MSCC - Minutes for February 2024

 Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on February 28th, 2024 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church

Hall

Present: Brian Gilmore - Chair, MSCC, Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary, Alison Service - MSCC

Treasurer, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Anthony Holmes - Thirlestane Lane Association, Cllr. Ben Parker,

Cllr. Steve Burgess, Sarah Sandow - local resident, Natalie Fergie - local resident, Beverly Frison - local

resident, Patrick Frison - local resident, Mr. Gilmour - local resident, Mr. Mulholland - local resident,

Annette Carranthers - local resident, Kate McNeirney - local resident

Apologies: Susan Agnew - MSCC, Calum Bell - JR Builders, Lianne Phillips - MSCC Publicity,

Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

Meeting began at 19.32

Draft Minutes of 24/01/23

Anne moves to pass, Alison seconds. Minutes pass.

Matters Arising

Ian Murray has sent out a letter about a petition to keep the local post office open, the petition is online on

his newsletter and are on paper at the Hardware shop. We will await future news on that issue.

Police Report

None this month.

JR Builders update

Apologies from Calum, but update that they are on top of their timeline. If people have questions, he is

happy to meet with them.

Meadows and Bruntsfield Links incl. FOMBL

Report has been circulated. Playhouse on the Bruntsfield Links is complete. There will be permanent

toilets put in on the Meadows, hopefully will be completed by the summer, but if they are not, there will

still be temporary toilets for the summer. The toilets will be placed near Middle Meadow Walk and the

Pavilion. Annette Carranthers asked about whether there is a plan for the Jawbones to return, Alison

explained that it is unlikely that they will return to their original placement, Cllr. Parker said that there

will be a report coming out on the Jawbones and will send it around.

City Councillor report on local issues

Cllr. Parker:

The main issue to be discussed is the Council budget. It is noted that this was a particularly difficult

budget to set and there were a lot of cuts being faced, more focus on how to save money versus how to

spend it. There was some reevaluation of the pension fund for the Council that meant that there was

slightly more money to work with. There were no cuts to education services. There were agreements to

additional investment in roads and pavements that will be further discussed, there was investment in street

cleansing and forestry service. The Council has some budget to help with nature, climate conservation

and energy efficiency in the area. A council-tax freeze has been implemented. On the housing revenue

account budget, this has a rent rise of 7% to go into infrastructure for this housing. There were no

proposals with service reductions or cuts, some grant funding has ended but there are no massive cuts to

services. There was no public consultation, Cllr. Parker acknowledges that this should likely be rectified

in the future. Idea moving forward is having continuous budgeting discussions over the course of the

year. Cllr. Burgess notes that cuts are more likely next year.

Cllr. Burgess:

There was a meeting with the Sciennes Parent Council about the road closure outside of Sciennes Primary

School. The parents raised concerns that motor vehicles can approach the boundaries quite closely and

would like to seek further improvements like another TRO, but would like to speak to the Community

Council about the issue to see if there is any support that MSCC could offer. Douglas Rogers notes that

he has attempted to contact the school to no avail and would like to have some communication with the

groups involved. Brian notes that the representative from the Sciennes Parent Council is invited to any

meetings that they would like to come to, including on a regular basis.

Anne asked about the changes to the roads in Edinburgh and the suggested road closure in Holyrood Park,

Alison noted that she received an email from the involved parties clarifying that the points against the

road closure are well represented. Cllr. Burgess explained that whilst there is discussion from Historic

Environment Scotland, they are not talking about doing anything imminently. The Transport and

Environment committee is considering many different transport reports at the moment, which include

some proposals to close roads in the city centre and the future of the tram system, but no decisions have

been made. These reports are available on the Council website and Cllr. Burgess will send them to Anne

to circulate. On the trams, there is a proposal to put the tram from Granton to the Royal Infirmary, which

would use the Roaseburn cycle path which is a popular cycling and walking site. This was somewhat

favored because it is more simplistic, but Greens put an amendment to the report that both options be

presented equally, which was agreed upon. Anne notes that the current through Morningside and

Newington railway line could be reinstated instead of a tram. Cllr. Burgess said that it has been looked at

but there is not enough capacity at Haymarket Station. This has been raised again in light of the tram

proposal. Alison asked if the tram is definite, Cllr. Burgess clarifies that it is likely that the third line is

going to be put in as the next phase of the project, but people are welcome to state their views during the

consultation. The tram projects have been learning from past projects and it is cheaper at this point than it

was in the beginning. Cllr. Parker noted that this is not done in one consultation because of how large of a

project it is, there are a lot of steps to go through over time.

Kate McNairney and others bring up issues about bin hubs: there are too many, the placement makes it

too loud and the food bins being close to front doors is an inconvenience. There was little opportunity to

discuss issues with the Council despite reaching out several times. There is a group of people from across

Edinburgh who are challenging the decision on the bins. The main issue is that the bins are very noisy

especially when collecting glass, the majority of people who have the bin outside of their residence are

upset and are concerned that the property value has gone down. There are concerns that the Council has

taken transport into account but not the impact on people on lower floors with the bin hubs outside of

their doors. The noise can be detrimental to peoples’ health in the long-term. It is noted that the bins do

have to go somewhere. The bins are also difficult to open, especially for people with disabilities. Sarah

Sandow notes that collecting rubbish has seemed to take precedence over the people in the community.

There has also been a bad effect on behavior, as people have taken to fly tipping. Anne notes that a

consultation for the placement of the bins went out a year ago, but not everyone received infromation and

the consultation was somewhat erratic. Natalie Fergie notes that the Council is aware of where disabled

people live based on Blue Badges, and still put bins directly outside of disabled peoples’ doors. Mr.

Gilmour notes that it is unclear why the reasoning of needing to cross the street to reach the bin is

important. Mr. Mulholland notes that the consultation seemed to do very little. Some people have garbage

blowing into their gardens and bin doors causing damage. Some bins seem to be overfilled. Brian noted

that this has been an issue for a long time. Cllr. Burgess said that the consultation on this started about a

year ago and it is being rolled out now, the number of bins is a reflection on the amount of waste that

needs to be collected. Changes have been made to bin hub locations based on residents’ concerns, Cllr.

Burgess advises to get in touch with Ward Councillors if people are unhappy with the placement of the

bins. There is very little chance of the entire project being stopped because of the amount of planning that

is necessary and how large of a project this is. It is possible to get changes in a locality, Mr. Gilmour

notes that it seems as though the appeals tend to not have any success - Cllr. Burgess said that if residents

are coming up against Officers not wanting to move bins, they should contact Councillors. There have

been some examples of bin hubs being moved based on concerns. Kate McNairney notes that this is

divisive within the community because no one wants the bin hubs outside of their house and that she has a

petition to look specifically at the glass collection noise issue. Cllr. Parker notes that there is a motion

coming up about noise mitigation, which includes the glass collection issue. Beverly Frison notes that it is

unclear why there are as many bins as there are in the locations that they are in. Sarah Sandow asks if the

process of reviewing this decision on a regular basis should be a part of the system, Cllr. Parker notes that

sometimes bins can be reconfigured within the hub rather than relocating the entire thing, though the TRO

system complicates this issue and these are quite inflexible. Moving bin hubs requires a new TRO to be

written. Mr. Mulholland asked about TROs being used in a conservation area and wants to clarify why a

full planning process wasn’t done, Cllr. Burgess offers to find out the answer for this. Brian notes that it

would be reasonable to have a review after the bins have been in place for a while to see if everything is

in the correct place. Cllr. Burgess said that this is something that could be explored. Brian also notes that

the guidelines on where the bins must be are quite inflexible and there are places where bins are going

into unreasonable places. Cllr. Burgess notes that this criteria did likely go through a committee, Mr.

Gilmour notes that things probably got more complex over time.

Publicity

No updates.

Downing Updates

Report was circulated. Everything seems to be going well. Douglas mentioned that Downing should be

asked to remove their rubbish from the street and wash the street down, issues will be passed from Anne

to Downing. Annette Carranthers asked about the Mortuary Chapel, Douglas said that there have been no

updates on that front despite reaching out about it.

Planning applications

Report from the Grange Association on 10 Chalmers Crescent has been circulated. Other planning

application reports have been circulated.

Update on Sewer Flooding project

Report from Scottish Water has been circulated. The work on Marchmont Rd will hopefully come to an

end in April and then they will begin work on Marchmont Crescent for several months in May or June.

The buses will have to reroute, but it is unclear where - probably Marchmont Rd. Annette asked about the

restoration of the junction between Marchmont Rd and Marchmont Crescent, Anne will ask about this.

Meadows Festival: collaboration with other CCs

There is usually a tent in the middle of the festival for the CCs though there are not enough volunteers for

all of the CCs to be represented. Anne will talk to Kayleigh about having a map of the area.

Treasurer’s Report

£1500 in the bank, nothing outstanding.

Meetings attended

None.

AOCB

Alison asked about booking the German church for the Christmas event, the church has suggested

Saturday Nov 23rd or Dec 7th or a Sunday, Council agrees to book for Dec 7th.

Anthony Holmes asked the Councillors about people who block the opening of Thirlestane Lane selling

trees every year, they do not have permission from the Thirlestane Lane Association and Anthony wants

to know who can deal with this because it is a private lane. Cllr. Burgess notes that this is a Police matter,

because this is trespassing. Anthony notes that based on past experience the Police will not do anything.

Cllr. Parker asked that he be sent an email on the issue to try and figure out how to deal with this - there

may be a way to deal with this via licensing.

Beverly Frison notes that the litter on the bottom of Arden Street is quite bad, asks that Cllr. Parker raise

this issue.

Date of next meeting

Wednesday, March 27th, 2024

MSCC - Minutes for March 2024

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on March 27th, 2024 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

Present: Brian Gilmore - Chair, MSCC, Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary, Alison Service - MSCC Treasurer, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Susie Agnew - MSCC, Cllr. Tim Pogson, Cllr. Neil Ross, Carolina McKellar - Sciennes Parents Council, Gordon Molholland - local resident, Ryan Gilmour - local resident, Rhona Mechen - local resident, Jenny Davidson - local resident, Lisa Craig - local resident, Celia Morfi - local resident, Sheila Spraule - local resident, Evelyn Dickie - local resident, Kate McNairney - local resident, Ruth Dolan - local resident, Suzie Weigert - local resident, Sandra Jack - local resident, Nick Hepworth - local resident, Silke Dykstra - local resident, Stephan Antic?? - local resident, Beverly Frison - local resident, Patrick Frison - local resident, Patricia Paolozze Cain - local resident, Edward Milligan - local resident

 

Apologies: Anthony Holmes - Thirlestane Lane Association, Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity, Lianne Phillips - MSCC Publicity

 

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

 

Meeting began at 7:35pm

 

Draft Minutes of 28/02/24

Clarified that the bin hub situation has been added to the agenda. Anne moves to pass, Alison seconds. Minutes pass.

 

Matters Arising

None.

 

Police Report

None this month.

 

JR Builders update

No report this month, Anne notes that it seems to be progressing well.

 

Sciennes PTA - Caroline McKellar

There have been concerns for years about the size of the playground in comparison to the size of the school, this has become an increasing concern over time. When the road was closed, the school started to utilize this area to widen the playground area. Now that the Sick Kids site is closed, it is more reasonable to close this area permanently. Thus far, a TRO has been advanced and are waiting for further action that has been delayed. There is not expected to be material objections to this, the hope is that the experimental closure will become permanent. Parents have been volunteering to try to stop drivers from going through this area, but this is not a good solution. The original TRO does not deal with what happens on either side of the school, so there is a hope that this can be dealt with in the future. Next step would be to deal with street signage to make it clearer to drivers. In the future, the school would like this area to be a safe extension to the playground. The design has only been circulated to the council officers thus far, they had no real objection at the time. The TRO is not progressing yet, there is a deadline of April 19th to move forward. Douglas Rogers notes that it might be a good idea to make this area into a play street without any pavement and with appropriate signage. Caroline notes that there are Council restrictions for this and that it has to remain a road in technicality, though it can look in many different ways. There are likely to be future issues with how cyclists view and use the area, the school would like there to be one path for pedestrians outside the bounds of the playground. Ryan Gilmour asks about how this could affect the residents of the old Sick Kids site and whether their needs have come into account. Caroline notes that this is probably the responsibility of the planning people. Cllr. Pogson notes that he would expect the developers to have thought about this quite a bit and that he thinks that this might increase the value of the property. It is unclear how one can take these perspectives into account, the developers have been spoken to and they have been generally positive, this is likely the best way to try to take the residents into account. Cllr. Pogson notes that what is being proposed is not any different from what exists right now. Brian notes that we have to wait until the consultation for this to be addressed, as it is not the school who has any say in this.

 

City Councillor report on local issues

Cllr. Ross:

There has been a consideration of the Greenbank quiet cycle route recently, the results of a survey were considered at committee, split into northern and southern sections. In the northern section, there was no clear support for any of the four options, option two, which addresses rat running, was accepted. This would block Clinton Road to traffic. In the southern area, the most people supported option three, which was separated bike lanes.

 

The Council has been asked by the Fringe Society if they can take over the South Bridge Resource Centre because they have the money to do the repairs. The classes that take place there will be rehoused to community centres, engagement is under way for these relocations. The new arrangements will take place from August.

 

On short-term lets, there have been 4000 applications put in, none have been refused. The result from the most recent judicial reviews show that existing owners must rejustify their application. Ruth Dolan asked if the change means that there will be the same number of short-term lets, Cllr. Ross notes that regulations coming in is rebalancing over time. There has not been time yet to look into unlicensed operators, once this is done there may be a better idea of whether longer-term housing is coming into play to a greater extent. Cllr. Pogson notes that a lot of applications for planning permissions for short-term lets have been refused, meaning that they can’t apply for permission to run them at all.

 

Cllr. Pogson:

On the Astley Ainsley site, Cllr. Pogson recently met with the Astley Ainslie Community Trust, who are interested in taking charge of this site in the future. There has been very very little movement and there is little chance of the NHS moving off of the site any time in the near future. Some services have moved back to this site, nothing is likely to happen there until 2030. The community trust needs to be prepared to move in the case that something suddenly happens, which could happen because the NHS has few resources, so it might be appealing to sell to the highest bidder in the future.

 

Anne asks for an update on the proposals to extend the hours of parking charging to 10pm in the centre and could extend to this area. Cllr. Pogson notes that he and Cllr. Ross do not know about this and will find out about this for the future.

 

Susie Agnew asked that the Council reverse its decision to allow people to nail memorial plaques to trees in the Meadows due to the area not being a memorial garden. FOMBL is pushing for the policy to change  to be either hanging or plaques set in the ground at the tree base.. Cllr. Pogson notes that the Edinburgh & Lothian Green Space Trust has pushed this initiative to allow people to adopt trees and care about trees. Brian notes that the council has to give approval to do this. Cllr. Ross will look into this.

 

Ruth Dolan asked about the Astley Ainslie site under the understanding that the person who gifted the site  to the NHS under the condition that it must be used for health care, Cllr. Pogson has heard this but there hasn’t been any hard proof of this. Beverly Frison asks what the plans would be, Cllr. Pogson notes that there are no existing plans and that there is the intention to do a master plan but this is on the back burner at the moment.

 

Brian notes that a block of stone has apparently fallen next to the Margiotta’s, the councillors do not know yet what is being done about this. It is possible that somebody has dumped the stone there because the stone does not match the stonework of the building.

 

Publicity

Anne has been putting up notices on the notice boards but they are slightly out of date due to the windy weather making it dangerous to open them.

 

Planning applications

Douglas speaks on 27/31 Ratcliffe Terrace, which is being sold under the understanding that the frontage would be kept, which is not under the plan. This is being turned into student accomodation but many groups are planning on objecting to the planning proposal. Cllr. Pogson is going to ask about this but this is outside of the MSCC purview.

 

Edward Milligan notes that the Rajas listed building planning application has been passed, despite many objections. The main application has not yet been considered, only the listed building consent has been approved. It is unclear why the application has been approved. The residents in the building have sent a lawyer’s letter to Rajas about the noise. Patricia Cain notes that the application passing is a problem and indicates a part of the system that doesn’t work and has set a precedent that could affect future issues. Residents and objectors do not have any standing in the project. Cllr. Pogson said that planning decisions have to be taken in light of planning legislation and cannot have an opinion on different things. He doesn’t know the main difference between the listed building application and the planning application but notes that the planning application still has to go through. He also notes that it is unfortunate that residents do not have the ability to appeal planning applications and that there was legislation for this in the future that did not pass. Patricia notes that there is an inconsistency in the application being passed and is unclear on what the difference would be as to why it was failed before and passed now. Cllr. Ross will look into this.

 

Update on Sewer Flooding project

None.

 

Treasurer’s Report

£1524 in the bank.

 

Meetings attended

Douglas Rogers attended the Edinburgh Climate Action Network meeting.

 

Bin Hub Situation

Many concerns were raised last month, particularly about the lack of consultation and the effects on residents. Over 80% of the people who Kate McNairney has spoken to are distressed about this and have had little to no ability to have a consultation on this or to contact the Council. Anne notes that people were invited along to consultations approximately a year ago. Ruth Dolan notes that many people were unaware of any consultation existing. There are also issues with the appearance and smell of the bins. Gordon Molholland asks about whether the councillors from last month were able to look into this. Cllr. Pogson speaks to the fact that he has been involved in some conversations regarding moving bin hubs in his ward, the number of disputes is relatively small in his experience. According to his experiences, there were letters sent to residents about a consultation (there was wide objection to this idea, it is likely that some residents did recieve letters but not all). When changes were made, people were apparently written to again to note that bin hubs had been changed. Officers are still making changes and exploring other options. He notes that when difficulties exist, people should approach their councillors. Cllr. Ross notes that there are different approaches on this by different councillors. In certain places, there were poorly advertised engagement meetings and few letters sent out. The council has looked into changing the rules for bin hub location and has loosened them slightly. There has been engagement with those who have gotten in touch with Council in the Marchmont ward based on feedback and officers have taken notes and have generally responded and said that there are not alternatives. The rules likely need to be relaxed. As a result of the criteria, it is difficult to move bin hubs. Gordon Molholland asks why councillors can’t change the criteria. Cllr. Pogson notes that they can oppose these rules. Nick Hepworth notes that the relocation framework is flawed in several ways and is in breach of the Duty of Care regulations, meaning that you cannot manage waste in a way that results in a nuisance to residents. Glass recycling causes 85 decibels of noise when it is emptied, which is too high. He asks what the councillors are doing as the council is acting illegally. Nick requests that the MSCC make a deputation at a meeting for the council. Ruth Dolan notes that there seems to have been little consideration for people as opposed to traffic. Nick Hepworth said that it seems that councillors are able to get their bin hubs changed. Evelyn Dickie notes that the bin hubs should not be directly outside of people’s windows. Ruth Dolan notes that the people who are most distressed about this are people who are less able to stand up for themselves. Cllr. Pogson asks that people ask the questions that they need to ask so that answers can be sought out. Brian notes that we can write out a document noting that the noise level is too high. He also notes that the inflexible 50 metre rule is also a problem and would like to get this chased up as well. Douglas Rogers suggests putting forward a proposition urging the council to explore the possibility of moving the hubs, possibly specifically to street corners. Ruth Dolan suggests also requesting that the bin hubs be broken up a bit into less bins in a group. Gordon Molholland also asks that a question be asked about how planning is considered. Cllr. Pogson has asked about aesthetic impact of the bins, and the answer to this may help answer other questions. Evelyn Dickie requests that the MSCC challenge the level of consultation that the city claims that was done. Jenny Davidson asks why the food recycling bins are needed when the food buckets are still being picked up, Anne clarifies that when you live in a flat, you don’t get a food bucket. Patricia Cain requests a discussion as to how democratic input can be put into a decision like this and to look into the systems and not just the individual issues. Brian notes that many of the questions are not specific enough to get a clear answer. Cllr. Pogson notes that it could be useful for several councillors to meet and have a discussion on this issue. Ryan Gilmour points out that the framework is flawed and the appeals are nonexistent and wants to ask about the way that this has been done. Anne suggests having a public meeting of some sort with the people involved. Cllr. Ross says that he will request that the bin hub officers attend an MSCC meeting to explain their procedure. Additionally, he notes that the rules are too strict despite having been lessened slightly in the past year. He has been meeting with other councillors to try and figure out a way forward, there are meetings of the committee at the end of May and there can be a deputation, but there has to be engagement in advance. Ruth Dolan speaks on behalf of a woman with a disability in her arm who is having a lot of difficulty using the specific bins and would prefer that the foot pedal be put back in use.

 

Questions to ask:

1. The view was expressed that glass bins near to residential properties do not meet legislative requirements, in that they exceed a statutory noise limit of 50db. Please comment.
2. What flexibility is there around the requirement that no resident should be more than 50m from their bin hub?
3. Bins in groups of six are visually quite impactful. What scope is there to offer communal bin hubs made up of fewer numbers of individual bins?
4. What are the arrangements for food waste collection between main door flats and communal flats?
5. Could the bin hubs be placed on street corners rather than outside of people’s doors?

 

 

AOCB

None

 

Date of next meeting

Wednesday, April 24th, 2024

 

 

MSCC - Draft Agenda for 27th March 2024

 

M archmont & Sciennes

Community Council

Meeting on Wednesday 27^th March, 2024

at .7.30 pm

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 28^th February, 2024

Matters arising not included on this agenda

3 Police Report

4 Report from JR Builders, Calum Bell

5 City Councillor report on topical local issues

6 Sciennes PTA Caroline Mckellar

Items for discussion

7 Publicity

9 Planning (Applications & consultation) (Grange report circulated)

10 Update on Sewer Flooding project (if available)

Items for information

11 Treasurer's report (circulated)

12 Meetings attended

13 Bin hub situation

14 AOB

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 24^th April, 2024

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

MSCC - Minutes for January 2024

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on January 24th, 2024 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

Present: Brian Gilmore - Chair, MSCC, Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary, Alison Service - MSCC Treasurer, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity, Cllr. Pauline Flannery, Cllr. Marie-Clare Munro, PC Johnny Wong, PC Brandon McKendrick, Edward Milligan - local resident, Patricia Cain - local resident, Bob Gates - local resident, Ruth Dolan - local resident

Apologies: Susan Agnew - MSCC, Lianne Phillips - MSCC Publicity, Anthony Holmes Thirlestane Lane Assoc.

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

Meeting began at 19.32

Draft Minutes of 22/11/23

Alison moves to pass, Anne seconds. Minutes are passed.

Matters Arising

Item five on the agenda is moved to below item fourteen.

Police Report

PC Wong noted that there has been a change in the managing team and the new community sergeants are Jennifer McGregor and Michael Dixon, who are more likely to come to these meetings.

There have been some break-ins recently and people have been knocking on doors to find out who is at the house.

There were some youth issues at a cemetery pre-Covid and though this has died down mostly, there is a bit of an upswing now.

Patrols are happening to try and stop any house-breakers.

Alison asked if there are still police on bikes, which PC Wong confirms, though it was impossible over the last few days due to the weather. Police need to be trained on bikes, hence why there aren’t as many.

Edward Milligan noted that he received a complaint about a Ring camera that he had on his property, requiring that there should be some signage. PC McKendrick notes that one could have a sign of any size anywhere on the property. Cllr. Flannery noted that this can be an issue relatively consistently about the consent to be filmed without your knowledge and that someone could claim to be targeted.

Patricia Cain asked about not receiving a response from the community police email, PC Wong noted that this email is not always monitored, especially during August and December. Cllr. Munro noted that management does not have the resources to monitor this email consistently. Alison questioned whether it is useful to have the email at all if it cannot be monitored, PC McKendrick said that this might be something that the higher-ups would consider. PC Wong noted that in more urgent situations, the Contact Us form is consistently monitored and one should get a response within a day. Alison also suggested having an automatic response clarifying that the email is not consistently monitored.

Meadows and Bruntsfield Links incl. FOMBL

No meeting has occurred. Anne asked why the public toilets have been removed now when they are coming back in probably April. Cllr. Munro notes that the removal happens on the contractor’s timeline, not the Council’s.

City Councillor report on local issues

Cllr. Flannery:

There is cross-party agreement to challenge school cuts within the budget, this will go to full council.

Cllr. Flannery and Burgess attended a parent-Councillor meeting at Sciennes Primary recently, the big items of discussion were a TRO for motor vehicles that will go into place hopefully early in the year and the roadways on either side. This ties into the Sick Kids development and Sylvan Place. The parents also noted inadequate road signage near the school. The head of school has turned away 37 vehicles just in the last week or so, there have been at least six near misses. This is a mix of all sorts of motor vehicles. Douglas Rogers notes that the signs are being moved relatively consistently. Any complaint about this issue is being dealt with and logged. Cllrs. Flannery and Burgess are going to do a school patrol to see what is going on for themselves. Patricia Cain notes that this might be difficult to adjust for GPS devices. Anne notes that the top end of Sylvan Place is used by many vehicles for parking. Downing claim it is not their staff. Douglas Rogers notes that it seems odd that the parking attendants don’t seem to be enforcing restrictions on company cars.

There will be phase 2 of a review of Council boundaries, the liaison for this is Gavin King.

Southside-Newington is oversubscribed for community grants but Morningside isn’t, there are £40,000 to be used. Cllr. Flannery notes that FOMBL could use some of this. The grants are open to the end of January.

There are amber and red streets designated for pavement parking on the 29th. Cllr. Flannery notes that there will be zero tolerance for parking on pavements.

There was a briefing on emergency Council repairs for mixed tenure social housing, the Council is trialing an app to track these emergency repairs. There will be someone nominated to make sure that any elderly residents are taken care of with this app. There is also a Missing Share Scheme where the Council will pay upfront costs but will charge a 10% fee in order to incentivize people to pay upfront.

In the month of December, 19 out of 42 defects were monitored, which was put down to a failure of stonework. There is a concern that some stone is degrading. There is also a Tenant Hardship fund as a use of maximizing income offices. Officers are going to help parents onsite.

Edinburgh has declared a housing emergency, the costs are going to be considered at a council in February.

Cllr. Munro:

There has been RAAC in schools across the city but none so far in the area.

Bin hub locations are a huge problem throughout the entire area. Residents have not been getting letters and there has not been adequate signage. Officers have been onsite to see if bin hubs can be moved to other locations, where they can be moved, they will be moved. If they can’t be moved initially, it can be changed to a Stage 2 Complaint. The rubbish outside of ScotMid has been very bad, let Cllr. Munro know if you see issues. Area outside of Eddie’s Fish Shop and other local shops are experiencing problems for loading due to vehicles being double parked.

Potholes are also quite bad, there is not enough money to fix them all. The cause is heavy-load vehicles and buses.

Whitehouse Loan quiet route discussion is coming up in March, this is a controversial issue and there is likely to be a good deal of pushback.

Low emissions zones are being put into place, Cllr. Munro is concerned that people are going to drive in as far as they can and dump their cars around the Marchmont/Sciennes area.

There are still claims that the holes on footpaths are not tripping hazards despite them being tripping hazards, this area is a low priority.

Anti-social behavior has been quite bad in Morningside, there have been arrests and over 40 charges against people ages 13-18. There is a criminal group under the name of Panda Delivery who are very aggressive and violent as they rob different shops. There is a lack of CCTV in the area.

Cycling hubs on Warrender Park Terrace were in the wrong place, these have now been moved.

Anne noted that Sylvan Place seems to have been forgotten in the collecting of Christmas trees, Cllr. Flannery said she will chase this up.

Douglas Rogers notes that the bin hubs on Marchmont Crescent are surrounded by steel bars and asked if these are likely to be put around other bins, as Sylvan Lane was blocked by bins when the wind moved them.

Douglas Rogers also asks what the requirement is for people to put in ramps/dropped kerbs on pavement corners when they are no longer accessible, there is a requirement for this but it has not been done.

Historic Scotland and the Council are looking to close Holyrood Park to through-traffic 24/7, which would make getting through the city quite difficult. Cllr. Munro is against the park being shut. If you have strong feelings on this, please make your feelings known to the Council, this should be accessible on the Council website. The next transport committee meeting is on February 1st. There is also the potential possibility of objecting as the community council, but Brian would be reluctant to do this in case it isn’t something that the community agrees on. Cllr. Munro suggested putting out a survey to the area if MSCC would want to weigh in. Cllr. Munro also suggested getting organizations based in Bruntsfield and the Meadows involved. Ruth Dolan notes that it is possibly a good idea to set up an information table somewhere in the area but this requires manpower.

Publicity

MSCC is steering away from Instagram in favour of Facebook and Twitter/X as these are reaching a wider audience.

Sick Kids site

Reports were circulated prior to the meeting. Anne notes that the JR Group is doing a good job keeping to schedule and they have been helpful overall. The road closure seems to be making life easier for them. Downing says they will hopefully be finished by March.

Planning applications

Report from the Grange Association has been circulated. The short-term let on St Catherine’s Place was turned down, but the Scottish government has overturned this.

Update on Sewer Flooding project

None.

Treasurer’s Report

£1800 in the account.

Meetings attended

None.

Xmas tree event

Brian expresses his thanks to all the people who helped on the day, special thanks to Alison and Anne for the amount of work that they put in. The event raised £202 for Children First Scotland.

AOCB

The Royal Mail delivery office in the area is possibly to close and be moved to Roseburn. Kayleigh suggested that MSCC object to this, as people would be unable to access the new location easily.

Cllr. Flannery notes that Grange is trying to find someone to fill the planning position, if anyone is interested then please contact them.

There might be some benefit to different community councils getting together and chatting about issues.

Edward Milligan notes that Rajah on Marchmont Road has put in a vent without putting in a planning application and has now retrospectively put in an application. Cllr. Flannery is going to monitor the issue. Alison will object on behalf of MSCC to the two planning applications

Douglas Rogers’ Presentation on home heating

Slides will be circulated with the minutes.

Date of next meeting

Wednesday 28th February 2024

MSCC - Agenda for February 2024

 

M archmont & Sciennes

Community Council

Meeting on Wednesday 28^th February, 2024

at .7.30 pm

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 24^th January 2024

Matters arising not included on this agenda

3 Police Report

4 Report from JR Builders, Calum Bell

5 Meadows & Bruntsfield Links

6 City Councillor report on topical local issues

Items for discussion

7 Publicity

8 Downing updates (circulated)

9 Planning (Applications & consultation)

10 Update on Sewer Flooding project (if available)

11 Meadows Festival: collaboration with other CC’s

Items for information

12 Treasurer's report (circulated)

13 Meetings attended

14 AOB

Date of next meeting: Wednesday 27^th March, 2024

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

MSCC - Minutes for 22nd November 2023

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on November 22nd, 2023 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

Present: Brian Gilmore - Chair, MSCC, Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary, Alison Service - MSCC Treasurer, Douglas Rogers - MSCC, Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity, Cllr. Steve Burgess, Cllr. Neil Ross, Anthony Holmes - Thirlestane Lane Association, Patricia Paolozzi Cain - local resident, Geoff Parsons - local resident, Edward Milligan - local resident

 

Apologies: Susan Agnew - MSCC, Lianne Phillips - MSCC Publicity, Calum Bell - JR Group

 

Attending: Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

 

Draft Minutes of 26/04/23

Anne moves to pass, Douglas seconds. Passes.

 

Matters Arising

Membership change - Donald Henderson from the Grange Association has resigned, we have not yet been told of the replacement. Douglas notes that he will delay his presentation to the January meeting.

 

Police Report

None.

 

JR Group Reporting on Sylvan Place Road closure and development (Calum Bell, Project Manager)

Calum Bell sent a report for the meeting. They will be going ahead with a full road closure (presumed to be Rillbank Crescent).  Piling will begin next week. Douglas notes that he recently met with people about extending parking around Sylvan Place, but this has not been confirmed yet. Anne will circulate update from JR Group.

Cllr. Burgess notes an issue with parking on Fingal Place and pressure has been placed on the JR Group. Signage has not been put up, however, so Cllr Tim Pogson is planning a meeting to address this issue hopefully next week.

 

Meadows and Bruntsfield Links incl. FOMBL

Alison circulated a report. Anne asks about the playgrounds in the area, Alison notes that most playgrounds are getting some amount of grant money. Anne asked what will happen with trees on the streets that are dying, Cllr. Burgess asks for people to flag any tree issues to the council so they can be looked at.

 

City Councillor report on local issues

Councillors have met on the topic of the Greenbank quiet route, there has been a generally high response rate to this consultation. There were polarized views on the issue, particularly on the topic of Whitehouse Loan. Residents are concerned about rat running and have proposed a solution of a cycleway - this is not supported by parents in the area. Officers are going to think over this and will come back to the transport committee in the New Year with recommendations. One solution raised was to stop traffic along

Clinton Rd.

There is a TRO to close Sciennes Rd to motor vehicles that will be voted on in the New Year, if it goes through it could be in place by the summer. Parents would like this to go further and want the road to be closed to only have one lane available for pedestrians and cyclists - this is not being taken forward with the current TRO, this would have to be a future issue. Douglas asks about how this affects parking in front of the hospital block, Cllr. Burgess notes that the road closure will exist only in front of the school. The parents would like to create a sort of Community Park in the area, but the Council does not have funds for this.

There is a pavement parking ban coming into effect in early December and will be enforced from January. Geoff Parsons asks how the ban will be drafted as this might cause issues for wardens, Cllr. Burgess is not sure of the wording itself but imagines that being on the pavement at all will be an issue. Cllr. Ross clarifies that this will also cover double parking. Commercial deliveries of any sort are an exception to this. This will also cover parking at dropped curves for accessibility.

Cllr. Ross explains that bin hubs continue to be an issue. Team officers are being proactive and having street meetings with residents. Brian Gilmore asked about any updates on Warrender Park Terrace from last week, the matter is being enquired on.

There is an online consultation to the Workplace Parking Levy, which is a charge on certain employers for parking. The consultation at the moment is theoretical. The justification at the moment is that the space is wasted. Cllr. Burgess explains that there are approximately 60,000 cars going in and out of Edinburgh per day, which the Scottish gov’t wants to decrease. Anthony Holmes asks if there is any official law preventing people from parking on private property, but there is no change here.

Brian Gilmore asks if a business has a use permission to have a fast food establishment, but another business takes over, does the licence carry over - the councillors clarify that this has to do with the building, not the business. Edward Milligan flags that the business in question has input loud walk-in refrigerators, which is an issue for noise. Geoff Parsons asks if the business has a proper extraction system for their deep fryer, they do not seem to and this is in opposition to their licence. Patricia Paolozzi Cain flags that environmental tests have been done, but the business is not complying with abatement. Brian asks Cllr. Ross to look into the issue. Patricia flags that this is a takeaway business that delivers online and it has brought a culture of relying on online sales with it, and all of these require the business to be open from 11am-12am, which causes more noise. She also flags that the planning committee may not be picking up the pattern of the types of businesses that are coming into the neighbourhood. Brian clarifies that it seems like the business is in breach of their planning application, and that this is the best way of addressing the problem. Geoff clarifies that they may not actually be in opposition to the planning application but that the nature of the business is an issue, he also flags that fire safety could come to do an inspection as well. Cllr. Ross will look into this issue.

 

Publicity

The Edinburgh News published an article on Christmas tree lightings, but they put the wrong date and time for the MSCC event. Kayleigh is chasing this up. She will also flag this on social media. She also has the Just Giving page set up.

 

Sick Kids site

Report was circulated. Anne notes that she thinks that Downing could be finished by Christmas.