report on topical local issues:
Cllr Alison Dickie:
Building on the discussion of temporary toilets in the Meadows,
they have raised the importance and is hopeful that this funding will come. Cllr
Dickie also met with Sciennes Primary parents and spoke of submitting a motion
with regard to the playground, road etc and ask for a briefing or a report for
short-term and long-term progress. Parents are concerned about cars and safety
issues, one of actions agreed is to narrow and physically prevent motor
vehicles using the route intended for cycles. Signage is to be installed to
identify it is a cycle path and play area. Cllr Dickie is currently waiting on
a report and briefing.
An update has been provided on the reopening of Newington Library,
which is set to return to normal in around 5-6 weeks.
Susie has queried as to when the Warrender Pool is going to reopen
– Cllr Dickie is going to query this and confirm
Susie also raised the issue of the new layout junction at Lauder
Road and Grange Road and a concern of the issue for cyclists going north, some
of whom ignore the new cycle path and carry straight on across the junction as
before, without using the new signalled crossing. There was mixed discussion on
this issue with the recognition that the crossing of Grange Road at the
Tantallon Place / Cumin Place junction has yet to be installed, as it has been
redesigned to accommodate comments made in the recent consultation
acknowledging that there were some objections. Susie argues there is a feeling
that the consultations produce no results such as Sunday parking. Her view is
that is more dangerous for cyclists to cross Grange Road at Lauder Road …..now
than previously because car drivers are not expecting cyclists in the middle of
Lauder Road. It was concluded this was an issue to agree to disagree about as
Nigel explained that there was consultation regarding this since 2016 and MSCC
supported the proposals at the time. He
challenged the assertion that the new layout is more dangerous than the
previous unsigned and uncontrolled crossing.
Alastair queried the city wide Air B’n’B timescale, with Cllr
Dickie confirming that the planning committee approved proposals going to
Scottish government. Cllr Dickie going to clarify with convening officers and
get back to him
Publicity
Kayleigh has adjusted the media that was made for Marchmont at
Christmas for the new MSCC social media. It has attracted 103 followers on
Instagram which is significant progress.
There was a proposal for a new MSCC logo, to add a splash of
colour to attract more interest. A note was made to be careful with colours and
political connotation. Kayleigh will publicise the Radio 4 – Any Questions
event. There will be a monthly local business shout out. The possibility for
professional photos of Marchmont/Sciennes was raised with a quote still to be
received.
New proposals for social media content include a feature on the
different churches in the area and potentially an interview/consultation with Sciennes
Primary.
Sick Kids Hospital Site Redevelopment
Report circulated.
Would need to consult before posting on social media. Cllr Dickie
going to clarify the signage and road closures given the confusing wording from
Downing about changes to the road signage.
Separately, there are currently 3-way traffic lights in place at
the south end of Argyle Place to facilitate repairs to the gas main in
Roseneath Street. Kayleigh reported that workers at the site reported that the
repairs relate to 5 minor and 1 major leak.
Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment
Nothing to update, with Nigel receiving confirmation there is
currently no further progress.
Planning applications
Marchmont St Giles – changing antenna, four of which will now be
external. Susie raised questions about this and the disruption it may cause in
terms of appearance and the clock. However, it is likely this may be necessary
for 5G. More detailed images are available online as to what this is expected
to look like.
Grange Cemetery
Monthly Report has been circulated.
Nigel:
Bulbs appearing, but not a lot of change to report otherwise.
Quote from stonemason for next 7 monuments. Kayleigh provided the link with
William Purves.
Update on Sewer Flooding project
Nigel: Gone to awaiting decision.
, The contractor working for Scottish Water appears to have responded to
concerns raised by the initial application and has made changes including:
·
The kiosks will now be only
1.8m high, not the 3m originally proposed;
·
The kiosks will be on
Warrender Park Terrace, alongside other existing utility cabinets, rather than
on the footpaths across Bruntsfield Links;
·
The proposed ‘grasscrete’
access road from Leamington Walk will no longer be installed; rather a
dedicated tanker parking bay will be provided on Warrender Park Terrace, with a
permanent pipe connection to the new sewer tank.
Treasurer’s Report
Monthly report has been circulated. The bank balance is currently £1654.11.
Meetings attended
None.
AOCB
Discussion of the Christmas Event 2022, with Alison questioning
whether choir and band would be available. Potential suggestion that it should
be held at the German church or go ahead. Plenty of time to plan and will
re-evaluate closer to the time.
With regard to the Whitehouse and Grange Bowling Club, Stephen Fox
was present. He detailed the tree planting ceremony which recently occurred to
commemorate the club’s 150th anniversary. He stated their desire to increase
engagement with local community and securing of sponsorship from local
businesses (shirts from Farmers Autocare etc to commemorate their 150th
anniversary). Club numbers are dwindling and they plan to campaign this year to
increase membership and would like promotion to help with this. They will have
a Summer Fair on 28th May and various matches and have kindly offered
MSCC use of their facilities.
A new restaurant on Argyle Place suffered from graffiti. Alison
raised the idea that we could potentially offer use of a graffiti removal kit to
businesses and residents.
Date of next meeting: Wednesday 23rd
March 2022 at 7.30 – Planned to be held on Zoom.
No comments:
Post a Comment