Marchmont & Sciennes
Community Council
Minutes of Marchmont &
Sciennes Community Council
Meeting of Wed 25th
May 2022, 7.30pm in St Catherine’s
Argyle Church Hall
Present: Alison
Service (Chair), Rhianna Robinson (Minute Secretary),
Nigel Ayton (Grange Association), Alison Service (MSCC), Anne Laing
(MSCC), Kayleigh Gordon (MSCC), Cllr Neil Ross, Cllr Pauline Flannery, Cllr
Marie-Claire Munro, Carol Howard-Williams (Resident), Douglas Rogers (MSCC),
Abbie Creighton (Resident), Helen Wright (Resident/Shop Owner)
Apologies: Cllr Ben Parker (Green Councillor for
Morningside), Liane Phillips, Brian Gilmore (Chair), Susie Agnew (MSCC), Mike
Shields
Matters Arising:
The minutes have been circulated;
approved by Anne and seconded by Nigel.
Anne responded to a query from the
previous meeting regarding whether there is a buyer for the Sick Kids Hospital
site and confirms that there currently is not a buyer and things have not yet
been concluded. Kayleigh has added that the crane on the site is to be present
for at least one year.
Kayleigh raised the question of whether
the MSCC will be present at a stall at the Meadows Festival. It was noted that
in previous years, a joint stall has been run with other community councils.
Alison will liaise with the other community councils (Southside, City,
Tollcross etc) to see if they are participating and will report back.
Police Report:
No Police Report was provided.
Meadows and Bruntsfield Links:
The temporary toilets have now been installed in The Meadows and
opened on 24th May.
FOMBL
There was no FOMBL meeting
this month – there will be one next month.
Anne raised the issue of
The Born Free Foundation who have submitted an application for their
installation of the ‘Born Free Forever’ exhibition on The Meadows from 4th
October 2022 to 5th January 2023. Alison queried whether anyone had
any objections given that the installation will be there for a considerable
period of time and has confirmed that Southside Community Council has objected
on the basis of a number of points, ie setting a precedent for long term
installations such as this, taking up too much space from the people using The
Meadows as an open green space. The relevance of the exhibit was questioned as
no social or historic relevance to the area.
Cllr Flannery provided some
clarification regarding the exhibition, which helped to contextualise the
application. It was confirmed that the exhibit will take up 20 square metres,
with 2 sites proposed (the triangular bit of Middle Meadow Walk, so it would not
then be in midst of playing fields or social activity and will also be in a shaded
area so people wouldn’t want to sit). The exhibition will be present between October
– January which may be a point of interest in the winter period and attract
visitors, The exhibit is currently in Newcastle and plans to go to Bristol
after Edinburgh. The main attraction of the exhibit is for local children as it
will be utilised as an education tool and is also interactive, which will
attract good publicity. The thought behind it is to do with preservation and
making sure people are aware of animal extinction, aiding local children’s
learning and development.
A question was raised of
whether they are paying the council for use of The Meadows. Cllr Flannery was
not sure on the issue of payment, however confirmed that there is a site visit
next week and more information to come soon. The issue of precedent was the key
theme taken from the debate.
Kayleigh added that it may potentially
encourage graffiti or vandalism but equally it could be good to get people into the area. The
grass will be reinstalled following the exhibit.
No objections are to be
made from MSCC.
City Councillor Report on topical local issues:
Cllr Flannery: Cllr Flannery confirmed that the Council have not yet got
administration or committees given the recent election. She confirmed that all
4 councillors from Southside/Newington have met following the election. It was
also confirmed that they have reached out to parent councils in local schools
to see if they want council representation. Cllr Flannery has received a
positive response from parents at Sciennes and Preston Street Primary and is
encouraged by this response.
Cllr Flannery detailed an application from 1 Hope Terrace (used to
be a café) for a performing licence for The Lady and the Bear. This would be a
yearlong licence so they would not have to apply for a separate licence for a
different show.
Lastly, Cllr Flannery notified the MSCC of the upcoming Edinburgh
Naked Cycle on 28th June 2022 (cyclists will be covered in body
paint). Comments need to be submitted on this by 3rd June 2022. This would be the second Naked Cycle as it
was held there last year.
Cllr Munro: Cllr Munro confirmed she
received an email from a constituent regarding the above upcoming Edinburgh
Naked Cycle as the constituent had reservations as they use the local park with
their child and raise concerns. She expressed
her intent to work together with other councillors to do as much as possible
within the local area.
Cllr Ross: Cllr Ross attended a
meeting on Monday regarding Warrender Swim Centre and its delayed reopening. He
confirmed this was due to the continued discovery of unexpected issues in
renovation such as wet rot. Due to this, they are unable to commit to an
opening date, however, hope this will be at some point over the summer.
Cllr Ross spoke of the publication of the Council consultation on
short term lets and licensing consultation which will occur on 10th
June 2022 and is something to look into.
Cllr Ross informed the MSCC of the Canal Festival which will be
taking place on 18th June 2022.
Alison emphasised the importance of the MSCC in assisting and
helping with local projects as in the past with Marchmont and St Giles
playgroup. She asked that the Councillors inform the MSCC of any relevant
issues that are raised within our area that we might be able to help with. Cllr
Ross spoke of the central application process within the Council and noted that
the MSCC could potentially assist with certain ones.
Publicity/new ideas
Kayleigh provided an update saying not much that has changed
regarding publicity. There will be a delay with the website given the delay in
sourcing sponsorship from businesses. Kayleigh queried how best to finance the
website and will liaise with Alison regarding the MSCC bank account.
Sick Kids Hospital Site Redevelopment
There was discussion regarding the Tower crane that has recently
been erected given its size. Douglas confirmed that a concentre slab has been
poured for the base of the crane (which later will be buried or removed, as is
standard procedure for a tower crane). He confirmed that the building should be
built fairly quickly as the groundwork takes more time than the actual construction
on projects such as these.
Anne queried what the large black objects were on the site, with
Douglas speculating that they are perhaps for the storm drain or storage to stop
flooding.
Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment
Nigel had nothing to update as there is currently no further
progress.
Planning (Applications & Consultations)
There was discussion of a permission sought from the Council about
cutting down a large sycamore in shared
back-green in a Marchmont Road tenement. Cllr Watt confirmed via email that
nothing can be done given the shared ownership. Susie Agnew’s email comments
were taken into consideration that a healthy tree should not be cut down and it
should be kept.
Nigel provided clarification that the tree is in the conservation
area, and if you want to do work you have to notify council and give council 6
weeks to decide . They can then potentially make a tree preservation order, but
this is significant and costly and rarely done. Given this tree is a sycamore
tree and therefore not an impressive tree, the Council proposed that if the
sycamore is removed, then a replacement tree be planted in its place – one more
suitable to a back garden. Kayleigh queried whether branches could be cut off
of the tree if the issue is that it is providing too much shade in the garden.
Additionally, there is the issue of legal ownership. One cannot
cut down a tree if they do not own it, however this is a separate issue and
would need the lawyers brought in.
Grange Cemetery
Monthly Report has been circulated.
Nigel: Nigel highlighted the role
of Alan McKinney as a key member of Friends of Grange Cemetery. Alan was
extremely involved in this and worked with the community pay back team doing
community service, where the team gained a lot from the experience and being
trained to professionally put stones back. Nigel highlighted how his death was
a great loss to the community.
Nigel spoke of the ‘Doors Open Day’ that the Grange Cemetery
participated in last year, which attracted hundreds of people and had the likes
of a tree trail. The Cemetery are keen to host a similar event this year,
provisionally the dates being 24th-25th September 2022. Nigel
said that they will need volunteers if this does go ahead (manning the
entrance, handing out leaflets etc) and would be grateful for any interest in
this.
Nigel also spoke of the new web page that is being drafted
regarding the catacombs, which will be an exciting addition and hopes this will
be part of the upcoming open day. They will not be officially open to the
public for quite a while yet though work is going apace on lighting etc.
Treasurer’s Report
Monthly report has been circulated. The bank balance is currently £1479.11.
Meetings attended
None.
AOCB
Home net zero in Conservation areas: Douglas raised the issue of poorly insulated houses and flats
within the local area and began a discussion of how this could be improved. He
has done research into the legislation and regulations regarding insulation
levels in houses but feels that it is important to provide more practical
solutions. Firstly, every house/flat should be draught proof, followed by
insulation of one’s roof, floors and potentially windows.
Cllr Munro queried how best to promote this and tackle this issue
economically, as some insulation methods are expensive, especially with fuel
poverty in mind. Things that remain especially expensive is the replacement of
windows to double-glazing, however Douglas confirmed that this should be the
last thing you have to do after everything else in your home is well insulated. This is a particular issue in Edinburgh given
the abundance of old buildings. Douglas highlighted the central areas of
importance in a house to ensure are insulated to combat draughts and heat
escaping. Draught proofing, insulating one’s roof, insulating one’s walls and
floors are the main areas, in addition to sealing one’s front and back doors.
It was confirmed that conveying this information to local
residents would be helpful and starting a sort of “Home Energy Efficiency
Guide” on the upcoming MSCC website would be a good start. It would be useful
to have information on tenements that could act as a guide for landlords and
inform students on how to keep themselves warm.
Cllr Ross added that Home Energy Scotland are a particularly
useful organisation and did a presentation at Morningside Community Council on
how to cut carbon emissions in one’s home and prevent heat loss. Cllr Ross
provided contact information to Alison and she will enquire about them speaking
to the MSCC in our September meeting.
The AGM will be held at the next meeting and will comprise the
election of officers followed by the normal June meeting.
Kayleigh raised the idea of the creation of a Marchmont and
Sciennes Business Association and was looking for the opinion of MSCC members.
She detailed that there has been interest from local businesses, however
everyone would need to work together to build the Business Association.
Potential issues were acknowledged, including attracting enough interest from
the local traders in joining up to form a formal association and their
commitment for it to be sustainable. Kayleigh highlighted that this is possible
and noted Morningside’s Business Association as a good example.
Nobody objected to this proposal and the MSCC are keen to help where
possible, as it is good to show links and pooled resources and emphasise the
community aspect of this.
There are around 50/60 businesses in the Marchmont/Sciennes area,
and it is estimated around 20 would be needed to form an Association. Kayleigh
emphasised the importance of shopping local and how businesses help form and
contribute to the wider community feel.
Date of next meeting and
AGM:
Wednesday 22nd June 2022 at 7.30pm
