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MERCHISTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL Draft Minutes of Meeting held on Tuesday, 20 January 2004 at 7.00pm at the Eric Liddell Centre. (The meeting followed a presentation on Houses in Multiple Occupation by Graham Drummond, Head of Section Housing and Licensing, Environmental and Consumer Services Department, City of Edinburgh Council. Report attached.) 1.0 Chairperson's Welcome Bridget Stevens (Chair) welcomed those present: Edith McLean, James Geekie, Frances Hawarden, Alison Elwell-Sutton, Atholl Stewart, John Lennie, Cllrs. George Hunter, Liz O'Malley and Sue Tritton, Derek Ainsley (Treasurer), Robin Morris (Secretary) and Janice Laxton (Minutes Secretary). 2.0 Apologies for Absence Chris Sharman, Wies Robertson, Desmond Hodges, Cllr Donald Wilson. Bridget Stevens announced that Oliver Shipp is leaving Edinburgh. She will write to thank him for his contribution to MCC. Diana Dunthorne is no longer a member of Bruntsfield Traders. Robin Morris will ask her whether she wishes to resign from MCC. It was hoped that she would not resign. 3.0 Minutes of Last Meeting held on 18 November 2003 Adoption of these minutes was moved by Cllr Hunter, and seconded by Atholl Stewart, with the following amendment: 2.0 PC Alan Hopper sent his apologies also. 7.8 replace 'Ellis' with 'Morris' 4.0 Matters Arising 4.1 Litter Competition The closing date for the Children's Litter Competition, jointly organised by MCC and CEC Environmental Services, has been postponed and the Awards Ceremony will now take place at the City Chambers on 27 February. Members are invited to attend. Suggestions for donors/donations for extra prizes to Bridget Stevens. 4.2 Advertising of MCC Meetings Robin Morris forwarded notice of the current meeting to the Herald & Post. The Metro charge for advertising, and it was therefore decided not to pursue them further at present. It was agreed that Bridget Stevens should arrange for bookmark-sized cards to be printed with MCC details, including website address, for distribution through local libraries, etc. 4.3 MCC Notice Board at Eric Liddell Centre A grant has been applied for from South Edinburgh Local Development Committee to buy a joint notice board with the Eric Liddell Centre. 5.0 Treasurer's Report Derek Ainsley reported that excess funds will be used for prizes for the litter competition before the end of the financial year. 6.0 Other Reports 6.1 Police Report PC Hopper and PC Lamb presented their report in the form of a bulletin (attached). Members appreciated this new initiative. The officers will raise the question of distributing the bulletins more widely with their Inspector. They explained that Police officers no longer have the power to ticket cars (only Parking Attendants can do this) but can arrange for cars causing an obstruction by double parking to be towed away. It was suggested that the Police could put warning signs on cars instead of ticketing them. The officers will raise this with their Inspector. They advised that cycles are more secure stored inside tenement stairs than in on-street 'cages'. They gave assurance that, although many sub-Police stations have been closed, the Police are able to respond to calls from the public as quickly as before. 6.2 Edinburgh Association of Community Councils John Lennie reported that the general feeling at the last meeting was that, although the City Council has to carry out the Scottish Executive's decision to involve communities more in community planning, with no new money their influence is limited. Bridget Stevens had attended the AGM of the Scottish Association of Community Councils and her impression was that community councils have less influence in large local authorities. 6.3 City Development Neighbourhood Group Note on meeting of 14 January 2004 (attached). 6.4 South Edinburgh Local Development Committee Houses in Multiple Occupation will be discussed at their next meeting at James Gillespies High School on 2 February. Bridget Stevens will attend. Environmental Forums will be discussed at the 22 March meeting at Liberton High School. Alison Elwell-Sutton and Robin Morris will attend. 6.5 Local Environmental Forum Cllr Liz O'Malley chairs this new sub-group of South Edinburgh Local Development Committee, set up to monitor the work of the local environmental tasks force. It is possible that LEF may merge with the City Development Neighbourhood Group at a later date. MCC members are welcome to attend the next meeting on 18 March 2004. 6.6 Planning Applications Garden Centre Application will go to the Planning Committee probably in early February Wireless Mast, Whitehouse Loan Planning permission has been refused, but there may be an appeal Royal Ettrick Hotel Bridget Stevens and Robin Morris attended the Licensing Board on 19 January 2004. The late licence has been renewed for three months only. The hotel has still to install double glazing to help control noise. Other outstanding problems, now long overdue for resolution, were the unauthorised signage and the unauthorised felling of trees 3 Ettrick Road The owner has refurbished the garden. Robin Morris will write to thank him 5 Ettrick Road The owner of this property was still running his business from the house. A CEC Enforcement Officer will check in early February that the business has been closed 2B Merchiston Crescent Removal of the unauthorised fence being pressed for by Enforcement Officers. Problems with the owner's other property at 4 Merchiston Avenue, where an unauthorised mobile home and storage container had still not been removed Churchhill Place Planning permission has been refused for a restaurant, but permission for offices has been allowed. Again, concern was expressed at the way in which planning decisions appeared not always to be followed up or enforced. 7.0 AOCB 7.1 Friends of Harrison Park Bridget Stevens has forwarded the list of interested people from the MCC November meeting to Mike McKay, Department of Culture and Leisure, whose department is co-ordinating the formation of this group. 7.2 Scottish Water A new water treatment process was installed on 7 January. Water customers are invited to a Consultation Panel at Churchhill Theatre on Thursday, 19 February 2004. 7.3 City of Edinburgh Consultation Booklets are now available on this consultation on how the city will look in twenty years' time. 7.4 City of Edinburgh Council Website Letter from the Council to say that the launch of Council papers online has been postponed. 7.5 Buffet Lunch, Polwarth Church, 22 February 2004 It was decided to donate £30.00 (the price to hire the church hall, which was given to MCC free in November) towards the buffet lunch to mark Rev John McMahon leaving Polwarth Church. Bridget Stevens will ask Desmond Hodges if he would like to attend on behalf of MCC. 7.6 Edinburgh Association of Community Councils Next meeting will be 10-12pm on Saturday, 27 March 2004. 7.7 Statutory Notices Cllr Tritton explained that, contrary to what was sometimes believed, having work done under Statutory Notice was not always more expensive than having it done privately, as no VAT was charged. 8.0 Date and Information of Next Meeting Tuesday, 17 February 2004 at 7.00 pm at the Eric Liddell Centre (speaker to be confirmed). Suggestions are invited for topics for future meetings. (Protecting Yourself in Your Own Home/Neighbourhood Watch and Planning from a Design Perspective have already been put forward) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Presentation on Houses in Multiple Occupation by Graham Drummond Head of Section Housing and Licensing Environmental and Consumer Services Department City of Edinburgh Council A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is defined as the main home of three or more tenants who are members of two or more families. In October 2000 the licensing of HMOs became mandatory. The aim of legislation was to increase the protection for tenants and neighbours by making sure accommodation is safe, well managed and of good quality. Environmental and Consumer Services, together with other Council Departments and Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade, make up the Joint Inspection Team whose remit is to ensure that HMOs in Edinburgh comply with the City of Edinburgh Licensing Standards. These standards were adopted from the Benchmark Standards as set out in the Scottish Executive booklet 'Guidance on Mandatory Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation' and are under constant review by a working group set up by the City of Edinburgh Council. They are also set out in the Council's information leaflet 'Houses in Multiple Occupation: Licensing Information', and published on its website. The Council is aware of the need to improve co-ordination between its different Departments. Applicants for HMOs of six or more must first seek planning permission for 'change of use'. All licence applications are circulated to Lothian and Borders Police who advise the Council if the applicant has any convictions which suggests that he/she should not be granted a licence. Neighbours may raise an objection to a new or renewal application should they consider the landlord or manager is not a fit and proper person, or the premises are not suitable for use as an HMO. In addition, neighbours may complain at any time to the Council if they have any complaints concerning the tenants or landlord of an existing licensed HMO. An agreement has now been made between the Council and the Police to enable information held by the Police re. noise, etc. to be released which previously was withheld under the Data Protection Act. Applicants for all new and renewal applications must display the site notice on or near the property in a position where it can be easily read for a period of 21 days from the date of application (not within the common stair). The applicant must self-certify that this has been done. Applications are also forwarded to local libraries and City Councillors. The Joint Inspection Team produces an inspection report detailing any work which needs to be done to comply with HMO standards. This normally needs to be completed within four months after which a follow-up inspection is made. A license may be granted on condition that work is completed within twelve months. Applications are considered within three months and the Council is required to make a final decision within twelve months. Once a license is granted, the applicant must notify the occupier of premises within the same building and of all premises which share a common wall. He/she must self-certify that this has been done. The applicant must also provide neighbours with 24 hour contact details in case of an emergency. The main job of the Housing staff involved in the licensing process is to ensure that proper standards of tenancy management exist. The Council has decided that even where a tenancy contract is illegal, it must be legally binding and that the tenants cannot be held liable. To date, no landlords in Edinburgh have been prosecuted for not licensing their properties. Prosecutions are rare because it is difficult to prove that he/she knowingly let out the property illegally. Even in Glasgow where some prosecutions have been made, minimal fines were imposed. Unlike Glasgow, the City of Edinburgh Council has no upper limit on the percentage of houses in one stair which can be licensed as a HMO. The number of HMOs in Edinburgh has increased markedly over the past few years. It is estimated that there are at least 6,000 city wide, only 3,700 of which have been or are in the process of being licensed. The Joint Inspection Team have been working on a Ward Inspection Programme, starting with Marchmont and Tollcross, which have the highest density of HMOs in the city. The licensing process pays for itself and extra staff have been recruited from income generated. Currently approx. 200 applications are considered per week. Only about 1% of license applications are refused each year, some of which are withdrawn by the applicant. A public register of licensed and non-licensed properties is available for viewing in the Licensing Office in the High Street. |
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