Merchiston Community Council
6 February 2012 
Speaking up for the people of Merchiston  
Leisure Opportunities

We are well served with assorted leisure opportunities within our ward ranging through
  • canal walks and boating
  • cinemas
  • football / martial arts /sports /activity clubs for boys and girls
  • grass bowls
  • library
  • open parks
  • play parks
  • Scouts / cubs / beavers
  • tennis / tennis coaching for yougsters
  • ten pin bowling
  • bingo
  • small casino
We also have various restaurants and cafes as well as hotels and bars and the Eric Liddell Centre at Holy Corner hosts many clubs and classes as well as a recently refurbished cafe. Polwarth Parish Church is also offering various community based activities / days.




Open Spaces

We have both Bruntsfield links to the south and Harrison Park to the north with a couple of play parks and the Union Canal with the Canal Society and boats for hire or boat trips and even floating restaurants available. With grants made available from the City of Edinburgh Council, MCC have been able to provide several benches for people to use either to catch their breath or just enjoy the calm of the canalside. Harrison Park is one of three open spaces in Edinburgh to be awarded a Green Flag for excellence of provision and management of amenity.










The canal is a very much appreciated facility with joggers, cyclists (both pleasure or commuter traffic), walkers, families down to feed the wildlife or make use of the canal society's boats and of course the restaurant and boat trips. With the refurbishments being undertaken by British Waterways Scotland, and the Millennium Fund, the canal has been restored to its full length and we are now benefiting from waterborne tourism with canal boat holidays extending as far as the heart of Edinburgh.

Entertainment

Dominion Cinema, 0131 447 4771 Website
Church Hill Theatre, 0131 447 7597
Cineworld Cinema at Fountainpark, Dundee Street - 0871 200 2000 Website
Ten Pin Bowling at Fountainpark, Dundee Street -0871 873 3150

Sport

Merchiston Tennis and Bowling Club - 0131-228 6447 Tennis Website or Bowling Website

North Merchiston (Boys and Girls) Club, Watson Crescent

Virgin Active Health and fitness centre at Fountainpark


Fireworks

There are strict laws regarding the sale and use of fireworks. Some of the restrictions are listed below:

• Fireworks should only be on sale between 15th October and 10th November;
• It is an offence for under 18s to possess adult fireworks in a public place, and illegal for them
to be set off by anyone in public;
• There is a curfew on the use of fireworks between 11pm and 7pm, however this is extended to midnight on 5th November.
Fireworks are also permitted to be used during the Hindu festival of Diwali. Diwali does not always occur on the same day, this year it happens to occur on the 5th November.
This means that it will be legal to use fireworks until 1am on the morning of the 6th November.

Be safe be legal and above all be considerate.

This period is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for firefighters, due to the increase of activity due to ad-hoc bonfires being lit and then left unattended.
Here are some things you can do to help:
• Avoid leaving out bins or larger items of refuse over this period. These could be taken and used as bonfire material;
• If you spot junk being accumulated which you suspect could be used for a bonfire then let the council know, they would to uplift this material to reduce the problem;
• Report antisocial behaviour to the local police or to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.