Southside & Newington Newsblog: 1594 trees in the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links

As Cameron Rose's newsblog reports "a new count of trees in the Meadows area [PDF] has been added this month to the Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links website."  

The document shows the number of each species.

"On most trees you will find a small tab which links to this 2009 detailed survey of trees and from the tab you can identify the tree species, height, spread, age and condition."

The Big Co-op Clean at The Meadows: 10am - noon on Sa 27 Jun

As part of Co-operatives Fortnight 2015, and in association with Friends of the Meadows and Bruntsfield Links, Scotmid is supporting a community clean up at The Meadows, Melville Drive, Edinburgh (meeting at the Cricket Pavilion on Jawbone Walk at 10am).

Why not come along and help keep your community beautiful?  There will be litter picking, wild flower planting, trimming verges, featuring trees and reseeding grass.

Please bring gloves and suitable footwear. Under 16s must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

All other materials and refreshments will be provided.

If you are interested in coming along to this event, please email Tricia so there will be enough refreshments on the day for everyone.

Agenda for MSCC meeting on We 24 June 2015 at 7:30pm

Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council will hold its monthly regular meeting on We 24 Jun 2015. 

The meeting will take place in our usual venue of St Catherine's Argyle Church Halls on Beaufort Road/ Grange Road. 

This will be our ninth meeting of 14/15.  After this meeting we will take a summer break. The first meeting after the summer will be on 23 Sep 2015.

All who live or work in the area are most welcome to attend 

A G E N D A

 1            Sederunt and apologies

 2               Draft Minutes of last meeting, 27 May 2015 and matters arising (not otherwise on Agenda)

·       Advertising vacancies on MSCC

·       Hope Terrace (parking in front gardens)

·       Redevelopment of Royal Hospital for Sick Children site

·       Lovers Loan wall

·       MSCC publicity on advertising drums

·       Materials from Cockburn Association

·       Cost of advert in Meadows Directory

 3             Police Report

 4            Update on Meadows & Bruntsfield Links from Mike Shields 

Items for discussion

 5            New planning applications

·      20 Mansionhouse Road

 6            Nominations for road/pavement repair

 7            Engagement with Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

 8            Correspondence re Barbecues on the Meadows

Items mainly for information

 9            Treasurer’s report

10            Reports of meetings

·       Meadows Festival

·       Neighbourhood Partnership (inc Underbelly on the Meadows)

11            Traders’ Evening

12            AOCB

Friends of the Meadows & Bruntsfield Links Summer newsletter/ AGM on 26 Jun at 19:30

The Friends of the Meadows & Bruntsfield Links Summer newsletter (PDF) is now available on their website.

They are holding their AGM on June 26th at the Croquet Club, 7:30 pm. 

2nd Proposed Edinburgh Development Plan has now been submitted to Scottish Ministers

The 2nd Proposed Edinburgh Development Plan has now been submitted to Scottish Ministers (on 29 May 2015) for examination.  The local development plan is a document that sets out which types of development should take place where, and which areas should be protected from development.  It also contains policies that inform the Council’s decisions on planning applications.

If you would like to see the plan which is being examined a copy is available for public viewing in the Council’s offices at Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, and in every public library serving the plan area and also on the Council’s website.

The Community Council are looking for interested people to co-opt as new Community Councillors

See the contact details in the >>>>> right hand side column of this blog!

Power of Food Festival: 20/21 June

Edible Edinburgh is supporting the Power of Food Festival over the weekend of 20-21 June. Come with family and friends to celebrate community food growing.

This inaugural community festival involves 15 of the city’s community gardens with highlights ranging from an insect safari to storytelling, birds, music, and more. 

The festival has joined up with Sustrans  to offer a guided cycle tour of the Festival as part of National Cycle Network week and Edible Edinburgh will launch the Sustainable Food City Charter.  

For more details see:  poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com 

Twitter @PoFFest                  Facebook EdinburghPowerofFoodFestival

NHS Lothian catering strategy consultation: comment by 19 Jun

NHS Lothian has launched a public consultation on catering services and are asking patients, staff and the public to have their say on food and nutrition.  NHS Lothian is committed to providing meals which look great, taste delicious, as well as being made from fresh, and where ever possible, locally sourced produce.  

Recent research shows nine out of 10 inpatients are happy with food being served in NHS Lothian.  However they are determined to improve standards.  

A summary of the main document is being distributed to interested groups and will be available across Lothian, while the full unabridged version can be accessed on the NHS Lothian website.  Comments are requested by 19 June 2015.

Bikes & Rail: June 15 Spokes public meeting

On Mo 15 Jun at 19:30 Edinburgh Cycle group SPOKES are holding a public meeting at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge.

The meeting will consider what impact for bike/rail there will be from Dutch company Abellio running ScotRail.  

The headline speaker is John Dietz, Cycling Strategy Manager for Abellio ScotRail.

Other speakers are:

• Sarah Ryan, Active Travel Officer for Sestran, the South East Scotland Regional Transport Partnership
• Susan Warren, Development Officer at Transform Scotland
• Robert Drysdale, Campaign for Borders Rail and longstanding bike/rail user

A panel discussion and audience QA chaired by Sarah Boyack MSP – will follow

Edinburgh Canal Festival and Raft Race will take place on Sat 27 June

The Edinburgh Canal Festival and Raft Race will take place on Sat 27 June at Edinburgh Quay, Fountainbridge.

There will be music, stalls, water-based and land-based activities, art and children activities

New information boards in Grange Cemetery

The Grange Association have provided new information boards in Grange Cemetery showing famous people buried there.  

Meadows Festival is next weekend - 6 and 7 June

Agenda for monthly regular MSCC meeting on We 27 May 2015 at 7:30pm

Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council will hold its monthly regular meeting on We 27 May 2015 immediately following the Annual General Meeting, which will start at 7:30pm.  

The meeting will take place in our usual venue of St Catherine's Argyle Church Halls on Beaufort Road/ Grange Road.

This will be our eighth meeting of 14/15.  We will continue our regular practice of meeting on the fourth Wednesday of the month until Jun 2015, and then take a break till Sep 2015.

All who live or work in the area are most welcome to attend 

A G E N D A

 1            Sederunt and apologies

 2               Draft Minutes of last meeting, 22 Apr 2015 and matters arising (not otherwise on Agenda)

·       Advertising vacancies on MSCC

·       Hope Terrace (parking in front gardens)

·       Redevelopment of Royal Hospital for Sick Children site

·       Lovers Loan wall

·       MSCC publicity on advertising drums

·       Recycling bin at Sciennes/ Tantallon

·       Revised planning brief for Astley Ainslie Hospital

 3             Police Report

·      Road Safety at JGPS

 4            Update on Meadows & Bruntsfield Links from Mike Shields 

             - Underbelly and Meadows

Items for discussion

 5            New planning applications

Items mainly for information

 6            Treasurer’s report

 7             Edinburgh Association of Community Councils

 8            Reports of meetings

·       JGPS Council

·       South Central NP Roads Capital Programme 2015/16

·       Grange Fair

 9            Traders’ Evening

10            Facebook page for Scottish Community Councillors

11            AOCB

12            Date of next meeting: 24 June 2015

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be on We 27 May at 7:30pm

 Annual General Meeting

             7:30pm 27 May 2015

            St Catherine’s Argyle Church Halls

A G E N D A

1      Sederunt and apologies

2      Minutes of the last meeting  - on 28 May 2014

3      Matters arising from the minutes

4      Annual Report - chair  (Brian Gilmore)

5      Annual Report  - Secretary  (Alastair Philp)

6      Annual Report and presentation of audited accounts - Treasurer (Alison Service)

7      Co-option of members

8      Demit of Office - bearers and election of Office- bearers

9      Date of next AGM

10  Ordinary meeting dates for 2015-16

11  AOCB

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

Public to be consulted on primary school pressures in south Edinburgh

A statutory consultation will begin in August 2015 to consider options to deal with primary school capacity and accommodation pressures in south Edinburgh.

The decision was agreed at a meeting of the Education, Children & Families Committee of City of Edinburgh Council on Tuesday 19 May after councillors discussed the Primary School Capacity Pressure in South Edinburgh report.

Making Edinburgh Fit For Walking

You are warmly invited to an event to help make Edinburgh fit for walking. It's on the 1st of June 2015 at the Friends meeting House, Victoria Street, Edinburgh. Doors open 17.45...

  

"We’re virtually all walkers – and in many ways Edinburgh is great city to walk in. But motor traffic continues to dominate the vast majority of the city’s streets, and pedestrians have languished at the bottom of transport priorities for far too long.

  

Living Streets' Edinburgh local group is being formally launched to make the case for the enormous economic, environmental and social benefits of prioritising walking within a high-quality public realm in the capital. Come along to hear about what Living Streets stands for, how walking fits into a civilised public realm, and about the local group's plans for an exciting late summer campaign of street audits. This is your opportunity to get involved and help us press the City of Edinburgh Council to transform its many sensible walking-related policies into practical improvements on our streets. Please join us for a discussion and debate on the way forward with the following speakers:

  

• Standing Up for Walkers, David Spaven, Convener of the Living Streets Edinburgh Group

• A Better Public Realm, Marion Williams, Director of the Cockburn Association (Edinburgh’s Civic Trust)

• Auditing Edinburgh’s Streets, Stuart Hay, Director of Living Streets Scotland

   

The meeting room will be open from 17.45, with tea, coffee and biscuits available. There will be opportunities to tell us what you think about walking in Edinburgh generally and in your own locality – and to help shape our late summer campaign."

   

If you need any more information, please Contact David Spaven at david@deltix.co.uk or follow on twitter: @LivingStreetsEd)

Vacancies on Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council

Marchmont & Sciennes Community Council has a few vacancies for those who would like to be co-opted.  

Community Councils are voluntary, statutory bodies made up of local residents. We exist to ascertain, co-ordinate and express the Marchmont & Sciennes community’s views to public bodies at every level, especially with the City of Edinburgh Council.

Issues we cover include:

Planning

Roads

Schools

Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs)

Refuse/Recycling/Street cleaning

Licensing

Parks and Green Space

Anti-social behaviour

If you think you might be interested please get in touch (with no commitment!) with the secretary using the e-mail or telephone contact details in the right hand column of this infoblog.

Domestic Security Event: 7-9pm at Mayfield Salisbury Church

A Domestic Security Event is being run by PoliceScotland and City of Edinburgh Council Community Safety on 29 April (7-9pm at Mayfield Salisbury Church, 1 Mayfield Road Edinburgh).

The event aims to offer constructive advice regarding both personal safety and protection of your property. There will be presentations from the organisers and a chance to ask questions.

Don't forget to vote in the UK Parliamentary General Election on 7 May 2015

The number of people registered and voting in the Scottish Independence Referendum was at a record level. Many people, including lots of older people, voted for the first time.  It would be great if people don’t just vote once in their lifetime but instead turn out every time to have their say on important matters.

Info from the council on how to find out where, when and how to vote

Your poll card tells you where your polling place is. Check that you’re going to the right place as it might have changed since the last time you voted.  You don’t need to bring your poll card with you to vote but it does help to make the voting process faster.

If you have a postal vote, follow the instructions carefully – your signature and date of birth on the statement are both needed.  A common reason for postal votes being rejected is the signature or date of birth not matching – make sure yours do. Please return your postal vote as soon as possible.

Whether you are voting in person or by post, make sure you vote with a single X. Please don’t write any other comments on the paper as then it might not be clear how you are voting.

Polling Places will be open from 7am until 10pm. Don’t leave it too late to cast your vote.

For more information about where, when and how to vote visit the City of Edinburgh Council website.

Your views wanted on public toilet closures (by 25 May 2015)

Courtesy of STV -
http://files.stv.tv/imagebase/341/605x433/341494-public-toilets-facing-closure-in-edinburgh.jpg

The City of Edinburgh Council recently took a step back from reducing the public conveniences budget by £600,000 which would have meant that the majority of Edinburgh’s public toilets would need to be closed.

However, the Council still needs to make a £300,000 saving in 2015/16 following a budget decision made in 2011. This means that around ten toilets will need to be closed.

Please complete the Council’s online survey about public toilets and provide your thoughts on how closure of certain public toilets might affect you and your local community; or the people to whom you provide services. This survey went live on Monday 13 April for a period of six weeks.