20 mph zones – CEC wants your views

Adapted from an email from Edinburgh Council 20mph_Eflier

The Council’s Transport and Environment Committee has approved a draft network of 20, 30 and 40 mph roads as a basis for consultation and authorised a public consultation on extending the 20 mph speed limits to many roads in the city.

Whatever your views about the 20 mph speed limit proposals, Edinburgh Council wants to hear from you.  You can email your views to the address below or use the online consultation. Drop-in events, public meetings and exhibitions are also taking place across the city.

An interactive map of the draft proposals, a list of frequently asked questions and details of the engagement events are available on the Council’s website at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/20mph.

Please forward this email to any contacts that you feel would be interested in making their views heard on the proposals. The consultation is open until 17 October.

Eileen Hewitt I Professional Officer, 20mph Programme I Strategic Planning I Services for Communities I City of Edinburgh Council I C:2 Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG I 0131 469 3502 I20mph@edinburgh.gov.uk

Click to download the 20mph leaflet

Edinburgh Planning Concordat Engagement Fund – very small uptake

Edinburgh Council’s Planning Committee agreed in August 2013 to provide small grants (around £300) to assist community councils in carrying out engagement on major applications*. Recently, the Planning Committee stated that it’s received only 2 applications for such grants. It has asked CCs:

  1. Is there a particular reason why you have not applied for grant assistance to engage with the wider community?
  2. Are there any changes to the rules which would make it easier for you to apply for assistance?
  3. Any other comments?

*As far as the author of this post is aware, the Edinburgh Planning Concordat is the framework for this assistance.

Leith Central CC’s planning subcommittee suggested the following reasons:

  • available funds are insignificant compared to developers’ resources
  • the timescales to deploy any funds are often very short: CCs who will often struggle to submit a considered response, don’t have time to think about applications at this point
  • unless a consultation can address all relevant households (efficiently and reliably), any quantitative results are statistically irrelevant (or even unreliable, as we can’t check the authenticity of individual responses); so we rely on old-fashioned qualitative methods – small numbers, but free
Of course, CEC could automatically pay a consultation grant to a CC (proportionate to scale of application) as a major application is being submitted (and the processing fee is collected).

 

 

Community Payback Orders consultation

(adapted from an email to CCs from the Criminal Justice Service)

The CJS wants to hear your views on Community Payback Orders (CPO). These are given out by the Court so offenders can pay for their crimes as an alternative to a prison sentence.

In particular, the CJS wants to know what you think about the unpaid work part of a CPO, which replaced community service in 2011. This is when an offender does unpaid work within the community.

  • Do you have any experience of offenders doing unpaid work in your community?
  • Do you have any ideas about residents, community projects or organisations who could benefit from unpaid work support?

You can send in your views by completing the CJS’ consultation form. If you provide contact details, the CJS will let you know when the Council’s 2013-2014 CPO Report is available.

If you know of someone or a group that could benefit from unpaid work support, you can complete the CJS’ suggestion form. Please note that the CJS may not be able to help with every request but they will tell you why.

Why the CJS is asking for your views

Your information will help the CJS improve how it works with communities. It wants to increase understanding of CPOs and their importance in helping offenders reintegrate into society and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. The CJS also wants to generate more discussion with communities about unpaid work opportunities.

You can contact the Criminal Justice Service via enquiries.criminaljustice@edinburgh.gov.uk or 0131 469 3408

Clearance day at Pilrig Park

FW Balfours Botany Sat 23 August 1030 12pm

Balfour’s Botany: Making Pilrig Park more Wild!

Over the summer months artist Andrea Geile and horticulturalist Rebecca Govier have been working with local groups to investigate the legacy of Edinburgh botanist John Hutton Balfour (1808-1884). Known by some as ‘Woody Fiber’ his enthusiasm for botanical exploration was not just for the discovery of new species, but in understanding ‘their place in vegetation’. Inspired by ‘Woody’, Balfour’s Botany combines both his passion for teaching and the desire to understand a plants ‘place’, bringing this dynamism once more to Pilrig Park.

Clearance Day – at the ‘wee’ play park Saturday 23 August, 10.30 – 12pm in Pilrig Park

Supported by the Friends of Pilrig Park the aim of the clearance day is to prepare the area behind the small play park for native planting, which will take place in September.  There will also be litter kits available to help pick up the rubbish that has accumulated over the summer months.

For more information about this event, contact – friendsofpilrigpark@gmail.com

This event is open to all – no experience necessary

Join in and join us for a free Working Lunch from 12.30pm

Citizen Curator, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, 21 Hawthornvale, Edinburgh, EH6 4JT 

44+(0)7812167130 info@citizencurator.com