MSCC - Minutes for the 23rd April 2025

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on 23rd April 2025 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

Present: Cllr. Neil Ross, Cllr. Marie-Claire Munro, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Peter Olech - MSCC, Richard Shillcock - MSCC, Alison Service - MSCC, Geoffrey Parsons - MSCC, Anthony Holmes - Thirlestane Lane Association & MSCC, Susie Agnew - MSCC, Brian Gilmore - MSCC, Anne Laing - MSCC, Margaret Coughtrie - local resident, Sara Kundrachi - local resident

 

Apologies: None

 

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

 

Meeting began at 7:30pm

 

Welcome and Apologies

Cllr. Ross welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no apologies.

 

Declaration of Interests

No interests were declared.

 

Announcing Community Council Members as duly elected

All new community council members are as follows: Alison Service, Anthony Holmes, Anne Laing, Geoffrey Parsons, Brian Gilmore, Susan Agnew, Douglas Rogers, Richard Stillcock, Peter Olech.

 

The names of the members of the MSCC will be posted on the community council website/blog page with no personal contact information. The names of office bearers and official email will be posted publicly as well.

 

Confirmation of Community Council Name

Douglas Rogers moves to keep the name as Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council, Alison Service seconds. Susie Agnew notes that some of Grange falls within this council’s boundaries, and would be in favor of including Grange if there is no problem with this. Alison is concerned about the possibility of getting mixed up with the Grange Association, Susie mentions that the Grange Association does not have the same powers as a community council, but that they seem to actually have more power than the community council in some ways.

Ultimately, the name Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council is confirmed.

 

Appointment of Office Bearers:

 

a)      Appointment of Chair

                                i)            Brian Gilmore nominates himself and is unanimously appointed.

b)     Appointment of Secretary

                                i)            Anne Laing nominates herself and is unanimously appointed.

c)      Appointment of Treasurer

                                i)            Alison Service nominates herself and is unanimously appointed.

d)     Appointment of Engagement and Inclusion Officer

                                i)            No nominations are offered, this will be addressed at a future meeting.

 

 

Community Council Representative to attend induction events on 26 April and Monday 28 2025

This has been cancelled and will be held at an unknown future date. Brian suggests that the new members of the council would likely benefit most from this and that they might attend when the new date is announced. Peter Olech self-nominates to attend subject to availability.

 

AOCB

Brian Gilmore takes over the chair. Cllr. Ross notes that decision-making is discouraged at this meeting due to the new council members. Brian thanks Cllr. Ross for chairing the previous part of the meeting.

 

Brian asks for agreement that the previous minutes are correct. Alison moves to pass, Anne seconds. The minutes pass.

 

Councillor’s Report

Cllr. Ross: Council has been on Easter recess for two weeks, Cllr. Ross attended two meetings. There is progress currently being made with the toilets on Middle Meadow Walk and the timeline has it being operational by the end of May. Comments from the public will be accepted. Peter Olech asks whether or not the toilets will be single-sex, Cllr. Munro has been approached about this. She can confirm that there will be no male/female toilets, they will be gender neutral - however, the toilets do have to be cubicles, floor-to-ceiling with a sink and is waiting for clarification on this and is expecting this on Monday due to the recent Supreme Court ruling. Peter notes that these toilets may not be compliant with the Supreme Court decision, Douglas questions whether this is true. Geoffrey Parsons notes that it may be problematic that there are no urinals because men have to queue to get into the toilets. Cllr. Munro has asked for a list of organizations that were spoken to about the toilets. Brian notes that until there is a definitive statement on whether the toilets are compliant, it may not be worth discussing further. Peter registers the concerns of the community council.  Geoffrey notes that community councils should register their concerns about cost effectiveness of these projects, though we do not have particular information about the cost and whether it was reasonable. Brian clarifies that we can ask for the cost and we will also find out more information about whether or not the toilets are conforming with the Supreme Court ruling.

 

Cllr. Munro: Notes anti-social behavior that has been happening in the area, such as at the Marchmont Hardware Store. The head of James Gillespies is aware of the issue and of the individuals, some of whom are from other schools. There is also concern about damages from dirt bikes and e-bikes. Cllr. Munro is also still getting emails about bin hubs and some of these are under review. There is a meeting at Marchmont St Giles tomorrow evening, and SMAG is working to make it easier for people to get their bins moved. Cllr. Ross noted that the James Gillespies playing fields at Whitehouse Loan are owned by the Council and that there should be no use of these facilities during evenings or weekends unless approved by the school, but there have been issues of anti-social behavior at night in these areas. Cllr. Ross has discussed further security measures to prevent people from sliding underneath the fencing and this will likely come to the Education Committee as a proposal after getting a quote from a contractor. Peter asked what the issue is with people using the field at night, and the issue is that it violates the terms of the lease, but this is a legal issue and there is some difficulty around this. Peter notes that it is unfortunate to have to spend money on preventing people from playing, but Cllr. Ross notes that the problem is largely with people disturbing neighbors and being there at anti-social hours.

Geoffrey is concerned that some of the ways in which the police are currently being used may not be cost effective, but Brian noted that it is probably not up to the community council to question this.

 

Other Notes

Sara Kunorachi notes that the building that used to house Boroughloch Medical Practice may be turned into seven short-term lets and wonders if this could be looked into, Alison volunteers to look into this. Margaret Coughtrie notes that this may not be approved because there is only one front door.

 

Date of next meeting

It is decided that the meetings will continue to be on the 4th Wednesday of every month apart from July, August, and December.

 

The next meeting will be on May 28th, 2025.

 

 

 

MSCC - Agenda for Wed 28th May 2025

 

Marchmont & Sciennes

Community Council

 

 

Meeting on Wednesday 28^th May 2025 at 7.30pm

To be held at St Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

 

A G E N D A

 

 1             Sederunt and apologies

 2            Draft Minutes of last meeting April 2025

              Matters arising not covered by this agenda

              a.- election of Community Engagement Officer

              b. new boundaries for MSCC

 3             Police Report

 4           Update on defibrillator                                                                                                                           

 5             Meadows & Bruntsfield Links

 6             City Councilor report on topical local issues

              a. parking situation in area around former RHSC

              b . new public toilets: compliance with recent Supreme Court judgement

 

 Items for discussion

 7           Publicity

 9             Planning (Applications & consultation)) (report attached)

10.         Bin situation (rep from SMAG) 

               

Items for information

11           Treasurer's report (circulated)

12         Meetings attended

 

13        AOB

a.       Naming of footpath at refurbished sewer building site

           

             

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 25^th June       

 

 

 

 

All who live in the area are welcome to attend

 

MSCC - Minutes for the 26th February 2025

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on 26th February 2025 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

Present: Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary, Alison Service - MSCC Treasurer, Susie Agnew - MSCC (interim Chair for the meeting), Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity, Cllr. Neil Ross, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Alastair Dickie - local resident, Margaret Coughtrie - local resident

 

Apologies: Brian Gilmore - MSCC Chair, Liane Phillips - MSCC Publicity, Cllr. Steve Burgess

 

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

 

Meeting began at 7:30pm

 

Draft Minutes of 22/01/25

Douglas moves to pass, Alison seconds. The minutes pass.

 

Matters Arising

Earl of Marchmont defibrillator: we are currently waiting for the grant application to go in, and this opens on Monday the 3rd. The machine will now go to the optician’s shop.

 

Sunday parking on Melville Drive: this issue is unlikely to progress. Susie reports that there are signs on the east end of the Meadows until the end of the crossing, but nothing going west. People probably assume that there are no issues with parking when there are no signs. Susie explained that you can only park on the Meadows and Melville Drive until 12:30pm on a Sunday, but most people don’t know this. Susie took this up and Cllr. Ross is looking into it and will flag this at a Transport Committee meeting in May. There is just enough signage that one probably could not dispute the ticket, though the signage is difficult to find and is inconsistent.

 

Police Report

A newsletter gets circulated from time to time by the police and Anne will continue to circulate.

 

Susie noted that a garage on Palmerston Road was broken into on the 13th of February and that this happened again last night (25th of February), bicycles have been stolen to the cost of about £2000. Both break-ins have been reported to the police. Bicycle theft is an ongoing issue.

 

Meadows & Bruntsfield Links/FOMBL Report

The next FOMBL meeting is at the beginning of April. Yesterday, work began on the public toilets.

 

Susie suggested that Alison bring up the issue of the dangerous modified e-bikes in the Meadows. Douglas suggested the idea of street bumps for bicycles.

 

City Councillor report on local issues

Cllr. Ross: there has been a 3% council tax rise since last April because of a lack of funding from the Scottish government. This goes towards social care and homelessness provision. There is a high level of homelessness in Edinburgh. The budget did not end up cutting education funds. They also added to the Special Schools budget and added to the road safety budget. There is also record spending on road repair and Cllr. Ross notes that this is likely to need to be a long-term project.

The toilets on the Meadows and other parks in Edinburgh have begun building and the council is looking to see where other new toilets could go or be refurbished. Douglas asked if there would be improved signage for the toilets and Cllr. Ross clarified that it will be made obvious how to get to the public toilets from Middle Meadow Walk.

 

Anne raised the issue of the plan for parking on Sylvan Place after the RHSC work is done, Cllr. Ross will send this along to Cllr. Burgess, who represents that area. Douglas asked if there was a chance of meeting with people to look at changing the roads in the area and plan a strategy over time. Anne also noted the necessity for resurfacing of Fingal Place. The school has been somewhat insular in talking about planning, Douglas has gotten in touch with some people, but no response. Douglas suggested that the MSCC look at creating a Local Place plan for the area with a possible one-way system for Argyle Place (though it was noted that this would likely be difficult to achieve), Cllr. Ross noted that the more direct route would be to discuss with road planning and transport. Douglas may reach out to Cllr. Munro on this.

 

Publicity

Kayleigh proposes broadcasting monthly meetings on Zoom as well as in-person, as this could appeal to a younger audience as well. Anne noted that Brian was wary about this because there may be some dependency on having a laptop and a microphone, this likely needs discussion of some sort once the new council comes in. Alison also noted that there probably is not money for a Zoom Premium account, but this could be solved with a two-part meeting. Susie also mentioned that we could look at hybrid meetings. Douglas pointed out that this probably won’t work amazingly in the current space, but the community space could be a good place for this. Nora suggested that there be a specifically designated person to watch the online chat and represent questions for them, Cllr. Ross backed this proposal up. He also mentioned that some community councils have fully online meetings. Nora pointed out that if a student remains attached to MSCC in any capacity, the University of Edinburgh provides students with free Zoom Premium accounts.

 

Upcoming CC elections

There are 7 people signed up for the community council, which is the required number. Many community councils have ceased to exist. SMAG also tried to join as a representative, but it was refused for a few reasons, including the fact that they have not been in existence for more than 12 months. They have to wait until April to sort out details, but SMAG representatives will continue to attend the meetings. Anne suggested co-opting SMAG, though they may not get a vote. This will all be sorted out in April and they will come back to report on the process then.

 

Update on bin hubs

SMAG is going to supply their membership with a form for them to fill out to get bin hubs moved. This form helps people to conform to Council regulations when they submit a form. This would ideally be more than one applicant at a time so that the Council has a solid idea of the whole area. The Council is being strict about adhering to the new rules, so the residents have to ensure that they design a bin hub that deals with what the Council wants.

 

Things have stalled with the noise review on the glass bins. SMAG aims to have more of the glass bins moved so that they are not in every hub, but Council is reviewing this later. They formally reviewed the noise and came to the conclusion that the noise levels were deemed to be unacceptable, though they are now reviewing what to do about this. Cllr. Ross noted that it is at least a step forward that it has been deemed unacceptable and that some action is being taken to figure out how to manage the noise. Cllr. Ross added that the Council welcomes a more standardized approach to identify the issues and acceptable alternatives. He mentioned that 133 bin hubs have already been selected to be moved and are currently in the TRO process, but the Council workers are not providing the list of the approved bin hubs as of yet. SMAG is hoping to have harder information about the effects of the bin hubs on residents in about 6 months. Douglas suggested a Local Place plan for the bin hubs.

 

Planning applications

The report has been circulated. Douglas noted the Grange Association planning report mentions a rejection of uPVC windows, though these are on many different buildings, and it is unclear if planning was ever sought out for that. He also noted the new electricity cables, which goes through a very small part of the MSCC area. This will likely be an upheaval but nothing too major.

 

Update on Sewer Flooding Project

A report has been circulated. They are closing the entrance to Spottiswoode Street as of Monday.

 

Treasurer’s Report

£790.24 in the bank

 

Meetings attended

Anne, Douglas, and Brian attended the 50 years of the Community Council celebration at the City Chambers at the invitation of the Lord Provost Cllr. Aldridge.

 

AOCB

Douglas suggested a discussion at the next meeting about the purpose of the community council with the new council - Susie noted that there are always issues that bring in a lot of people but that these people very rarely stick around, and that any discussion on this might be of little consequence.

 

Date of next meeting

There will be no meeting in March.

The next meeting will be on April 23rd, 2025 with Cllr. Neil Ross chairing as Returning Officer.

 

 

 

MSCC - Amended Agenda for the First Meeting on the 23rd April 2025

 

Marchmont & Sciennes

Community Council

 

 

 

The first meeting of the new MSCC committee to be held on

Wednesday 23^rd April 2025 at 7.30 pm at St Catherine’s Argyle Church Halls

 

 

A G E N D A

 

The meeting will be chaired by Cllr Neil Ross as Returning Officer for the new Council

 

 

 

1.             Welcome and Apologies

 

2.             Declaration of Interests

 

3.             Announcing Community Council Members as duly elected

 

4.             Confirmation of Community Council Name

 

5.             Appointment of Office Bearers:

 

a)    Appointment of Chair

b)    Appointment of Secretary

c)    Appointment of Treasurer

d)    Appointment of Engagement and Inclusion Officer

 

6.             Community Council Representatives to attend induction event on 26 April 2025.

 

7.             AOCB

 

 

The date of the next meeting will be announced on that evening.

 

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

 

MSCC - Minutes for January 2025

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on 22nd January 2025 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

Present: Brian Gilmore - Chair, Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary, Alison Service - MSCC Treasurer, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Cllr. Mandy Watt, Cllr. Pauline Flannery, Kate McNairney - SMAG, Anthony Holmes - Thirlestane Lane Association, Richard Shillcock - local resident

 

Apologies: Susie Agnew - MSCC, Liane Phillips - MSCC Publicity, Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity, MP Ian Murray

 

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

 

Meeting began at 7:34

 

Draft Minutes of 27/11/24

Alison moves to pass, Anne seconds. The minutes pass unanimously.

 

Matters Arising

Earl of Marchmont defibrillator: the planning application has gone in with the help of Ben Parker, the planning department was helpful, but we did not actually need planning permission. Alison is currently waiting for information regarding the grant application, but they don’t get the money until June. As such, the defibrillator will likely not be installed until June.

 

Sunday parking on Melville Drive: Susie Agnew passed a note that she had talked to Cllr. Neil Ross who has said that he will discuss this with colleagues in the Transport Committee to see if this can be addressed.

 

Police Report

None.

 

Meadows & Bruntsfield Links/FOMBL Report incl. public toilets

FOMBL has received the biodiversity report, which has been circulated. The public toilet situation is ongoing, but FOMBL is still liaising on certain aspects. Work should be starting this spring and there are just a few more things to figure out. There have been no changes regarding the placement of the toilets. The temporary toilets have also been removed.

 

City Councillor report on local issues

Cllr. Flannery: On the toilets in the Meadows, Marco Gali is working with Healthmatic to figure out construction, and plans to have a timeline soon. He has assured council that the project is on time. Information should be put on the council website.

A local resident wants to make the front gardens on Livingston Place look more presentable and Cllr. Flannery is happy to liaise on this. The local resident also wants to cooperate with neighbors and Sciennes School. Cllr. Flannery recommends that MSCC work with her on this.

The Culture and Community Committee has sent out emails to councillors for ongoing training, this process is on a committee report.

The visitor levy is being voted on this Friday, there are sticking points about timeline. Cllr. Flannery’s understanding of this is that it comes into effect in July 2026, and you will be charged for bookings from August 1st of 2025.

Alison asked about gaining access to the constitution for MSCC, Cllr. Flannery will follow this up because the current document may be a draft.

On environmental visits, there appears to be some confusion on what level of care the Council should be providing, and Cllr. Flannery is looking into this. This currently is only done for Council-owned buildings.

 

Cllr. Watt: the bin hub issue continues to be an issue. The quiet route is also still an issue.

On the visitor levy, the draft agreement is that the levy is 5% for the first five days of a visitor’s stay. This should start from August 2025, and the issues that Cllr. Flannery spoke about are still in negotiation. The levy can only be used to promote visitor experience or to mitigate effects of visitors. The most controversial part of this is to put the money into housing. The tourism mitigation aspect may look for insight from community councils about the use of the money, this creates an opportunity for locals to give insight on what may be needed. This could be related to public toilets and these could be improved with this levy. The estimates of how much will be raised vary between £14,000 and £40,000 per year, so the total amount estimated is unclear. Cllr. Flannery notes that the website Leith Chooses may be a good template for this sort of community project and participatory budgeting. Douglas Rogers asked if the EACC had been contacted, Cllr. Watts recommended that community councils can reach out for this. He also noted that graffiti removal has declined and suggested that some of the money be used for this. Cllr. Watts noted that the Council can only remove graffiti on public property. Douglas also mentioned that a graffiti reporting system could be upgraded.

 

Publicity

Kayleigh is happy to advertise for future councillors.

 

Upcoming CC elections

The community council is reconstituted with a set of elections coming up. MSCC can have up to 12 community councillors, if there are more than 12 nominated then there would be an election, but this is unlikely. The notice of election will be published on the 5th of February and nominations will open for candidates on the 6th of February. Nominations will close on the 27th of February. The form is relatively easy and you need two people from the local area to nominate you. If elections are required, they will take place on the 27th of March, and the new session will begin on the 28th of March. The returning officer from Council must call and chair the meeting, and then set up the new office bearers. Brian noted that it would be nice if the meeting could be on the normal date, but this may not necessarily happen. This is being advertised via leaflets and the website, also possibly The Meadow’s Share. Cllr. Flannery offered that there is a website for the University of Edinburgh run by Stuart Tooley that advertises community group work and that this could help to get more students involved.

 

Update on bin hubs

Kate McNairney talked about the South Meadows Action Group. They have monthly meetings and their monthly newsletter will advertise the changes that the Council made in December. They are also trying to create a framework to ensure that people who want their bin hubs moved can have their voices heard. Cllr. Flannery noted that there is also a review on the 6th of March about this. Brian mentioned that SMAG could propose being an associate member of MSCC from the action group and have an official person representing the group on the community council.

 

Planning applications

Report has been circulated by the Grange Association.

 

Update on Sewer Flooding Project

Anne reports that they hope to be finished by May.

 

Treasurer’s Report

£843 in the bank. Next month there will be £21 outgoing for the location map for the defibrillator.

 

Meetings attended

None.

 

Christmas Tree event

The event was successful, it raised approximately £120 for The Breakfast Bothy. After the event, ScotMid gave vouchers, but only £20 so the remainder came out of the MSCC budget. Brian thanked Alison for her work on the project, as well as everybody else who put in work for the event.

 

AOCB

Douglas met with IQ Students in London and has gotten an assurance from them that they will start preparing a lease or license for the community space in the student accommodation, and that Alexa will work with Douglas to prepare the space for use as an arts centre once they have access to the building.

 

Date of next meeting

Wednesday, February 26th, 2025