Marchmont and Sciennes Community
Council
Minutes of Meeting held on 25th June
2025 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall
Present:
Brian Gilmore - MSCC Chair
Anne Laing - MSCC
Douglas Rogers - MSCC
Alison Service - MSCC
Geoff Parsons - MSCC
Anne Laing - MSCC
Susie Agnew - MSCC
Katie McNairney - MSCC & SMAG (South Meadows Action
Group)
Cllr. Steve Burgess
Cllr. Ben Parker
Apologies:
Anthony Holmes
Peter Olech
Richard Shillock
Publicity team
Attending:
Adam Mallis - Minutes Secretary
Margaret Coughtrie - Local resident
Meeting began at 19:32pm
Sederunt and Apologies
Brian welcomes everyone to the meeting. Sederunt and
apologies as above.
Draft minutes of last meeting, May
2025
Alison moved to pass and Suzie seconded.
Matters arising not covered by this
agenda
a. Welcome to Kate McNairney , now
nominated representative for SMAG
Brian welcomes Kate as the representation of SMAG.
Clarification is provided that Kate is a full, voting MSCC member who counts
towards quorum.
b. Inclusion Officer plan for new
role (Douglas Rogers)
Brian welcomes Douglas Rogers as the MSCC’s Inclusion
Officer. Douglas recognises the ambiguity of his title but clarifies that his
is broad-reaching and seeks to include the wider community in discussion of
relevant issues, for instance being involved in working towards a wide-scale
heat network. He would like to enable this community work by also using the
community space at the IQ students block on Sciennes currently being set up for
Alexa to use during the day. A draft license agreement has now been received
for this space and, after consultation with lawyers, a response has been given
with requests for alterations. Hopefully this will be up and running by the
time of the Edinburgh Festival. Douglas will be holding public participation
events to gain an understanding of needs in the area once this is established.
Douglas has also been working with Clean Heat Edinburgh
Forum (CHEF) for some time, promoting the idea of an area-wide heat network.
CHEF made a deputation to the council’s Policy and Sustainability committee on
27th May in response to the council’s proposal on the LHEES strategy to seek a
commercial partner to roll out the heat network. They asked that they explore a
not-for-profit model with community engagement and to seek a Lothian-wide
solution. A decision was deferred for 4 cycles upon the request of 4 parties.
CHEF were invited to a workshop organised by City Heat &
Energy Partnerhip. Representatives from Scottish and local government, as well
as those working on the UK government future energy plan, were present.
Douglas argued that without community backing, it will be
hard to roll out a clean heat solution throughout Edinburgh. He is therefore
interested in working with the Marchmont community to see what is possible.
Marchmont is an ideal starting point due to tenement blocks that are of the
same construction and present a common method of providing a workable solution.
It also would be possible to integrate a heat network whilst perhaps making
other improvements both in terms of insulation and overall quality of the area
but only if so desired by the community.
Douglas clarified that debate would likely go wider than
just Marchmont.
There was some discussion on the subject of double glazing
in a listed area and as to whether or not changes that have already been made
have gone far enough. In particular, the point was raised that triple-glazing
could perhaps be allowed. Cllr. Parker clarified that this is on the agenda for
the planning committee and there is 5-party support for a plan to work on this
issue within the bounds of what is permitted nationally.
Discussion was had as to the reasons behind variability in
windows in Marchmont, including the presence of some which appear to violate
rules. It was raised that some windows that appear to violate rules may have
been put into place before the implementation of the King’s conservation area,
whilst others may simply be a violation of rules. It was also clarified that
rules for the front and back of tenements are different, including for windows.
Cllr. Burgess asked whether Douglas felt as though the
comunity space in the new build at Sylvan Place could also be used for other
forms of community engagement. Douglas clarified that this would be ideal in
the evening, as Alexa aims to use the facility to teach primary school-age
children during the day. Douglas has also set up a community interest company
(CIC) to permit raising grants for community use.
Police Report
No police report this month.
Meadows & Bruntsfield Links
Approximately 8 trees dead on Warrender Park Road. Alison
heard from the council that they can no longer water them, and it is down to
FoMBL & the forestry team. The forestry team is not able to help once trees
are delivered. Cllr. Parker clarified that there is no tree-watering team under
the council, and people are taken away from other parks & green space teams
to do this job. The budget for tree watering is lower this year, so it is
happening less than last year. He has raised the trees that have died for the
possibility of replanting, which has been noted by the relevant department.
Regarding a tree that was thought by MSCC to have been planted as a mistake
outside Scotmid, Cllr. Parker has clarified that this is in fact supposed to be
there and is not a mistake.
Action: Following discussion, Cllr. Parker will feed back to
the council that there is an appetite for a higher tree-watering budget. He
also noted that and that the tree outside Scotmid is very ‘sad-looking’ and is
in the hole that the Christmas tree normally goes at Christmas time and the
MSCC would definitely prefer that it be taken out and the hole kept for the
Christmas tree. He noted that the discussions surrounding budget will take
place in February, so it would be good to contact councillors then regarding
tree-watering.
Alison also fed back to FoMBL that there were sharp stones
around the Meadows toilets where kids could get injured whilst playing. FoMBL
reported that it will be re-turfed with thick turf.
Alison also fed back to FoMBL the idea of a community-led
competition to name the new path on Bruntsfield Links. This was put in their
latest Newsletter, and there are already numerous suggested names. FoMBL is
proposing that they take the 3 best suggestions and send this to members +
councillors for comments. Alison has already contacted street-naming regarding
the procedure and costs involved in this and checked in with David Kyles, Green
Spaces Manager. It was also in the Edinburgh News and Anne had been contacted by a reporter asking
if they could interview someone, and they were directed to a member of FoMBL.
City Councillor report on topical
local issues (including update on parking situation in area around former RHSC)
Cllr. Parker:
●
Reports that the water feature at
the East Meadows playpark is back up and running following work with the
council.
●
It is still TBD what will happen
regarding replacing parts of the playpark (eg slide) in Bruntsfield Links, and
Cllr. Parker is continuing to chase up the reasons why this is delayed. A
meeting has been scheduled for July.
●
There is a new bench which has been
ordered for Melville Drive by the memorial stone for Palestine, to allow for
quiet reflection.
●
A review of polling districts is
occurring soon.
●
A review of the council’s support
for the third sector is occurring soon. Some stories may have been seen
recently in the news about funding cuts to third sector organisations,
including but not limited to those providing healthcare-adjacent services. It
has been noted that the third sector plays an important role in preventing
further issues down the line, and the council is exploring other approaches to
supporting the third sector in the face of impending potential cuts given
budgetary restrictions, and working with the third sector to ensure that cuts
cause as little detriment as possible.
●
Cllr. Burgess:
●
Noted the receipt of a letter on the
ongoing parking issue. TRO consultation has closed, and responses are being
reviewed by officers ahead of the committee deciding whether or not to accept
officers’ recommendations. It is noted that in the past, officers have been
able to take on board residents’ concerns.
○
A question was raised as, at last
meeting, it was suggested that a dialogue between parking + local residents may
be valuable to review parking for those who live in Zone 7 and have been
inconvenienced by building works. More permits are likely to be applied for due
to new accommodation being built, with no change to the number of spaces. There
is concern that this could become more problematic in the coming years as the
number of permit applications more significantly outstrips the number of
places.
○
Another question was raised
regarding how many potential permits there are in the zone and how many are
currently in use, as knowing the proportion of people allowed to ask for
permits vs number of permits actually granted could be helpful. Cllr. Burgess
will explore this. A concern was raised that existing statistics may not be
similar to the new buildings as they are more expensive properties whose
inhabitants will be of a different demographic.
○
A request was made that the current
temporary allowance for zone 7 users to also use zone S1 be continued, as this
could solve the problem, especially as some S1 spaces are not used.
○
Another request was made that no
decisions are made on the current consultation regarding current plans unless
there is consideration of what happens when the new flats are completed and new
residents move in.
○
Another concern was raised that
parking restrictions which were proposed on Melville Drive and present on the
Appy Way map do not match those which are present on signage on lampposts, and
this could be fixed as well as the implementation of double yellow lines at the
junction. Cllr. Burges is happy to raise this with roads officers if the
information is emailed to him.
○
It is decided that Geoff will send
an email regarding the proposal to extend the allowance of zone 7 users to
utilise Zone S1 spaces.
●
Regardings Sciennes School and the
road outside it, recent discussion with other councillors/officers/the
school/the parent council have resulted in the council agreeing to try an
experiment where part of the road outside the school will be closed during
playtimes (approx. 10:15-11:00 and lunchtime) in order to protect children who
are crossing between two parts of the playground. This is a ‘practical
consultation’, with the aim to review community response. Afterwards, a
decision will be made as to whether or not to make this arrangement permanent.
This could potentially be in place by Christmas, but there are various legal
considerations delaying it.
○
A question is raised by members who
believed that Sciennes road is already closed. It was clarified that there is
an existing closure for motor vehicles, but this is about the cycle-way and the
pavement as there are drivers and motorbikes using the cycle-way as well as
cyclists speeding along. The current proposal is therefore to close the
cycle-way and the pavement to all cycle users and pedestrians.
○
A question was raised about modified
electric bikes which go too fast. Currently, school staff help the children to
cross, but regardless of how observant a road user is, it is noted that it can
always be hard to see children.
○
If there are objections to this
experiment, then it may be possible to move the existing pavement and cycle-way
to the other side of the road which could also help, but there would still be a
problem as the school also uses the nature-strip which would be across from the
cycle-way.
○
Douglas, as the new Inclusion
officer, feels as though it would be beneficial to gain public input on this as
there are various opinions in the community about what should be done. For
example, in the Netherlands, there are road bumps for cyclists. Another member
suggests banning bikes but allowing pedestrians via turnstile, but the point is
raised that this may also block disabled people. Cllr. Burgess reiterates that
these sorts of discussions are part of the reason for the experiment &
consultation happening in the first place.
●
Cllr. Burgess was on the community
grants panel a few weeks ago, and confirms the good news that the grant to the
MSCC for the external defibrillator has been approved and regrets that Alison
had not already been informed.
A question was raised regarding delays with works on the
toilets, and how the use of money on the toilets can be challenged. For
example, a green roof has been put into place which could die given that this
is a dry part of the year, and the site has allegedly been empty of workers for
10 days, both of which are potentially misuses of money. This is especially
important given current budgetary restrictions.
●
Cllr. Burgess has flagged that this
could be raised to local councillors who can raise this with the relevant
decision-making officers. Councillors would have decided to fund the toilets,
and probably approved a budget, but officers rather than councillors are
responsible for individual toilet design choices. It was pointed out by various
locals that the roof is green as it is in the Meadows, and most likely there is
a self-watering system in place via the plumbing system already in the toilet
block.
●
Cllrs are not aware of the intended
opening day for the toilets but will check into it.
●
Cllr. Parker adds that it is likely
that councillors decided on an overall budget for toilets around the city
rather than how much was spent on each individual toilet. If presented with
evidence of potential misuse of expenditure, councillors could raise these
issues with officers.
●
A question was raised as to whether
there are protocols on use of money eg needing to obtain a minimum number of
quotes. Both councillors present clarify that there are strict rules on budget
use, and that if there is a serious issue with the work that has been performed
then contract management could be audited and reviewed. Councillors can send an
email tonight about reasons for the delay in the opening of the toilets.
●
It was asked whether or not a member
of the public could review this information, for instance requests for quotes.
It was mentioned that this is likely possible via an FOI request to the
council, though this may not be granted if the information is deemed to be
commercially sensitive or particularly burdensome for them to provide.
Publicity
Not present tonight, but happy to continue with online
presence + noticeboards. It has been suggested that a meeting with the
Inclusion officer over the summer would be valuable. Financial input may be
necessary to update flyers and disseminate information. Anne to arrange.
A proposal had previously been made to sometimes have
meetings partly or wholly on Zoom. It was agreed that hybrid meetings would
likely be very challenging. Douglas hopes that this may be more possible in the
new community space with a large screen and single central microphone.
Planning (Applications &
consultation)
Alison reported that the Astley Ainslie objection to the
demolition of the Millbank Pavilion was lodged on 6th June as this was the wish
of the MSCC. Though there were many local objectors, there were many reasons
why it would be beneficial to demolish and rebuild whilst keeping the same
butterfly formation, as there could be 4-5 floors rather than 1. Given this, it
is most likely that the objection is dismissed.
Two objections had been lodged regarding the proposed airBnB
properties on Melville Drive, and it was noted that numerous private objections
had also been put in to these properties. Alison to check the outcome on this
application.
Treasurer’s report (circulated)
Current balance £416.49
Payments pending to end May-25:
●
Hall hire Q2-25 £78
●
FoMBL Membership £15
Expecting annual grant (approx £850) in July.
Meetings attended
Alison attended FoMBL committee meeting. AGM was supposed to
be in June but deferred to September.
AOB
Update from Anne regarding JR Builders’ affordable &
social housing development at Sylvan Place. They are on track to have the road
re-open by the end of July. A concern is raised about light shedding across the
street from the common areas in this building, specifically the entrance. Anne
was told that this was within regulations but her contact is happy to discuss
this.
The MSCC hears a request from multiple people wishing to
know how to put forward a request for a low-traffic neighbourhood, particularly
around Sciennes, and what Edinburgh City Council requires. Cllr. Burgess notes
that this is a controversial matter, with officers implementing a programme of
low-traffic neighbourhoods across the city. He will ask them about current
plans for other low-traffic neighbourhoods and what is required. Cllr. Burgess
notes that the local traffic improvement project has been completed for this
year, but will at some point re-open for applications so MSCC could prepare a
proposal if they so wish.
A question was raised regarding cars at school drop-off time
in Livingston Place, and it was noted that lights and signs are in place
prohibiting the passage of cars at certain times.
Action: It was concluded that specific issues will be
discussed once Cllr. Burgess is able to clarify what information the council
would require for an application. Douglas notes that it is important to seek
further community input on this issue.
Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 24th September, 2025.
Venue TBC depending on whether the new community centre is open.
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