MSCC - Minutes for January 2023

 

Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council

Minutes of Meeting held on January 25th, 2023 at St. Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

Present

Brian Gilmore - Chair, MSCC

Alison Service - MSCC Treasurer

Anne Laing - MSCC Secretary 

Emma Willson - local resident

Nigel Ayton - Grange Association

Susie Agnew - MSCC

Jessica Eaton - local resident

Cllr. Tim Pogson

 

Apologies

Anthony Holmes - Thirlestane Lane Association

Douglas Rogers - MSCC

Kayleigh Gordon - MSCC Publicity

Liane Phillips - MSCC Publicity

Cllr. Ben Parker

 

Attending

Nora Flynn-McIver - Minutes Secretary

 

Meeting began at 7:37pm

 

Draft Minutes of November 23rd 2022 Meeting

• Alison moved to approve
• Anne seconded
• Minutes are approved
• Discussion on broken pavement outside of Marchmont Hardware
• Cllr. is looking into this, Tim Pogson will chase up
• Issue raised about dangerous pavement further on

 

Publicity

• Nothing to report

 

Meadows and Bruntsfield Links (incl. FOMBL report)

• Public talk on 24th November
• Big success, two football clubs used to play on the Meadows
• Born Free exhibition has been moved
• Temporary toilets removed, will hopefully be returned for the summer
• Question raised about expense of moving them rather than just closing them
• More tree planting happening in Feb and March
• Benches being repaired, additions to children’s playground
• Alison will be attending the next FOMBL meeting in February
• Need to find out who has replaced Mike Shields as Parks Manager to invite them to meetings
• This will be found out at the FOMBL meeting

 

SE Community Police newsletter

• Acknowledgement of their newsletter as a general overview

 

City Councillor report on topical local issues (Cllr. Tim Pogson)

• Motion was passed at last council meeting to found tenement task force
• Help ppl in tenements to be more energy efficient, help combat rising energy costs
• Put in place over the next few months
• Council needs to fix budget for 23/24
• 8% cut in budget likely
• Need to decide which areas of budget to reduce
• Education, social care unlikely to be cut, bigger burden on other areas
• Need to consider how to save money using current property portfolios, etc.
• Liberton High School proposal
• Possible GP practice in the high school
• Good use of property and money
• Trying to ensure that budget cuts only affect internal operations rather than external aid to the community
• Short-term let licensing scheme
• Scottish Parliament decision, council running it
• Pressure from industry, Scottish gov’t trying to toe the middle line
• Introducing the new licensing scheme in autumn (i.e. a delay of six months)
• Development around Quiet Route 6
• Cycling route from Meadows to Kings Buildings
• Trying to make cycling route safer
• Changes to parking, traffic, etc.
• The final crossing of the three on Grange Road is now at the statutory TRO stage and open for comment.
• This involves the crossings at Cumin Place and Tantallon Place.
• Creating easier/safer crossings into/from Grange Rd
• Cumin Place will be closed to northbound motor traffic at the exit to Grange Road (cyclists can go north in these areas but cars can’t); Tantallon Place will be ‘no entry’ for northbound motor traffic from Grange Road;
• Consultation closes Feb 10th
• Any comments should be submitted by then
• Question about reaction from ppl who live in the areas (posed by Susie Agnew, answered by Nigel Ayton)
• Ppl have had their say about 6 years ago during the initial consultation
• Some ppl don’t like specific details of the schemes, but general consensus is that it is good for kids to be able to safely get to school
• Susie thought that design for Lauder Rd is worse than other roads as confusing both for cars/cyclists and for ppl to cross
• King’s Theatre
• Subject for refurbishment
• Costs now increased by £9 million that the institution does not have
• Council talking with UK/Scottish gov’t to try and make up the difference
• Good if individuals email MSPs/MPs, etc about the issue if interested
• General idea that letting the theatre go should be avoided

 

Christmas event

• Big success
• First time having the event in three years
• Made about £150 for Children 1st Scotland
• Thanks given to Alison Service for running the event
• Next year’s event is already booked
• Sunday, 3rd December 2023
• Both schools are happy with the date

Sick Kids site

• The developers plan to have the student block available to try and get students in by September
• Toilets “complete pods” arrived yesterday
• Douglas and Anne trying to meet with the developers of the affordable housing section
• Housing association from Glasgow
• Planning on closing Sylvan Place for a while
• Square and Crescent has bought older houses, trying to contact them as well
• Tim Pogson offered to help get in contact if needed
• Emma Willson brings issue about Victorian building demolished at end Sylvan Pl
• This is due to requirements/space needed for affordable housing

 

Astley Ainsley Hospital Redevelopment

• No change 
• Conversation with NHS & Planning Dept is now happening
• Tim Pogson has been meeting with the NHS
• Trying to organize meeting with everyone involved, should happen soon

 

Suggested Street Improvement Plan (proposed by Emma Willson)

• Possible changes/improvements to area once Scottish Water is done doing their work
• Goal is to make the area more pedestrian-friendly
• Spoke to a local architect about what changes could be made
• Scottish Water may have some additional money available to make these changes
• Would be good for MSCC to show support/aid discussion on any improvements
• Suggestions for the north Marchmont Cres/Marchmont place area include:
• Widening pavements
• Changing roadways for less traffic – maybe one-way only
• Narrowing roads to discourage driving
• Cycling lane down North Marchmont Crescent
• Tim says he can share suggestions with applicable ppl
• Some traffic administrators could also be brought into this
• Need concrete plans before going for approval/funding
• Planning committee best ppl to do this
• Concern abt “20 minute” neighbourhood issue, not necessarily a selling point bc Marchmont is already a “20 minute” neighbourhood
• This might include reducing amount of parking available, but this is less of an issue if focus is on pedestrians
• Susie raises question about how ppl on Marchmont Crescent feel about idea of shutting down traffic in that area
• Younger ppl are a large part of the community, may be more likely to support green-friendly initiatives
• Responses were largely positive, if wanting more detail on impacts on personal lives
• Some elements of this are definitely easier to do than others, but ideas are likely possible to get funding for
• General consensus that a lot of this is a good idea, general sense of support

Planning Applications

• 30 Mansionhouse Rd application for new house in garden has been withdrawn
• Still a local hot topic
• Ppl dislike that the house would take up the garden, and makes more street parking
• Ppl also do not like the box-like architecture
• 24 Mansionhouse Rd application to redo top floor and add a balcony
• Looks out at the rear onto houses in Lauder Rd
• Contractors have been cutting down trees with no notice
• Balcony would look into windows of houses behind it, ppl are planning on registering complaints
• 10 Chalmers Crescent
• Turning it back into a family home from the former NHS usage
• NHS building has big extension; new owner wants to build onto it more and add sundeck
• This also looks into the windows of ppl across Lover’s Loan in Mansionhouse Road
• This has been rejected but an appeal is going to council in March

Grange Cemetery Update

• Grange Association did not approve request for more money to resurrect monuments
• Too much money, about £6,000, total would have been brought up to above £18,000 cumulative
• New committee coming in at AGM in March, didn’t want to saddle them with that expense
• Looking for volunteers
• Planting bulbs, etc.
• Alison asked where money is coming from to reopen catacombs, etc.
• Council is paying for it

 

Treasurer’s Report 

• Total is £1782.08
• Need to encourage ppl to come forward with local projects that MSCC can help with
• Defibrillator project is an example, have not heard from the Mgr of The Earl of Marchmont who are trying to raise the finance.

Meetings Attended

• No updates now

ACOB

• Nigel is stepping down from Grange Committee at its AGM in March
• Donald Henderson is replacing him
• Will try to bring him along to next meeting
• Reports will continue from same ppl for the most part

 

Date of Next Meeting

• 22nd of February

 

MSCC - Agenda for Wed 22nd March 2023

 

Marchmont & Sciennes

Community Council

 

Meeting on Wed 22^nd March 2023 at 7:30pm

To be held at St Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

 

 

 

A G E N D A

 

 

 

1                 Sederunt and apologies

2          Draft Minutes of last meeting 22^nd February 2023; actions and matters arising (not otherwise on Agenda)

3          Publicity

4          Meadows & Bruntsfield Links: Including FOMBL report

5         City Councillor report on topical local issues

 

 

 

Items for discussion

 6           Christmas event

7              Sick Kids site: update

8              Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment: update

9           Update on pavement Chalmers Cres.

12           Planning applications

13           Grange Cemetery update 

For info:

14           Treasurer's report   

15           Meetings attended

16           AOCB

17           Date of next meeting : Wednesday 26^th April  2023

 

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

MSCC - Agenda for the 22nd February 2023

 

Marchmont & Sciennes

Community Council

 

Meeting on Wed 22^nd February 2023 at 7:30pm

To be held at St Catherine’s Argyle Church Hall

 

 

 

 

A G E N D A

 

 

 

1                 Sederunt and apologies

            Welcome to Donald Henderson Grange Assoc.

2          Draft Minutes of last meeting 25^th January 2023; actions and matters arising (not otherwise on Agenda)

3          Publicity

4          Meadows & Bruntsfield Links: Including FOMBL report

5         City Councillor report on topical local issues

6.        Energy efficiency presentation : Douglas Rogers

 

 

 

Items for discussion

 6           Christmas event

7              Sick Kids site: update

8              Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment: update

9           Update on pavement Chalmers Cres.

12           Planning applications

13           Grange Cemetery update  (circulated)

For info:

14           Treasurer's report    (circulated)

15           Meetings attended

16           AOCB

17           Date of next meeting : Wednesday 22^nd March  2023

 

All who live or work locally are welcome to attend

MSCC Minutes for November 2022

 

                                

 

                                                                                               

 

 

 

 

MARCHMONT & SCIENNES COMMUNITY COUNCIL

 

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 23^RD NOVEMBER 2022       7:30 P.M. AT ST. CATHERINE’S ARGYLE

 

ATTENDANCE

 

PRESENT:

Brian Gilmore (Chair, MSCC), Alison Service (MSCC Treasurer), Anne Laing (MSCC Secretary) Anthony Holmes (Thirlestane Lane Association) , Emma Willson (local resident), Nigel Ayton (Grange Association), Susie Agnew (MSCC), Margaret Coughtrie (local resident), Liane Phillips (MSCC Publicity), Kayleigh Gordon (MSCC Publicity), Alastair Philp (local resident), Sarah Sandow (local resident), Douglas Rogers (MSCC), Tim Wright (local resident), Cllr. Marie-Clair Munro, Cllr. Ben Parker, Cllr. Pauline Flannery

 

APOLOGIES:

Nil

 

IN ATTENDANCE

 Modupe Ojo (Minutes Secretary)

Catherine Henderson (Scottish Water)

Graeme (Scottish Water Site Manager)

 

DISCUSSIONS

 

The meeting began at 7:31 p.m.

Catherine Henderson gave an update on the ongoing Scottish Water project in the area. She began with an overview of the project which is the upgrade of the sewer system in the Marchmont area. The project involves increasing the capacity of the sewer network by putting in a 15m diameter, 20m deep stormwater tank, and upsizing the sewer pipes along Marchmont Crescent which is ongoing. The enabling work for the stormwater tank is ongoing, but no major excavation will happen until the new year (2023).  The project will last for 16 months if everything goes smoothly. She added that a nice wraparound has been designed for the hoardings around the main site with climate campaign messages and the designs would hopefully be finalised and put up before Christmas. Disruption-wise, the first phase of the project began on 7^th of November and should be completed just before the Christmas holiday. According to Graham, the next phase of the project won’t start till the 9^th of January 2023.  Catherine added that letters would go out imploring people to move their cars out of the next phased section where suspensions will be placed to ensure there is no avoidable delay. She added that as the project proceeds to other sections, the Scottish Water website (https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/In-Your-Area/Investments-in-Your-Area/Marchmont-Road-Edinburgh) will be updated with relevant information and she can also be contacted via her email address.

Catherine added that they have been trying to reach the Council about extending and allowing people to park outwith their normal zones but were yet to get a response on this. Cllr. Parker said the Councillors present at the meeting would look into this.

 

Kayleigh asked to confirm if the sewer system will benefit both those in Marchmont Crescent and Marchmont Road, and Catherine confirmed this was the case.

Sarah stated how impressed she was with the speed with which they had gone about beginning the project, and things are being done efficiently. She asked for reassurance on how the state of the pavement would be improved at the end of the project. Catherine stated that Scottish Water would reinstate anything worked on at the end of the project.

Cllr. Munro asked if Catherine had any update about the plans for university buses operating along that area. Catherine said they had contacted the university directly and it would not be till towards the end of the project, and they would contact the university again towards this period and update any available information on bus diversions the website.

Douglas asked if they would have to go into the bedrock for only the stormwater tank or for the sewer as well. He also asked how they intend to handle the flower beds/planters along Marchmont and Catherine said they would be moved carefully if they are in the way at all.

Margaret asked if there are any plans for the other parts of the Meadows as she was also experiencing some form of flooding issues in her house and had contacted Scottish Water but was yet to get a response. Catherine stated that Scottish Water was aware of these kind of issues but due to available resources, they need to prioritise and the flooding team was getting a lot of calls but someone will eventually get back to her. Margaret asked to know what metrics Scottish Water was working on to know what dictates concerns/actions on what projects to prioritise. Catherine noted that it was a changing process and it is when there is a justifiable need and there is justification but that this wasn’t her area of expertise. Cllr. Parker stated there was a lot of work being done by the Council on climate adaptation, and the Council can therefore also be informed about this kind of issue.

Alastair stated he understood there were some suggestions about Scottish Water providing money for trees, and Catherine and Graeme confirmed this was the case.

Anthony asked if there was any form of lobbying being done about the wet wipes which was reported to have caused 80% of the blockages but which are actually being marketed as flushable. Catherine noted that this was a complicated issue, but the core message of Scottish Water is that wet wipes should not be flushed.

Cllr Munro asked if there is a rough estimate as to how long the project will last, and Catherine said it will take around 16 months but if there are any delays, it will be updated on the website accordingly. Cllr. Munro also asked for assurance that there were security systems in place at the site, and Graeme confirmed there were measures in place. Catherine also added that they would engage in the new year with the schools which would include some safety talks.

 

Draft Minutes of last meeting 26^th October 2022

Corrections were made to the Minutes. Alison moved the motion for adoption and it was seconded by Susie.

 

Publicity    

Kayleigh updated that the digital footfall on the MSCC sites has increased by about 40% over the past few months which is quite a big turnout. For the twitter account, she stated that people had been tagging the account on different issues and she wanted to know how to deal with these issues. She said that currently the main focus for publicity is the Christmas tree event and posters have been put up and Alison has been speaking to local businesses about it and they are being supportive.

Resolution:

It was agreed that issues arising from the online tagging to the twitter account should be directed to the Councillors.

 

Meadows & Bruntsfield Links: Including FOMBL report

Alison said there is a public meeting on 24^th November 2022 with a talk about Hibs and Hearts FCs playing in past times on the Meadows but there is no trustees meeting date set yet. Anne said the FOMBL newsletter has also been circulated. Alison said she would send the link to the newsletter to the publicity team to advertise.

 

City Councillor report on topical local issues

Cllr. Flannery reported :

* That Sciennes primary school was still awaiting confirmation with respect to the status of the street presently blocked to motor traffic becoming a permanent part of the playground, but things are still in abeyance on that.

* The council are seeking suggestions for warm and welcome spaces for winter such as churches, libraries, museums to get in contact with her with ideas.  

* The Gaelic implementation group which was suspended before the election is about to meet again, but the details of the meeting has not yet been finalised.

* James Gillespie’s High School Trust were looking for new Trustees and anyone interested can contact her or Sheena for more details.

* There were still two live consultations—one relating to Housing with Multiple Occupancies and another on World Heritage site management plan and encouraged anyone interested to give their views on the consultations.

 

Cllr. Parker reported:

* The City Plan which dictates the future and planning decisions in the city would go through planning committee at the end of the month and will be submitted to the Scottish Government before it is returned to the Council possibly with some revisions for implementation.

* The HMO consultation will be closing at the end of December

* The World Heritage Site Mgmt Plan consultation will close also end December

*  The thriving green spaces consultation is also ongoing and it has been extended till the end of December and gives more time for contributions.

* There is a new biodiversity action plan and there is a lot of exciting work anyone interested can get involved with.

* A new group called Marchmont Neighbours are having a storytelling event on Saturday 10^th December and he would send the link to anyone interested in getting involved.

 

Cllr. Munro reported:

* She has already emailed the council about the current graffiti on the Born Free installation on the Meadows and hopefully something would be done soon about it.

* The transport committee was also working on addressing the issues with the EV charge points as it has been discovered that some users of the EV charge points were not able to take advantage of their 22kW capacity because the on-board chargers in their cars have lower capacity, typically 7kW.  Thus those users cannot get enough charge in the three hour limit for each charging sessions and excess charges were given to those who stayed beyond that period, and the committee was considering how to address this issue.

Douglas explained how EV vehicle chargers work and said there is a need for more 7kw chargers on the lamp posts. Cllr. Munro said the current budget is very tight and may not be able to accommodate this.

Alastair Philp said he wrote to the Council some years ago about the strategy for widespread electric vehicles in the city as charging at a distance from your home may be a disincentive to using electric vehicles. He asked about Edinburgh’s policy for charging electric vehicles in tenement areas. Anne said the Scottish National Investment Bank tried to invest in Trojan Energy which is a provider of plug-in charger points on the pavements, but she was unsure how this would work.

Cllr Parker explained that the council has a number of climate strategies, one of which is the council's emissions reduction plan that focuses on the council's internal emissions. He added that key parts of the council's emissions strategy are focused on buildings and the way we heat our homes and also the transport system, because those are the two biggest sources of emissions and he said the council has an internal strategy to address this. Also, transport is a major concern and the emphasis is on reducing the number of private vehicles that we have in the city, and not only about electric vehicles. Having lamppost charging around the city for electric vehicles creates its own problems and that the main emphasis should be on congestion and the need to reduce private vehicles in the city centre. 

Douglas noted that forcing people out of using their cars by not being able to access charging points would mean those living in new housing around the green belt will have an advantage in that they can come into town and block up roads and cause more congestion. 

Cllr Munro said that on the issue of the pavement condition outside Marchmont Hardware, she said the feedback she got was that the condition of the pavement was not bad enough. Brian also read the mail printout given by Kayleigh stating that the pavement was assessed and deemed priority 4 which did not require immediate attention. Cllr Munro said someone else had fallen on that pavement and she had contacted the authority again stating that she was not satisfied with the email sent and wanted to do a personal inspection with them.

She further updated that she and the other Councillors were contacted by the developers of Midmar Paddock (which is currently used for recreational purposes) to ask for a meeting with the Councillors in order to show them more detailed plans. She said she would organise a meeting.

Anne raised the problem of the potential sinkhole at the bottom of Sylvan Place which she was told has been reported to the Council by Downing Construction but was not sure if anything had been done about it. Cllr Flannery offered to deal with this if Anne emailed her about it.

 

Christmas event

Alison updated that everything has been organised and all relevant permissions has been obtained.  However, helpers are needed at the event itself. Alastair Philp said that if Alison contacted his wife she might be able to spread the word about helpers at the JG Parents Association. Alison said she would do that and would contact the Sciennes Head Teacher as well.  There is no need for staging as the Acapella Kids would sing in the Church hall. The event will start by 4:30 p.m.

 

Sick Kids site: update

Anne said the update on this has been circulated.

Douglas said there had been a successful meeting with the Home Group who are building the affordable housing block at the bottom of Sylvan Place and doing the site landscaping.  He said he had already sent out some notes on this meeting. He asked for the Community Council to support him in getting Square and Crescent, the developers of the Victorian buildings and the old main hospital Building for private housing to meet him and anyone else interested to get specific details about the renovations envisaged,  such as the insulation, heating etc but that their communication was poor.  Anne said the email sent earlier implied they would not be having a meeting till February.

Douglas also raised the issue about cobbles (setts) for Sylvan Place to be reinstalled, and said he wanted to petition the council to review this. It was suggested he check around the neighbours as not everyone there would welcome cobbles – they can be very noisy!

Resolutions: It was agreed that Douglas should survey the residents to see who wanted the cobbles or not

 

Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment: update

Nil

 

Condition of pavements

Update given above under Councillor Topical Issues by Cllr. Munro.

 

Proposed defibrillator

No news back on this though the fund raising is ongoing.

 

Planning applications

Nigel said some local residents were upset about the planning application at 30 Mansionhouse Road to build a new 2-storey house in the grounds, in place of its double garage.  The Grange Association has a meeting on Monday and expected a decision to object.  

 

Grange Cemetery update

Nigel said the update has been circulated and more volunteers were always welcome.

 

Treasurer's report

 The balance is now £1932

 

Meetings attended

Douglas said he has attended all the meetings offered associated with COP27 and he will send an email summarizing them plus some comments on the discussions at the meeting. 

 

AOCB

Nil

Date of next meeting

Wednesday 25^thJanuary 2023