gardens competition prizegiving 2010

Some photos from this afternoon are on the MSCC Facebook page and can be accessed (even without a Facebook account).


A fuller report will be published later. [Update (20:23, 7 Sep 2010: see below]


Thanks to all the judges and in particular Tina Cumming for organising and Monica Higgins for writing such fine descriptions of the winning gardens!


Update (20:23, 7 Sep 2010): List of winners

Front gardens (East, South, and West-facing) & Winner of the Smalley Quaich 2010: Sindy Cunningham, 21 Livingstone Place

North-facing front gardens: Neal & Angie Rayner, 36 Warrender Park Road

Hanging baskets and containers:  Jan Gaffney, 61 Spottiswoode Road

Wildlife-friendly gardens: Dan Sutton, 11 Meadow Place

New gardens: Rosemary Robertson, 145 Warrender Park Road

Other commended: 

• John Palmer, 14 Marchmont Street 
• Jola Jurasinska, 45 Spottiswoode Street
• Mystery Neighbour, 108 Thirlestane Road

Other commended (Window boxes):           

• Elaine Henry, 35 Lauderdale Street
• Theresa Dixon, 34 Thirlestane Road
• Jane Ramsay, 43 Thirlestane Road
• Mrs McDonald, 47 Thirlestane Road
• Anne McCoubrey, 6 Roseneath Terrace

Update (20:00, 9 Sep 2010): Citations for prizes (courtesy of Monica Higgins, Head Judge)

Photos of tenements in Marchmont

Readers may be interested in the photos taken by Robert Galloway of tenement buildings in Marchmont. 


They featured in a recent exhibition in the Butterflies Cafe at Marchmont St Giles and some are available as cards at the Marchmont Stationery shop at the top of Marchmont Road.  


A book with a fuller set is also available to order online.

Forthcoming meetings of the Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council

The meeting on 8 September will be a panel led discussion about local projects concerning gardens and back greens.  It will feature presentations by:

* Mandy Rathjen - Edinburgh Garden Share Scheme
* Anne Leith - Green Banana Gang

* Mike Shields - CEC Parks Dept

The meeting will be chaired by Cllr Mark McInnes.

The meeting on 13 October will explore issues arising from shared tenemental living in our diverse community. Three speakers, with special knowledge and understanding of the issues, anxieties and pleasures of `tenement life' will make short introductory statements about their organisations. There will then be an opportunity for questions and discussion.  The three speakers will be

• Jennifer Jones from the Licensing Department
• Derek Brown from Homeworks
• Richard Pontet from Edinburgh Stair Partnership

The meeting will be chaired by Cllr Ian Perry.

Both meetings will start at 7:30pm and will be held at St Catherine Argyle Church Halls, 61 Grange Road.

Presentation of prizes: Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council Front Gardens and Containers Annual Awards

The Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council Front Gardens and Containers Annual Awards will be presented at 3pm on Saturday September 4th at the Church of the German-Speaking Congregation in Chalmers Crescent. Volunteers are sought to help with setting up and serving drinks.  


Please contact Tina Cumming if you can help.

Tackling Inequalities for Edinburgh's Children and Young People

'Tackling Inequalities - Promoting Health and Wellbeing for Edinburgh’s Children and Young People' will bring partners together to increase our understanding of how inequalities impact on children and young people and to identify and build on good practice in tackling inequalities and improving outcomes for children and young people.  The event takes place on Wednesday 3rd November at Tynecastle Stadium.


Co-author of The Spirit Level and Co-founder of The Equality Trust Richard Wilkinson will present the Keynote address, and participants will engage in a World Cafe conversational process to enable the development of collective intelligence around actions to address inequalities.


Community participation at these conferences is valued. Accordingly 12 places are allocated to Community Councils at this conference. 


A programme for the conference, a promotional poster and a registration form are available by emailing claire.duchart@edinburgh.gov.uk or phoning 0131 469 3971.

Community Beat Police Newsletters for Tollcross, Marchmont and Meadows - Aug 10

Yocksan Bell, the community beat officer for Tollcross, Marchmont and Meadows has circulated his newsletter for Aug 2010.

A journey through Edinburgh's Central Library

You might be interested in this short video about the history of Edinburgh's Central Library.  It features on the City of Edinburgh's Libraries' Word Up site.

Zero waste: Edinburgh & Midlothian - continued pre-application public consultation

The Scottish Government is aiming to create a Zero Waste Scotland. As a result the City of Edinburgh and Midlothian Councils have joined together to set up a zero waste project. Together the councils have purchased a site in the Millerhill area on which a waste treatment facility could be built.


They plan to apply for planning permission first.  A first step in this application, and initial consultation (as noted previously in this blog), has been completed; further public consultation is now under way.  


Public meetings will be held at Danderhall Community Centre on Th 30 Sep from 5:30pm till 8pm and on Sa 2 Oct from 12pm to 3pm.  Further information is available at the zerowaste web pages.  


If you wish to respond please contact zerowaste@edinburgh.gov.uk by 27 October 2010.

Special AGM to propose winding up of MAGPIE: 23 Sep at 7pm

Marchmont Action Group Promoting Initiatives for the Environment (MAGPIE) has been inactive for the last two years, following the sad death of David Stay who played a pivotal role in the organisation.


Although two years ago there was reluctance to wind up MAGPIE, it has proven hard to find volunteers to inject new life.  Both Marchmont & Sciennes and Merchiston Community Councils also campaign for community matters and hold similar values to MAGPIE.


A special meeting of MAGPIE member is therefore proposed to close down MAGPIE. This will be held on Th 23 Sep 2010 at the Meadows Croquet club at 7pm. If you wish to attend, or are unable and wish to support/ object to the winding up of MAGPIE please contact the Convenor of the group at Marilyne.MacLaren@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Tweet

Find out how saving water can save you money

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It’s really simple: reducing the amount of water and energy wasted in your home will save you money and reduce your impact on the environment. The great thing about saving water is that anyone can do it and it’s really easy to do. So whether you’re a homeowner or a tenant, making small changes to how you use hot water can make a big difference to your energy bills.

The average household spends around 30% of their gas bill on heating water, which could be as much as £200 a year.

The Energy Saving Scotland advice centre wants to let you know about ways to reduce your energy costs and carbon footprint. All you need to do is click here to complete our online Water Energy Check and we’ll send you a free, personalised report in the post advising you of a number of easy ways to save water, energy and money.

Complete the Water Energy Check for a chance to win one of five Water Efficiency ‘Goody Bags’. They’re filled with funky gadgets and gizmos to help you stop your money going down the drain. It couldn’t be easier!

If you’d like to speak to our Water Efficiency Advisor or have any questions relating to energy efficiency, generating your own energy or sustainable transport please call us on freephone 0800 512 012.”

Note from Neighbourhood Partnership meeting

The Guardian Edinburgh Blog has a story about the Neighbourhood Partnership meeting on Monday evening.

Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust Summer newsletter

A paper copy of the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust Summer Newsletter - Greenspace Matters - has just arrived through the secretary's letterbox. If you would like to see it please contact him. An electronic copy may appear later at their website.

South Central Neighbourhood Partnership Meeting - 9 August 10 at 7pm

The South Central Neighbourhood Partnership will meet in public on Monday 10 May 2010 at 7pm (till 9pm) in the Business Centre, City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh.  

Topics to be discussed include: BBQs on the Meadows/ Bruntsfield Links, Local Community Plan, Grants, and Street Drinking & Begging.

For more information please contact: Donald Burgess
The MSCC rep on the neighbourhood partnership is Alastair Philp
Papers will shortly be are now available:

• Go to Council Papers online
• Click on "go to committee search"
• Pick "South Central Neighbourhood Partnership" as committee name and "9 August 2010" as date.
• click "search"

updated: 20:58 on Mo 2 Aug 2010

Civil Enforcement of Bus Lane Contraventions

The City of Edinburgh Council have written to the secretary of the Community Council to inform us that they propose to promote a new traffic regulation order. This will allow contraventions of bus lanes to be enforced by the City Council using cameras rather than relying on the police.  


Formal objections are not yet invited: statutory consultation will follow. 


However any immediate comments are welcomed, by 20 August, to john.richmond@edinburgh.gov.uk. 

New design process for new James Gillespie's High School

As the City of Edinburgh Council News Blog relates, the council is taking an innovative new curriculum-led approach to designing two schools in the city.

James Gillespie’s and Portobello High Schools will be developed with the input of a ‘pedagogic designer’ to help ensure that designs are based around the principles of Curriculum for Excellence - the first time the approach has been used in Scotland.

A fuller article is also available at the Times Educational Supplement website.

Community Beat Police Newsletters for Tollcross, Marchmont and Meadows - Jun 10

Yocksan Bell, the community beat officer for Tollcross, Marchmont and Meadows has circulated his newsletter for Jun 2010.

Do you need to contact a private landlord?

Contact details are available on the all-Scotland public register of private landlords.  


If the relevant flat is not covered please e-mail the City of Edinburgh Council Landlord Registration Team.  


More information on the public register and how it is managed for Edinburgh is available at the City of Edinburgh Council website.

Are you a private landlord?

As a recently received communication from City of Edinburgh Council reminds us, private landlords must be on a public register of landlords if they wish to avoid paying a penalty fee of up to £5 000. 


Registration must be renewed every three years. 


More information is available from the landlord registration pages on the City Council website.

Summer activities organised by City of Edinburgh Council

Programmes of summer activities for young people have been organised by City of Edinburgh Council.

Experimental Facebook discussion page

We are trying out the idea of a MSCC Facebook page to allow postings of local interest in a less controlled way than the official Community Council Blog.  Why not visit and let us know what you think about local issues and events!