Prestonfield war pensioner woes

Somehow this blog missed the report of difficulties Peter Rogan, an 86 year old war veteran had been having in getting appropriate care. Here is an opinion column view from yesterday's Evening News.

Grange resident retires from key post

At the age of 59, John Graham retires tomorrow after 5 years as chief executive of Historic Scotland. A civil servant for 37 years he is resident in the Grange.

Historic Scotland has its headquarters in Salisbury Place. It has certainly become leaner and fitter in recent times. For example, it turns round applications and consultations much faster. It has also become more responsive to functional and community needs.

But there is more change needed in the coming years. Its listing process and the rules it enforces carry considerable responsibility for planning blight on a number of buildings - some of which are a blot on our built environment. The derelict shell of the old Chalmers Lauriston church in Lauriston Place is one such example. The sorry sagas of delays associated with the Odeon in Clerk Street is another. Then there is the ill fated attempt to list the Appleton Tower.

It is often not appreciated that the upkeep and functional use of many listed buildings is inhibited by the shadow cast by requirements derived from the listing status. Hence the addition of a few hundred thousands to comply with Historic Scotland requirements sometimes drives away investors who wish to bring a decaying building up to standard or back into use.

Of course, in the majority of cases the listing process is a valid method of preserving what is good in our built heritage. And to be fair to Historic Scotland, they are a government agency and it is the government which needs to change their terms of reference to reduce or eliminate the more negative effects of their existence.

Best wishes to Ruth Parsons, the interim Chief Executive as she continues to move Historic Scotland forward in challenging times.

Making contact with police locally

Need to contact your local officer? Here are the names of local community officers and how to contact them.

• Sciennes/Grange - PC 2977A Neill Sinclair
• Southside/Dumbiedykes - PC 4227A Ben Merrick
• Prestonfield - PC 3615A Alastair Mackenzie
• Newington (including Blackford) - PC 3773A John Leadbetter

You can email them at officers.name@lbp.pnn.police.uk where you replace officers.name with the officer you require. Remember they work shifts and may not pick up your email for a few days. You can telephone 0131 3113131 which will take you to the police call centre staff at Bilston who will route your call to the appropriate station. This is staffed 24 hours a day and is in addition to the emergency number which can be used for urgent matters.

The police website can sometimes be helpful and it carries a selection of police press releases.

St Leonards refurbishment

The police station at St Leonards is undergoing refurbishment.

The work is limiting the public counter facilities as this press release recounts.

Witnesses sought - Priestfield vandalism

I have heard from a resident of Priestfield of a series of at least seven cars which were vandalised between Friday evening and Sunday morning (25th-27th) in Priestfield Road. The cars were scored along the paintwork with an sharp object.

Anyone with relevant information which might identify the culprits is asked to contact the police on 311 3131. If you have been a victim of this over the week end and have not reported it you can call the same number. We can supply the relevant incident number for reference if appropriate.

Weekly summary to 28th Sept

1. Ninety five in bike shop queue - the Bike Station
2. Refuse dispute update - the invisible strike
3. Cycle helmets - to wear or not to wear
4. Doors Open week end - in the ward
5. World's biggest coffee morning - you've missed it

World's biggest coffee morning locally

As far as can be seen there are two locations in the Southside & Newington ward for the World's Biggest Coffee morning in aid of the MacMillan Cancer Fund.

• Ten Hill Place Hotel where there are free muffins and coffee (in exchange for a donation to McMillan). It starts at 11am and here is a map.
• Southside Community Centre between 9:30 and 11:30 when Billy McElhaney, 'Jimmy' from River City will be dropping in about 11am. At this venue there will be home baking on sale to boost the Community Centre's contribution. The Community Centre is in Nicolson Street and here is a map.

Sciennes head teacher on class sizes

Alison Noble, head teacher at Sciennes Primary School comments in the Times on the ongoing row about class sizes.

Doors Open Day this week-end

This Saturday and Sunday many buildings in central Edinburgh open their doors to the public for free. You can find the details here. There are a few premises within the Southside & Newington ward:

• Reid Concert Hall
• Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments
• The Queen's Hall
• Archer's Hall
• Microloft
• Kings Buildings
• British Geological Survey
• Royal Observatory

Save energy in your home workshop

The Grange Energy and Renewables Study (GEARS) is holding a workshop this Saturday (26th September) between 2:30 and 5:00pm. It will be held in Marchmont St Giles Church, in Kilgraston Road and will focus on how to improve energy efficiency in your home. More details from the Grange Association.

New cancer unit at Sick Kids

Its amazing the lengths - and distances some people will go to raise money for charities. In this case Lynne McNicoll, having trekked across the Sahara and climbed the Himalayas, is now heading for Mt Kilimanjaro. Details here.

Much ado about . . . police and bikes

95% of the time I wear a helmet when cycling. But sometimes I just like the freedom of nothing on my head or simply forget! Last Wednesday was one of those mornings.

As I cycled into Middle Meadow Walk I encountered a police checkpoint where cyclists were being stopped. The very courteous and affable young lady noted with appreciation that I was wearing a fluorescent tabard and carrying a pretty robust D-lock to secure my bike. She remarked that I didn't have a helmet - without any tone of pressure or blame. But she did point out that reasons for the police activity included that in recent years two separate collisions only a few hundred yards from where we were having this discussion, had resulted in the deaths of two cyclists. She then gave me some leaflets about cycle security and we parted company.

I liked the way she had drawn attention to the safety issue but had not inferred it was anything other than my choice. And I appreciated the cycle security information on bike identification which I am following up. I especially appreciated that the police were active on a main cycle route at the beginning of student term, knowing as I do that the cycle theft rate in university Edinburgh is huge. I appreciated the deterrence and prevention factors in their action. And I appreciated the chat. End of story.

Almost. Some people ask whether the police should have been stopping law abiding cyclists. Like my fellow councillor who blogged the incident. And on a quiet news day (very, very quiet!!) the local paper chose to make that stop and check along with Cllr Burns comments one of its 'top stories'.

End of post and end of story.

Except to say that having noted some criticism recently about councillors not knowing what it is like to be a cyclist in Edinburgh, three of the four councillors representing Southside and Newington ward are cyclists. And since you ask, yes, I drive a car as well.

Royal Observatory open days

Free with no booking required, the Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill has its open days next week-end (26th and 27th). Details here.

Refuse dispute update

Some will wonder what has happened to the refuse dispute especially with national publicity about an all out strike in Leeds.

Refuse collectors and street cleaners are still working to rule in Edinburgh. This means they are not working overtime. Mostly, overtime is essential to the effective delivery of the relevant services (this is one reason why new working practises are being brought in) .

The Administration has bought in external contractors and, generally this now means that a 'normal' service is being provided. (Actually, in some cases service is markedly better.)

In Southside and Newington, a pilot of new working practises was started earlier this year and appears to have bedded in quite well resulting in the ward being less badly affected over the summer.

In the meantime, negotiations are dragging on.

Monday 21st September is a public holiday and many Council offices and facilities will be closed. However the four community recycling centres will be open as usual. Here is a map showing their locations. Please note they move to winter opening hours from 1st October.

Grange care home was under threat

St Raphael's care home, run by Viewpoint Housing was threatened with closure by the Care Commission last December. The deficiencies have now been rectified - though this is not the only occasion for concern at St Raphael's - as this August newsblog post shows.

95 in queue - 100s turned away

This was the scene in Causewayside outside the Bike Station as their normal Saturday adult bike sale began at 10:30am today. There are 95 people in the queue pictured and many more arrived, saw the queue and walked off.

The Bike Station is a charity funded by public money from a variety of funds and sources and supports a range of businesses in the area.

The queue this morning is made up almost entirely of students equipping themselves for getting around Edinburgh in the coming year. The Bike Station recycles and repairs old bikes and sells them at a bargain price. It also runs workshops, training courses and Dr Bike sessions.

Great job.

Weekly summary - to 19th September

1. John Simon dies - funeral Tues 22nd
2. The changing face of freshers week - cafe crawls
3. Traffic lights at W Savile - have your say
4. Meadows tennis upgrade - have your say
5. Ceilidh in S Clerk St - tonight
6. Community Councils - no elections
7. Quality bike corridor - have your say

Quality bike corridor proposed

On Tuesday (22nd Sept) Edinburgh's Transport (etc) Committee will consider spending some money towards creating a Quality Cycle Corridor from George Square to Kings Buildings in an effort to improve the attractiveness of the route to cyclists. The amount dedicated is relatively modest (£150k). The paper can be downloaded here and you can find comments about it here. Comments will be welcome (by commenting below or by email).

The route includes the controversial West Savile Terrace/Mayfield Road junction. The route has become a key route not just for students - but also for university staff and other commuter cyclists.

Community Council Nominations

Here are the results of the election process for the local community councils. Each of the three community councils will have their meeting to elect the new committee in October or early November. As nominations did not exceed the maximum allowed on each community council, there will be no elections.

Southside: 10 persons nominated (minimum 6, maximum 12)
Grange/Prestonfield: 12 (minimum 8, maximum 16)
Marchmont/Sciennes: 12 (minimum 7, maximum 14)

Note: Thank you to the Secretary of Southside CC who has pointed out that I transposed the Grange/Prestonfield figures with the Southside ones. The corrected figures are now shown.

Community Ceilidh, S Clerk Street

Tomorrow (Saturday 19th September) there is a community ceilidh hosted in the King's Hall, 41a South Clerk Street.

Meadows tennis courts upgrade?

The Meadows has 16 tennis courts at the Boroughloch end. They are owned by Edinburgh Council and managed by the Council's arms length organisation Edinburgh Leisure. The members club has 8 junior and three adult teams

In conjunction with the Tennis Foundation, Edinburgh Leisure is exploring upgrading this well used facility. The project is in its early stages and the following are among the features being considered:

• better lighting
• opening later in the evening
• upgrading the pavilion
• providing refreshments
• creating an on site equipment store

Edinburgh Leisure will welcome views.

W Savile Terrace traffic light proposal

The Council are currently consulting on a proposal to install traffic lights at the junction of West Savile Terrace at Mayfield Road. Here are some of the principal issues:

• The junction is a key cycle route especially between Kings Buildings and George Square (much used by students)
• The junction has an unenviable casualty record including another serious collision involving a cyclist in May this year.
• Safe Routes to Schools have been campaigning for some time to have safety measures implemented at this junction
• Council engineers have looked at the junction and, after consideration of a number of alternative schemes, have recommended putting traffic lights at the junction. This would involve removing and incorporating the pedestrian crossing south of the junction, and removing the current blisters a few yards along West Savile Terrace.
• The scheme proposed would cost around £200,000 and money has been identified to make it happen if the proposal is approved. If the consultation shows divided opinions it is likely to go to the Transport Committee for a decision.

I have spoken with many people who consider something must be done. I agree. However, my view is that this is an expensive scheme and that the money would be better spent with more minor traffic arrangements (signs, road markings etc) and use the remainder of the available money to upgrade the George Square to Kings Buildings cycle route which is a separate project (currently underfunded).

Views will be welcomed. Add them below, or send them to the department iain.peat@edinburgh.gov.uk and email them direct to me.

Craigmillar Park repairs complete.

The repairs to Craigmillar Park to remedy potholes caused largely by the weight of buses, have now been completed. Delays at the Lady Road junction should now be reduced and both southbound lanes are now open.

New building opened at KB

A new building has been opened at Edinburgh University's West Mains Road campus (Kings Buildings). It is the Centre for Systems Biology Edinburgh and is known as the CH Waddington building. For more details of who it was named for and what systems biology involves click here.

Is freshers week changing?

We are in the middle of Edinburgh University freshers week and the buzz about the streets is, as always, noticeable. But are the organised pub crawls receding to become a bad memory of the past? Certainly work has been done to put a more positive emphasis on activities for students in the first week of university as this article reports.

Death of John Simon

John Simon, Marchmont resident and longtime Marchmont and Sciennes community councillor died on Saturday. His death came at the end of a long illness - though as recently as last Tuesday he had attended the award ceremony in the City Chambers for David Rintoul, another local community activist. He was upbeat and cheerful on that occasion. Our thoughts and condolences are with his wife Audrey and his family. A funeral service is scheduled for next Tuesday (22nd) at 11am at St Marks Unitarian Church on Castle Terrace.

Weekly summary - to 12th September

1. Riding the Marches - revived
2. New lunchtime surgery - at Butterflies
3. Bus frequency increased - on 67 route
4. Adventurer from the Grange - with connections in Nepal and Norway
5. Nicolson Square confrontation - what shall we do with the drunken . . . .?
6. Community councils - deadline Monday
7. Prestonfield vigilantes in action

Prestonfield mob in action

A sex offender housed in Prestonfield has been hounded out. See here for some of the details about Douglas McNaught.

Community Council elections deadline

The deadline for nominations for community councils is Monday September 14th at 4pm.

Nomination forms (which can be downloaded here) need to be lodged as follows:

Grange/Prestonfield Community Council: Cllr Cameron Rose
Marchmont Sciennes: Cllr Steve Burgess
Southside: Cllr Gordon Mackenzie

More information can be found in this post and the links it contains.

Nicolson Square and the addicts

In early 2008 a rather rundown Nicolson Square was revamped, with trees approaching their sell by date replaced and an altogether very pleasant environment shaped with over £100,000 of public money.

Concerns about it continuing as a resort for addicts and drunks have, in the event, come to pass. In the period since the upgrade, some very considerable public expense has been incurred in policing and repairing the square - with moves to create an exclusion zone for alcohol eventually rejected. There is ongoing concern that the now beautiful square is just not a safe place of resort with many local people feeling threatened or uncomfortable as the place is often taken over by addicts.

It was 6:30 this evening as I was heading to an event and passing Nicolson Square that I saw what turned out to be the tail end of a confrontation. Having just come from another event where I was accused of being a terrorist (wearily: I'll tell you another time), I stopped to take in the scene.

There were a dozen of the usual suspects on the grass within the gardens, with cans and bottles littering the grass. They were facing up to a scattering of Asian men and women on the north side of the square. In particular I noted two of the men within the gardens, much the worse for wear, threatening and trying to get at their perceived adversaries to the north. The latter stood their ground without making threats or advancing. I say the two men were trying to advance. A couple of their women friends made sterling and only partially successful efforts to drag them back and calm them down. Both men were well under the influence and shouting F*** off accompanied by obscene gestures.

All this was over in a minute or so and the women achieved a sort of victory and quietened down their two friends. As the Asian men drifted away in cars or on foot I called the routine police number and asked for their attendance.

The two main culprits I had seen moved away, one apparently to renew supplies and the other having collected a carrier bag full of empty cans to dispose of them and visit the nearby public toilets. After 20 minutes two policemen arrived with another support vehicle hovering in the background. Fortunately the two main culprits had come back into sight and I was able to point them out to the officers who then engaged them in lengthy conversation and noted their particulars.

I then found myself talking with a couple of local residents, both of whom pointed out that the nature of this event was pretty well a regular occurrence. The lively discussion on what should be done can be saved for another time.

But with me now 40 minutes late for my event I took the opportunity to fulfill my appointment.

On a number of occasions of late I have wandered into the square and engaged with the addicts first hand (there are many, many different ones who frequent the gardens). But this evening was a reminder that the considerable energy expended by public authorities (police, council community safety, community wardens, parks staff, lawyers etc) has thus far failed to crack the problem.

Feel free to add your solution below.

Grange adventurer funds Nepal schools

James Baxter, who lives in the Grange, has completed a Norwegian Odyssey, skiing, cycling and kayaking, raising money for schools in the Limi valley in Nepal. His website is here and you can find more details here.

More buses on No 67 route

From Monday 14th September the frequency of the No 67 bus running from George IV Bridge and linking George Square, Summerhall and Kings Buildings will be increased. This service, introduced last year and subsidised by Edinburgh University, will now run every 20 minutes during peak periods and hourly for the rest of the day. It also serves the university campus at Easter Bush. The current timetable along with the route can be found here. (The timetable will be updated on the Lothian Buses website before the change). More details on the University website is here.

Wednesday is surgeries day

Butterflies Cafe in Kilgraston Road at Marchmont St Giles church is the new venue for surgeries for residents of Southside & Newington to meet their councillors. I will be there from 12:30 - 1pm today. You don't need to have a problem - just come and tell your views.

Other surgeries today are at Southside Community Centre in Nicolson Street at 6pm and Cameron House Community Centre in Prestonfield Avenue at 6:45pm. These surgeries are on the second Wednesday of every month (the one at Butterflies is during term time only). Here is more information about surgeries with councillors.

Blind School Royal Variety Performance

The Scottish Royal Variety Performance this year is in aid of the Royal Blind School Appeal. The Roayl Blind School in Craigmillar Park is embarking on a major accommodation project and a host of celebrities from music, dance, comedy and theatre are coming together onThursday 8th October at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. The event will be hosted by Jenni Falconer and Tam Cowan.

Observatory open days this month

The Royal Observatory Edinburgh on Blackford Hill is holding open days on 26th and 27th of this month. More details here.

Reviewing the week-end

Here is the BBC report of the revived Riding of the Marches which saw 250 horses and riders pass along Mayfield Road, Salisbury and Holyrood Park Road down to Dynamic Earth yesterday, before making their way to the Parliament and then the Mercat Cross in the Royal Mile.

And here is one of the many reports of the fireworks finale to the festival. Now the tourists and visitors are thinning out we prepare to welcome to the city 60,000 students.

Fireworks finale to EIF

At 9pm tomorrow night the Festival finale in Princes Street Gardens features the traditional fireworks extravaganza, this year to the music of Handel. The event begins at 9:00pm and the Southside area will be particularly congested. The official website is here.

Riding the Marches revived

After a 60 year gap the ancient tradition of Riding of the Marches will be revived in Edinburgh tomorrow. A substantial part of the route is through the Southside & Newington ward - hence the following streets being lined with cones today: Mayfield Road, Ratcliffe Terrace, Causewayside, Salisbury Place, Salisbury Road past the Commonwealth Pool and into Holyrood Park. The full route can be found here and the parade is expected to pass through the above streets between 12:15 and 12:55pm and the full timeline can be found here.

Joan Bakewell at Prestonfield

Lunch with an Old Bag was a fundraising event for the Princes Trust in Scotland, sponsored by James Thomson and Ralph Lauren at the Prestonfield Hotel yesterday. Joan Bakewell, aged 76, waded into the debate about ageism and the BBC. Get the details here.

Grange Association win £10,000

The Grange Association has won £10,121 from the Scottish Government Climate Challenge Fund to kick start energy efficient measures in houses in the area. The money is for a survey of 3,000 households which will provide energy efficiency recommendations, technical advice and details of grants for energy improvement measures. Fuller details can be found half way down this page on the Scottish Government website.

The week in brief

1. St Crispin's Special School inspected
2. 30 extra taxi licences - and a farce
3. Community Councils elections deadline
4. New councillors surgery at Butterflies
5. Energy meters from local libraries

Newington Library lends energy meters

You can now call at Newington Library in Fountainhall Road and borrow an energy meter which will enable you to monitor usage of electricity of your different appliances. Here is more information.

Engine Shed at the Farmers Market

As in recent months, The Engine Shed will be selling its food and products at the Farmers Market in Castle Terrace this Saturday.

The Engine Shed is a social enterprise which provides employment and training for people with learning disabilities and, as you can see from the awards they have secured, they do a great work in the community.

The Engine Shed, which is a vegetarian restaurant, is an excellent place to meet friends for coffee or lunch or to hold a meeting or conference.

It is open for food Monday to Saturday between 10:00 and 3:30pm.

Meet your councillor at Butterflies

As from today the councillors' surgery at Sciennes School will be replaced by an opportunity to meet your councillor at 12:30 on Wednesdays at Butterflies Cafe at Marchmont St Giles Church in Kilgraston Road. The Southside and Newington councillors co-operate on these matters and so the schedule is appended below.

1st Wed: Cllr Steve Burgess
2nd Wed: Cllr Cameron Rose
3rd Wed: Cllr Gordon Mackenzie
4th Wed: Cllr Ian Perry

The next Wednesday lunchtime surgery is 12:30 to 13:00 next week on 9th September when I will be present. Please note that we are available at other surgeries and can always be contacted by email or telephone. Go to the councillors' links above to get details.

Community Councils reminder

The countdown is on for the nomination of community councillors. Nomination forms must be with the returning officer Cllr Cameron Rose, by 4pm on Monday 14th September. You can download a nomination form at this link. Please note there are two types - for individuals (elected representatives) and for nominated representatives (representing community interest groups).

Please note proposer, seconder and elected representatives should be resident within the community council area. Further information is contained in a previous post.

Blackford Hill Festival this Sunday

The Countryside Rangers are organising a festival of activities on Blackford Hill on13th September. The arrow in this map is at the meeting point.

College of Surgeons scammed

The Royal College of Surgeons in Nicolson Street has been subject to a scam which resulted in £465,000 withdrawn from its accounts. The details are in this BBC report.