planning

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Refreshed Planning and Building Standards Service

(adapted from an email from Edinburgh Council)

The Acting Head of Planning and Building Standards is pleased to announce a refreshed Planning and Building Standards Service will be introduced on 27 October 2014.  Following a review of how the service has been delivered, an area-based focus has now been developed for dealing with planning and building standard applications.  There will also be a city wide function for areas such as the development plan, built and natural environment, place making and service delivery.

More information about what the teams do, the areas they cover and contact details for each area are available in Edinburgh Council’s planning blog, www.planningedinburgh.com. Edinburgh Council will be sharing this with its stakeholders and circulating a leaflet round Council offices and libraries in the coming week.  You can also sign up to the blog for email alerts.

 (sent by)

Jo-Anne Jamieson | Planning Technician | Planning and Building Standards | Services for Communities | CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL | Waverley Court, G2, 4 East Market Street, EH8 8BG | Tel 0131 529 3147 | jo-anne.jamieson@edinburgh.gov.uk  | http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/developmentconsents

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Street design – consultation ends soon

(Adapted from an email from Edinburgh Council)

This is a reminder that Edinburgh Council has added additional information to its web site about the detailed design of streets. It would like your views on this information. This consultation will run until 31st August 2014.

You can read the documents on the Council’s web site at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/streetdesign and you can e-mail comments directly to streetdesign@edinburgh.gov.uk.

You can follow progress on the consultation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/planningedin

Edinburgh Street Design I Services for Communities I City of Edinburgh Council I Waverley Court I 4 East Market Street I Edinburgh EH8 8BG I street.design@edinburgh.gov.uk I www.edinburgh.gov.uk/streetdesign

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Local Development Plan – online documents, submitting comments

(adapted from an email from Edinburgh Council) 

 

map

Edinburgh Council has prepared a Second Proposed Edinburgh Local Development Plan. It sets out policies and proposals to guide land use and development.

It is accompanied by a Environmental Report – Second Revision, a Second Proposed Action Programme, a revised Draft Habitats Regulations Appraisal Record and a number of other supporting documents. These include a Schedule of Representations, which explains what regard has been had to representations made in 2013 to the first Proposed Plan.

All of these documents are available for inspection from 22nd August – 3rd October 2014 at:

  • Planning and Building Standards Reception, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
  • All Council libraries during normal opening hours.

The documents can also be viewed at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/localdevelopmentplan

Representations can be made on the Second Proposed Plan. These must be submitted in writing using the form provided by 5.00pm on Friday 3 October 2014. Representations can be submitted electronically to localdevelopmentplan@edinburgh.gov.uk or by post to Local Development Plan Team, City of Edinburgh Council, Business Centre G.3, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG.

Copies of the representations form and guidance note on submitting representations are available on the above website, at Waverley Court and in Council libraries.

If you made a representation to the first Proposed Plan in 2013, please note that you will need to resubmit your representation if you wish it to be formally considered by the Council and dealt with through the examination process.

Written comments can also be submitted on the Environmental Report, Action Programme, Draft Habitats Regulations Appraisal Record and other supporting documents. These should be sent to the above email or postal address by Friday 3rd October 2014.

Drop-in engagement events have been arranged to provide further information on any aspect of the Second Proposed Plan:

  • North West Edinburgh, Rosebery Hall, Queensferry, 26 August, 3.30-6.45pm.
  • West Edinburgh, Drumbrae Library Hub, 28 August, 4-7pm.
  • South East Edinburgh, Kings Manor Hotel, Milton Road, 1 September, 4-7pm.
  • South West Edinburgh, Gibson Craig Hall, Currie, 3 September, 4-7pm.
  • South East Edinburgh, Faith Mission Hall, Gilmerton, 4 September, 4-7pm.
  • General session, Urban Room, Waverley Court, East Market Street, 22 September, 4-7 pm.

For more details see www.edinburgh.gov.uk/localdevelopmentplan or contact Marius Hince on 0131 529 4692 or marius.hince@edinburgh.gov.uk

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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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Footway and carriageway improvements – Waverley Bridge, Market Street, East Market Street

To complement the recent changes to vehicular access into Waverley Station made by Network Rail, the City of Edinburgh Council is to make major changes to the road and pavement layout on Waverley Bridge and Market Street. These changes will support anincrease in pedestrian and traffic movements, as well asfurther enhancing the public realm and improving connectivity for pedestrians between Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns.

On 26 May the City of Edinburgh Council will begin construction of £1.2m worth of improvements around Waverley Station.

The project is due to be carried out in two stages:

  • Market Street – 26 May to 26 July
  • Waverley Bridge – 8September to 1December

The construction work includes: widening and resurfacing the footways in natural stone paving, installing new raised tables to improve pedestrian crossing points, installing a new zebra crossing, providing a new 10 bay taxi rank on Market Street, creating new loading areas, a new cycle lane, new street lighting, resurfacing the carriageway and reducing street clutter.

These improvement works have been carefully planned to minimise disruption to businesses and associated tourism, with programming purposely avoiding the summer festival period.

At certain stages of the project there will be a need for temporary traffic lights, lane width restriction and parking suspension, however access for pedestrians and deliveries will be maintained at all times and all shops and businesses will be open for business as usual.

We will continue to work with the local residents and businesses throughout the course of the project so that we can minimise disruption and inconvenience to all those affected by the works.

If you require any further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the City Centre and Leith Team on 0131 529 3535 or environment-ccl@edinburgh.gov.uk. Regular updates on the progress of the project will also be available from the CEC website.

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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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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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Edinburgh Street Design

The Council has prepared new guidance for street design which focuses on creating better places for people.

Consultation will run until 30 June 2014.

The Council would like your views on the draft EDINBURGH STREET DESIGN GUIDANCE and the design of streets in the city.

You can read the document and complete the on-line survey on the Council’s web site http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/streetdesign

Alternatively you can e-mail us with your comments directly at streetdesign@edinburgh.gov.uk

You can follow progress on the consultation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/planningedin

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Leith Programme update

We can announce that the Tender assessment for the next phase of the Leith Programme (Pilrig Street to the Foot of the Walk) is complete and the winning Tenderer is Crummock (Scotland) Ltd. The contractors will now begin to mobilise for an anticipated works start date of 5th May 2014.

 Our contractors have assured us that they will make every effort to keep disruption to a minimum, keep the worksites safe and maintain access to properties and businesses. Measures to endeavour to ensure this include:

·         Providing safe segregated working sites and safe surrounds

·         Providing appropriate signage and information

·         Working outwith normal site hours of operation if issues are identified with maintaining access during the working day

·         Minimise parking restrictions as much as possible

·         Dust suppression during cutting procedures

·         Daily inspection of site for cleanliness, security, trip hazards

 At times, it will be necessary to close side roads during resurfacing and work on junctions but these will be kept to a minimum and diversion routes carefully signed.

 In order to keep people in both the immediate and wider area informed of the work, letters are going out to 16,600 addresses in the broader Leith Programme area.

 During the works, timescales, road diversion and access information will be regularly updated on the Council website www.edinburgh.gov.uk/leithimprovements

 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