Author: Bruce Ryan

by

Milan (Senior Welfare Organisation) COVID alternative services

LCCC has received the following email from ‘Milan (Senior Welfare Organisation)’. Reproducing the email is not a recommendation, and saying that is not a criticism – it’s just that LCCC’s web weaver doesn’t know anything about this organisation, except that it is registered with Companies House and with the Scottish Charity Regulator.

I hope this email finds you all well during these unprecedented times.  I am the manager of a registered charitable organisation (SCO23030) based  in Norton Park Edinburgh. We provide day care provision for elderly South Asian communities and due to closure of our day care services due to COVID_19 we are providing the alternative services.

  • Contactless Delivery of food parcels
  • Contactless Delivery of hot meals
  • Remote information/advice in community languages
  • Emotional support to older people
  • Supporting carers of older people though the pandemic situation

I would be most grateful if you could please add us to your website or any information leaflets you have so we are able to reach out to people in need

Pease do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further clarification

Kind regards

Sophia
sophia@milanswc.org

by

Active travel update

On Friday, the Council launched a campaign encouraging everyone to be considerate of other people and follow Scottish Government guidance when enjoying their outdoor exercise and travel.

The press release which was published on Friday can be found here.

Increase in people using off-road paths and parks

Since restrictions were introduced to help manage the coronavirus outbreak, there’s been an increase in people using the city’s network of paths, as well as parks, as part of their daily exercise and for travelling to work or local amenities – with up to five times their normal use.

Data up to week five of lockdown shows increases on the Union Canal towpath, with 17% growth in pedestrian numbers at Harrison Park, whilst cycling numbers have grown by 76% at Wester Hailes. On the North Edinburgh Path Network at Rodney St, pedestrian numbers have grown by 14%, cycling numbers by 32%.  At certain times of the week, especially weekends, much bigger increases have been recorded.

While it’s great that the routes are popular and well-used, we want to make sure that everyone can undertake and enjoy their daily exercise and travel in safety and comfort.

Paths for everyone code of conduct

The campaign will direct people to the Paths for Everyone section of the Council’s webpages, where we hope to be able to display information such as busy routes/times, coming from our pedestrian/cycle counter data.  This aims to encourage people to use alternative routes if they can, or exercise at a less busy time.  Smarter Choices, Smarter Places funding for this project is gratefully received from Paths for All.

About the campaign

example of temporary signageTemporary signage (example on the right: click the thumbnail to see the full-size image) will be rolled out this week, starting on the active travel network entry points, and signage in the parks will follow.  We will be running a complementary social media campaign also, and we would really appreciate your support with sharing this content amongst your followers and networks.

Report issues

There might be local issues that you are aware of where additional signs may help. Please email your suggestions to spacesforpeople@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Wishing you all the best and thank you in advance for your support with our campaign.

Kind regards,

Judith Cowie
‘Smarter Choices, Smarter Places’ Programme Manager
Active Travel
Road Safety and Active Travel
Transport Networks, Place Development
The City of Edinburgh Council
Judith.cowie@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

by

Waste services update

(adapted from an email from Edinburgh Council Waste Services to LCCC’s vice-chair)

Thank you for taking the time to write and to acknowledge the efforts of the Department to maintain a degree of normality for the majority of the services. There are a number of factors which have influenced where we currently find ourselves. Crews have obviously had to adapt to the way we collect (physical distancing in the workplace), less traffic will certainly have contributed positively, and of course less people being on the streets generally means less litter and areas that have been cleaned tend to last a little bit longer before their next clean is required.

We have seen less general waste collected from April into May but this does tend to fluctuate quite dramatically under normal circumstances anyway. Volumes of mixed recycling have increased as you can probably imagine given people are consuming more at home. Since we reintroduced glass collections we have been collecting significant volumes which is understandable given the service being suspended but equally I believe alcohol sales have increased by around 30% so I think increased tonnage of glass will endure for a few weeks yet.

We’ve obviously worked hard to get garden waste collections reinstated as quickly as we felt possible. In the first week of collections we collected around 1000 tonnes which compares to 3000 tonnes in total for all of May ’19.

The service was suspended for 5 weeks which means some customers missed two uplifts and others missed three. We will extend the permit ‘season’ to compensate customers for the service suspension.

Best regards

Andy Williams  |  Waste & Cleansing Service Manager
Waste and Cleansing Services | Place Directorate | The City of Edinburgh Council
A: Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh EH8 8BG | T: 0131 469 5660 | M: 07725 642822 | E: andy.williams@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

by

‘Safer Communities Safer Scotland’ booklet

Click the graphic to access the full PDF:

From the introduction:

This booklet is packed with practical tips on how to keep you, your family and your community safe – from protecting your home and possessions to helping your children enjoy the benefits of the internet in safety. By following the guidance in the following pages, we can all help make Scotland an even safer place to live and work. The information should not alarm you or make you think that you are not safe in your home and your community. It is simply a reminder of what you can do to keep your home and community safe.

The content-list is

  • Home and Possessions
  • Road Safety
  • Scams
  • Fire Safety
  • Safety at Home
  • Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks
  • Scottish Gas Network (SGN)
  • Staying Safe When Out and About
  • Antisocial Behaviour
  • Preparing for and coping with Emergencies
  • Household emergency plan
  • Water Safety
  • Victim Support
  • Don’t feel trapped by loan sharks
  • Further Information
  • Neighbourhood Watch
by

Where to get help with your gas and electricity concerns

(adapted from an email from Changeworks)

‘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.

Whilst Changeworks is unable to provide face to face outreach services to support people looking for energy and fuel billing/debt advice, we are still here to help. We’ve teamed up with SGN to produce a series of short films providing advice and support on managing energy use and where to get help with heating and electricity concerns.

Our first video – where to get help with your gas and electricity concerns – is now live on YouTube.

Handy links can be found here:

We’ll be publishing three more videos over the next few weeks and we’ll be in touch to share these with you too.

You can also still refer households you think would benefit from energy advice and fuel billing/debt support.

by

Leith Walk/Halmyre Street consultation: extension to 1 June 2020

CEC emailed LCCC and many others on 7 May about an extension of the consultation-period on the draft place-brief for Leith Walk/Halmyre Street.

I may have written to you previously to tell you we were looking for views on the draft place brief for Leith Walk / Halmyre Street. The place brief sets out a vision and key  principles to inform the design of future development on the site.

Due to the Covid-19 lockdown the online consultation has been extended until 1 June 2020.  There is more time therefore  to give us your views on the draft brief if you haven’t already done so. Here is the link to the consultation: https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/leith-walk-halmyre-street-site-brief.

There are links to the draft brief and some supporting documents including a summary of the previous consultations.

We hope to hear from you

Regards

Lesley Porteous / Planner / Spatial Policy / Place Directorate / The City of Edinburgh Council / Waverley Court, Level G3, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG / Tel 0131 529 3203 / lesley.porteous@edinburgh.gov.uk / www.edinburgh.gov.uk

by

Update on LCCC activities during lockdown

You may see this content twice close together: it is also in a stick post (one that remains near the top of the website) as well as this normal post. This normal post will be pushed down and out of site as new normal posts are added.

Following guidance from the City of Edinburgh Council, Leith Central Community Council is not holding any public meetings during May and June.
LCCC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) has been provisionally postponed until July 20th 2020.
As the majority of transport, planning and other developments have been postponed, and effective consultations are not possible via fully digital methods, the committee members have agreed to postpone all public meetings until further notice. Any decisions that cannot be postponed, and hence are made via email, video-meetings etc, will be ratified at a future, properly-convened public meeting.
We will continue to review the situation and work within the guidance outlined by our partners in the City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Government and the UK Government.
Leith Central Community Council intends to continue representing our communities as much as possible, and our website will continue to receive updates.
If you have any questions about the LCCC or related issues, please contact us using the email addresses below: