Author Archives: minsec

Leith Central Community Council: ‘shocked by new hold up to long-overdue Leith Walk repair works’

Statement for immediate release

The email announcing that the contractor for the current phase of the Leith Walk repair works (Iona Street to Brunswick Street) has gone into administration came yesterday late afternoon.

There have been indications for a while that work had slowed down, but this latest development has come as a complete shock. We are seeking urgent clarification on how this will impact on the current work sites in various states of completion south of Pilrig Street and the Iona Street compound, and – most importantly – on the overall progress of getting the Leith Walk works completed all the way to Picardy Place roundabout.

We understand that prior to the contract being awarded comprehensive assessments of the contractor’s financial stability were obtained by the Council. This being so, this would be the first time in the 10 year saga of Leith Walk on/off repairs that the Council does not have to shoulder the blame for the delays and costs that no doubt will come in the wake of this latest development.

Whether there will be further reputational damage will depend entirely on how quickly this situation is recovered, and the relevant clauses in the contract:

  • Is there a sufficiently sized performance bond in place, shielding the project from any financial fallout?
  • Is the works documentation up to date, to allow work to be picked up smoothly by replacement contractors?
  • If the works do not continue in the immediate future with a new contractor and complete before the summer break as planned, will residents and businesses be compensated?
  • Will the various work sites be supervised and protected adequately in the meantime?
  • Will the snagging of the completed works around Pilrig Street be addressed promptly to restore confidence?

It has been said that one should ‘never let a crisis go to waste’. Is this the wake up call that was needed to make the reinstatement of one of Edinburgh’s top three streets a top Council priority?

– ends –

Leith Programme Stakeholder Update 96: Phase 4 (Pilrig Street to McDonald Road) Land Engineering Administration

(adapted from an email from Michael Motion, Senior Project Manager, Turner & Townsend, time-stamped 2017_06_01 at 16:19. Leith Central CC is not responsible for any issues caused by the contents of this post, but will endeavour to publish any further relevant information it receives as soon as possible.)

Dear Stakeholder

We have been formally notified today that the contractor responsible for the works currently underway on Leith Walk, Land Engineering, has been put into administration.

Having carried out a comprehensive assessment of the company’s financial stability prior to signing the contract, which did not highlight any concerns, this is unexpected and particularly disappointing.  As part of any assessment the Council seeks a third party credit agency opinion of the risk of business failure, and in relation to Land Engineering the third party opinion did not raise any issues.

We appreciate how frustrating this will be for businesses and residents.

We are currently in communication with the administrator and we are evaluating options to mitigate the impact and ensure the works, which to date have been running on time and to budget, are completed as soon as possible.

I am also aware that Land Engineering had recently issued a communication indicating that Brunswick Street would close on Monday 5 June to accommodate works to that junction.  As a result of the above, this closure will not go ahead on Monday, and we will be in touch in due course with a revised closure date to complete the works at Brunswick Street.

Further updates will be issued as more information specific to completion of the works becomes available.

Kind regards

Michael Motion
Senior Project Manager, Infrastructure
Turner & Townsend

Age-friendly cities and communities

(Adapted from an email from Dr Ryan Woolrych)

Click the thumbnails to read more:

A study has commenced exploring how neighourhood can better support older adults to live at home and in their communities.

Give the rapid growth of ageing populations in many cities, the importance of developing appropriate design interventions to enable active and healthy lifestyles for older residents is more urgent than ever.

Place-making with older adults: Towards age-friendly communities is a three year project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and will be exploring how older adults experience the communities they live in.

We will be working closely with older adults, local government, service providers, community organisations and pracitioners to deliver policy and practice recommendations to support the delivery of age-friendly cities and communities.

As part of the work we are looking to speak to anybody over the age of 60 who  currently lives in Leith. Please contact Dr Ryan Woolrych on r.d.woolrych@hw.ac.uk or by telephone on 0131 451 3899 or 07957 406677 to hear more about the project or to participate in the research.

Please also visit our website on http://placeage.org/en or join us on Twitter @placeage.