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Merchiston
Community Council meeting 21st October 2008 7pm Polwarth
Parish Church, Polwarth Terrace In attendance: Bridget Stevens Chair MCC Robin Morris Vice-chair MCC and
Licensing Frances Hawarden Treasurer MCC Jenny Mackenzie Minute taker John Lennie MCC Planning Paul Swan South Central
Neighbourhood Partnership Link Officer
John Barnes Enterprise manager, Eric Liddell
Centre, Sergeant Deborah
Wicksted St Leonard’s police station PC Julie Cochrane Community Beat Officer, West End
police station. James Geekie MCC Ian Doig MCC Kay Smith MCC Cllr Paul Godzik Labour councillor Ariane Loening Local resident Ian Clement Local resident Cian Bell Local resident Chairman’s welcome The chairman welcomed PC John Goodall’s successor, PC Julie Cochrane. She also noted that she wanted on record an
acknowledgement of the ‘magnificent job’ regarding the minutes taken of the
previous meeting, with thanks to minute taker Jenny MacKenzie. 1.
Apologies for Absence: Cllr Marilyne MacLaren
Cllr Alison Johnstone
Cllr Mark McInnes Cllr Gordon Buchan
(did attempt to attend, but unable to get into the building) Mairianna Clyde Ann Royden
(Secretary) PC Alan Hopper. 2. Minutes of last meeting and Matters
Arising. Amendments to
minutes of previous meeting (September 16th) requested. Some spelling errors – Frances, Walker, McInnes. Also Jim Geekie asked that the following
sentence be added to Councillor MacLaren’s statement under Councillors’ Reports. “Councillor
MacLaren admitted that the budgets of both Boroughmuir High and James
Gillespie`s High would each be cut by £68000 for the current session and
that pro rata cuts would be made to the budgets of local primary schools.” The meeting agreed to this. Minutes approved by
John Lennie, seconded by Jim Geekie Matters Arising Page 1-- Post
Office closures. Both Shandon and
Warrender Park Post Offices are to be closed despite complaints and protests.
Despite a huge outcry about Warrender Park in particular, the objections were
swept aside . It is understood there is no right of appeal. There is a document available for reference
which outlines the reasons justifying the decisions. Jim Geekie wrote a
letter of objection on behalf of MCC, copying it to Postwatch, but received the
letter back with a note that there was no delivery address available for
Postwatch. This was regarded as a
further indication of the unhelpful complaints process. Chairman summarized
the response from the public as ‘there couldn’t have been more opposition’. Page 2. Speed
bumps. Paul Swan noted
that the City Council has made no further progress with the next step required
– re-prioritising the list. Chairman
noted that, when the list has been updated, Gary Patten from Services to Communities will
be invited to attend a meeting as mentioned in the previous minutes. Chairman queried whether complaints did lead
to a speed check. Sergeant Wicksted
noted that the results of speed checks are fed into a council priorities
process. Further discussion deferred. Page 2. Controlled
Parking Zones. Frances Hawarden did
receive a letter from the Head of Transport in response to Nigel Griffith’s
letter dated 5th August, acknowledging that the council did request
permission to fix signs to private properties. The free visitor permit allocation
is still to be fully implemented. Re double
parking: The Chair noted that in-depth
discussion should be deferred until Cllr Gordon Buchan, who has done some work
on this, can discuss the matter with MCC.
Query raised about
when wardens can book those who are double parked. Jim Geekie noted that they are supposed to do
this, but generally do not. It was agreed that a member of the public can
report it to a warden if it is seen. If
the warden does not respond, it is recommended that the warden’s number should
be taken and his lack of response reported.
Particularly bad on Sunday evenings in some streets, with small number
of individuals being repeat offenders. Obstructions
can lead to fly-tipping as double parking may prevent access to the bins for
emptying. Notices on cars saying ‘you
are being watched’ have been effective in the past. PC Cochrane committed to mentioning this
issue to the Chief Constable and in the police newsletter. John Lennie noted
that any notice must be official in order to cause people to think again. Page 3. Robin Morris has committed to attend to the
graffiti on the canal path benches. Page 3. Planning. The application to
convert The Orwell Lodge Hotel into flats has been withdrawn but the hotel is
now closed. Community Grant
Application: The chair is waiting on further information re supply before
proceeding with application for grant to purchase the planned notice boards. Re HMOs, Cllr Godzik agreed that the system for licensing
and managing HMOs does not always meet with universal approval. A
student forum, which would probably oppose a limit on occupancies is coming up
and the Chair noted that MCC Planning representative Mairianna Clyde will
attend. AOCB. Chair noted that William Mykura (MCC
Transport) did attend a meeting where road repairs were prioritized. There were
some decisions and the junction of Morningside Road and Maxwell Street has been
put to the top of the list and will be done first. . Bottom of the list were
pavements in Gillsland Road. MCC will
be invited to submit recommendations for future works. Chair noted that
her intention to attend the September 30th Freedom of Information
day at Strathclyde University in Glasgow was foiled by having received an
invitation at 9.30am on the morning of the event. Re plans for
Christmas celebrations: The Eric Liddell
Centre will provide space for a tree.
Tesco had been asked to provide refreshments. Response awaited. Several local schools had been asked to
provide singers and there will be one local adult choir. The Chair noted that
this community event provides a not-to-be-missed opportunity for MCC to raise
its profile. Some discussion about best
timing for the event, with a weekday being preferred. Suggested police presence and a local
celebrity or dignitary to switch on the lights. Plans for the lights and the ceremony are
proceeding.
Chairman’s report The Chairman
attended a number of meetings in September, including The Eric Liddell Centre
AGM and a previous board meeting where trustees where urged to ‘Give, Get or
Go’. October meetings included The South Central Neighbourhood Partnership
(SCNP) A new convenor to
be appointed. A report on HMO’s
submitted to CEC formalizes a request for community consultation on current
policy. A summary was presented of a
Customer Research Programme, conducted with almost 5,000 Edinburgh residents
– showing an apparent high level of
satisfaction with council services. A
walkabout around the local area to identify problems will be organized, similar
to that which took place around North Merchiston and Polwarth on 21st
October. Minutes are
available of all formal meetings. Papers
relating to City Council meetings can be found at www.edinburgh.gov.uk Other MCC members
have represented the CC at other meetings. In addition to the
above, MCC’s Planning Group, Web Group and Agenda Group, plus other ad hoc
groupings of members continue to hold regular, informal meetings to discuss any
action required before full MCC meetings. Ward Councillors Cllr Godzik (Lab) reported growing concern regarding the
Boroughmuir school rebuilding programme.
The plans affecting the five local schools to be affected could take a
decade and a half to complete. This is
one of the most pressing local issues, along with local concerns over the HMO
process. Re The Meadows, Cllr Godzik has
met with the Friends of the Meadows and it is understood that it will take time
to effect the remedial work required.
There will be at least one year when no major event will be organized on
the site. Re Boroughmuir
school: The plans to redevelop the
school are ‘quite exciting’. But to
achieve all the goals may take a little longer than first anticipated. This is
a first class school on a first class site that everyone knows and loves. The alternative site, for a complete new
build, is near Fountainpark. Police Report Re 5th
November There will be
additional extra patrols out in the area to assist the Fire and Rescue Service,
council services and local health services.
Will work to remove
potential dangers by:
A special
initiative to be launched in December called Aura 6 will target evening
anti-social behaviour with extra resources allocated Figures reporting
housebreakings reported cover those identified in September (one month behind
the current meeting). No thefts in this
category in the Fountainbridge area, but three logged for Ward 10 Beat 47. .
Some discussion about what comes under ‘housebreaking’ as illegal entry into
properties by ‘walking in’ is not usually included. Similarly attempted break-ins at the Eric
Liddell Centre were not recorded. Chair
noted that the more people who know about such incidents the better. . The police will
report back to MCC about this matter. Ian Doig noted
that, having seen a notice in a shop window about opportunistic thieves
removing purses from elderly peoples’ bags, he emailed the police. Community Beat Officer
PC Julie Cochrane noted that since coming to the area she regularly walks the
beat with her colleague and has had responded on a number of occasions to calls
about youth congregating in Harrison Park.
Alcohol has been confiscated and the police are quick to point out that
drinking in public will not be tolerated.
PC Cochrane is working to help find a premises for the youths to use as
they complain they have nowhere else to go except the public park area. Kay
Smith noted that often they are not actually creating a problem, but are
perceived as a cause for concern by local residents. Jim Geekie queried the swift graffiti marks
on every white wall. PC Cochrane will
enquire from the environmental warden re the recent ‘tag’. The Chair noted
with appreciation the police presence provided at the MCC meeting. Planning John Lennie
reported that two modest applications for development work were of no cause for
concern, but will investigate further one for 4 Merchiston Avenue. Licensing No major
disturbances. Robin Morris re-elected to
the Licensing Forum, which is yet to meet again since March/April. Treasurer’s report. Account sheet
presented and in order. In response to a
query about a publicised £500 allocated to all community councils, the chair
noted that each CC must bid for this money and it is allocated to ‘spread the
word’ about Neighbourhood Partnerships. Small donations (in
the region of £25) are allocated towards the costs of heating premises like
Polwarth Church, who do not charge for use of their hall. Though in a good financial position, the Chair
urged no complacency about the current balance and continued care in the
allocation of funds. Queries raided and
discussed about increasing costs for the website and embarking on further
self-publicity. Agreed that the MCC
profile needs to be raised – further costs may in time ensue for the website,
and a leafleting outing, and increased poster distribution may be required. Transport There are two
public consultations being conducted re parking. One organized by the council
related to requiring less charges for those cars which pollute less. Chair queried whether MCC wanted to respond
to the outline proposal to vary charges, which are in line with proposed
changes in road tax. Agreed that people should respond as
individuals. An initial review
of the Parking Standards has been launched; the document relating to this costs £50 but is
available online. Stated goals are to
minimize the need for car travel, and to reduce the dominance in the streets by
cars, both stationary and moving. The Chair
noted that the document is urging choices that MCC has been encouraging for
years, and urged a CC response to this document. She noted that, the more often that the CC
says what it wants about the times and prices for CPZs, the better. Agreed that
MCC Transport Spokesperson William Mykura’s letter (which the Chair would
circulate) could form the basis of an MCC response. AOB MCC member Kay
Smith reported that she had that afternoon undertaken a walk about the local
area with Ann Royden, Jim Geekie and five council officers, but expressed
concerns about this resulting in a positive outcome regarding messy and unkempt
front gardens. One local resident has
been knocking on doors hoping to ascertain who owns the properties, with little
success. Environmental Services have
said there is no money in the budget to tackle this problem. Some discussion about the likelihood of such
neglect coming under the remit of anti-social behaviour legislation. Clarity needed about whether this is a
prosecutable offence. Paul Swan noted
that he will feedback these concerns to NP manager Graham Kitchen as he would
not want it to happen that no-one is responding to this issue. The Chair urged
that the three local authority councillors be brought on board to help with
this concern. The Chair also encouraged Kay
Smith to collect details of any other local residents who share her
concern. Ian Doig encouraged referring
the matter to the Commissioner for Public Complaints and escalating the
campaign to win some effective intervention. A Consultation on A
Patients’ Rights Bill will be forwarded to MCC Health Spokesperson Helen Zealley. Polwarth Church
invites all MCC members to a Preview of its Art Exhibition on October 30th
from 7-9pm . Query as to whether
the new speed bumps priority list will be ready for the next MCC meeting in November. If not, then the topic would be the CPZ
consultation, with discussion of traffic calming measures deferred until
January or February 2009. The Chair extended
thanks to Polwarth Parish Church for the use of their hall.
The meeting concluded at 9pm. |
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