LHNCC area

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Leith Walk repairs update (Stakeholder email 46: Progress update)

(Copied from Leith Central CC’s website)

The following is from Edinburgh Council, not Leith Central CC.

Dear Stakeholders

Crummock (Scotland) Ltd, our contractors, are entering the transitional phase of moving the current worksites on to the next sections and this email provides the latest estimated timescale update for these moves. We would like to apologise for the timing revisions that have taken place during this initial phase of the works and hope that any disruption and inconvenience has been kept to a minimum.  We’d like to stress that the timescales we publish are always given in good faith and based on the information available at the time.

Footway resurfacing

The contractors anticipate that:

  1. The barriers currently in place enclosing the worksite section immediately north of Pilrig Church (5A West) will be moving down to the next section (5B West) today (30 June) in order to allow the work there to commence.
  2. The barriers in place in the section north of Iona Street (5A East) should move down later  tomorrow (1 July) to the next section (5B East).
  3. The section adjacent to Springfield Street (section 7A West) should be moving later tomorrow to the next site (Section 7B West).
  4. The move of the worksite south of Smith’s Place (Section 7A East) will take slightly longer and the fencing for the next worksite (Section 7B East) should be moving later in the week.

Carriageway resurfacing

The carriageway resurfacing on the current sections will start week commencing Monday 7 July. It is intended that this will involve lane closures and further details on traffic management arrangements will follow in the next stakeholder email.

If conditions/events mean that some of the dates above will change significantly, I will email you with an update.

Regards

Alan

Alan Dean BA (Hons) MSc PGDip I Partnership Development Officer (Stakeholder Liaison and Engagement) I Services for Communities I City Centre Neighbourhood Management Team I 1 Cockburn Street I Edinburgh I EH1 1BJ

Tel: 0131 529 7519        Mobile: 07739 188 438

alan.dean@edinburgh.gov.uk

http://www.facebook.com/cclneighbourhood

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Portobello Park

On 22 May 2014 the City of Edinburgh Council (Portobello Park) Private Bill Committee published their Consideration Stage Report which set out their consideration of, and decisions on, objections to the Bill http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/76791.aspx. The report concluded that, having taken account of all the evidence, the Committee was satisfied that the benefits of the proposal which the Bill would allow to be taken forward outweighed the disbenefits, and so rejected all the objections.

The Committee met again on 12 June 2014 to conclude the Consideration Stage of the Bill. This involved consideration of an amendment to the Bill which was tabled by a member of the Bill Committee with the purpose of providing safeguards for any future use of the land and maintaining the protections of inalienable common good status in circumstances where the land was not, or was no longer to be, used for an educational purpose. This amendment was prepared by an independent drafter appointed by the Parliament (revising an earlier amendment the Council had prepared), which the Council had the opportunity to review in advance and was content with. While other amendments had been requested by certain objectors to the Bill, none of those were taken forward by Committee members. The amendment tabled was agreed to unanimously by the Committee. The Committee also agreed unanimously to each individual provision of the Bill (as amended).

The Bill reached its Final Stage yesterday, 26 June 2014, consisting of a debate and a vote in the Scottish Parliament. The Parliament agreed to pass the Bill and there will now be a four week standstill period before it can be submitted for Royal Assent. When it actually receives Royal Assent (and hence becomes an Act) will depend upon when the Queen (or an appointed delegate, if Her Majesty is out of the country) is available to sign the Bill. As such, we would estimate that it will be around five or six weeks before the Bill is enacted although this obviously cannot be guaranteed.

As soon as the Act is in force we will appropriate the park and formally appoint our contractors, Balfour Beatty, to ensure that the construction of the new school starts on site as quickly as possible. The new school is anticipated to open in August 2016.

Further information:

Billy MacIntyre

Head of Resources

Tel: 0131 469 3355

E-mail: billy.macintyre@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

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Influencing the next South East Scotland Strategic Development Plan (SDP2) – Your Say

There is one week left to complete our survey which will help inform the next Strategic Development Plan for Edinburgh and South East Scotland. The survey closes at 5pm on Friday 30 May 2014.

If you wish to have your say, the short survey is available to complete on the SESplan Consultation Portal (http://sesplan-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/mir_ee/influence_the_plan).

Housing Need and Demand Assessment

In a few weeks time, we will be seeking comments on a draft Housing Need and Demand Assessment. This document sets out future estimates of the numbers of households we need to plan for up to 2038. This key document will inform the content of the Main Issues Report for the Strategic Development Plan to be produced later this year. Therefore we want to hear your opinion on it. We will send a further email when it is available for comment.

Housing Land Supplementary Guidance

Following the consultation in late 2013, the SESplan Housing Land Supplementary Guidance has been submitted to Scottish Ministers. They have 28 days to consider the documents. Unless instructed otherwise, at the end of the 28 days the SESplan member authorities will formally adopt the Supplementary Guidance. The Supplementary Guidance sets out how the housing requirements up to 2024 for each of the SESplan local authorities. This will inform each authorities Local Development Plan. Details are available at http://www.sesplan.gov.uk/strategic-development-plan/housing-land-supplementary-guidance.

If you have any queries, please contact the SESplan team at 0131 524 5165 or email us at contactus@sesplan.gov.uk.

To keep up to date follow SESplan on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SESplan

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Make Leith a safer place

Tell us how to make Leith a safer place

 We are still looking for suggestions of things we can do to make Leith a safer place over the three month period starting in June 2014.

 For more information & to make your suggestion follow this link: http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbourhood-partnerships/leith/about/feeling-safe-community-forum/suggest-a-feeling-safe-neighbourhood-priority/

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Leith Walk Works (Pilrig Street to Crown Place)

(With thanks to Leith Links CC – the following was taken from their website.)

In advance of the construction work starting on the Pilrig Street to Crown Place stretch of Leith Walk on Monday 19 May, we’re now in a position to provide more information relating to a number of aspects of the work.

 Duration of Works

 The Pilrig Street to Crown Place section of the Leith Walk works is scheduled to last 30 weeks and with an anticipated finish in mid-December 2014.

Number of worksites

 There will be twelve separate worksites in total on this section of Leith Walk.

 Size of worksites

 The size of the worksites will vary but will, in general, be between 60-80 metres in length each.

 Duration at each site

 This will depend on the complexity of each individual site but is expected, on average, to be in the region of a month. In some sections, this may be less, while in others it may be more. We’ll provide more detailed updates during the works at each site.

 The first worksites

 Two separate worksites will be running in tandem at any one time. The first two will cover the following areas:

  • 366 Leith Walk to 337 Leith Walk (area taking in Iona Street junction northwards)
  • 202 Leith Walk to 172 Leith Walk (area taking in Smiths Place junction, Springfield Street junction extending south)

 Temporary loading/unloading bays

 Temporary bays will be provided adjacent to each worksite. A questionnaire has been distributed to local businesses in the worksite areas seeking information regarding the delivery/collection requirements of each business in order to help inform our contractor and to assist in trying to minimise any disruption to normal business operations.

 Waste collection arrangements

 Presentation points for both domestic and trade waste will be provided adjacent to each worksite and the collection times will remain the same as they currently are. Domestic waste will continue to be collected on Wednesday and Sunday evenings while the current trade waste presentation windows (10:00am to 11.30am and 2:00pm to 3:30pm) will continue to operate. Letters are going out to residents to inform of the temporary domestic waste arrangements while local businesses have also been informed in the delivery/collection questionnaire distributed by our contractors. Signage will be put in place directing people to the temporary presentation points.

 Bus stops

 The bus stop at 352 Leith Walk (adjacent to St Columba’s Hospice charity shop) will move temporarily northwards adjacent to 332 Leith Walk. The bus stop at 177 Leith Walk (adjacent to Miller’s Flooring) will move northwards to the former Lothian Buses depot at 165 Leith Walk.

 Pavement and Road resurfacing

 Work will firstly commence with the resurfacing of the outer pavement areas before then carrying out the resurfacing of the pavements in adjacent to property frontages. Every effort will be made to maintain access to businesses and residential properties at all times. In some cases, if the contractor identifies a significant problem in ensuring this, work may take place outside of normal site hours. Carriageway resurfacing will be carried out following this footway work and it is the intention to use lane closures on Leith Walk with the appropriate Traffic Management arrangements, such as temporary traffic lights where required. It will be necessary to temporarily close some side streets when the work is being carried out but these will be kept to a minimum and as much advance notice as possible will be provided.

 Parking

 While it will be necessary to restrict parking while the works are ongoing in specific areas, our contractors will endeavour to keep these to a minimum.

 General questions regarding the work can be addressed to the City Centre and Leith Neighbourhood Team, citycentreteam@edinburgh.gov.uk, or 0131 529 7061. Issues related to the works on site, such as access enquiries or concerns can be directed to myself, in the first instance, as I will be based in the area and available on mobile number 07739 188438 or email alan.dean@edinburgh.gov.uk

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The Junction would like your vote!

The Junction and Port of Leith Housing Association have been shortlisted for a Scottish Charity Awards, for our partnership in creating purpose-built new premises for the Junction to offer services to young people in Leith.

There is also an award for the people’s choice so please consider voting for the Junction!

Click here to VOTE NOW (SCVO website)

Many of you have already visited our beautiful new building and we’re still getting comments from young people about how welcoming it is and that they feel relaxed here.

Many thanks for your support!

The Junction – Young People, Health & Wellbeing

82-86 Great Junction Street

Edinburgh EH6 5LL

0131 553 0570

www.the-junction.org

Charity number SC036721

Company number 278505

Finalist at the Scottish Charity Awards 2014

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Event: ‘Community Empowerment: Voice, Participation, Action’

When Tuesday 6th May 2014

Where Royal College of Surgeons, King Khalid Building, Edinburgh

Who  Speakers include

  • Derek MacKay MSP Minister for Local Government and Planning, The Scottish Government
  • Petra Biberbach Chief Executive, Planning Aid Scotland
  • Ian Cooke Director, Development Trusts Association Scotland
  • Pat Watters CBE Chair, National Community Planning Group

Why The Community Empowerment bill will enable community councils to take leading roles in running community assets.

The Community Empowerment Bill

The Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill was a 2011 SNP manifesto commitment and forms part of the Scottish Government’s response to the recommendations of the Christie Commission and the Scottish Government and COSLA review of Community Planning.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on the draft Community Empowerment Bill closed in January 2014.

Feed into the legislative process

As the Scottish Government releases the results of the consultation and prepares for the Bill to begin its legislative journey through the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood magazine’s timely Community Empowerment conference will give you the opportunity to reflect on the Bill and feed into the next stages of its development.

Network and debate with colleagues from across Scotland

The Minister for Local Government and Planning will deliver the keynote address at the conference. He will be joined by experts in service delivery and community representatives from across Scotland.

At the conference you will hear their views on the Bill and have the opportunity to share your comments on how Scotland’s communities can become more empowered.

Read more and book here: http://communityempowerment.holyrood.com

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Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy

Interim Report

Here’s the headlines

Give control to communities for fairer, wealthier, healthier Scotland, says commission on local democracy

The Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy has published its interim report, suggesting that Scotland would be fairer, wealthier and healthier if local communities had control over the issues that matter to them.

The report from the independent Commission, set up to look at how communities could be given a stronger say over public services, found that local democracy in Scotland has been gradually dismantled over the last 50 years, and that Scotland is now one of the most centralised countries in the western world.

Read more here: http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/news-and-features/news/give-control-to-communities-for-fairer-wealthier-healthier-scotland-says-commission-on-local-democracy/

Download the report: http://www.localdemocracy.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Local-Commission-April-2014.pdf