John Rattray Statue Landscaping, Leith Links

For over two years fencing surrounded the statue of John Rattray and the landscaped mounds on the Links so that the planting of wild flowers selected by Royal Botanic Gardens staff could become established.

We could see the wonderful display of flowers developing each summer and the public, quite rightly asked when would the fencing come down and last September it was removed.

The ecosystem of the coastal planting is developing but is now in danger of being destroyed due to adults and children walking and cycling over the mounds.

The statue and mounds were created to celebrate Leith’s connection with the history of golf when the first recorded rules of the game were written for a competition on the Links in 1744.

The mounds represent the original landscape of the Links when it would have had a similar appearance to Longniddry, St Andrews or Carnoustie.

As we come out of the covid pandemic we hope that the statue will attract many visitors interested in the origins and history of golf.  Hopefully they will also spend more time in Leith discovering the areas historic past and supporting local businesses by spending their money in shops, cafes and restaurants.

The statue and landscaping are a great asset to the Links and Leith but we need you the public to help by respecting and caring for them.

I’ve attached a list of the range of seeds planted on the mounds below which we would hope to see each year.

PDFWildflowers planted on Leith LInks 2019

Best wishes

Jim Scanlon MBE

Chair Leith Links Community Council and member of Leith Rules Golf Society

 

 

 

Revised North East Locality Improvement Plan issued

We have been informed by City of Edinburgh Council that the North East Locality Improvement Plan has been revised.

The various Locality Improvement Plans, including the North East Edinburgh version are often used by public sector and third sector organisations when considering which services they provide, and is therefore of some importance to the citizens of North East Edinburgh, which includes Leith & surrounding communities.

In a City of Edinburgh Council report considered by its Culture and Communities Committee on Tuesday 16 March 2021 Council officials said;

In December 2019 the Edinburgh Partnership agreed to carry out a review of the plans to address challenges identified through the annual reporting process. This review activity was paused in March 2020 as a result of the pandemic but resumed in September 2020. The revised plans were subsequently presented and agreed by the Edinburgh Partnership at its meeting in December 2020.

 


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Scottish Parliament elections 2021: Notice of elections

Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive of City of Edinburgh Council and Returning Officer for Edinburgh Constituencies has given official notice of the Scottish Parliament 2021 elections being called on 6 May 2021.The City of Edinburgh Council - Posts | Facebook

The formal notice can be viewed by clicking here.

If you wish to vote, or have someone vote on your behalf, you must make sure that you are on the Register of Electors at your current address. Click here for electoral information from the Lothians Valuation Joint Board.

The elections for Edinburgh constituencies are administered by City of Edinburgh Council who have posted various useful information on their website that can be viewed by clicking here.

 

 

 

CPZ Phase 2 Engagement opens Monday,15th Feb

Project Centre Limited, working on behalf of City Of Edinburgh Council, has made it known that they are undertaking an engagement exercise in this area. This exercise concerns the potential introduction of parking controls and will be starting on 15th February 2021.

CPZ – Controlled Parking Zone

This is what they say –

“The Council’s Strategic Review of Parking Review assessed parking across Edinburgh, as a means of identifying areas that might benefit from controlled parking. The outcomes from that review were reported to Committee in September 2019, with an expectation that initial consultations in each of the four proposed phases would follow throughout 2020. While the Phase 1 consultation took place in late 2019, the planned consultation for Phase 2, scheduled to take place in April 2020, was postponed as a result of Covid-19.

Phase 2 of this engagement will now take place over a four-week period starting on Monday 15th February 2021. Leaflets will be delivered to every property within the Phase 2 areas of Bonnington, Easter Road, West Leith (Lochend) and Willowbrae North. Anyone interested in the proposals will be able to view plans online, complete a questionnaire and leave comments on an interactive map on our website. We will also be holding virtual drop-in sessions for each of the areas listed above, where attendees can view the proposals, hear in more detail what is being proposed and ask questions regarding these proposals.

The following link takes you to the main landing page for this engagement, where each area of consideration is listed with links to individual pages available. The survey is located on the main page whilst the interactive maps are on the individual pages. Please note that the survey will be open from midnight Monday 15th February.”

www.consultprojectcentre.co.uk/parkingph2

What are you doing this weekend?

Voting in £eith Chooses, hopefully!

Voting is open for just two more days, and closes at midnight on Sunday 31st January. Don’t miss the boat! And please remind all your friends and family to vote (if they live, work, study or volunteer in Leith).
Vote at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/voteleithchooses
What is £eith Chooses? If you haven’t heard of it before, or haven’t voted before, here’s a quick run down of the background and aims of the whole thing – » Read more

Is this the right way to develop along Seafield Road?

There is an online public consultation event on Thursday 28th January, by  Manse (Seafield) LLP, between 3pm and 7pm. You can attend and give your views.

https://seafieldroad.scot

Manse are proposing to submit a planning application for the Peter Vardy Vauxhall site, at 22-25 Seafield Road, where they want to build 2 very large blocks of flats. This is not strictly speaking in the Leith Links area, but it borders on it. Any new development along there will undoubtedly impact upon the Leith Links area. We would urge you to look not only at the plans Manse bring forward, but to think about them in the wider context of what the whole Seafield Road area could become.

Is developing individual segments like this the right way to go? Or could this proposal be be seen as leading to uncoordinated piecemeal development?

Overall, Seafield is a huge site stretching from the Sewage works right along to the erstwhile bus garage at the Portobello end. We all want to see new homes built, but do we want just any old blocks of flats, or could we aspire to more, for this unique seaside site?

» Read more

FOOTBRIDGE DEMOLITION AT SEAFIELD

Local residents have received notification in advance of work to demolish the old footbridge which crosses the railway line at the entrance to Seafield Sewage Works. The area can already be a bottleneck for due to two sets of traffic lights between Seafield and Mcdonalds not synchronised which can lead to tail backs even when traffic flows should have reduced during lockdown. Work to remove the bridge will start on Thursday, 21st January until Monday, 1st February and will require a temporary 4 way light system so if you do have to travel then this could be the time to consider taking another route.

Leith for Ever

Leith Links Community Council has been asked by Leith for Ever to share the following information. Please note that Leith Links Community Council has not discussed the Leith for Ever project and therefore is providing the information without comment or endorsement.

 

Leith for Ever
 

Leithers past and present are being asked to share their thoughts about the area as part of a new lottery-funded project, An evolving online exhibition which will feature 100 people, places, objects and events which represent the independent spirit of Leith. Launched on the centenary of Leith becoming part of Edinburgh, on November 5, 1920, it takes its title from a protest banner which read: “Leith For Ever.  We protest against Amalgamation.”

 

The exhibition is the brainchild of a group of Leith-based organisations, including Leith Civic Trust, Yardheads productions, Leith Festival and Cinetopia in response to the City of Edinburgh Council Archive’s ReDrawing Edinburgh project.  Originally the City of Edinburgh Council planned a year of events to mark the centenary of the amalgamation of eight districts into Edinburgh – however because of the Covid crisis most of the activity has had to take place online.

 

The Leith For Ever project received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, which made awards in October to support organisations dealing with the Covid crisis.  

 
Join us each day to celebrate the people and places of Leith: www.LeithforEver.org/100Days
You can also find us on facebook, twitter and instagram: @LeithForEver
Share your ideas of individuals, places, objects, or stories about Leith that you would like to see featured, or volunteer to provide content for a post: www.LeithforEver.org/submit
We would also love to hear from any community groups or organisations who might want to get involved in the project. Please email us on hello@LeithforEver.org.

Image of the Leith For Ever Banner from Edinburgh City Council Capital Collections here:

 

£eith Chooses community meeting,10th November, you are invited!

Earlier in the year, there was a big question mark hanging over £eith Chooses, but the Steering Group has been working away in the background and the good news is that it is ON! There is £46,102 available for community projects in Leith (max £5,000 per project). Applications are open NOW and voting will be in January 2021.

Some things will be a bit different from previous years, but face to face discussions and advice sessions are not possible for now, so an online community meeting has been set up to share the news of how it will run, and to give everybody the chance to ask questions and chat about things. Survey results will also be discussed.

Anyone / everyone in the Leith community, or with an interest in participatory budgeting, is invited to an online community discussion meeting on Tuesday 10th November at 18:30 – 20:00 (max).

To get the link, attend and participate, please register with Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eith-chooses-online-community-discussion-meeting-tickets-127231216995

The meeting will be via the (free) Microsoft Teams platform

Read more / download an Application Form, at the £eith Chooses website.

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