Minutes of Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council
Meeting of Wed 23rd January 2019 at St Catherine’s Argyle
Church Hall
Present: Brian
Gilmore (Chair), Alison Service (Treasurer), Elinor O’Donovan (Minute
secretary), Alastair McInnes (resident), Riona Bell (resident), Andy Bell
(resident), Wendy Sutcliffe (resident), Philip Sutcliffe (resident), Nigel
Ayton (Grange Assoc), Mike Shields (Edinburgh Council), Shane Voss (MSCC), PC
Karen Neilson, Cllr Melanie Main, Cllr Ian Perry, Fiona Denvir (Sciennes
Primary School PTA), Susie Agnew (MSCC), Amelia Beattie (resident).
Apologies Anne Laing, Ian Murray MP, Douglas Rogers
Minutes of November’s meeting have
been circulated, approved by Alison, seconded by Nigel.
Matters arising: None.
Police report:
PC Karen Neilson:
The police were busy in December. Operation
Winter City was in effect, with a police presence at the Christmas Markets to
ensure public safety. Road safety checks were done on the Grange Rd, including
breath checks. Several warnings were issued for broken lights as well as one
for someone driving without insurance. Police gave out bicycle lights and
raised awareness about cycle safety. There were increased police patrols around
the Bruntsfield Links, following reports of people smoking cannabis in that
area.
On 14th January, the
community policing team stopped a vehicle in the Grange area and recovered over
£2000 worth of drugs in the vehicle. The driver was remanded in custody.
A 64-year-old man is in custody in
England following a robbery at Clerk St TSB.
Two men were identified following a
series of assaults near the Southsider pub in December. There were also a few
break-ins to businesses on the Southside corridor, but these have largely been
solved.
Meadows & BL:
Mike Shields:
FOMBL received money from David Jamieson,
as a result of the money generated by events in the Meadows. They were
allocated £21,000 for this year.
Last year, this money was spent on signage, gym equipment etc. Mike believes that it makes sense for the money generated from events held on the Meadows to go back into the community parks. Cllr Main suggests that if MSCC agrees that this is important, that they should make this known to Community Transport & Environment before the budget consultation. MSCC agrees – Brian will write the email.
Last year, this money was spent on signage, gym equipment etc. Mike believes that it makes sense for the money generated from events held on the Meadows to go back into the community parks. Cllr Main suggests that if MSCC agrees that this is important, that they should make this known to Community Transport & Environment before the budget consultation. MSCC agrees – Brian will write the email.
Projects underway include re-doing
hard surfacing in the parking area adjacent to the croquet club building, Mike
is to visit the site tomorrow with a contractor to look at what needs to be
done.
The entrance to the Meadows from Lonsdale
terrace and from Chalmers St is in poor repair- there is a need for nice
railings, for example. Mike is keen to add new play equipment to the Meadows
and Bruntsfield Links. £7000 has been set aside for additional toddlers play
equipment in the Bruntsfield end of the Meadows.
Mike also points out that the
Meadows Management plan is coming to committee in March.
Cllrs report:
Cllr Main:
Midmar Paddock, as previously
discussed, is under threat of development. However, in positive news, there was
work done with Friends of Midmar Paddock to gather evidence for rights of way,
which they did in November. 2332 pieces of tight evidence were gathered
detailing 70 years of use, from 760 people (majority of whom were from EH10 and
EH9). This will go to the Access Forum on 31st January. Friends of
Midmar Paddock are hoping that the council will give them the highest level of
rights of way- which gives the council the option of taking the developer to
court if these rights of way are contravened. The evidence for rights of way
makes it more difficult for Midmar Paddock to be developed, and probably
devalues the property. It also indicates the level of public support that
developers might come up against.
Rights of way include the lines
between at least two access points to a site so, for instance, developers would
be required to maintain reasonable routes between those access points and would
not be allowed to build across the routes and to reroute them into in a circle
around the perimeter of the site. Developers can potentially reroute rights of
way but need to put in a planning application to do so.
There was discussion about how much
protection the council has over preserving green belt land. Cllr Perry says
that developers can put in an application for anything they like, but it is up
to the council to release green belt land for development. Where this might
happen, as an example, is if a developer asked for green belt land to be
released in order to build social housing which would potentially alleviate
some of the pressure on the council for housing.
Cllr Main: The first ward meeting,
to replace the Neighbourhood Partnerships is tomorrow at 6pm at the City
Chambers. Community councils have been invited to discuss any issues relating
to their ward.
Cllr Perry: Attended the SE Localities meeting, but there is nothing to report that specifically affects our area.
Cllr Perry also mentions that it is
now time for budget consultation and asks for people to submit their views on
proposed savings/cuts through the council website. Changes are made to the
budget according to consultation and the budget will be set in 3 weeks’ time.
Sick Kids Hospital:
There was a Planning Committee site
visit on Wednesday 16th. Fiona Denvir and Douglas Rogers attended. Fiona
said it was interesting to be talked through the detail of plans for the site
as they met with developers. When the Sick Kids site planning application went
in, the community council put in their objections. However, when Fiona and
Douglas attended the site visit, they could only attend as silent observers.
On the 6th February at 10am, the
application will be going to hearing at the Planning Committee. Douglas and
Fiona will go along then.
Astley Ainslie
Nigel:
Things picked up before Christmas
and the Planning department within Edinburgh Council were more engaged than
ever. They hosted a meeting in Waverley Court with the NHS and Community
Engagement Group in order to clarify what kind of document is being produced
for the project. This will be a Place Brief.
The Place Brief will be put to the
Development Management Subcommittee for endorsement so that it is considered in
subsequent planning applications. If a developer puts forward an application,
for example, it will have to be assessed with reference to the Place Brief.
The Council agreed to modify the
contents of the previously proposed Master Plan, so that they became the
contents of the Place Brief. The NHS, since they are paying for the plan, will
be in charge of drafting the Place Brief and of procuring the consultants for
specialist areas. The council is now the
“client for consultation”, since everything will be done to the council’s
specifications and contents list. The
Council will attend progress meetings with NHS and the Community Engagement
Group at least monthly and will review the drafts for consistency with the
contents list. Since the meeting in
December, things have become quieter. This is due in part to the person leading
for the NHS side being on sick leave.
Nigel stated leaflets for a public
meeting on 14th Feb at the Eric Liddell Centre are being distributed
to homes in the area. The meeting is to
communicate with residents about what is going on with the site. The Community Engagement
Group is for Community Councils, including this one and others and the CEG owe
it to residents to say what’s going on, clarifying the process with the NHS and
with the Community Trust.
The master programme will have public
consultations in the summer, so this meeting is more of a “show and tell” than
a consultation. It is just to improve clarity about what is going on,
fact-sharing and to share the timetable with residents. Everything for the
Place Brief has to happen in 2019 so that it gets to the Development Management
Subcommittee by this time next year, as the NHS wants to go to market in 2020. The
move from the site may not be completed until 2025 but this won’t delay the
transaction.
Discussion about the public
consultations in the summer. Cllr Main mentions that it is best practice not to
hold consultation during the school holidays. Nigel assures that they will not
be held in July, rather some will be held before July with others from late
August onwards. The NHS will appoint the consultants- however, some at the
meeting pointed out that the NHS appointed public consultants with the Sick
Kids site, and the process took several years. Some are also dubious about the
independence of the NHS appointing the consultants. Nigel says that the
pressure for the consultants to be independent will come from the Planning
Department and its review of the drafts produced for the Place Brief. Brian suggests that there is no other option
but for us to keep a close eye on things.
Nigel encourages everyone to attend
the meeting on 14th February at 7pm. This meeting is being
underwritten by the Grange Association and, so far, it has cost about £250 to
rent the centre and publish posters. Other councils have been asked to make a
financial contribution; each council is being asked to consider contributing
between £25-40. Alison says we have sufficient funds to do so and proposes that
MSCC contributes £40. Fiona seconds. The meeting agreed.
Sciennes
school PTA
Fiona and Kirstin from Sciennes primary
school:
Sciennes primary school has 670 pupils,
and the playground is too small to accommodate them. Over the last few years, a
lot has been done to develop the playground and open space across the road but
the PTA are currently trying to get the road directly in front of Sciennes
Primary school closed. This would provide additional playground space and would
allow it to become a permanent cycle way for kids travelling to school.
Sciennes Primary has already been
chosen to be part of the Schools Streets scheme, which means the road is closed
at school drop-off and pick-up times. This has already had a positive impact on
children travelling to schools actively (by cycling or walking) and has
improved safety for them at these times.
At this point, the PTA need to put in a
planning application to have the road closed, but in order to do so they need
money and the support of the local community. The PTA have been working with
local councillors and MPs who have been supportive, in principle, of closing the
road when the Sick Kids hospital closes.
Sustrans has said they would be keen to
support a bid to have the road closed. The Sciennes primary PTA at this moment
are looking for the MSCC to support them in terms of the Sustrans application,
as Sustrans could provide the necessary funding.
This funding from Sustrans would allow
the PTA to subsidise the cost of the council undertaking an independent
assessment of traffic management in the area. Some present at the meeting are
concerned about the closure of Sciennes Rd leading to traffic congestion in
other neighbouring streets and the PTA need to show that they are sufficiently
engaging with the local community in this regard.
The PTA’s objectives are to create a
permanent vehicle-free area, to improve safety of crossing at school times, to
reduce vehicle speeds, to increase the number of cyclists of varying abilities
and ages, to create a people-prioritised pleasant environment and to improve
air quality. According to the PTA, the School Streets scheme has reduced
pollution in area overall- according to the air pollution monitors measured at
14 different points in the area. In every street measured, apart from Hatton
Pl. and Gladstone Ter., there has been a significant drop in air pollution.
Philip Sutcliffe stated that he feels
it is essential for an impartial study to be undertaken on the potential
effects of the closure of Sciennes Rd on other surrounding roads. He would like
this to be made public. Kirstin assures that part of the money from Sustrans
will go towards the traffic study, specifically looking at ‘source and
destination’ traffic of people using that particular road.
Cllr Perry also assures everyone that before
any road closure, a traffic impact analysis will be done. Any evidence from
this analysis will become publicly available for concerned residents to check
to see if it is credible. Brian also ensures that he will circulate any
analysis done on the traffic impact of the road closure.
Cllr Main mentions that traffic modelling is now done on a computer, which allows you to see where traffic goes when a road is closed. She assures that if a disproportionate amount of traffic is being displaced, then measures will be taken to address that. Overall, similar discussions in other community council meetings have suggested that there is an overall increase in on residential streets in Edinburgh, and Cllr Main says that closing residential streets can have a positive effect.
After further discussion and debate,
Brian asserts that no decision is being taken tonight on the road closure. The
PTA is asking for blessing in them going to Sustrans for funding for analysis,
and to get a traffic management survey. After that, it will come back to MSCC for
consultation on the scheme as a whole. The committee vote, and MSCC approves
of the PTA going to Sustrans for funding.
Review of Community Councils Scheme
Individuals will respond with their
views.
20mph city speed limit
Shane says that it had previously
been decided that we would respond as individuals but seems a shame that we
can’t represent our community overall.
After some discussion on the effect
of the 20mph scheme on bus routes, it is decided that Shane will respond as
the MSCC in support of the 20mph but will voice caution about the bus routes.
Planning matters:
Nigel: The Grange Assoc is objecting
to an application to build a driveway at 6 Cumin Place and asks for MSCC’s
support. Alison will respond in support.
Treasurer’s report:
Has been circulated. At the end of
January, there is £1030.91 with two outstanding cheques to be paid, to a total
of £170.66.
Meetings attended:
Alison has circulated a report on
the recent FOMBL meeting.
AGM of EACC attended by Brian.
AOB:
Alison gives a vote of thanks to Cllr
Main for standing in at the Christmas Event.
Date of next meeting
27th February 2019. The meeting
closed at 9.20pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment