Category: Community information, events and news

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Hart Builders seek to finish noisy building works ahead of schedule to limit community impact

Update as of 9/7/20: Crawford Builders have advised that piling works have now been completed, well ahead of schedule.

 

There has been lots of discussion within our community over the last two weeks as to what the source of the thudding noise being heard during the day in the Leith Links area is.

The source of the noise is pile driving works taking place in an area of housing development behind Leith Franklin Academicals Beige Cricket Club.

The works are being undertaken by Hart Builders and are expected to be completed in the third week of July, four weeks ahead of schedule.

Hart Builders are in regular contact with City of Edinburgh Council around the works, providing information around the works programme and noise meter records.

A spokesman for Hart Builders said today;

We (Hart Builders) fully appreciate that these works are very intrusive and frustrating but we at Hart are doing our utmost to complete these early to avoid any further inconvenience to the local community.

 

 

 

 

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Community Councils Together on Trams: Minutes of meeting held on Thursday 28 May 2020

Leith Links Community Council is a member of ‘Community Councils Together on Trams’ alongside Leith Central Community Council, Leith Harbour & Newhaven Community Council and New Town & Broughton Community Council. CCTT is the coalition of Community Councils who meet regularly to discuss, scrutinise and influence the intended continuation of the Edinburgh Tram system to Newhaven.

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 28 May 2020 are copied below for our communities information.

Actions and decisions are in italic.

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Edinburgh Evening News reports Council have scrapped plans to make changes to Duke Street, Great Junction Street, Leith Walk & Easter Road

Since this post was made the Edinburgh Evening News have deleted their article on their website & social media, and City of Edinburgh Council have advised that the article was false.

To avoid confusion the article written on this website has been removed.

Later, a retraction & apology was issued by the Edinburgh Evening News.

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Foul odours from Seafield having an impact on community wellbeing as Scottish Water issue yet another apology

This week we have received eighty reports of foul odour emissions from Seafield in yet another spike in complaints.

Despite a previous stream of apology’s from Scottish Water staff, local residents are regularly affected by foul odour emissions from the site drifting amongst local homes.

Local residents have been telling us about the impact the foul odour emissions has been having on them & how they have been made to feel;

It affects everything. You do not want to leave your house because it is that revolting. This will impact everyone’s mental health in this weather and unable to go outside with lock down.

 

Felt sick. Kids commented on how bad it was.

 

I’m currently shielding due to severe asthma and can’t go out to exercise as I can’t wear a face mask.  So my garden is the only place I can sit. This was the hottest day of the year so far. I wanted to sit out in the evening and eat my dinner.  I couldn’t sit outside, never mind eat.  I had to close windows etc due to this disgusting stench.  I tried to eat my salad inside the house but was so nauseated I couldn’t eat.  This smell was still there the next morning.  It was so warm I had to open my bedroom windows and the odour was still strong.  I have lived in Leith for years and experienced this noctious smell many times but this episode really upset me. having to stay indoors and being unable to eat my evening meal.

 

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City of Edinburgh give notice of planned changes to Great Junction Street, Duke Street, Leith Walk and Easter Road as part of Covid-19 response

As part of its response to the Covid-19 national health emergency City of Edinburgh Council has given notice of its intentions to make changes to a number of local streets.

Easter Road, Duke Street, Great Junction Street and the bottom of Leith Walk have all been included in plans made public by Council officers.

We have provided a copy of a letter seen by Leith Links Community Council, with a map below.

Comments should be submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council by 5pm on Friday 26 June 2020 by emailing spacesforpeople@edinburgh.gov.uk. However, please note that Council officers have made clear that they cannot provide individual responses. 

You may also wish to copy your responses to the three Leith Ward Councillors;

 

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Lothian Buses announce timetable changes as part of Trams to Newhaven project

Earlier this week we told you about the City of Edinburgh Councils Trams to Newhaven project beginning main constructions works.

Linked to these works, and the Lothian Buses response to the Covid-19 national health emergency, they are introducing a raft of timetable & route changes from Sunday 21 June 2020

Buses which serve the greater Leith area with changes to their timetable and / or routes  are:  1, 7, 34, 11, 14, 16, 21, 22, 25, 35 and 49.

Whilst some are attributed to their Covid-19 response Lothian Buses also make clear a number of changes are due to the Trams to Newhaven Project.

Information on their website says;

Lothian has announced changes to its network as work is set to begin on Leith Walk for the next stage of the Trams to Newhaven project.

The Leith Walk corridor will see significant traffic management put in place from Saturday 20 June 2020, resulting in diversions to all bus services in this area. The main daytime services affected include the 7, 11, 14, 16, 22, 25 and 49, which will follow different routes on journeys towards Leith.

Services 7, 14, 16, 22, 25 and 49 towards Leith will be diverted via London Road and Easter Road. Citybound journeys will continue to serve their normal route up Leith Walk.

Service 11 towards Ocean Terminal will be diverted via Annandale Street, Bellevue Road, McDonald Road and Broughton Road. Citybound journeys will continue to serve their normal route on Pilrig Street and Leith Walk.

 

Full information can be found on the Lothian Buses website by clicking here.

 

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Pay and display parking charges return on Monday 22 June 2020 warns City of Edinburgh Council

Earlier today City of Edinburgh Council emailed Leith Links Community Council with a request that we share the below information relating to pay and display parking charges.

Like many Council services, pay and display parking charges were suspended as part of the Councils immediate response to the Covid-19 national health emergency however, as we proceed through the Scottish Governments Route Map the local authority has decided to reimpose pay and display parking charges from Monday 22 June 2020.

The email to us said;

Pay and Display Parking Charges

As you may know, in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions introduced by the government, pay and display parking charges were suspended in Edinburgh on Tuesday 24 March 2020.Unit Warden (Temporary Accommodation Service) - | City of ...

I’m writing to you to inform you that it is proposed to re-introduce pay and display parking charges on Monday 22 June 2020. From this date any vehicle parked incorrectly in a public, shared-use or residents’ parking place may be issued with a parking ticket.

Residents who hold a valid Residents’ Parking Permit were granted dispensation to park their vehicles in pay and display parking places located within their own zone, provided those bays are not subject to a suspension. I can confirm that this dispensation will continue to remain in place until further notice and we will be writing to residents to inform them in due course.

It would be most helpful if you could distribute this information through your networks to help inform members of the public who may be affected by these changes.

If you have any queries regarding this e-mail please visit our website at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/coronavirus.

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City of Edinburgh Council responds to complaints of foul odour emissions in Leith Links area

Earlier this week we responded to the massive number of foul odour emissions complaints we were receiving, as of 7pm this evening we have received 188 such complaints.

On the 18th June Scottish Water responded by attributing odour complaints to another nearby site, and not making any mention of odours associated with Seafield.

Earlier today, a City of Edinburgh Council spokesman issued an email in relation to recent complaint/s. They correctly advise that Scottish Water did put our community on notice of a possible increase in foul odour emissions due to storm tank cleaning from 17th June, but this doesn’t account for smells of human sewage reported prior to that.

A Council spokesperson said;

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your recent report regarding odour in the Seafield area. An odour issue has been identified which is associated with activities at another business on Albert Road which is creating odours described as burning rubber, gaseous, or eggy. As this site has a Waste Management Licence, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) are currently investigating.Unit Warden (Temporary Accommodation Service) - | City of ...

With regards to Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works; on Wednesday and Thursday this week the storm tanks were being cleaned out, which may have resulted in an increase in sewage type odours in the community..

We are continuing to work with Scottish Water and Veolia (the plant operators) to investigate further and implement mitigation measures to minimise odour.

Scottish Water have advised of the storm tank cleaning in a communication to local community groups and representatives. Their communications in relation to Seafield can be found at: https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/in-your-area/investments-in-your-area/seafield.

While also campaigning for long term solutions, it is vitally important that we keep reporting odour nuisance whenever it occurs, to demonstrate the scale of the problem and the impact on the local community.

Leith Links Community Council continues to encourage any member of our community who is negatively impacted by the release of foul odour emissions from the Seafield site to report such incidents via our website.

Our online reporting tool not only notifies Scottish Water, but simultaneously informs the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Veolia UK, Leith Links Community Council, City of Edinburgh Council (officers and Councillors Booth, Munro & McVey), the Scottish Governments Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and local MSP Ben MacPherson.

 

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Local MSP responds to latest 188 complaints of foul odour emissions

Earlier this week we responded to the massive number of foul odour emissions complaints we were receiving, as of 7pm this evening we have received 188 such complaints.

On the 18th June Scottish Water responded by attributing odour complaints to another nearby site, and not making any mention of odours associated with Seafield.

Earlier today the office of Ben MacPherson MSP offered comment on this weeks severe foul odour issue.  A spokesman said;

Thank you for reporting odour in the community using the Leith Links Community Council (LCCC) reporting form. Your complaint is copied to Ben Macpherson MSP as part of that process. Ben wanted me to respond to you on his behalf to outline the action that his office takes when there are reports of odour from Seafield.Ben Macpherson MSP

This week there has been a very high number of complaints seen by Ben’s office and we have been in contact daily with Scottish Water, regularly with City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) as the primary regulator and we have also been in touch with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). I understand that CEC will respond to the recent complaints once

As the local constituency MSP Ben chairs the Seafield Stakeholders Group which brings together Scottish Water, the plant’s operators Veolia, CEC, SEPA, community representatives from the LCCC and the Leith Links Residents Association (LLRC) along with local councillors and representatives from the offices of Deidre Brock MP, Tommy Sheppard MP and Ash Denham MSP. This group allows a forum for discussion about the operation of the plant, odour incidences, improvements in and future investment in the plant. Information on the Stakeholders Group and the Strategic Review is available here.

As local MSP and chair of the Stakeholder Group Ben has raised the issues of ongoing odour complaints and future investment in the plant with the Cabinet Secretary for Environment  Roseanna Cunningham MSP and as a result of his intervention a Strategic Review was carried out into the plant and the wider network to establish steps that can be taken operationally and through future investment to improve the performance of the works and in particular the odour impact on the local community.

Ben shares your concerns over the recent odour incidences and had written to the Cabinet Secretary following odour complaints in April – her response is attached to this email. Ben’s office will continue to engage with Scottish Water, the Council, SEPA and the community representatives over this issue to seek answers and solutions. There is investment coming which should improve matters and reduce odour problems but until then Ben will push for operational improvements to mitigate odour.

In closing Ben takes the issue of odour from the Seafield WWTW very seriously and will continue to make a strong case on behalf of his constituents when issues arise and also to ensure that the plant gets the investment it needs for the future and to minimise odour issues.

Thank you again for reporting this odour occurrence.

Leith Links Community Council continues to encourage any member of our community who is negatively impacted by the release of foul odour emissions from the Seafield site to report such incidents via our website.

Our online reporting tool not only notifies Scottish Water, but simultaneously informs the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Veolia UK, Leith Links Community Council, City of Edinburgh Council (officers and Councillors Booth, Munro & McVey), the Scottish Governments Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and local MSP Ben MacPherson.

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