Author: Sally Millar

Changes to Bus Routes around the Leith Links Area

You may have seen a notice about proposed changes to bus services around Leith Links, due to start on 11th September. Click here to read the proposals.

Lothian Buses make it sound as though this is what Leith Links Community Council asked for, but that’s really not true – or only very partially true (Yes, we think people DO want a bus to run through the Links). But in fact neither the Community Council nor local residents were consulted about any of the details and received no prior warning of these proposals. We have some concerns about the scope of the changes.

Click here to read or scroll down to see the letter that we have sent today to Lothian Buses about the proposed changes.

We have asked Lothian Buses to meet with us and to attend the next meeting of the Community Council (which is next Monday, 29th August). We’ll keep you posted about the response we receive to this letter.

 

To

Lothian Buses

23.8.22

Dear Sirs

I am writing on behalf of Leith Links Community Council, with regard to the imminent proposed changes to bus services in our area.

As you are aware, we have been campaigning for a new bus service to run through Leith Links to serve the large population in the growing number of new housing developments on the north side of the Links. We were looking for a new service, to replace the No. 12 service that was summarily removed a couple of years ago. We were NOT looking for a revamp of several well-established and well-used bus services in the wider area beyond the Links – that, while it could benefit some residents (nearest to the Links), could significantly disadvantage many others in our community (residents along the Restalrig Road and Lochend Road corridors).

In the discussions we have had most recently, with Ian Bieniowski and later John White, and Ben Ritchie, we were led to believe that prior to a new service being, hopefully, introduced in due course, Lothian Buses would continue holding discussions with the community, as regards the needs of local people. Also we were expecting to see proposals that would be presented with a view of how local bus routes are expected to link to / work with the tram service, and with some data on actual and projected usage, and catchment area, including the catchment numbers still to be built along Seafield Road.

So while we appreciate that Lothian Buses has, in one sense, ‘listened’ and been willing to act promptly, we are however very disappointed that you have autocratically introduced sweeping changes without any consultation with the local community, and with no transparency, or presentation/communication of evidence. Also with very little notice and a lack of information about the existing and proposed new frequency of the relevant services.

Can we meet as soon as possible, please, to discuss this? And please will you send a representative to our next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council, which will be online on Monday 29 August at 6:30 pm, to explain the proposed changes and to answer questions? That meeting will be open to the public.

The immediate response to the proposed changes from our local community has been mostly negative, as far as we can establish so far. (Our efforts at consultation will continue.)

On the positive side, a bus running through the Links, and access to Aldi and Ocean Terminal, will be welcome, so thank you for that. But overall the 34 is probably the least popular bus that could possibly have been chosen, as it is relatively infrequent and a very slow route into town because it follows a circuitous route. Therefore it is perhaps not likely to attract much of a ridership going south into town (which may be used as an excuse to later axe it again…?). However the wholesale swapping over of Lochend Road buses with Restalrig Road buses has met with some horrified hostility. Why is this necessary? The 25 and 21 are both much needed routes, well-used by residents around the Links as well as further up Restalrig Road, and losing those is a very high cost for the local population.

This is not just a minor adjustment, though it may look like that to fit young people sat in front of a big map onscreen. On the ground, in real life, the distance between Restalrig Road and Lochend Road is too far to ‘just walk through’ for older and less able people. People adapt and develop their lives – and often make momentous decisions about their jobs, and house purchases – around the bus services that are available to them. Sudden changes to bus services can be traumatic and life changing. Also, having to take two buses instead of one can be unaffordable for many, especially in the current cost of living crisis.

The changes you are proposing (swapping 25 & 21, for 34 & 49 which, aside from their routes, are both less frequent services), seem to be maximally disruptive to both local communities (Restalrig Road and Lochend Road) without actually addressing any of the other main issues with bus services in Leith (no bus to Western General, concern over the loss of the No. 22, traffic congestion in Great Junction Street etc.).

We look forward to hearing from you, urgently, on this matter.

Jim Scanlon MBE, Chair

Leith Links Community Council

 

Cc

Scott Arthur, Transport for Edinburgh, Convener, Transport & Environment Committee

Elected Councillors

(Ward 13) Booth, Faccienda, McVey

(Ward 14) Aston, Griffiths, Staniforth, Whyte

 

 

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Bin Strikes expected from Thursday 18th August

City of Edinburgh Council have issued the following notice:

Members of Unite the Union and GMB are planning strike action in Edinburgh from Thursday 18 – Tuesday 30 August.

Assuming the strike goes ahead, we’re expecting this to cause significant disruption to bin collections and street cleansing services across the city.

We’ve created dedicated web pages on our website with information about the strike, how it will affect residents and how they can manage their waste safely and responsibly during this time. We’ll update these pages and our Twitter feed regularly as new information and updates become available, including information on when services will restart.

Council leader Cammy Day said:

“My position remains firmly that our colleagues across the Council deserve to be paid fairly for the work they do, and I once again call on the Scottish Government to properly fund our capital city and its services.

“There are further meetings planned in the coming days and I hope that this can be resolved favourably as soon as possible.”

 

Leith Links Master Plan Consultation closing soon – have your say!

Have you looked at the proposals for the improvement of Leith Links park? Have you taken the chance to comment on them? This weekend is your last chance, as the public consultation closes on 31st July. Please go to the survey and add your views.

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/leith-links-masterplan/

Or, if you prefer, email in your comments to Lindsay.Grant@edinburgh.gov.uk

The plan as it stands has incorporated ideas from all sorts of local people and groups who know the park well, but there is still room for new ideas and /or modifications of the ideas proposed. Or is there something in the plan that you downright disagree with? Now is absolutely the right time to state clearly your objection and the reasons for it!

Some of the proposals could perhaps be implemented fairly quickly, but lot of what is proposed is still entirely ‘aspirational’ in that there is not yet funding in place to make it happen. But if the plan is adopted, then various bodies can start to try and raise funds, and the improvements could be actioned in stages.

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A Toilet Saga

We love the public toilets on Leith Links! People have also commented on how clean they are – thanks to the toilet attendants. So, overall, it’s a big ‘Thank You’ from us, not a complaint!

BUT  – 11 weeks to get basic information informing the local community…..can you believe it? Here’s the timeline…

12 May 2022 – temporary (Portakabin style) toilets are delivered to the Links.

Someone living locally just happens to see the vehicle delivering them. At no time did the Council officially inform the Community Council of the plan of action for the toilets, or the timescales, although we were ‘tipped off’ that they were coming sometime soon.

Sometime (unclear) in May – The toilets are connected up and made functional,  attendants are appointed to look after the toilets, and start work. No announcement, no information.

June 8 – One local reports that the toilets are open and working.

Throughout June – Numerous locals keep asking, repeatedly; Are there toilets coming? Where are the toilets? Why are the toilets closed? When will they be opening? No signs, no information, the doors are always closed, no sign of life……

26 June  – Your Community Council asks the Council, via our three elected Councillors,  for clarification and full information about the situation.

27 June – The Community Council is informed by a Council Officer working for Councillor Adam McVey that the toilets are open from 10-8pm, 7 days a week, with a full time attendant. They are just hidden from view behind hedges and look closed.

29 June – At the behest of the Community Council, the Council Officer agrees to ask toilet supervisor to put signs up detailing opening hours. A local asks the toilet attendant to leave the external door open during the day so people can see they are open. There are two attendants, each working 4 days on, 4 days off.

29 June – Your Community Council posts widely on this site, on our own social media (Facebook & Twitter) and on ‘I Love Leith’ to spread the word about where the toilets are, and when they are open, etc., attracting many grateful comments from Leithers who had been unaware of them or confused about opening hours etc.

1 July – Doubt and confusion persist. It is very clear that what is missing is signage. Your Community Council asks the Council:

“PLEASE can we have 
1. an instruction to the attendant to leave the door open when the toilets are open, so people can see they are open.
2. A sign on the door or on the outside of the toilet block announcing its opening hours.
3. Signs around the Links pointing to where the toilets are located
4. A couple of A-boards on the Links nearby ( eg at the Playpark) that the attendant puts up as he comes on shift, that says ‘toilets OPEN until 8pm’) 
Meanwhile the Community Council is doing its bit to try to raise awareness on this matter. It seems a pointless waste of Council money and effort to put toilets on the Links that don’t get used because people don’t know they are there / open.
Surely some signs must be possible?
Thanks”

2 July – Since the Council have not produced any signs, your Community Council designs, prints, laminates and ties numerous signs to fences around the Links. (Some of these are still there, some have blown off or been torn down.)

At some point in July (unclear) – A couple of handwritten notices go up on the back of the building, on a gate and on the toilet doors stating that opening hours are 10 – 6pm.

Your Community Council was never informed of an official change to the opening hours. However, a local person had observed that the toilet attendant was closing up earlier than 8pm on several occasions, and this was reported to the Council. A reply came back from the Council that this was due to “anti-social behaviour”. (Unclear what this consisted of, no details available.) A recent conversation with the very helpful toilet attendant reveals that there has not been any official change of hours and it should still say 8pm. The handwritten signs are now smudged and unclear.

22 July – a Council vehicle and workers are observed putting up official ‘Public Toilet’ signs around the Links  (at least in the area nearest to the playpark and toilets). Hurrah!

From this we conclude that it takes the Council almost three months to deliver the most basic of information signage, with regard to public facilities – and only as a result of  repeated requests from the community. Given that the toilets are only there for about five or six months altogether, this seems indicative of woeful carelessness if not incompetence. Yes, it’s just a small thing in the grander scheme of things, but surely Councils should be able to get the small things right (or we might just doubt their ability to get bigger things right….)

Let’s be clear – we are all EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for the public toilets on Leith Links! 

However, we know this must all cost a lot of money and it seems a pathetic waste of money to put toilets and attendants there without making the public aware of them. Could the Council do better at thinking things through fully and in a joined-up way?  – basically, if it thought about things from the point of view of the community it is there to serve, rather than from its own point of view (forgot, cheaper, easier, low priority, too busy – whatever)? And if it shared information with the community organisations  – such as the Community Council –  whose very role is to share information with the local community?

Next year, please can we have toilets again, and PLEASE (rather than being kept secret) can they be provided in conjunction with information to the local community?

Come and view Links Plan Display Boards at Leith Library

Display boards outlining the proposed MasterPlan for the improvement of Leith Links are now on view to the public in the foyer of Leith Library, Ferry Road.  Please go and have a good look, and then please do send in your response to the plans.

There should be leaflets on site in the library with a QR code you can use, otherwise you can find the consultation at https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/leith-links-masterplan/ 

PS There is very little funding available to actually carry out the plans, it will all have to be ‘raised’  – somehow – so it’s important that it is clear what the top priorities / favourites are from amongst the suggestions. Let your views be heard.

PPS If things get done on the Links that you don’t like, you might wish you had spoken up about them when you had the chance…..

The toilets are very much OPEN!

Some people seem confused about the toilets on Leith Links. Here are the facts:

The toilets are opened from 10.00am to 20.00pm,  7 days per week. There is a council attendant looking after the toilets. This will be the situation throughout the summer.

The toilets are situated in a grey ‘Portakabin’ type building sitting right next door to the old bowling greens building, up at the Croft end of the Links, behind the tennis courts (shown in blue in the picture below). (The attendant may use the old bowling green building next door to store materials, or to sit in, if wet etc.)

                   

To access the toilets, you need to enter the old bowling green area by one of three gates:

  • one is open to the road on Links Place, more or less opposite Salamander Place
  • one leads off the entrance path to the Links at the bottom of Johns Place
  • one is a little gate further along that path that leads into the tennis courts area, behind the toilets and bowling green area. (This one is probably the nearest for people at the playpark or in the main body of the Links.)

(behind the blue tennis courts, top of this pic)

 

What is missing is signage. Because the toilets are behind the hedge, and facing ‘away’ from the Links, people may not spot them.

And / or people may see that the doors on both buildings are shut, and assume that the toilets are shut – but they aren’t!

We have asked the Council to put notices up to direct people to the toilets and to clarify opening times. If they don’t do that soon, we’ll put some up ourselves.

This sounds mad, but please use the toilets!  If nobody uses them, we’ll not be able to make a good case for needing toilets on the Links permanently.

 

 

New MasterPlan to improve Leith Links – your views? Urgent!

Leith Links is a great park and we all love it –  BUT it could certainly be EVEN BETTER!
In recent months, a new 10 year ‘concept MasterPlan’ for improving the Links has been developed, by a team led by the City of Edinburgh Council’s ‘Thriving Greenspaces Project’ and including representatives from a number of local organisations; ourselves i.e. Leith Links Community Council, Earth in Common / Links Activity Park group, Leith Councillors, some local residents, and consulting a wide range of ‘stakeholders’ such as Leith Athletic, Leith Franklin Cricket Club, Duncan Place, local Primary Schools etc.

The final draft has now been published and it is open to public consultation  RIGHT NOW (closing on 22 July 2022).

        
You can see the plans and give your views via the Council web site
If you don’t like using the Consultation Hub with its usual forced route through leading questions, then please feel free to write / email in with your thoughts and ideas to thrivinggreenspaces@edinburgh.gov.uk (and it’s a good idea to copy to your local Councillors),  and/ or use the comments facility below to record your thoughts and we will forward them to the project team.
Whichever route(s) you choose, please do it NOW, before the holidays, otherwise you might forget, and miss your chance!
The draft master plan is based on the conversations we have been leading and facilitating  over the past year, about what local people need and want. It lays out a vision of what could happen in the future, but there is no guarantee at this stage that it will actually happen; significant new funding is still to be found, and support from the local community is vital (if there are objections or new suggestions, there is plenty time for these to be taken into account, the details of the plan are NOT a ‘foregone conclusion’).
  
The plan includes lots of great ideas (yes, including permanent toilets!), such as nicer benches, better bins, improved lighting, wheelchair accessible picnic tables, cycle parking, wildflower meadow, use of surfaces for heritage mural, arboretum (started already), ping pong tables, a ‘trim trail’ and 3km fitness loop and a ‘natural play area’ at the east of the Links. Also a modern bandstand (or ‘outdoor performance space’), and many other upgrades.
         
To bring the old bowling greens area back into productive use, there is a proposal for an ‘Activity Park’ that could incorporate a bike pump track and a skatepark.
A skatepark came out as a very popular suggestion, in last year’s surveys that we carried out, and is likely to be heavily promoted by its supporters – but there are also issues to be explored about what impact it might have on near neighbours.
Please make sure YOUR voice is heard!
 
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Next meeting of Leith Links Community Council, Monday 27th June, 6:30pm, online via Teams

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 27th June at 6:30pm, online (Microsoft Teams)

Papers for the meeting can be downloaded here:

Agenda for 27 June 2022

Minutes of last meeting 30 May 2022

Scottish Water and the operators of Seafield, Veolia, will be attending to give an update on the sewage plant and answer questions about recent odour issues.

A speaker from Scottish Historic Buildings Trust will talk about the future plans for the Custom House Leith

As always, our meetings are open to interested members of the public. If you wish to attend, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk and you will be sent an invitation / link for the meeting.

Come and talk to us on Gala Day – Leith Links,11th June

Anything you want to find out about or to talk about, relating to your local area?

New developments? Problems? Questions? Ideas? Offers to help? Interested in maybe becoming a Community Councillor yourself?

Do drop by our stall on Gala Day on Saturday, and have a chat. 

The three Community Councils of Leith often work together, as there are many issues that affect all parts of the ‘wider Leith’ community. We will be sharing a stall on Leith Links on Saturday, Leith Festival Gala Day.

  • Leith Central Community Council
  • Leith Harbour and Newhaven Community Council
  • Leith Links Community Council

2019 Gala Day. Cross your fingers for better weather this year….

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