Author Archives: Bruce Ryan

About Bruce Ryan

https://about.me/bruce.ryan

Notification of major gas replacement works: York Road area Edinburgh – 17 August

Although outside of our area, those close to or due to travel in the York Road area on 17th August may be interested in this gas works notice.

(adapted from an email from SGN)

I’m writing to you to make you aware of our upcoming project to upgrade our gas network in the York Road area of Edinburgh. This project involves us replacing our existing gas mains with new plastic pipe.

Our essential work will ensure the local community receives a continued safe and reliable gas supply for many years to come. We’re working closely with Scottish Government to make sure we carry out our project in line with all current coronavirus safety guidance. We shouldn’t need to interrupt gas supplies to homes or businesses, and our engineers won’t be calling at residents’ homes, unless it’s an emergency.

We’re looking to start work in the York Road area of Edinburgh on Monday the 17 August and our project will last approximately four weeks.

We are required to remove a small section of pipe at the junction with East Trinity Road. During this project and due to the location of the pipe it will be necessary to close York Road at its junction with East Trinity Road. Local diversions will be in place during this time. To help carryout these essential works parking suspensions will be in operation and there will also be a requirement for temporary traffic signals.

We have extra safety precautions in place to protect our colleagues and our communities from the virus. Our colleagues will be keeping to social distancing guidelines on our sites and we’d ask communities to keep their distance too. There’s more information about our coronavirus response on our website: sgn.co.uk/coronavirus

I’m also writing to local stakeholders to make them aware of our project. Please feel free to also share this information with anyone you think may be impacted by our project.

If you have any specific enquiries about this project, please call us on 0800 912 1700 and our customer service team will be happy to help.

Thank you for your support during these challenging times and if there’s anything else you need please let me know.

Kind regards

Caroline Lawrie, Stakeholder and Community Manager
T: +44 (0)131 469 1701 (: 31701)
M: +44 (0)7747 7577 99
E: caroline.lawrie@sgn.co.uk
SGN, Axis House, 5 Lonehead Drive, Newbridge, Edinburgh,EH28 8TG
sgn.co.uk

LCCC August meeting – in-person! 17 August 2020

LCCC will hold a public meeting on August 17, at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 7pm to 9pm.

This will include a presentation from Drum Property Group, regarding the Stead’s Place development, followed by a Q&A and suggestion session.

Register to attend via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leith-central-community-council-lccc-meeting-august-tickets-114644504800

LCCC June 2020 DRAFT minutes

Please click to see the PDF of these draft minutes: 2020_06_15 draft V1

Please note that these are draft – while LCCC’s minutes secretary has tried to ensure they are accurate, they are provided for information only and do not represent LCCC’s decision until ratified (possibly with changes) at a subsequent meeting.

Proposed waiting/loading restriction changes to facilitate footway widening – Great Junction Street

Copied from an email from CEC’s Spaces for People. LCCC position on such rushed ‘consultations‘ (for example, in this post) remains that ‘LCCC regrets that the procedural shortcomings of a foreshortened consultation process may impinge on the quality of the proposed measures and undermine public trust and support.

EDIT: Great Junction St is not in LCCC’s area, but it is quite possible that the changes will impact the area.

Covid-19 Cycling and Walking Emergency Response Measures

Proposed waiting/loading restriction changes to facilitate footway widening – Great Junction Street

Following our email of 26 June advising that we would notify you once further details were available for the proposals above, we are pleased to be able to provide these now. We are aware that you were initially given proposals for Great Junction Street and Easter Road in a single notification, however in an effort to provide details at the earliest opportunity these have been separated and plans for Easter Road will be issued as soon as they are available.

We would suggest that you view the plan to see the detail of what is proposed.

map of proposals for Great Junction St and Easter Rd

Click the graphic to see the full PDF. LCCC’s web-weaver is not happy that the map does not include a key.

Continue reading →

Community Councils Together on Trams/Trams Team meeting, 25 June 2020

Minutes of the Community Councils Together on Trams/Trams Team meeting
(Construction Phase) via Google Meet on Thursday 25 June 2020 at 5:30pm Continue reading →

No short-term lets in tenements for now

From Scottish Government guidance on ‘self-contained holiday accommodation’, and following from this post:

Most self-contained holiday accommodation, including fully self-catering accommodation, holiday homes/second homes and caravan and campervan parks can open from 3 July on the condition that the only accommodation provided/allowed are fully self-contained units with no shared facilities between households. For the avoidance of doubt shared facilities include entrance hallways, stairs and landings. Properties that are accessed via a common entrance cannot therefore reopen at this point.

Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-caravan-sites-and-holiday-parks/

Short-term lets: interviewees wanted

(adapted from an email from Andy Wightman MSP’s researcher)

Short term lets (STLs) are a growing in popularity across Edinburgh, although there are consequences for residents that should be considered. LCCC has raised this topic with new developers (e.g. Sept-19 minutes), shared consultation opportunities (June-19) and highlighted how to report a problem (Oct-19 website post) but your continued input as a resident is required to gain a better picture of the impact STLs are having on our area, both positive and negative.”

Andy Wightman MSP’s has a Homes First campaign – scrutinising commercial short-term lets and their impact on permanent residents. You may have seen that Andy has been raising concerns recently in the Scottish Parliament over short-term lets in shared stairs opening up to guests again: https://twitter.com/andywightman/status/1275883146416979974?s=20

Now the BBC has asked if we can put them in touch with anyone willing to be interviewed about short-term lets operating from their stair/building. If you would like to express interest in a filmed (physically distanced) interview, please reply with your contact details giving me permission to pass on your details to the BBC.

For those of you who filled in our survey of short-term lets at homesfirst.scot, you will be pleased to hear that we will be releasing the results of the first 6 months (January – June 2020) next month. We will also be launching a new section of the site looking at residents’ concerns specifically relating to the pandemic and short-term lets.

Many thanks

Charlotte Maddix
Parliamentary Researcher to Andy Wightman MSP
charlotte.maddix@parliament.scot
0131 348 6369

Community Councils Together on Trams/Trams Team meeting, 28 May 2020

Minutes of the Community Councils Together on Trams/Trams Team meeting (Construction Phase) via Google Meet on Thursday 28 May 2020 at 5:30pm Continue reading →

Changeworks’ videos on reducing energy bills

adapted from an email forwarded by Edinburgh Council

I’m following up on the email I sent previously about a series of films Changeworks has created in response to lockdown. All four films can now be viewed here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjkSXAQtsjs&list=PL7OMdgJ2D5rOLw-pQyw8Iey5LpLwpkwtV&index=4

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/ChangeworksUK/249303816276153

As we continue to adjust to Covid-19 we’re all spending more time at home and using more energy than normal. Many households are experiencing financial strain and will be worried about the effect this will have on their energy bills. These films provide some advice and support on managing energy use and where to get help with heating and electricity concerns.

You can also still refer households you think would benefit from energy advice and fuel billing/debt support. Changeworks can support people to access funding they may be eligible for.

Covid-19 measures for Easter Road, Gt Junction St: LCCC’s response

Dear Councillor Macinnes

We acknowledge receipt of the email below and the attached map indicating that there are proposed Covid-19 Emergency Road Measures for Easter Road and Great Junction Street. However, we await a further Council email explaining exactly what is proposed, as all we have received is a map with a few red lines, no legend and no site-specific details. We don’t really understand how we are supposed to respond this, as it adds nothing to what was in the outline proposals approved on 14 May. Has no further detailed planning been done in the intervening five weeks?

We are being told that there is no time for normal expectations associated with consultations and are asked if we want to raise any issues.

The main issue we have is with the absence of a credible process: I am sure everyone on the extensive (GDPR-compliant?) mailing list below is a very busy person and may not be able to respond within the given timescale to potentially very complex proposals (let alone understand them in the absence of concrete details) with all their knock-on effects into neighbouring streets and on a wide variety of legitimate (and sometimes vulnerable) users. Where do the proposals go, if the physical distancing guidance is reduced to 1m in early July, as flagged up by the First Minister last week? Will a rushed implementation of measures which – if well-planned and consulted upon may well have merit – not undermine wider public support for a more pedestrian-friendly environment in the longer term?

With this qualification, we make the following observations. Continue reading →