LCCC January 2024 minutes

Minutes of Leith Central Community Council ordinary meeting, at Nelson Hall, McDonald Road Library, on Monday 15 January 2024 at 7:00pm

Actions and decisions are red italic. nem con means that no-one spoke or voted against a decision.

1 Welcome, introductions, attendance, apologies

1.a Present, apologies

Jun
(AGM)

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Voting members

Zoe Curry

No meeting

Alan Dudley

Charlotte Encombe

Pierre Forissier

Nick Gardner

Sheila Kennedy

Ian Mowat

Alex Ortiz

Harald Tobermann

John Wilkinson

Non-voting members

Bruce Ryan

Cllr Jack Caldwell

Cllr James Dalgleish

Cllr Amy McNeese-Mechan

Cllr Susan Rae

Ben Macpherson MSP

Deidre Brock MP

Number of others attending

P = present, A = apology, X = neither present nor sent apology, NA = not applicable

Also present: PC Lindsey Crawford and PS Chris Casselden (Police Scotland), Sally Millar (Leith Links CC), Sheona Fothergill (Oberlanders), Romain Charlet (Oberlanders), Keith Davidson (Longstone 2), Alex Orr (Orbit Communications), Alan McIntosh (Broughton Spurtle)

1.b to note: declarations of interest in any items on the agenda

item 10.c: H Tobermann is chair of EBUG

1.c to agree: order of business below

agreed

2 Approval of minutes of the ordinary LCCC meeting on 20 November 2023

Approved as-is (proposed P Forissier, seconded C Encombe, nem con)

3 Matters arising from previous minutes (and not included on agenda below)

November item	Actor	Action	Progress
3 (row 1)	Cllrs Caldwell and Rae	Pursue Abbeyhill colony matters
3 (row 2)	Cllr Caldwell, S Kennedy	Pursue Alva St/Mayfield matters
3 (row 5)	H Toberman	Ascertain why the bin-hub TRO comes after the installation work.	Done: TRO was already in place
3 (row 8)	Cllr Caldwell	Check whether change to STL objection system fulfils S Kennedy’s request
3 (row 9)	Cllr Caldwell	Obtains plans relevant to personhole-cover at top of Easter Rd
4.b	B Macpherson MSP	Meet with acting Sergeant about Leith Police abstractions to City Centre matters
5.a	LCCC	Continue dialogue with CEC planning, including ascertaining other CCs’ experiences	In progress
5.b	H Tobermann	H Tobermann to ask MSPs to consider artificial divisions in future planning legislation	In progress
5.d.i	H Tobermann	Invite Bingo Hall developers to present plans to LCCC at its January meeting, and invite other CCs	See item 5 below
5.f	P Forissier	Update LCCC planning record	Done
6.a	H Tobermann	Write to police about unwarranted parking at Brunswick Court	In progress
7.b	C Encombe	Forward an email about Coalie Park improvements to LCCC members	Done
8.a	C Encombe	ascertain if S Kennedy can attend the hearing about the Elm Row street-trading license	See item 9 below

4 Policing matters

4.a to note: local (ward) Police Report January 2024

PC Crawford and PS Casselden also reported:

The pavement-parking ban will come into force on 29 January. There will also be action on double-parking.
Police are working with Friends of Pilrig Park on drugs issues, patrolling and picking up discarded needles. It is hoped to open the wooded area to drive out perpetrators.
Police visited care-homes and similar, to reassure their residents.
There was a call in Easter Rd due to knife issues. Police also acted against drug offences.
Police welcomed HMS Penzance.
Community police are often abstracted from Leith, e.g. to cover the Winter City, protests, football, drink-driving. (See also page 4 of the report for data on drink-driving actions.)
Police are looking into reinstating community surgeries – see page 3 of the report

4.a.i Q&A

H Tobermann: who decides to abstract community police? This happens quite often.
- Such decisions are made at area commander level – all Edinburgh police officers are a resource for all of Edinburgh. Abstractions can occur at a moment’s notice. To enable cover, police are not allowed to take holidays in December.
Cllr McNeese-Mechan: can police engage at youth centres, e.g. on mental health and crime-prevention?
- Police attend Sport Scotland at the Hibs centre, building positive relations with youths. Police also visit schools, and take initiatives within their own beats.
J Wilkinson: please explain acronyms in future reports
- There was discussion of ANPR (automatic number plate recognisiont) implications and impacts.
B Ryan: thank you for providing quantitative data. Please continue this so, when appropriate, we can look into trends.
- Yes, but please recall the limitations on the data noted in previous discussions.
A resident: has there been any progress on a registration system for e-bikes?
- This is a known problem but no legislation is forthcoming, and CEC has postponed a trial.
Action: B Ryan to circulate community police email address.

4.b to note: participation in ‘Community Policing Experience Shift’

H Tobermann has been invited to take part, so will look at use of community resources.
S Millar: two Leith Links CC members undertook such participation – it was illuminating.

5 Presentation, Q&A: plans for the old Capitol Cinema (Manderston Street) by Longstone (2)

See also ‘community consultation’ website and online presentation boards. The presenters reported:

Keith Davidson is director of Longstone (2). It bought the site in March 2019, when Mecca Bingo was still using it. It was then leased to Club 3000, but it soon became clear Club 3000 wouldn’t be a long-term occupant – the site wasn’t fit for their purpose. (Club 3000 is still in Leith, at Ocean Terminal.) Hence the site will become in 2024.
In 2020, the site became part of the Halmyre St place brief, along with the tram depot site and the CW properties scheme. This raised 2 questions:
1. Should the building be listed?
  It was found that the building didn’t meet listing criteria.
2. Should it be included in the Leith conservation area?
  Following consultation and discussion with Historic Environment Scotland, the hall and the adjacent arches were added to the conservation area.
Hence Longstone has been considering what to do with the building under the prevailing conditions, including desire to retain it. The place brief considered 2 options: retaining the building as-is; demolition followed by replacement with new buildings. Either option would need to facilitate a new active travel route through the centre of the site. Longstone does not wish to demolish, so commissioned architects to find a conserving use that would enhance the conservation area.
It was found that policy-compliant residential development was not viable, but student accommodation was viable.
Currently, the site is only accessible via Manderston St. It has industrial heritage. The place-brief encourages porosity and travel. A conservation/heritage approach has been taken, with developers working closely with heritage architects etc.
Former use, context etc of the building have been reviewed. The building is a palimpsest[1] due to its use-history.
It is proposed to lift the roof [and undertake internal demolition], while retaining the industrial heritage façade, to create a courtyard scheme.
Retention of the existing building makes accommodating active travel more challenging. The east element would have pedestrian/cycle access to Thorntree St and hence to Leith Walk. 100% cycle-parking is proposed.
There would be ~200 stud bedrooms around the courtyard.
There would be 24 eight-bed flats around the courtyard, promoting social cohesion. There would also be 10 studios, following CityPlan requirements. There would 16 accessible bedrooms (8%) throughout the site. There would be good-quality amenities for the occupants, including gathering spaces and access to travel.
The current building is very environmentally inefficient, needing much heating. It would become all-electric, having its own substation. Plant, including heat-pumping, would be in the courtyard so neighbours are not affected.
The scheme would enhance biodiversity – the developers are working with a landscape architect.

5.a Q&A

P Forissier: what is the site’s area?
- 2070 m²(There was discussion of the impact of site-area sizes.)
P Forrissier if residential accommodation was possible, how many such flats could there be?
- We cannot answer this definitively. We had considered residential use but that would have required demolition. Student use allows opening of existing windows in the western façade and creation of long corridors with rooms either side – this would not work for residential, which requires dual-aspect apartments and a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom flats. We need to be mindful of feasibility, structural work and cost – there was no clear route to a viable critical mass of high-end flats.
P Foressier: all developers state that they cannot afford to create residential accommodation. (Some plans have started as residential but then have become student accommodation.) While student accommodation may be more profitable, there is a shortage of residential housing in Leith.
- The presenters reiterated the above numbers of flats and beds.
C Encombe: almost no residential housing has been planned in Leith, which is inundated with student accommodation.
- In contrast to other developments, this one starts from a desire to conserve an existing building. This work would be more costly than demolition and new building, and the plans need to fit with policy and economic strictures. We did investigate the viability of residential but only student accommodation would follow CEC policy and ‘work’ while retaining the façade.
J Wilkinson: how would the 100% cycle-storage be achieved?
- It would be in the arch, and be covered and secure. It would be 50% 2-tier and accessible.
J Wilkinson: 2-tier does not work. Bikes will be dumped here and in the street.
- The management operator will look after the storage.
B Ryan: what amount of subsidy would make residential accommodation economically feasible while retaining heritage?
- We don’t know. It would depend on how much demolition can be done, and how high the resulting building could be. The place brief mandates no higher than the existing hall or Thorntree St.
P Foressier: which specific policies prevented residential accommodation?
- In general, policies on amenity (e.g. dual-aspect accommodation is not feasible) and open space for new builds, along with the number of flats required to cover costs
P Forrisier: there is guidance, rather than requirements, for dual-aspect flats. CEC allows up to 50% dual-aspect, so could there not have been a residential development with some single-aspect flats?
- This would have worked if all the prospective flats could have been small, but a mix of sizes would have been needed.
P Forrisier: 10% open space per residential flat is needed. In this case, this is 440m, which you seem to have achieved Hence the open-space policy would not prevent residential flats being developed, if you negotiate with CEC. In general, LCCC does not accept that student accommodation is the best use of sites in Leith.
- This open space is achieved with the courtyard.
A resident: could the site be used for a hotel, bringing visitors and business into the area?
- Only in the context of future reduced demand for student accommodation. The site has no frontage onto Leith Walk.
A resident: there is a fine original entrance and marble floors, but are these not due to be replaced with a bike store?
- Some original elements would be retained. We would go back to the original arch, following HES requirements.
A resident: should there not be 18m between buildings, rather than the planned 12m?
- We discussed this with CEC and CW properties: CEC did not insist on 12m.
A resident: how will light get into the site?
- We have investigated daylighting, and continue to do so. We will make it work.
A resident: Longstone Capital bought and sold on an Iona St site. Will Longstone (2) be long-term owners of this site?
- I alone cannot afford this work, so will need to bring in a partner.
A resident: is creation of residential flats simply not financially possible, or is the difference in profits between student and residential accommodation the deciding factor?
- It is simply not economically feasible to create residential flats while using the existing building. CEC owns the tram-depot site and may be subsidising that scheme (around 1/3 of the place-brief area). CEC is not subsidising this scheme.
A resident: I understand the need for student accommodation, but this site is far from Edinburgh universities and colleges. Why is this one reasonable while others have been rejected?
- Edinburgh University is 14 minutes’ cycle away. There are 3 bus services, and the site is on the tram-route.
C Encombe: I know it takes more than 14 minutes to cycle from the site to any university building.
- K Davidson: I will test this myself
A resident: please describe any liaison with neighbouring businesses.
- The immediate neighbour is very supportive, because more people being present would deter crime. We have not engaged further down the street.
P Forissier: how much of the current building would be retained?
- All of the exterior.
P Forissier: there is a discrepancy between windows on the plans and the model.
- Currently, windows are all bricked up. Some openings need to be bigger. We would retain lintels where possible.

5.b to note: additional information, and public consultation event at McDonald Rd library, 17th January (4pm to 7:30pm)

These were noted. The boards were left in the room for LCCC members and attendees to examine.

6 Planning

6.a to note: enforcement action against owner of 11 Pilrig Street (unauthorised conversion of a listed building and change of use) due to be escalated this week

This was noted, as was the 3-month period before enforcement starts.

Action: H Tobermann to watch for enforcement actually being escalated.

6.b to note: applications 22/05368/FUL (Shrub Place extension to PBSA) and 22/06251/FUL (Ashley Place PBSA) have been refused

These were noted, as was an artificial shrinking of boundary, Ashley Place being a poor location for student accommodation, and Shrub Place overshadowing its neighbours.

6.c to note: planning appeal for Ashley Place PBSA submitted to DPEA

This was noted, as was a forthcoming site visit.

6.d to note: any other Planning matters relevant to LCCC area

C Encombe: the Arthur St development is going ahead.
- J Wilkinson: could its £111,000 contribution to Edinburgh Trams be used to finish the tram-work?
Cllr Caldwell: please keep me informed about Ashley Place and Arthur St – I have not received updates.
- Action: P Foressier and Cllr Caldwell to catch up about this.
- H Tobermann: this is an example of the paucity of CEC planning’s notification systems, caused by lack of funding.
- C Encombe: LCCC should meet again with CEC planning.
- P Foressier: agreed – this topic was not discussed in November due to ‘commercial sensitivity’.
- H Tobermann: economic factors lead to students being fleeced, while making residential accommodation impossible.
- S Millar: north Leith is being deluged with three huge student accommodation. One is next to the former corn exchange: here a developer made a quite sympathetic proposal but then became bankrupt. Hence there is a problem with such ‘heritage’ sites. There needs to be holistic planning around student accommodation.
- C Encombe: developers often imply that there is no other (planned) nearby student accommodation. LCCC and its neighbouring CCs should work together, e.g. via meetings with CEC planning.
- A McIntosh: this would include NTBCC, because of the pressure on Beaverhall.
- H Tobermann: I have shared relevant information with other CCs (via EACC), asking them to reciprocate.
- Action: LCCC to continue such engagement.

7 Transport and clean streets

7.a The Trams to Newhaven Project is not finished!

7.a.i to note: further CCTT deputation on unfinished tram to Transport & Environment Committee 11-01-24

This was noted.

H Tobermann: the deputation responded to a report to TEC which showed insufficient CEC resources being put into monitoring the close-out of the trams project. There are also delays to contractors’ responses, leading to CEC paying for rectifications. Despite such issues, relevant staff are being redeployed to planning a further trams project, rather than finishing this one. The deputation was politely received – it supported Cllr Caldwell’s motion, but a further report will not arrive for 2 months – and there is no promise of necessary resources, while the defect period is being used up.

7.a.ii to note: Elm Row redesign discussion on 09-01-24 with Living Streets, Community Council/s, Edinburgh Access Panel, Spokes, Council officers and Ward Cllrs

H Tobermann: there is much dissatisfaction with the separate cycle-paths here, and their effects on bus passengers. It appears that the bike-paths may be brought together, hence widening pavements and bus-stop areas.
- H Tobermann/Cllr Caldwell: there are 16 parking places (2 disabled) here. The disabled places would be retained, but some normal places (outside Valvona and Crolla) would go. There would also be changes to the CPZ, which belongs to the city centre rather than the Montgomery St area. A TRO is needed for the desired big changes.
- H Tobermann: there are no official minutes of this meeting, but some notes may be released.

7.b to note: sewage pollution in the Water of Leith basins by The Shore

This was noted, as was SOSLeith’s long-time campaigning on this topic.

7.c to note: any other Transport and clean streets matters relevant to LCCC area

A Dudley: there has been no progress on tactile paving (which has been installed incorrectly on Leith Walk) since August. RNIB is undertaking some lobbying. I may contact Deidre Brock MP.
- Cllr Caldwell: I have received no responses to my questions on this to full council.

8 Parks and green spaces

8.a to note: (verbal) report from Friends of Pilrig Park

J Wilkinson: FoPP is concerned by the number of needles being discarded in the park, and is grateful to CEC for prompt action, and to police for additional patrolling. CEC is considering removal of undergrowth in woodland areas to discourage illicit activity. FoPP hopes that CEC will undertake this work quickly, but is also working with Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust on this topic and on woodland management. FoPP is also working with ELGT to progress long-term plans for Millennium Wood, and has submitted a funding bid to support scrub clearance, biodiversity, woodland bulb planting etc. A decision is due in February.
- C Encombe: removal of scrub reduces biodiversity. People meet at the substation, so this could go.
- Cllr Caldwell: Scottish Power Energy Networks has declined to floodlight the substation. PC Crawford is leading on drugs offences in this area. A dealer was arrested in the autumn. I have asked CEC lighting to engage with FoPP.
- J Wilkinson: following a meeting with CEC, it is possible that the mural could be lit.
- A resident: it may be that dealers are being left alone because they are not threatening, and dealing will occur anyway.

8.b to note: any Parks and green spaces matters relevant to LCCC area

H Tobermann: a large part of Coallie Park has been closed for a long time: this does not seem necessary.
- Action: H Tobermann to ask Water of Leith Conservation Trust to keep footpaths open whenever possible.

9 Licensing

9.a to note: any Licensing matters relevant to LCCC area

S Kennedy reported:

a decision is due on the Elm Row street trader application, to which LCCC objected, on 29 January.
There is an application for a tattoo/piercing licence on London Rd. There are already 3 such places on that road.
- A resident: it is hard to start such independent businesses, so LCCC should support such initiatives.
- Action: S Kennedy to submit an objection based on overprovision, and to attend the 29 January licensing meeting.

10 LCCC governance

10.a to note: new LCCC chair and vice chair to be appointed by May – guidance and support available

Action: LCCC to advertise in the Spurtle print edition.

10.b to note: (verbal) update on Community Councils boundary review

C Encombe: I have met with CEC governance, and believe that changes to CC boundaries are not needed, especially as even big CCs are struggling to recruit members. More, smaller CCs would exacerbate this problem, while adding increasing calls on CEC cllrs’ time. I will meet with NTBCC tomorrow about this topic.
- S Millar: LLCC’s population is expanding, so its grant should grow. It agrees that boundary changes are not needed.
- Cllr Caldwell: Almond ward cllrs have to cover 8 CCs – more than city centre cllrs.

10.c to note: update from EACC and invitation to LCCC to become associate member of Edinburgh Bus Users Group

H Tobermann: EBUG would like to build its lobbying strength.
- Decision: LCCC to become associate member of EBUG (agreed nem con).

10.d to note: any other LCCC governance issues

Alex Ortiz has now resigned from LCCC.

11 Open forum (local residents)

S Millar: LeithChooses online voting opens on Monday 22^nd In-person voting is on Saturday 27^th, at the Kirkgate.
A McIntosh: the Spurtle will be 30 in February.

12 AOCB (LCCC members)

H Tobermann: McDonald Rd library is 120 years old this week, and is to be congratulated on this – LCCC likes this library.

13 Future meetings and planned meeting topics/presentations

2024: 19 February, 18 March, 15 April, 20 May (AGM), 17 June (no meeting in July)

[1] From Merriam Webster: writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased; something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface