SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting on Tuesday, 8th December 2020, 7:00pm
(by Zoom)

Present:
Tim Pogson (Chair), Bob Hodgart, Sakshika Raghav (minute), Daniel Fisher, Philip McDowell, Alison Dickie (Councillor), Stephen Roger Benson, Liz Logie, Joan Carter.

Agenda item	Discussion	Action
1. Welcome	Chair welcomed all to the meeting of the Community Council.
2. Apologies	David Wood, Maggie Peatfield, Nick Oddy
3. Previous Minutes	Adoption of the minutes of the meeting held on 13th November, 2020
4. Matters Arising	4.1 Lutton Place trees - funding application to Scotland Loves Local Fund had been successful. A few members to review terms and conditions before grant acceptance is accepted. 4.2 Holyrood Park road signs - still no progress. Cllr Dickie offered to raise. 4.3 Bernard Terrace crossing - we have been assured that the crossing should be in place by April. Thanks expressed to all who had applied pressure to reach this position.	AD
5. Councillor's report (Alison Dickie)	Alison summarised current priorities with the Council. Covid has scaled back considerably much normal day-to-day business within the Council. Budget considerations are a concern with the impact of covid on ensuring the continuation of emergency services. Locally Alison flagged increases in antisocial behaviour especially in the Meadows. She was liaising with the police.
6. Reports from committees and meetings attended	6.1 EACC held on 19 November- Tim and Daniel attended the meeting. There had been a good, wide-ranging discussion led by Michael Thain, senior lead in Council Places Department, largely around the impact of covid on strategic plans of Council. 6.2 Winter Festivals Consultation, 24 November Joan and Daniel had attended a consultative discussion led by a research company. They felt they had had a fair hearing of their views and the experience had been quite interesting. This process will feed back into the Council's future planning cycles. 6.3 Civic Forum, 1 December Joan and Bob had attended the meeting. Specific concerns had been raised about Waverley Valley plan. A dedicated meeting would be held on this topic. 6.4 Dumbiedykes working group meeting- Daniel shared about the meeting. He mentioned about plan to provide the free wifi in Dumbiedykes area. Tim committed to connecting with the organization in any way that would be helpful.
7. Planning and Licencing Applications	7.1 Support has been expressed for the St Leonards medical centre proposal. Tim has been in touch with Maggie Gray of NHS Lothian who has confirmed the centre will be an expansion of provision. She will provide more details when she is able. 7.2 Philip would chase up enforcement action at Los Argentinos restaurant, West Preston Street which was outstanding since February 2020 but no action taken yet. 7.3 Philip raised issue about non-compliance of covid19 rules by restaurant Sofia's lounge (Salisbury Hotel) that they remain open after 6pm. He complaint and yet no action has been taken. Not clear whether this was a planning or licencing matter. Philip had been in touch with the police. Alison would raise with licencing. 7.4 Bob mentioned about the ideas shared in AGM Astley Ainslie Community Trust attended by him for being a future community greenspace, less market oriented development and social and recreational space between neighborhoods. They are prioritizing green area over generating revenue. Tim proposed to ask for more detail and to ask how we could best support, e.g., by writing a letter of support.	PM Alison TP
8. Meadows East End Improvements	David sent an apology for not being present to share the details. Item carried over.
9. Any other business	9.1 Tim and Daniel are members of the management committee of Southside community centre which has been approached by a group, Art27. They have passed the first stage of a funding application process for using Southside community center as a artistic activities base to engage local community. The long term objective of this project would include the opportunity to explore the future of the centre itself. 9.2 Daniel about usage of funding in this project. He talked about using resources of Southside community centre for the project. They are planning to improve the centre to look more welcoming. The initial stage of this project is to engage the local community around art projects. 9.3 Joan agreed improving the community centre was a priority. She raised the concern about the project would be following Covid19 rules and social distancing or not. Daniel mentioned that they are planning accordingly if they in receipt of the funds. 9.4 Tim mentioned the project is at very early stage so it is difficult to plan or answer any detailed question for now. Daniel mentioned that they are planning a meeting in person with ward Councillors to discuss this project.
10. Date of next meeting	Tuesday 9th February 2021, at 7pm.