1. Edinburgh University Local Event – on 4 June, I attended this event, along with Kaaren and Philip. It was an opportunity for the University to showcase all the ways in which it engages with the community. There was a dizzying array of activities mentioned during the event, far too many to properly take in, but it was a very impressive demonstration of commitment on the part of the University to the broader community. The one example that stuck in my mind was all the recycling of the furniture, electrical goods, bedding, etc, that happens within the student residences at the end of each academic year.
2. Meadows Festival – myself, David and Kaaren staffed a SCC stall for the Saturday morning of the Meadows Festival. We had some useful conversations with members of the public and fellow community councillors.
3. Meeting with Ben Wilson – on 8 June, I attended a meeting with Cllr Ian Perry and Ben Wilson, who is overseeing the development of the City Council’s next Local Development Plan. The meeting was also attended by Tony Harris of Grange Prestonfield CC. The LDP development process will commence formally with initial consultation sessions later this month, to which we have been invited, but this meeting appeared to be an opportunity for Ben to run some early thoughts past Tony and myself, for example, to require all applications above a certain size to be for mixed use, i.e., not just a big hotel or a big student accommodation block, and also to discuss with communities the uses to which potential development sites could be put should future applications be received. I agreed with everything Ben was saying and I was heartened that he appeared to be proposing a more proactive role on the part of the Council.
Tim
June, 2018