SCC CHAIR’S REPORT, for meeting of May 13, 2019

  1. 9 Briery Bauks – I submitted an objection on behalf of the Community Council to this application for change of use from residential to short term let.

  2. Edinburgh University Old Infirmary Workshop – on 29 April, Bob and I attended a consultative workshop run by the University of Edinburgh to explore with community representatives the development of the old Infirmary building on Lauriston Place, which is now owned by the University and is being developed into the new home of the Edinburgh Futures Institute. The session was very much focussed on seeking our views rather giving out information. I think both Bob and I felt it was a fair attempt at genuinely seeking views. It remains to be seen whether those views have any influence on the completed project.

  3. The Causey AGM – on Tuesday 30 April, myself, and Bob again, attended the AGM of the Causey Development Trust at Southside Community Centre. The Committee was re-elected. We heard a brief update on the project, which is currently with Scottish Government ministers for final decision, and we also heard an interesting presentation from the Scottish Government’s Principal Architect, Sandy Robinson.

  4. Response to Edinburgh City Council’s Draft Scheme for Community Councils – following discussion at our March and April meetings, I submitted the response attached below to the consultation by Edinburgh City Council on a Draft Scheme for Community Councils.

  5. Festival Event in Deaconess Gardens – I submitted a response to a proposal from Lidl supermarket to run a series of food-related events in Deaconess Gardens during the August Festival. We broadly welcomed the proposal but said regard had to be had to noise levels, as there are residences nearby, and also the reinstatement of the gardens after the event.

  6. Catering Vans Traders Licence Application, George Street Lane – we had no objection to this application, but we wished to raise concerns about the noise and air pollution from mobile generators and also potential littering and the environmental impact of packaging. This application is being considered by Committee and our comments will form part of their deliberations.

Tim
May, 2019

Response to Draft Scheme and Complaints Procedure

  1. Southside Community Council considered the above document at its March and April meetings. Comments other than positive were limited.

  2. Specifically, we felt there needed to be more clarity around auditing procedures. See paragraphs 11.2 and 11.3. The requirement to appoint auditors at the AGM and then have them audit a set of accounts for the following year’s AGM seemed onerous and somewhat impractical. Our member, Philip McDowell, has proposed amending the proposed sections 11.2 and 11.3 with the sections 11.2 – 11.4, below:

    11.2 The financial year of community councils shall be the same as that of the Council (i.e. 1 April to 31 March) and the draft accounts of the community council shall be submitted for approval to the Annual General Meeting.

    11.3 Each community council, at its Annual General Meeting, shall appoint a suitably qualified person to audit the community council’s accounts. (This should be someone who is independent from the community council with a financial background, though not necessarily a qualified accountant). The audited statement of accounts shall be presented for approval at the next available regular meeting of the community council.

    11.4 The annual accounts of each community council shall be independently examined by at least one examiner appointed by the community council but who is not a member of the community council. A copy of the independently examined statement of accounts/balance sheet shall be forwarded, as soon as the statement is approved, to a named officer of the City of Edinburgh Council who may, at their discretion and in consultation with the Council's Chief Financial Officer, request the community council to produce such records, vouchers and account books as may be required.



  3. Secondly, we felt that the document was especially silent on the subject of using the Community Council election process to promote the existence of Community Councils and the opportunities of being a community councillor. We felt there is much more that could be done around this and that this could usefully be reinforced by some specific commitments in this document.

  4. We also felt that it would be useful to have a general administrative resource within the Council that was available to support the work of Community Councils. Responsibilities upon CC’s to a degree come and go with events. Major planning developments would significantly increase the workload of the volunteers who make up the Community Council, whilst at other times, responsibilities may be relatively light. Being able to call upon a central administrative resource at times of heavy workload would be a great help and a source of comfort. This resource could be used to organise public meetings for example or help to research planning and other matters to support the Community Council’s response.

  5. Finally, we have in the past considered the work of the University of Edinburgh academic, Oliver Escobar, in terms of encouraging public participation and developing the role of community-based organisations. In developing a new Scheme for Community Councils, we would encourage City of Edinburgh Council to have cognisance of the work of Mr Escobar and potentially to seek his direct engagement in refining the final version.

Tim Pogson
Chair, Southside CC
April 2019