Thieves steal safe containing five figure sum from cabin in Bristo Square

I'm assuming this theft will relate to the ticket sales for the Winter Festival events.  See  the police media release here from which the following is an extract:

Police Scotland are appealing for witnesses following a theft from a business premises in Edinburgh city centre.

At around 6.50am on Wednesday, 1 January 2020, two men forced entry to a static cabin premises on Bristo Square, close to McEwan Hall. They left a short time later with a safe containing a five-figure sum of cash.

The pair are believed to have left the area in a vehicle, possibly a dark-coloured hatchback, along Forrest Road and then onto Chambers Street.

The suspects are both described as white, aged between 20 to 30-years-old, and were wearing dark coloured clothing.

Detective Inspector Jon Pleasance from Edinburgh CID said: “Since the theft happened we have been carrying out a number enquiries and understand that the men arrived at the premises at 06.51 from Teviot Place.

“They left on foot around three minutes later and CCTV enquiries have established that they got into a vehicle on Forrest Road at 06.54am.

External wall insulation for houses in West Mains

Here are details of a project due to start next year in the West Mains area.

Project overview

The City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland and Changeworks are working together to provide external wall insulation for suitable homes in West Mains*. Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS: ABS) are part of the Scottish Government initiative to tackle fuel poverty.

The total investment in energy efficiency improvements across West Mains is £946,000. External wall insulation will be installed on approximately 143 privately owned and 25 Council owned properties. Everwarm is the selected contractor and will complete surveys and carry out the works. HEEPS: ABS will help to fund owner contributions on private homes.

Installing external wall insulation makes it cheaper and easier to heat the home, meaning householders can expect to save around £260** each year on their heating bill and the exterior of their home will look refreshed due to the new external render.

Cost to householders

It would cost, on average, approximately £13,000 to install external wall insulation on these types of homes in West Mains without any funding. However, a funding package to help reduce homeowner and private landlord contributions is available. Funding of up to £7,500 per property has been secured through HEEPS: ABS, furthermore additional funding may be secured through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). The householder or landlord contributions (including 5% VAT) are set out below:

• End Terraced £787.50

• Mid Terraced £525.00

Interest-free loans are available to help householders pay their contribution. Any householder interested in applying for a loan should contact Home Energy Scotland using the number shown below.

Communications to residents

As this project is targeted towards selected properties in the area, details of the project have been communicated by letter from the Council and Home Energy Scotland.

Home Energy Scotland is the free and impartial energy advice service funded by the Scottish Government. Householders are advised to call Home Energy Scotland free on 0808 808 2282 for further information and advice. A trained Home Energy Scotland Energy Advisor can also discuss other options, support or relevant advice available.

Recycling your christmas tree

Here are the plans for collecting Christmas trees to ensure they are recucled:

Waste teams will collect Christmas trees for recycling on designated days. Residents are advised to look up their street on our Christmas tree recycling collections page to find out when, where and how to leave their tree out for collection.
Streets without garden waste collections will have their trees picked up between 7 and 10 January 2020 - trees should be put out on the pavement (without blocking access) by 6am on 7 January and they will be picked up by 10 January.
Christmas trees will be collected in streets that have a garden waste collection between 13 and 31 January 2020. Trees should be cut up, base removed, and put in the brown bin for collection by 6am on the street’s designated collection day.

Residents can take their tree for recycling at any of the three Household Waste Recycling Centres.  A reminder of locations and opening times was posted yesterday.

Recycling Centres - opening times

Here are the opening times of Council recycling centres over Christmas and New Year:

Craigmillar: (Old Dalkeith Road) is closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day January 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  Otherwise its normal opening hours are  9am to 5pm daily except Thursdays when closing time is 6:30pm.

 Seafield and Sighthill:  Closed only on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.  Open 10am - 4pm on Boxing Day, Hogmanay, January 2nd and 3rd.

Other information and normal opening times on the Council website here.

   

Christmas and New Year waste collections

Here are the plans for collections from households:

With Christmas Day and New Year's Day falling on Wednesdays, residents who usually receive a Wednesday kerbside collection should put their bins out on Saturday 28 December and Saturday 4 January respectively - post-Christmas, bins will be picked up between Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 December, while post-Hogmanay collections will take place between Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 January 2020. 
Meanwhile residents who usually receive collections on Thursdays should leave their bins out as normal on Boxing Day and 2 January and these will be picked up by Friday 27 December and Friday 3 January respectively. 
Small amounts of waste or recycling that can't fit into bins will be accepted on these dates, provided it's placed neatly beside bins. 

New Cinema proposals for Cameron Toll

There have been a few false starts for further development at the Cameron Toll shopping centre.  Previous plans to develop areas of the (rather large) car park have faltered at various stages.  The current proposal is for restaurants, leisure units and a multiplex cinema at the west  (Gilmerton Road) side.

Summary details of the current proposal can be found here.  Cameron Toll was opened in 1984 as one of the first 'out of town' shopping centres.  Footfall has been increasing of late.

New Post Office in Dalkeith Road

From the 13th January there will be a new Post Office at 130 Dalkeith Road.  It will be part of the general convenience store known as Amir and Sons. 

The opening times (yes, for the Post Office services) will be 6:00am to 9:00pm Mon to Friday and 7:00am to 9:00pm at week-ends.  It won't have the facilities of a major Post Office but it will be a welcome addition to services in Dalkeith Road.

It is a 1pm opening on Monday 13th January 2020