Southside & Newington Newsblog

Bin men working Wed 20th

2008-08-19T22:21:00.004+02:00

It is expected that there will be some collections during the union strike tomorrow. Households with scheduled Wednesday collections should put out their bin as normal. If your bin is not emptied, please remove it from the kerbside and represent your bin the following Wednesday.
There will be no garden waste collections on Wednesday 20 August. Households with scheduled collections are advised not to present their waste until their next scheduled collection date or take it to the nearest recycling centre. Fuller details here.

Nicolson Street PO closure announced

2008-08-19T09:31:00.002+02:00

A consultation on the proposed closure of the post office at 79 Nicolson Street is announced today by the Post Office. Their network change site contains some of the reasoning behind the closures in general. You can see how the BBC manages today to place our Nicolson Street Post office in Broxburn (scroll down to the list - they may have corrected their mistake by now).
A public meeting has been arranged for Thursday 11th September at 7pm in the Southside Community Centre, Nicolson Street. Put the date in your diary.

Flyposting update: Bristo Sq site identified

2008-08-18T23:03:00.003+02:00

This year has seen a reduction in flyposting in the Southside & Newington ward. It is, of course, now August and the Fringe has caused some considerable pressure on holding the no flyposting line. However, a planning application has now been lodged for a permanent poster site in Bristo Square. It is thought this will be one of a number which will be provided and encourage people not to use street furniture. Cleaning flyposting from public property cost public money. The application is by Unight Partnership which has managed to get most clubs in the central area of the city to co-operate. Those bands or acts who do not co-operate and continue to fly post have their venue withdrawn. The Council has recently served a number of warning notices on offenders.

Nicolson Street Post Office fight begins

2008-08-18T22:46:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow, Tuesday 19th, the Post Office announces the post offices it plans to close in Edinburgh and the justification. The post office at 79 Nicolson Street is one of the 12 on the list for closure. However there is a 6 week public consultation period and it is believed that decision to include the Nicolson Street post office on the list was marginal.
It is owned and run by Mr Mohammad Iqbal alongside the Southside Pharmacy. The premises have a higher usage than many others which are being retained and it is situated in an easily accessible position close to many other shops and facilities.

A public meeting has been arranged for Thursday 11th September at 7pm in the Southside Community Centre with representatives from the Post Office to be present.

Leaflets will be delivered and Mr Iqbal is launching a campaign to gather support and save the post office for local use. More details will follow over the next few days.

Craigmillar Park hotel proposal nears

2008-08-16T14:40:00.002+02:00

A renewed application has been made to turn the former Oratava hotel in Craigmillar Park back into a school. For some time it has been used as part of St Margaret's School - then in recent years it has lain largely unoccupied. Details of the application can be found here and today's local paper includes a human interest story as the owners of the property reclaim a section which had been used for some years as a neighbour's garden. The application details can be found here.

Jewish Festival Open Day tomorrow

2008-08-16T14:36:00.002+02:00

The Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation in Salisbury Road will host a feast of free cultural events and shows tomorrow (Sun 17th August). The synagogue is open between 11am and 3pm and refreshments and shows are free. See here for further information.

Newington & Grange resurfacing begins

2008-08-14T12:26:00.003+02:00

Resurfacing will begin in the following streets over the next few weeks:

Lygon Road
Mentone Terrace
South Oswald Road

On street signs will give specific dates for work to begin in each of the streets.

Refuse collection changes

2008-08-13T09:13:00.004+02:00

Yesterday was the day for introduction of new arrangements for waste collection in Southside & Newington ward. The current changes affect the green bins for general waste used by individual households (not the communal bins and the kerbside sack collections). All such collections will now be on Tuesdays to Fridays - most collection days will stay the same some will change to different days to make collection rounds more efficient. You can find the general details here and you can find a list of affected streets here. If your street is not included in this list there should be no change to your collection arrangements. Please note this does not affect the collections for red and blue box collections of separated wastes for recycling. The new arrangements in Southside and Newington are part of a trial rollout of a number of work practice changes.

Fringe Sunday on the Meadows

2008-08-10T00:02:00.002+02:00

Here is more information. The BBC is predicting a mixture of heavy showers and sunshine.

Banners stolen from Surgeons Hall

2008-08-08T22:37:00.003+02:00

Here are details of a theft of banners from the site of the InvAsian fringe show at Surgeons Hall.

Edinburgh University at Olympics

2008-08-08T22:27:00.001+02:00

Here is a list of the Edinburgh University connected competitors at the Beijing Olympics.

Flyposting success

2008-08-07T18:06:00.003+02:00

Although this report addresses the city centre particularly, it reflects the considerable decrease in illegal flyposting in the Southside and Meadows area. Middle Meadow Walk has been significantly better in recent months - even with the Fringe well under way. I said better, not clear of flyposting.

Blackwood Crescent blow for biker

2008-08-07T18:01:00.002+02:00

Douglas Leslie cycled 850 miles from Lands End to John o'Groats only to have his bike stolen when he got to his Southside home in Blackwood Crescent.

Floods: Dynamic Earth, roads closed

2008-08-07T17:57:00.002+02:00

Roads in the vicinity of Cameron Toll and Peffermill Road were closed earlier today as was Dynamic Earth. The Urban Circus is under a pond of water in the Meadows and there is more rain to come. See here and here for more details.

Nicolson St cafe chain in difficulty

2008-08-07T08:27:00.003+02:00

Some will have noted the financial difficulties experienced by the Beanscene chain of cafes. Although the company continues to trade at their Nicolson Street and other outlets, administrators are looking for a buyer. Full details of the latest situation can be found here. (In an strange piece of marketing the company website manages to call the shop at 99 Nicolson Street their 'South Bridge' branch!)

Scanner gifted to Sick Kids

2008-08-06T15:48:00.002+02:00

A laser doppler scanner has been gifted to the Sick Kids from a trust which is administered by Edinburgh Council. The Pensions and Trusts Committee is one of those on which I serve. Here is a news report of the circumstances.

James Clark School land girl

2008-08-06T15:41:00.002+02:00

A few days ago we drew attention to the exhibition in the Nelson Hall of James Clark School which closed in 1972. Here is the story of a James Clark pupil from the St Leonards area who became a land girl in WW2. There are many allusions which will ring bells with a generation of Southsiders

Fringe Sunday on the Meadows

2008-08-06T15:33:00.002+02:00

Fringe Sunday on the Meadows is approaching. Here is one of many online references to it. And here are more details.

Protecting the Meadows

2008-08-05T17:12:00.005+02:00

Here is an article by Southside Community Council member Hilary McDowell expressing concern (and frustration) with excessive regular events on the Meadows. (Added later: Please note that when the article was submitted to the Evening News it contained a further paragraph - not included in the Evening News version - which is quite significant to the tone of the article. The full article is included in the first comment below with the omitted paragraph in bold).
She makes some good points - it may be time for a moratorium for the Event Area to allow full recovery. And the big pink tents do seem over the top. It certainly wasn't my understanding that Taste do not pay for re-instatement of any damage.
However I do not consider the Meadows is simply for local residents. It is a city and public resource and there are times when it is wholly appropriate to make use of it as an attraction. Imagine if the opportunity for the Make Poverty History march (225,000 in July 2005) had been passed over. It is not a persuasive argument to say that groups using it over the summer period should necessarily be charged the same as for use of stadium or theatre venue. They are temporary events and the organisers shoulder the costs of transporting and maintaining the equipment used as opposed to fixed venues where the owners have already carry the capital and maintenance costs. And any argument suggesting commercial companies should not be allowed (I'm not sure this is Hilary's point but I have heard it often) misses the main point. The big issue is whether it is being used for the public. People flock to the Circus and to Taste of Edinburgh and to the funfairs and many other events - as they do to the Moonwalk and the Meadows Festival. Of course the ground needs to be reinstated and the principle is that the polluter pays - and that is why there is a reinstatement bond provided by each user. And there does need to be a limit on noise (nearby houses and hospital). But a balance must be struck. I have yet to be persuaded that it is appropriate to simply stop events - or even certain classes of events on the Meadows. Differing people have differing views. We need to take into account use by visitors and casual users. And we need to have a clear means of resolving these differences. And that is the job of the Council via the Parks Department, Licensing Department and, indeed, councillors. The system often works well and smoothly with a minimum of fuss. But sometimes it does not. Coping with the bulge of applications in the Festival and summer months, for example, needs streamlined. On occasions, the condition of the grass proves that a judgement call was wrong. But the context is that we have a huge public park in central Edinburgh which is used without incident or complaint by hundreds of thousands of people every year for walking, recreation, sport and events. A quick trawl through the blogs of visitors and residents of Edinburgh alike shows how special it is and how much it is appreciated. I want to pay tribute to those staff and residents who do so much to ensure that so many people get pleasure from it. The very significant reduction in ugly fly posting in the area is one example of improvement. Efforts to ensure a reasonable balance should not obscure benefits, improvements and the high appreciation many have of the of the facilities provided by the Meadows.

Peffermill football fracas

2008-08-05T16:44:00.003+02:00

Last Sunday saw a schoolboy football match at Peffermill which ended up with the referee being headbutted in the face by one of the players in an under-15 team. Full story and pictures here.

Nursery group HQ in Causewayside

2008-08-05T09:10:00.003+02:00

The Bertram Nursery Group have taken property in Kittleyards (off Causewayside) to become their Headquarters. More details here (scroll down the link for relevant paragraph).

James Clark School Exhibition

2008-08-04T09:22:00.002+02:00

The Nelson Hall is currently featuring an exhibition about the James Clark School in St Leonards Lane which closed 36 years ago. The building is now residential. The exhibition is open daily until Saturday and the Nelson Hall can be found in Spittalfield Crescent at the junction of St Leonards Street and Bernard Terrace.

Central Mosque celebrates 10 years

2008-08-01T11:31:00.003+02:00

Today the Edinburgh Central Mosque in Potterrow holds a reception to celebrate 10 years since the building was opened. It also sees the start of the Discover Islam exhibition which is open for the month of August. Additional details are contained in this article.

Local household collection changes

2008-07-31T20:59:00.003+02:00

Southside & Newington ward is a pilot for changes in household waste collections (green bins). On 12th August all collections will be moved to Tuesdays to Fridays and some of the rounds will change as well. If your collection was on Mondays, your collection day will change. Many of the others will change as well - in all 60% of households in the pilot area will have their collection day changed. You can see when your collection will be by visiting here. Fuller details are available here. Residents in Meadows/Morningside and Liberton/Gilmerton wards are also affected by this pilot.

Nicolson Square student jailed

2008-07-31T20:52:00.002+02:00

Today a 23 year old Edinburgh University student was has been sent to jail for 6 months for being in possession of child pornography videos. Lyle Milne was arrested February after police raided the flat where he was residing in Nicolson Square. More details here.