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MERCHISTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes of Meeting held on Tuesday, 20 September 2005 at 7.00pm at the Eric Liddell Centre. The meeting was preceded by a short discussion on The New Development at Holy Corner (report attached). 1.0 Chairperson’s Welcome Bridget Stevens (Chair) welcomed those present: Derek Ainsley, Rev Dr Linda Dunbar, James Geekie, Cllr George Hunter, Robin Morris (Secretary), Cllr Liz O’Malley, William Mykura, Chris Sharman, Cllr Sue Tritton, ColinYoung, Janice Laxton (Minutes Secretary) Members of the public present for the business meeting included Pat Abraham, Jan Ambrose, M Cartwright, Ian Clement, BB Cohen, A Cormack, C Cuthbert, JCE Elliott, Mary Elliott, Giselle Grieve, E Grieve, J Johnston, David Leslie, Mark Little, Michael and John Lugton, Michael Morris, Janet Reid, Ann and John Roberts, Joseph Rosenheim, Joyce and Neil Sandeman, M Saran, Margaret Scott, Robert Stewart, Gary Still, Guin Williams,. Bridget Stevens welcomed Charles Martin, from Duddingston House Properties Ltd. 2.0 Apologies for Absence Petra Biberbach, Alison Elwell-Sutton, Frances Hawarden, Desmond Hodges, PC Alan Hopper, Inspector Graham Jones, John Lennie, Charlie Morrison, Mike Pringle MSP, Cllr Lorna Shiels, Rev John Smith, Kay Smith, Cllr Wilson. Cllr Shiels sent a copy of a CEC consultation paper on Adult Entertainment and invited MCC to respond by the closing date of 26 September 2005. 3.0 Minutes of Last Meeting held on 21June 2005 These were adopted with the following amendments: 2.0 Add ‘Cllr Liz O’Malley’ 4.2 Replace ‘A table licence has been approved’ with ‘A table licence has not been approved’. 4.0 Matters Arising 4.1 Tree Memorial to Diana Dunthorne Friends of Harrison Park have refused permission to plant the tree in Harrison Park. Eric Fevre will look into possible alternative sites in Bruntsfield Links and at the Eric Liddell Centre. 4.2 Misuse of Disabled Parking Spaces A full discussion of this issue will be held at the next meeting of the City Development and Transport Neighbourhood Group (see 6.2 below). Members of the public are welcome to ask Bridget Stevens or Cllr Tritton to raise any points at this meeting. 4.3 Proposal to Create a Conservation Area in Bruntsfield Desmond Hodges and Chris Sharman represent MCC on the Bruntsfield Conservation Area Support Group, which is almost ready to approach the CEC with their proposals 4.4 Political Impartiality of MCC Bridget Stevens contacted the CEC about the poster advertising Mike Pringle MSP’s surgeries which is currently displayed on the MCC notice board at the ELC. They have no objection to the wording. Robin Morris has also asked Nigel Griffiths MP for a poster to display there. 4.5 Proposed Extension to the Controlled Parking Zone in Merchiston Cllr Tritton gave an update on the position. The Reporter has now produced a report, taking into account responses received during the initial consultation period. (Approx 6,500 responses were received.) As a result, slight alterations have been made to the original plan, which will now go to the all-party Scrutiny Panel then full CEC meeting in October. There will be a small number of all-day (9 hour) bays. Residents will be able to apply for visitors’ permits of varying duration, which will be cheaper than pay and display. Hours of operation will be 8.30am – 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Doctors will be issued with permits. The exact location of parking bays in individual streets, and the balance of permit holder to pay and display bays are not finally fixed, however, and members of the public may still feed their views to their Councillor, who will raise their points at the Scrutiny Panel on 28 September. The Council have undertaken to deal with any agreed changes quickly. Revenue made from the scheme could be ploughed back into reducing the costs to local residents. The scheme is scheduled to be implemented in Merchiston in Spring 2007 and in Morningside in 2008. It is recognised that modifications will need to be made following implementation. Issues such as the provision of business and carers’ permits will be looked at in the City’s Parking Strategy Review. Cllr Tritton will find out with the situation will be with access for funeral and wedding groups outside church buildings. 5.0 Treasurer’s Report In Frances Hawarden’s absence, Derek Ainsley presented the cash flow up to 16 August 2005. Invoices for the litter bins and book marks have now been received and paid for, bringing the balance to a more appropriate level. Friends of Harrison Park have requested that MCC submit a grant application to CEC in their name for £5,000 to purchase one or two notice boards for Harrison Park. MCC are happy to do this. The noticeboard(s) will be shared between MCC and FOHP. 6.0 Other Reports 6.1 Police Report Both Inspector Jones and PC Hopper sent their apologies. Robin Morris distributed a summary report (attached) sent to him by PC Hopper. 6.2 City Development and Transport Neighbourhood Group The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, 12 November 2005, 7pm in the City Chambers. 6.4 Planning and Licensing Applications Ettrick Hotel Polwarth Tavern There are continuing problems with these premises, both of which are now owned by Festival Inns, with many complaints being made by local residents. Bridget Stevens and Robin Morris meet regularly with both management and local residents. Festival Inns have already made some changes in response to complaints but more remains to be done. As a last resort MCC would object to the licences for these premises being renewed for more than three months when they come up for renewal on 31 October 2005. In response to a question from the floor on the possible impact of the impending law extending licensing hours in public bars, it was decided this might be a possible topic for a presentation at a future meeting. It was agreed to wait until after the law comes into force on 1 April 2006. 2 Merchiston Crescent The unauthorised fence and satellite dish are still in place. The Reporter is due to visit soon. 20 Merchiston Place The unauthorised fence had been appealed and a site visit by the Reporter took place on 2 September. Orwell Lodge MCC has objected to the application to erect a 40 foot mobile phone mast in this conservation area. Church Hill Place MCC will object to an application to set a window into the gable end of a listed building. Polwarth Terrace No news re. Applecross’s plans for the redevelopment of Redwood House. Redwood House, Spylaw Road Chris Sharman reported that around sixty trees, of differing sizes, have been felled by Alba Development. Greengrocer’s Shop, Bruntsfield Place MCC will object to any application for a change of use to this premises. Church Hill Theatre The theatre is now closed for renovation. It is scheduled to reopen in time for next year’s Edinburgh Festival. If any individual would like to make a personal objection to the Planning Committee, Bridget Stevens will be happy to show them how to do this. Cllr Tritton assured the meeting that the CEC Development Department do listen to what is said and often act on it. A new Working Group, made up of Councillors and CEC officials, is currently looking at parking throughout the city. 7.0 AOCB 7.1 Friends of Harrison Park, AGM To be held at 7.00pm on Tuesday, 27 September 2005 at Craiglockhart Primary School. Richard Holloway will give a talk on Sharing Space. 7.2 Edinburgh South Local Development Committee Next meeting will be held on Monday, 26 September 2005 at St Peter’s Primary School. 7.3 Eric Liddell Representative on MCC Committee Rev John Smith, minister of Morningside United Church, has kindly agreed to be an additional ELC representative on the MCC Committee. MCC look forward to seeing him at future meetings. 7.4 Morningside Heritage Association Bridget Stevens has written to this group supporting their plans to stage a play about the History of Morningside. Alison Elwell-Sutton will attend their meeting on Thursday 22 September 2005 at the Old School House, Morningside Road. 7.5 Edinburgh Traffic Forum This group has distributed a questionnaire on traffic issues. 7.6 Environmental Forum Their next meeting will be held at 7.00pm on Wednesday, 5 October 2005 at the Eric Liddell Centre. All members of the public are welcome to attend. 7.7 Improvement of Pavements in Bruntsfield/Morningside Questions were asked about this work. A report will be given at the next South Edinburgh Local Development Committee (see 7.2 above). 7.8 Exhibition of Trams Princes Street Gardens. 7.9 Anti-Graffiti Kits William Mykura and Robin Morris now both hold kits, for the use of any individual within Merchiston. 8.0 Date and Information of Next Meeting Tuesday, 18 October 2005 at 7.00pm at the Eric Liddell Centre. Andrew Mackay, of the CEC, will give a presentation on the Proposed Extension to the Controlled Parking Zone. Anyone wishing to receive notice of this and future meetings should give their name to Robin Morris. DISCUSSION on GARDEN CENTRE SITE, HOLY CORNER led by CHARLES MARTIN DUDDINGSTON HOUSE PROPERTIES LTD The new build for Tesco Metro is now well underway with an opening date scheduled for spring 2006. The retail market has changed since the original plans for the villa were drawn up and letting agents now recommend that the building be sub-divided, to accommodate two retail units instead of one. An application has been put to the Planning Committee for this consent, but there will be no change in use (ie. retail). It is likely that the two units will be an unlicensed café of a recognised brand, and a local small business, but neither tenant has been finally identified yet. Mr Martin apologised for the fact that Merchiston Avenue was closed by the contractors in September longer than was originally agreed. They did this to complete that stage of the work before the Edinburgh holiday weekend. He gave an assurance that there would be no further road closures. There will, however, be times when hoardings will be built out partly onto the road. He also apologised for the fact that work has at times gone on later than in the original plans. He will take this up with the contractors. In response to concerns that an additional retail unit would lead to increased traffic, he emphasised that both businesses were intended to serve the local community and it was anticipated that impact on traffic levels would be minimal. Duddingston House Properties Ltd are already making a considerable contribution to the City of Edinburgh Council for improvements in the area. Other questions were raised about Tesco delivery vehicles. Mr Martin explained that after consultation with traffic experts, it was agreed with the Road Department that Tesco lorries will load from the front of the shop, in a specially made lay-by and that delivery hours will be in line with neighbouring businesses. Misuse of lay-bys should be carefully controlled by traffic attendants. He welcomed individuals to contact Duddingston House Properties Ltd directly with their views. He will be happy to talk at a future MCC meeting. Bridget Stevens suggested that local residents may wish to reconsider the possibility of shutting off Merchiston Avenue in view of the redevelopment of the garden centre site. Individuals could contact the City of Edinburgh Council directly with their views. 20 September 2005 |
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