Community Council
Minutes of Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council
Meeting of Wed 25 September 2019 at
St Catherine’s Argyle Church Halls,
Beaufort Road
Present: – Brian Gilmore (Chair), Mike Shields (EDC Parks Officer), Sophia
Coyne (Minutes Secretary), Shane Voss (MSCC), Alison Service (MSCC), Anne Laing
(MSCC), Adam Stewart (local resident), Mandy Watt (Cllr Morningside), Nigel
Ayton (Grange Association), Neil Mackay, Mark Phillips, Cameron Rose (Cllr Southside/Newington
)
Apologies:– Stuart Tooley, Douglas
Rogers, Susan Agnew (MSCC)
Matters arising:
Draft Minutes from last meeting, 26th June 2019, have been
circulated and amended with a few minor corrections. Brian will make 3
changes to the minutes. Alison and Shane moved minutes as corrected.
Police Report:
Police reported on drug enforcement activity. Numerous
arrests have been made related to drug supply charges. There has been
continued issuance of drug warrants. The target has been dealers to
obstruct supply.
Police continue programme to steer young people away from crime
and drug abuse.
In July there were incidents of garage thefts and break-ins.
A man has been extradited from Germany to face charges of sexual
assault relating to an incident in Salisbury Place in October 2016.
There was youth disorder reported on first week of school holidays
with vandalism and misbehaviour in the Crags and Meadows. CCTV inquiries
identify the group.
Currently, there is a graffiti task force underway. There
was discussion concerning incidence of bike theft in the area.
Meadows & Bruntsfield Links
Mike shields reported on activity in the
Meadows over the summer. There was a wet July but not a lot of flooding. A
ticketed Tennis event is to take place in May with a tennis court built
and taken down after use. It was proposed that another walk about in the
Meadows occur in November.
There was a query concerning maintenance of planters on Marchmont
Road. Discussion was had concerning use of barbecues in the Meadows and
elevating the barbecues to avoid singe of grass. Temporary signs have
been effective in promoting proper use of barbecues in the Meadows.
There was additional discussion concerning camping in the Meadows
and status of the campers.
In terms of rough sleeping – festival sleepers who are not
engaging with homeless services are not permitted to stay, they will be moved
on. There have been attempts to help those who are rough sleeping. A
homeless task force has been meeting.
City Councillor report on topical local issues:
In terms of the issues of refuse collection there are concerns
about overflowing bins, street bins, and recycling bins. There was also
discussion concerning recycling. A new reporting website system, accessible 9th
of October, available to anybody, will be a much better way of reporting any
local issue such as street lights, overflowing bins, potholes etc.
There was discussion concerning on-street cycle storage units on
proposed streets for units.
Adam Stewart, local resident, raised local concerns about seagull
management. It has been observed that seagulls are increasing in number.
Would like to see local residents grouping together and participating in
the cost of removal, estimated at £150 per month in the breeding season (per
block).
.
Election of Secretary: (repeat)
Awaiting with the election of new CC members.
Items for discussion:
Royal Hospital for Sick Children Redevelopment:
There have been no further developments pending the move of NHS
Lothian from the site which is now currently scheduled for Autumn 2020.
Developers appear content with this timescale for access as their
planning permission is valid for three years.
Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment: update
Similarly drawn out situation with Astley Ainslie. Meetings
have been postponed.
There have been four drop-in sessions, one nominally for each of
the community council areas. The council sessions have had moderate attendance,
with a couple of hundred people coming through. People have expressed
interest in lots of nature, green trees. This has been a good exercise.
Graffiti Issues
There has been contact from St. Catherine’s church about graffitti.
There was discussion concerning putting up CCTV to catch perpetrators.
Planning (Applications & consultations):
None of significance. Discussion centred on electric vehicle
charging, and short term lets, room rental/whole flat rentals, and planning
enforcement.
Items for Information:
Treasurer's report:
The Treasurer’s report had been circulated.
The EDC grant has been received. No contact details have been
found for the Meadows Festival so the MSCC donation cannot be paid. The balance in the account to end Aug-19 is £1117.25
Meetings attended:
None.
Elections for the Community Council – deadline for nominations 30
September
Each elector may propose one nominee and second one nominee.
For Marchmont Sciennes Community Council there are currently 6
nominations already received.
Deadline is 4pm on the 30th of September, Monday
AOCB:
Discussion concerning potential replacement/refurbishment of
Noticeboards.
An error in the previous Minutes was corrected – Marchmont
Hardware is NOT closed. Lee-Ann
continues to run it with her daughter.
.
Also in the previous minutes the Treasurer’s report said that the new
auditors had been appointed but the name was not noted, it is Jim Orr (ex
Councillor and current convener of FOMBL).
Date of next meeting: 23rd October 2019 (Provisional, depends on
the elections)
