Marchmont & Sciennes
Community Council
Minutes of Marchmont &
Sciennes Community Council
Meeting of Wed 27TH October
2021, 7.30pm by Zoom.
Present: Brian Gilmore (Chair, MSCC), Rhianna Robinson (Minute Secretary),
Nigel Ayton (Grange Association), Susie Agnew (MSCC), Alison Service
(MSCC), Anne Laing (MSCC), Alastair Philp (Resident), Anthony Holmes, Cllr
Cameron Rose.
Apologies: The Police and Alison Johnstone MSP
Matters Arising:
Minutes have been circulated; approved
by Alison and seconded by Nigel.
Police Report:
Apologies from the Police that there is
no Police Report as they are currently occupied with COP26.
Meadows and Bruntsfield Links:.
FOMBL
There will be a meeting
held next week. The only current update is the approval of a large climbing
infrastructure for playing in the Bruntsfield children’s play park that will
come with a new soft surface. The cost is estimated at £10,000 which will be
divided between the Council and Friends of the Meadows.
City Councillor Report on topical local issues:
Cllr Rose:
Streetlamps: Cllr Rose outlined the
replacement of streetlamps along Melville Drive which involved the complete
replacement of lampposts and is ongoing work. The historic nature of the
placement of the lamps directly opposite each other, rather than staggered dates
back to using the posts supporting the wires powering the trams.
The streetlamps will be up and running shortly.
HMO: Cllr Rose has confirmed
the upcoming HMO Standards meeting and the written deputation from MSCC which
was written by Cllr Neil Ross.
LEZ: Consideration was given regarding
the issue of a LEZ (low emission zone), with a meeting being held on the matter
on 26th October. The LEZ proposal was not approved but was sent back
to be considered for revision in line
with the amendments passed at this
meeting. The LEZ proposal concerned only the central Edinburgh area, with intention
of encouraging people to have vehicles with lower emissions, which was mandated
by the government. This issue will be revisited in line with the amendments
agreed.
Susanne Tanner QC Inquiry: A
meeting will occur on 28th October regarding the result of the QC
inquiry. To give context to this, around a year ago there was a suicide of a
senior social work manager who threw himself off the Crags. He had a month or
so previously been charged with a series of offences including domestic abuse
and rape.
The result of the inquiry is being presented to the Council
tomorrow. People had made a number of disclosures going back to late 1990s over
a number of years on a number of occasions and no action taken of him being a
risk working in social work. Former director of education and senior manager in
social work were described as having a dereliction of duty and council has been
found guilty of maladministration. Whistle-blowers featuring in a number of
disclosures not acted upon. Councillors have another branch of inquiry which extends
to the culture of the council and how this has been allowed to continue and
these people to get away with it. Due to its broader nature, the outcome of
this inquiry is expected towards the end of the year.
Grange Loan Resurfacing: Cllr Rose seeking feedback
on the Grange Loan resurfacing work. Nigel provided positive feedback of his
interaction with the engineer in charge regarding the project and communication
with residents. There has been a fast-paced work rate, completing the project
ahead of schedule. This contrasts with
the very slow delivery rate for the recent new crossings on Grange Road.
Bicycle crossing: Query of what is happening
to bicycle crossing at Lauder Road – unsure as to next phrase as it looks
completed but the traffic signals have not yet been switched on and the cycle
lanes remain blocked off. There was a
near accident as someone in a car turned into the road.
Box Junction: Anthony queried the status
of yellow box at junction of Marchmont Road and Melville Drive as to whether
this will this be repainted as some others locally have been. Cllr Rose has
confirmed he will take it up and ask for it to be refreshed.
Alastair:
Recycling Uplifting: Query
regarding the frequency of packaging recycling uplifting as at present it is only
really available a couple of days a week. This leads to rubbish overflowing and
residents putting recyclable material in the landfill bin. Established this is
an ongoing issue and is not limited to a seasonal increase. Alison raised concern
of overflowing glass bins for dogs’ paws. Suggestion of more bins or frequent
collection.
Brian received complaint from Marchmont on glass bin, every glass
bin was full and overflowing – particularly in the Causewayside area. This was
reported via website and picked bin up in 1 working day.
Co-option of social media Publicity Officer
Kayleigh Gordon from Marchmont Hardware is keen to take up the social
media position on behalf of MSCC. Although she resides outside the area, she
works within the area and has therefore happily been co-opted as a member of
MSCC. Her offer of the Social Media Officer position has been gladly accepted.
Sick Kids Hospital Site Redevelopment
Anne has provided an update that the chimney is yet to be
demolished– this is likely to happen next week. She has reported lots of dust
and noise due to the demolition as has been experienced previously. The
demolition is estimated to be completed by the end of November.
There are no other major updates. The existing buildings on the
site have been up for sale either as one complete unit or in seven discrete
lots. There are two offers. One is from a
company who have done a lot of refurbishment of large properties and another unknown
buyer., Downing (the present owner) will
construct the new-build developments for the student accommodation and the
affordable homes, on the areas that are currently being demolished.
Astley Ainslie Hospital Redevelopment
Nothing to update, with Nigel receiving confirmation there is
currently no further progress.
Planning applications
Nigel:
Discussion of extensions to property in the area, mostly notably
was 15 Hatton Place. This is now being reconverted into a family home but h listed
building consent has been refused and planning permission remains pending.
Objection was focused on their desire to turn the front garden into a car park and
insert a glass box window at the back.
Consideration was also raised regarding a house on the northern
end of St. Catherine’s Place as the owner wants an entrance to Sciennes Road
which would entail removing a large part of the wall. The outcome of this is
also still pending.
Alison:
The objection to Café Artista and the lack of planning permission
for building a staff room in the back garden of the café is still ongoing. More
information has been sought by the Council to investigate this issue fully.
Grange Cemetery
Nigel: Paper has been circulated. The key things to note are that
the Doors Open Days were very successful and attracted over 300 members of the
public which created a community atmosphere. Special thanks were given to the
team for a such a successful opening, in addition to the impressive leaflets
distributed. Always looking for volunteers for Friends of the Cemetery which
can be contacted via
cemetery@grangeassociation.com.
Treasurer’s Report
Monthly report has been circulated. The bank balance is currently £1744.11.
Alison has also calculated a forward financial projection until year end in
April 2022.
Meetings attended.
None.
AOCB
Alison: Discussion of the Christmas Carol event that will be held
on December 4th at 4pm. Due to ongoing COVID restrictions, children
from the local schools will be unable to participate in the usual manner. There
is the hope that promotion of the event via Social Media will help to advertise
and increase attendance. Mince pies will be provided.
Anne: Confirmed that she circulated an email regarding the status
of electric charging points for cars. Confirmed that within the MSCC area,
there will be a bay in Thirlestane Road that will have 8 charging spaces. More information is at:
http://gaedin.co.uk/wp/forum-test?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=764
Anne also confirmed that Alison is now looking after noticeboards and
that she received bedding plants from the Council Gardening Centre for planters
which will be put in shortly.
Date of next meeting: Wednesday 24th
November at 7.30 – Planned to be held on Zoom via two 45-minute links.
