Author: Bruce Ryan

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Parks and Greenspace update (31 March)

(adapted from an email sent to LCCC on 31 March 2020)

Here are a couple of briefing notes that have been issued regarding the measures the Parks and Greenspace Service are putting in to place to help contain the spread of Coronavirus.

  • The first one details the general approach for all our parks and greenspaces across the city
  • The second regards those details specific to the Pentland Hills Regional Park.

All events that were scheduled to take place in April and May in a park have been either postponed or cancelled. CEC will keep you informed when any guidance is issued for those booked in June, July and August.

Obviously as time goes on litter/bins and things relating to health and safety in some parks may become issue’s. Can those who are not in self-isolation and who are taking their daily exercise in parks please keep their eyes out for any problems and report them via https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/report

There are still some Parks Officers, Rangers, Forestry, and others from Greenspace along with the Waste teams, still on the ground and inspecting parks and emptying bins. However, with so many areas for them to monitor, it’s taking a little longer than usual. So if we can alert them to serious problems in specific areas these can be prioritised appropriately.

Please just let me know if you need any further information.

Sarah Murphy
Senior Programmes Officer
Parks, Greenspace and Cemeteries
Level 3.1, Waverley Court
4 East Market Street
Edinburgh, EH8 8BG
Tel: 0131 529 7955
Sarah.Murphy@edinburgh.gov.uk

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Council resilience centres

(copied from an email sent by CEC on behalf of Cllr Adam McVey)

Council resilience centres are based in

  • Wester Hailes – South West Locality Office, 10 Westside Plaza, EH14 2SP
  • West Pilton Gardens – North West Locality Office, 8 West Pilton Gdns, EH4 4DP
  • Captain’s Road – South East Locality Office, 40 Captain’s Rd, EH17 8QF
  • Craigmillar – North East Locality Office, 101 Niddrie Mains Road, EH16 4DS
  • Leith – Criminal Justice/ Social Work Centre, Newkirkgate Shopping Centre Units C&D, Newkirkgate Shopping Centre, Edinburgh EH6 6AD

They provide a base for our teams to provide welfare, housing and household support by phone and email. Customers are asked to attend in-person only if it is critical, for example if you are

  • are experiencing homelessness
  • are experiencing threats to your wellbeing
  • need urgent cash payments.

This will help us to prioritise support for residents who face financial hardship. All the centres operate 10am to 4pm, with the exception of Craigmillar which operates 8.30am to 5pm Mon-Thurs and 10am to 4pm Friday.”

The latest information can be found on the following link: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/contactus .

Kind regards

Liam McCabe on behalf of Cllr Adam McVey, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, SNP Group and Councillor for Leith Ward

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LCCC February 2020 approved minutes

Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Leith Central Community Council, held at McDonald Road library on Monday 17 February 2020 at 7:00pm

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

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Suspended CEC waste and recycling services

(copied from a post on Edinburgh Council’s website. That post also links to information on (1) Bin collections and recycling centres; (2) What to do with your waste if you have Coronavirus symptoms; (3) Recycling and waste collections; (4) Household waste recycling centres; (5) Litter bins, dog waste and street cleansing; (6) How you can help.)

Collections of bulky waste items

Service suspended from 24 March – If you have large items please keep them at home and only use communal and wheelie bins for your day to day waste and recycling.

Any uplifts booked in for this week will be collected as scheduled, and we’ll contact you if you have any booked in for next week to arrange a refund.

Household Waste Recycling Centres

Recycling centres are closed from 24 March until further notice. This is to ensure we are following government guidance on restricting non-essential travel and contact. If you have large items please keep them at home until our recycling centres reopen and only use communal and wheelie bins for your day to day waste and recycling

Kerbside glass collections (blue box)

Service suspended from 23 March to allow our crews to focus on other collections.

There are no public health risks associated with storing clean glass containers. Please rinse bottles and jars and store these at home. Don’t use on street or local recycling points to dispose of your glass. We don’t have the staff resources to empty these or collect fly-tipped material.

Bin delivery and repair

Bin deliveries are suspended as from 24 March.  Uplifts of any unwanted waste containers are also suspended.

Missed bins

We might experience disruption to some of our bin collections today due to staff shortages. Remember to check our delays information to see if your area may have been affected.

Please ensure all waste/recycling containers are presented for collection for 6am as there may be changes to your collection time. Please look out for your neighbours and check they are able to put their bins out.

 

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Trams: shut-down plans overview (27 March)

(from the Trams to Newhaven newsletter dated 27 March)

Construction on Edinburgh’s Trams to Newhaven project will stop this week to protect the safety of workers and residents during the current Coronavirus outbreak.

The Council’s decision to instruct contractors Morrison Utility Services (MUS) and Sacyr Farrans Neopul (SFN) to cease site works follows advice from Scotland’s First Minister that all construction sites should close, unless the project being delivered is essential, such as a hospital.

SFN and MUS will make sites on Leith Walk, Constitution Street, Lindsay Road and Ocean Drive safe and secure by the end of the week before shutting down. There will be contractors on site as necessary for safety and security checks.

Emergency services have access to all sites at all times should they require it.

Work will continue off-site where this can be done remotely,  including design, planning and scheduling, as well as drawing up a remobilisation strategy for returning to the site once restrictions are lifted. The project team will also be closely liaising with MUS and SFN to look at ways of mitigating the impact of work stopping on the wider project.

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Trams updates: bins; construction-work ceasing soon

(copied from emails from CEC and the trams team)

Bins

Just a quick update to let you know that the bin relocations necessary during the upcoming roadworks (and along the detour route) are going to schedule; we’ve already positioned the new, wheeled bins and will be removing the large, side-loading bins next week.  Most of the new bins are next to the existing bins to make life easier for residents, as the old bins are removed we will reposition the new ones slightly to minimise obstruction wherever possible.

We’ve already started running the night shift route to get the crews used to the new route.  If they identify any potential over/under-provision due to the increased collection frequency, we will adjust where necessary.  A couple of the existing paper bins (blue lids) will be replaced with packaging bins (green lids) to improve recycling opportunities for residents.

We will continue to monitor the locations to see if any need to be adjusted.

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Peter Jones, Project Officer, Waste and Cleansing Services, The City of Edinburgh Council,
Seafield Depot, 1 Fillyside Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6RD
Tel: 07889 645979
Peter.Jones@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

Construction work ceasing soon (temporarily)

Formal instruction has been issued to Sacyr, Farrans Neopul (SFN) and Morrison Utility Services (MUS) to shut down the Trams to Newhaven construction site. This is in accordance with advice given by the Scottish Government over the last 48 hours.

The complexity of this project means that it will take a few days to action and there may be works that need to be completed in order to make the site safe and secure. Any further work that is undertaken will be done in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines around proximity working. Current traffic management arrangements will remain in place.

Work will continue off-site, again operating to strict social distancing guidelines, including design, planning and scheduling, as well as drawing up a remobilisation strategy for returning to the site once restrictions are lifted. We will also be closely liaising with MUS and SFN to look at ways of mitigating the impact of work stopping on the wider project.

The project contact centre will continue to be operational for any queries.

Chris Wilson
Trams to Newhaven

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Further measures to protect Edinburgh’s hardest hit residents

(copied from an email from Edinburgh Council. This CC would not normally be just a mouthpiece for CEC but clearly these are not normal times. A link to this post will be added to our sticky post very soon.)

23 Mar 2020

LATEST NEWS: Further measures to protect Edinburgh’s hardest hit residents

See this email in your browser here: https://edinburghcoun-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/latest-news-further-measures-to-protect-edinburghs-hardest-hit-residents

  • New Local Critical Resilience Centres rolled out as Locality Offices close
  • Measures to support those financially affected by the outbreak
  • Residents urged to go online, only phone in an emergency or critical need

Continue reading →