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MINUTES OF MERCHISTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 20TH MARCH 2007 7.00PM at ERIC LIDDELL CENTRE, HOLY CORNER 1.0 CHAIRPERSON'S WELCOME Bridget Stevens welcomed those present, who included Cllrs. Sue Tritton and Liz O'Malley, William Mykura, Robin Morris, Frances Hawarden, Desmond Hodges, Ian Doig, Kay Smith, Jim Geekie, PC Alan Hopper, Alison Elwell- Sutton, Mairianna Clyde, Belinda Lennie and around 18 members of the general public. 2.0 Panel Discussion - HMOs and The Private Rented Sector The Panel consisted of: Duncan Brookes (local landlord), Mairianna Clyde (local resident and campaigner and founder of The Edinburgh Tenement Homeowners Association) Alistair Somerville ( Head of Section, HMO Licensing and Landlord Registration, City of Edinburgh Council) Duncan Brookes recounted problems he had encountered as a landlord. In his view there was far too much red tape; form after form to fill in and “ridiculous regulations”. There are good and bad landlords and there seemed to be no difference between them in terms of their treatment by the City Council. Mairianna Clyde spoke of the widening problem of the expansion of the private rented sector and the impact it had on communities. So many flats are being rented there are not enough to buy. The two controls in force in1915 and removed in 1989 were security of tenure and 'fair' rents, (not 'market' rents). Under these conditions the Private Rented Sector boomed. Around 1995, buy-to-let mortgages became available, and to date there seems no slow down in the growth of the PRS. There must be a balance between rented accommodation and more affordable housing. Alastair Somerville spoke of his role, and that of the landlord registration team. The Council set up the system in response to legislation. Constant inspections were made of properties to ensure registration. He accepted that there are two types of tenant and landlord, good and bad. There were several questions from the floor, covering for instance the verification of licences, state of repair of accommodation, who to contact at the Council etc. Bridget expressed her thanks to the panel for producing a constructive session. This had been followed by relevant and interesting questions 2.1 BUSINESS MEETING 3.0 Apologies for Absence Ann Royden, Beccy Brooks, John Lennie, Chris Sharman, Inspector Galbraith and Cllr.George Hunter. Bridget regretted the absence of Cllr George Hunter in particular, as she had wished publicly to express the appreciation of the MCC for his many years of work on behalf of the Council. As he was not standing for re-election as a city councillor, this would have been his last MCC meeting. His attendance record at MCC meetings had been almost 100%. Bridget would write to him thanking him for his participation. 4.0 Minutes of Last Meeting held on February 20th 2007 were circulated Adopted by Ian Doig, seconded by Cllr Sue Tritton. 5.0 MATTERS ARISING An addition to last Minutes under Matters Arising: Post Office Closures - the MCC deplored further closures, and Bridget would respond to the consultation accordingly. Under Matters Arising in last Minutes: The proposed meeting at the Gillies Centre on the 29th March 3.30pm is not a public meeting. Ian Clement agreed to attend. Under 6.1: PC Alan Hooper informed the meeting that there had been some new graffiti tags spotted since last month's report. Under 6.2 Planning: Redholme House Hotel. Desmond Hodges enquired if there were any further details regarding its development into flats. It was confirmed that a letter was to be drafted making several constructive suggestions about the refurbishment. It was believed that neighbours would welcome this development, as a more appropriate use of the building than the one previously mooted (homeless hostel). 6.0 REPORTS 6.1 Police Report P.C. Alan Hopper circulated his report. He said that there had been a further increase in graffiti. An individual had been identified with regard to these incidents. It was noted that from 2nd April 2007 Alan would no longer be working from Howdenhall Police Station. From that date he will be working at St Leonard's Police Station. Apart from this change, and a slight re-drawing of his beat boundary, every aspect of his community dealings will remain the same. Ann Klepper queried certain types of graffiti: - some seemed to be there for a long time, whilst some were not. Can the Council be obliged to remove them? The Council will remove offensive graffiti only if they contains racially abusive or sexual content, or if they are on council property. Otherwise the responsibility rests with the owner(s). Robin informed the meeting that he had kit for the removal of graffiti which he would be happy to loan out. Speeding cars in Colinton Road and Strathearn Road were causing concern In Merchiston Gardens and Tipperlinn Road also, speeding cars had caused damage to cars in the streets. Alan reassured the meeting that he would pass this information on to his colleagues. Bridget once again thanked Alan for his detailed report, and expressed relief that he would remain the Community Constable for Merchiston. 6.2 Planning /Licensing Report Planning Desmond Hodges reported that during the past month he and John Lennie had examined several applications and lodged comments with the Planning Department. Although they had not yet circulated draft comments to all members of the Planning Group or passed them to Ann Royden, they would do so in the near future. As usual, anybody was welcome to make comments on any planning application. The application for minor alterations to the elevation of Tesco, 2a Colinton Rd, and for the unauthorised trolley rail etc. was examined. There was concern about increasingly widespread use of front gardens for car parking (particularly in Conservation Areas), as at 6 Polwarth Terrace. It was agreed that applications for extension to the Ettrick Hotel, and for conversion of Redholme House Hotel into 6 flats should have urgent attention. Licensing: Proposed conversion of former Greig Firth Hairdressers into a betting shop. There was to be a meeting of the City’s Licensing Board on 26th March to consider the granting of a gaming licence to this property. It was believed that a very large number of local organizations and residents were opposed, and MCC had put in an objection supporting them. Robin agreed to attend the meeting. Polwarth Tavern: further extensions to their licence had been requested. This pub continues to cause disturbance to neighbours in the surrounding streets and nine or ten local residents were understood to have complained to the Licensing Board. MCC had been invited to several meetings with neighbours of the pub and had agreed to support them in their objections. Cllr Sue Tritton advised that there was a proposal not only to extend hours but also for permission for tables and chairs on the pavement. 6.3 Treasurer's Report Frances announced that there was £300 in the bank, an increase on last year. Money for the laptop and printer has been received and deposited. Ann Roydon has undertaken to purchase the laptop. 6.4 Meetings attended by the chair : a written report was circulated. Other Meetings attended: Neighbourhood Partnerships Robin Morris had been to recent preliminary meetings about the two NPs on which MCC would be represented. These are (1) Meadows/Morningside and Southside/Newington and (2) Sighthill/Gorgie and Craiglockhart/Fountainbridge. Twelve NPs in the city are taking over from LDCs after the May Council elections. Constitution, code of conduct, management, make-up, powers and budget were discussed. Our individual nominations for member representatives will have to be decided soon. 7.00 ANY OTHER BUSINESS i. Parking: Peter Leigh from Bruntsfield expressed disappointment at the parking measures in Bruntsfield Place. Although he has a permit to park in the zone where he lives, he has to park many streets away. He was advised to write to Cllr Sue Tritton regarding this. ii. Ian Doig reported that the parking problems in Gillsland Road had become considerably worse and that this was causing substantial concern. iii. Kay Smith agreed to take on the role of tree warden iv. The City Development Neighbourhood Group would meet on 29th March. v. The Traffic Forum would meet on 21 March – William Mykura to represent MCC. vi. The 3Ms consortium had issued an appeal for donations to help with the cost of youth work in the area. Bridget had explained to them that MCC as such was not in a position to help financially but individual members would be invited to contribute. Two individuals had already sent donations. 8.00 Date of Next Meeting Tuesday 15th May 7pm at Eric Liddell Centre. This will be MCC’s AGM. To be preceded by short presentation by Lucie Howie on the 3Ms Youth Partnership which she runs from the Eric Liddell Centre. |
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