Secretary's report February 2018
Invitation to meetings set
15 Feb: From David K R Bewsey" secretary@edinburghcommunitycouncils.org.uk. Notice of ACC Meeting Thursday 22nd February,
from 7pm until 9 pm. Venue: The Business Centre, City Chambers. RH will attend.
Items on the Agenda:
EACC's role in community
planning
Community Councils are one
of a number of public bodies involved in community planning. Their voice
through the Edinburgh Partnership is one way to engage and influence
future community planning. We will discuss whether EACC could be more
effective.
Neighbourhood Partnerships
will continue in the interim but could they work better and should they be
retained?
With the forthcoming
Edinburgh Partnership governance review, our opinions could shape how
Community Councils make a contribution to Locality Committees.
25 February: Civic Forum Agenda. Someone from the SCC should
probably go to the March 14th meeting about The AirBnB Phenomenon – how should Edinburgh respond to short-term
letting? Forward it to SCC
members. Liz Logie volunteered to attend.
25 February: Invitation to
join Edinburgh Airport Noise Advisory Board. Forwarded to frangifford20@outlook.com.
Consultations
21 Feb: From
Ross.Murray@edinburgh.gov.uk, re SG Consultation on Electoral Reform: https://consult.gov.scot/elections/electoral-reform
Emails received
12 Feb :
from Matthew.Robertson@aecom.com.
Letter detailing recent delays in the Meadows to Castle
Terrace, and Holyrood Park to Ratcliffe
Terrace walk and cycle improvements and the planned next steps for the project.
Feb. 13: From Daniel.Lodge@edinburgh.gov.uk. Current Guidance for Businesses advice on ATMs
including those located in conservation areas and on listed buildings (page 19
of this file):
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/download/198/guidance_for_businesses
19 Feb. Planning
weekly lists
21/2/18: From Ciaran.McDonald@parliament.scot. Update on the Homes First campaign on short-term lets, and link
21 Feb: From Colin Christison, with minutes of the February meeting of the Southside Association and the
agenda for the March one.
From East Parkside
Proprietors' Association: Update on repairs to lights in the Innocent Railway
tunnel.
22 Feb : From Steven Blacklaw (Steven.Blacklaw@edinburgh.gov.uk) re Resurfacing the road from South Bridge to
Newington, starting 9 April and
taking approximately 12 weeks, with noisy work up to 11 o'clock at night.
Email sent requesting that Lothian buses are asked to reconsider the removal of
the bus stop opposite Montague St.
he replied
The
number of bus stops has a direct effect on journey time and while it would be
nice to drop people off exactly where they want to go to, it is not practical
to do so and a balance needs to be drawn. Edinburgh has one of the highest density of bus stops in UK which has led to passenger
comments about the slowness of their journey.
DC COMMENT: I
think the slowness might also be due to the heavy traffic. is
there any evidence that removing this stop will make bus journeys significantly
faster?
With
regard to the bus stop that Lothian Buses have suggested be removed, it is
unpaired (i.e. there is no matching stop on the opposite side of the road) and
it is 160 metres from the previous stop and 190 metres from the next stop. If the stop is removed the distance
between the remaining stops will be 350 metres which compares favourably with
the national guidance which suggests 400 metres
between stops. The reason for suggesting this now is to avoid the situation
where line markings have to be burnt off a relatively new surface. We are aware
of the closeness of the Duncan St stop to the adjacent stops and would be
suggesting its removal if Minto St was being
resurfaced.
DC COMMENT:
First, I am not hugely impressed b y the need ti
maintain pairing of bus stops. Second, the national guidance might be perfectly
sensible as a general rule, but there are good arguments for different spacings in different contexts, and a shopping street in a
very dense urban area surely has a claim to be considered for a higher density than
usual.
March 6: The fourth and final phase of EdinburghÕs 20mph
rollout came into effect in South Edinburgh on Monday 5 March 2018.
March 6: From Judith Fordham, Development
Plan Support Officer (Tel 0131 529 4692 | judith.fordham@edinburgh.gov.uk),
asking us to respond to their invitation to a
briefing with the Development Plan team, to gather your views on potential
issues for the LDP 2, and also to ask for suggestions on shaping engagement
with the wider public. This is one of four briefings, with emphasis on the south east area of the
city. It is on Thursday 22 March
from 5pm – 6.30pm, light refreshments will be served from 4.45pm
at Diamond Jubilee Room, City Chambers.
March 5: From: Milesmark and Baldridge Community
Council [mailto:milesmark.baldridgecommcouncil@gmail.com]
Asking if
we can disseminate a
Wildlife Information Leaflet and Poster which aims to encourage local people to
help Wildlife, specifically Hedgehogs, Birds, Bees and Butterflies, e.g. by displaying
on a Notice Board/Face Book page etc.