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MERCHISTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes of Meeting held on Tuesday, 15 February 2005 at 7.00pm at the Eric Liddell Centre. 1.0 Chairperson’s Welcome Bridget Stevens (Chair) welcomed those present: Derek Ainsley (Treasurer), Petra Biberbach, Judy Bury, Ian Clement, Brian Cohen, James Geekie, Desmond Hodges, Frances Hawarden, Morag Jones, Belinda Lennie, John Lennie, David Leslie, Cllr Marilyne MacLaren, Fiona Mitchell, Robin Morris (Secretary), William Mykura, Cllr Liz O’Malley, Chris Sharman, Robert Stewart, Cllr Sue Tritton, Guin Williams, Janice Laxton (Minutes Secretary). 2.0 Apologies for Absence Eric Fèvre, Cllr George Hunter, Cllr Donald Wilson, Charlie Morrison, Colin Young 3.0 Minutes of Last Meeting held on 18 January 2005 Derek Ainsley moved the adoption of these minutes, with the following amendments: Add under 1.0 Tom Conway (Ayton Community Council) Add under 2.0 Cllr Marilyne MacLaren. 4.0 Matters Arising 4.1 Tree Memorial to Diana Dunthorne Eric Fèvre has contacted Edinburgh Council. He will report back at the next meeting. 4.2 Advertising of MCC Meetings and Communication The MCC notice board outside the Eric Liddell Centre has now been repaired. Desmond Hodges brought the proof for the second printing of the bookmarks to the meeting for approval. Kay Smith (Friends of Harrison Park), Desmond Hodges and the Canal Society are consulting on the design and site for a joint notice board in Harrison Park, funds for which will be needed from MCC by the end of the financial year. 4.3 Refurbishment of Church Hill Theatre A neighbour notification has now been issued. Any member of the public can make an objection if they wish. Chris Sharman will co-ordinate the Planning Sub-Committee’s response to the detailed plans which are now available. It was agreed that, since this is a major re-development of a public building, MCC should respond one way or the other. Cllr Tritton confirmed that Edinburgh Council will have invited the Cockburn Association to comment. 4.4 City Development and Transport Neighbourhood Group Minutes from meeting of 30 November 2004 are now available in the MCC circulation file. 5.0 Treasurer’s Report Derek Ainsley reported a balance of £1,359.44, a slight increase on last month due to the grant for litter bins along the canal which has now come through. Bridget Stevens thanked him for his work. 6.0 Other Reports 6.1 Police Report Inspector Nisbet reported that new distribution points for the Police Bulletin are being installed in local libraries, etc. He has just launched a six-week operation to target car crime, with six officers dedicated to this. Thanks to the vigilance of a member of the public, one man has just been arrested who has admitted to a total of 33 crimes. Finger print evidence for recent shop break-ins in Bruntsfield mean that the culprits can be identified. Recent footage of littering in Bruntsfield Place, taken by a Police mobile video unit, was shown to one of the neighbouring schools, with a positive response. Local Community Officers will be back on the beat soon. Police Newsletters for South Edinburgh are available online at: http://www.southedinburgh.net Bridget Stevens thanked Inspector Nisbet for his report. 6.2 Joint Meeting of City Development and Transport Neighbourhood Group and Local Environmental Forum The general feeling was that the combined meeting of these groups on 27 January 2005 did not work. Follow-up meetings will take place as follows: 6.3 Local Environmental Forum Thursday, 24 February 2005 at 7.00pm at George Watson’s College. The local environmental action plan will be discussed. Frances Hawarden will formally represent MCC. Members of the public are welcome to attend. 6.4 City Development and Transport Neighbourhood Group Wednesday, 9 March 2005 at 7.00pm in the City Chambers. Members of the public are welcome to attend. 6.5 South Edinburgh Crime Prevention Panel An all-day exhibition will be held in Cameron Toll on Saturday, 12 March 2005 featuring advice and information on crime prevention. There will also be a range of crime prevention gadgets available. 6.6 Edinburgh South Local Development Committee Minutes from the last meeting on 7 February 2005 are in the MCC circulation file. The next meeting will be held on 11 April 2005. Cllr Tritton pointed out that some money is still available for local groups to apply for this financial year. 6.7 Planning and Licensing Applications 2b Merchiston Crescent The application to build a conservatory in most of the front garden has been rejected. The question of the unauthorised fence at the same address is being revisited by the City Council, as is the satellite dish which has been put up on the same building. Satellite dishes are not allowed in a conservation area. The Planning Committee will make a decision at its meeting on 16 February. The owners of the property have the right of appeal to the Secretary of State. Unauthorised Container 4 Merchiston Avenue This has now been removed by the owner. Redwood House, Polwarth Terrace/Gray’s Loan An application has been made by Applecross developers to build nine ‘ultra-modern’ flats on this former Napier University site. Bridget Stevens, Cllrs Hunter & Tritton, Robin Morris and Chris Sharman have met with Pagoda, Applecross’s PR representatives. Although the mature trees and hedges in the grounds are preserved in the plan, it does not stipulate how these should be pruned. There is added concern about the height of walls and car access and about some of the building materials. Pagoda undertook to notify Applecross of these concerns and to get back to us. Ettrick Hotel Since the manager, with whom MCC had built a good working relationship, moved on, there has been a noticeable increase in the level of noise and other disturbance caused by the hotel. Robin Morris and Bridget Stevens have notified Environmental Services, the Licensing Authority and the Police. St Margaret’s Road Cllr Tritton confirmed that the advertisement for a property in this street being for sale with outline planning permission for two houses in the grounds is inaccurate. The planning permission is not for two houses. Fountainbridge Derek Ainsley and Cllr Tritton attended the recent meeting on the redevelopment plans for this area. These were generally very well received. Chris Sharman will work with the Planning and Licensing Group to formulate a MCC view on the appropriateness or otherwise of modern building materials and design in a conservation area. Anyone with views on this subject should contact Chris Sharman. Concern was expressed over a planning application to demolish a Georgian villa in Craigmillar Park. However, it was agreed that MCC should consider applications outside their area only in exceptional circumstances. One of these will be the forthcoming redevelopment of the adjoining Tollcross area. 7.0 AOCB 7.1 Community Council Boundaries Meeting Robin Morris is trying to interest representatives of adjacent Community Councils to attend this meeting on Thursday, 3 March 2005 at 7.00pm at the City Chambers. Cllr O’Malley will raise the subject at the next Morningside Community Council. Cllr Tritton pointed out that changes will also soon be made to Local Development Committee boundaries. 7.2 The Lowlands Canal Scottish Litter Challenge The Waterways Trust Scotland are organising a clean-up of the Union Canal on Sunday, 20 March 2005. Registration forms for groups or individual volunteers are available from: Sussanne McCarney, The Waterways Trust, The Old Basin, Applecross Street, Glasgow G4 9PS Tel: 0141 354 7540, Fax: 0141 331 1688 litterchallenge@waterwaystrust.co.uk. (Janice Laxton will be add this item to the MCC website.) 7.3 Eric Liddell Centre Bob Rendall, Chief Executive of the ELR, has informed MCC that, due to financial difficulties, the Centre has had to abandon its plans to landscape the garden. It is presently looking at other planning options for the site. (Janice Laxton will be add this item to the MCC website.) 7.4 South Central Edinburgh Local Health Co-operative Frances Howarden hopes to attend part of this workshop on Wednesday, 23 February 2005 between 9.00am and 4.00pm at the Astley Ainslie Hospital. She will check whether Alison Elwell-Sutton would like to attend part of it too. 7.5 Central Edinburgh Local Development Committee Next meeting will be held at 6.45pm on Wednesday, 2 March 2005 at St Thomas Aquinas RC High School. The topic will be New Technology Developments. 7.6 Fair Trade Fortnight 1-13 March 2005. Fair Trade Breakfast at the City Chambers, from 7.30am – 10.00am on Friday 11 March 2005 7.7 Association of Scottish Community Councils – Edinburgh and Lothians Meeting At 10.00am on 18 June 2005 at the Quaker House, Victoria Terrace. 7.8 Edinburgh Association of Community Councils Meetings will be held on Saturday, 5 March 2005 when the topic will be Transport Referendum – Where next? and Saturday, 4 June 2005 when the topic will be Proportional Representation in Local Government Elections 2007. 7.9 Learning Fair 1.00pm onwards at Queen Margaret University College on Saturday 26 February 2005. 8.0 Date and Information of Next Meeting Tuesday, 15 March 2005 at 7.00pm at the Eric Liddell Centre. It is hoped that this meeting will be preceded by a short talk on Fire Safety in the Home and that Charlie Morrison will also be able to give an update on the parking problems associated with Napier University. DEBATE ON CONGESTION CHARGING 15 February 2005 Speakers: FOR: Petra Biberbach, William Mykura, David Spaven AGAINST: Ian Clements, Fiona Gilbert, Derek Kennedy All speakers expressed their own personal views. Some of the main arguments put forward were: FOR: With traffic levels in Edinburgh rising all the time, something clearly has to be done The Council is not anti-car, as it is commonly perceived to be. It promotes the sensible use of the car. Traffic pollution causes 200 deaths per year (This figure was disputed by the other side.) All revenue earned from congestion charging will go into improving public transport The Council has already set up park and ride schemes for commuters living outside Edinburgh, and more are planned People still have the choice to travel into the city by car; £500 per year represents only 10% of the cost of running a car A reduction in the volume of cars on the road will mean that bus journeys will be significantly faster, as has happened in London since congestion charging was introduced there Most drivers in London have chosen to change to using the bus, not the Underground AGAINST: Congestion charging should not be considered until viable, alternative forms of public transport are in place Buses need to be publicly owned again, to maximise service and efficiency Rat-running will become common on residential streets again as motorists choose to use them instead of incurring charges by using the Ring Road More suburban streets will become choked with parked cars Almost all the streets which the Council estimate will see increased levels of traffic are close to schools, where road safety for children is already an issue Revenue raised through congestion charging alone would be nowhere near adequate to fund the planned improvements in public transport. As happens in London, the shortfall would need to be made up by increasing the congestion charges and/or through hefty fines (In London, £100 if not paid within 24 hours) Most of the air pollutants which cause health problems are emitted by buses and commercial vehicles, not cars There are better ways of dealing with congestion than imposing charges, as happens in some English towns, eg.Winchester |
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