Morgan Playing Fields application fails

Street Soccer Scotland cannot proceed with their application to build a Change Centre off Peffermill Road under the Community Asset Transfer legislation.  As constituted, they are not a 'Community Controlled Body' as specified under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.

So the current application falls.

Background to this proposal, which was made jointly with Edinburgh Southern, for the Morgan Playing Fields, can be seen in my previous post here.

Representation for older people

Here is a meeting in Craigmillar Park Church on a consultation on contributing to a Older People's Forum.  It is on Monday 13th August between 12 noon and 4pm.

Tell us how you would like an Older People's Forum to be run, and how you want to influence strategic decisions made for over 65s in the City?  Take part in taster sessions from organisations such as Edinburgh Leisure, meet local organisations and watch heritage presentations about the city.  Give feedback on the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership's Strategic Commissioning Plan for older people.

Deliveroo cyclist escapes

Here is the link to the video of a Deliveroo cyclist getting knocked off his bike recently in Causewayside at Salisbury.

Very fortunate to escape.

Unhappiness at the Central Mosque

There has been another round of conflict at the Central Mosque in Potterrow.  The imam, Yaya Barry, originally from The Gambia, has been dismissed and is now taking the board of the Central Mosque to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.  You can get more details here.

In 2014 I posted this article describing a not dissimilar employment dispute at the Central Mosque. 

Water

A few weeks ago Scottish Water requested precautionary conservation of water whilst noting that generally reservoir reserves were close to normal.

Although wet have had some rain in Edinburgh there are developing one or two areas of shortage in limited areas - beyond Edinburgh.  This week they have issued another request to conserve water. I include their request below:

As you will hopefully be aware, we launched a campaign urging customers across Scotland to use water wisely. A few weeks ago, some of our plants were producing 30% more water and across Scotland we were producing an additional 140 million litres per day due to increased usage. Whilst these record levels have recently reduced, we are still experiencing high demand in some parts.

We are closely monitoring a number of areas across the country and we have taken the opportunity to send postcards to customers in these priority areas to urge people to use water wisely. 

Some of the areas we have targeted are in certain parts of the Western Isles, North East, the Highlands and some areas of Dumfries and Galloway.

While some areas of the country have experienced a small amount of rain recently, our treatment works and reservoirs are still dealing with a sustained dry period as well as increased demand from customers. Your continued assistance in helping to urge customers to reduce their water usage over the coming weeks is appreciated.

By taking small and simple measures, customers can help to ensure we can continue to supply water to homes and businesses.

Simple steps customers can take to use water efficiently include:

• Using a bucket of water instead of a hose to wash your car or only washing windscreens and headlights and brake lights
• Using a watering can instead of a hose to water gardens and plants
• Taking a shower instead of a bath and making it a short shower
• Only using washing machines or dishwashers fully loaded
• Turning off the tap when brushing teeth and shaving

Please could help us by sharing these messages on your social media channels and in the local community.

https://twitter.com/scottish_water/status/1014483054650384384

http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/about-us/media-centre/latest-news/customers-across-scotland-asked-to-use-water-wisely

Garden waste collections update

The current window for registering for the new chargeable garden waste service is this week-end.  Below are details as circulated by the Council.

Registration for the garden waste service closes on Sunday 22 July. Residents have until midnight on Sunday to sign up online and until 3.30pm on Friday 20 July to pay in person by cash or credit/debit card at one of our locality offices.

This deadline is necessary to ensure that all residents receive their permits and new calendars in time for the service starting on 8 October.

When registration closes work will be carried out to build the new routes . . . and to create the collection calendars before the service starts. . . 

There will be other opportunities to sign up to the new service later this year. . . The annual fee for the garden waste service is £25 and is not prorated. The cost for residents who sign up during a later registration window will be £25 for the year ending October 2019.

Residents who choose not to sign up can continue to use the current service until it ends on 5 October. They should check their calendars for their last collection before this date. If they no longer wish to keep their brown wheelie bin they will be able to complete a form on our website once the service stops in October and we will arrange to remove it.

Disruption and cost on Saturday

Forewarning here in the Southside Newington ward of a march and entertainment event planned this Saturday - which will cause a bit of disruption in the Nicolson Street and Buccleuch Street areas.

The anti-Trump march is set to process along North and South Bridge, then Nicolson Street, West Nicolson Street and Buccleuch Street before making its way along Buccleuch Place into the Meadows.  There will be traffic restrictions in Holyrood Park and along the route - probably from 11am onwards - though I anticipate the Nicolson Street closures will be from about 2pm.

The cost to the Council, (we taxpayers - I'll not be joining the march), starts around £30k,  including the cost of obtaining an emergency Temporary Traffic Regulation Order at short notice (£17k), plus costs of staffing necessary arrangements for the march.  Additionally, there will be policing costs plus some disruption to public and other transport in the area.

I note from the organisers' website that it is a demonstration against 'opportunist' politicians!  But don't worry, attendees can vent their frustration against the opportunist politician of the day at a Carnival of Resistance in the Meadows afterwards - when they can enjoy and participate in 'Toss the welly at Trump' attraction.