Category: Leith Links Community Council

We are recruiting two new Community Councillors

Leith Links Community Council are recruiting two new Community Councillors following the resignation of two elected representatives (Who have moved out of the area).

As a result we are inviting interested members of our community to think about volunteering their time, energy, enthusiasm and local knowledge to make a difference in our community.

Any person from the age of sixteen, and listed on the Electoral Register as residing in the Leith Links Community Council area can be co-opted onto the Community Council following a vote by our members.

If you would like to find out more information about becoming one of our Community Councillors please contact us by emailing contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk. Your email will be received by our Chair and Secretary who will liaise with you directly to organise a discussion with you.

Jim Scanlon MBE, Chair of Leith Links Community Council said today;

Leith Links Community Council are keen to fill  two vacancies for councillors following the departure of two members who moved outside the area.

If you want to give something back to your local community and have an interest in a wide range of issues which could include green space/planning/transport then please get in touch with us to find out more.

We have a great well respected team and have a positive social media presence working together with other local community councils to be the voice for local residents in Leith

 

 

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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

 

 

 

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Next Meeting of Leith Links Community Council, Monday 29th March 6:30pm

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 29th March 2021 at 6:30pm, online via Zoom.

  1. Agenda for the meeting.
  2. LLCC MINUTES February 2021 (draft until adopted at next week’s meeting). 
  3. Minutes of Extraordinary meeting on 8 March 2021 (draft until adopted).

(These are also stored for access at any time in our online Library.)

The meeting is 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.

 

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Spaces for People – junk them or keep them?

City of Edinburgh Council is consulting on whether you want to keep the Spaces for People measures that were introduced during the pandemic – some or all of them – or whether you’d rather see them removed – some or all. Please fill in the consultation form as soon as possible.

The Spaces for People measure that affects our own Leith Links area is the closure of Links Gardens to motor traffic. What is your view – should it be re-opened or stay closed?

The consultation period has just been extended and the deadline is now the 5th April 2021, and we are told that the findings from the consultation will be taken to the Transport and Environment committee in June, for final decision making.

A lot of people have felt there was inadequate consultation with communities over the introduction of these measures. Well, now is your chance to say what you think! Please fill in the consultation. Do read it carefully, as some of the questions are framed in unexpected ways so you might end up ticking the opposite of what you mean….

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/bi/retainingspacesforpeopleconsultation/

Discussion of Controlled Parking Zone in ‘West Leith’, 8th March 6:30pm

There will be an ‘extra’ meeting of Leith Links Community Council next Monday, 8th March, at 6:30pm to help local residents access information about the proposed controlled parking zone (CPZ) in the area between Lochend Road and Restalrig Road, colonies etc. and to allow for a question and answer session with a speaker from the Council.

To register to attend this meeting, please click here. (link now disabled)

If you would like to submit a question to be asked on the evening please click here. (link now disabled)

See the plans and comment here: https://consultprojectcentre.co.uk/ph2westleith
(consultation runs until 14th March).

What about people who are not online?

Older, mobility impaired and vulnerable people may be particularly affected by changes in parking. But there was no phone number or postal address given on the consultation, to allow local residents who do not have access to the internet to comment. So the Community Council is offering to collect and pass on such comments. Please tell any neighbours in this position to send their written comments to LLCC, C/o 22 Claremont Road, EH6 7NE (or send their telephone number if they want to give their comments orally).

What’s going on?

There won’t be time to discuss ‘everything’ at the meeting on 8th March so we are sticking to parking plans.

But the wider context is – Edinburgh City Council is proposing multiple new traffic schemes for our area as if they were completely separate events. But if you put together all the various effects of each scheme, it adds up to a major impact on local residents. Tramworks, road works, road closures, diversions, new traffic junction, planned new cycle route, low traffic neighbourhood, making Spaces for People permanent, controlled parking zones, revised public space management plans…..

Is the community getting enough chance to access and share information, and to air its views? 

Have the plans been thought through well enough, and, crucially, in relation to each other, by people who really know the area?

Has there been adequate and appropriate (i.e. good quality) engagement with the local community?

Next Meeting of LLCC is Monday 1st March 2021, 6:30pm

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council (strictly speaking the February meeting) will take place on Monday 1st March 2021, at 6:30pm, online, via Zoom.

The agenda will be given over to discussion of the proposed Leith Connections cycleway and Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

The meeting is open to interested members of the public. If you wish to attend, please register with Eventbrite and you will be sent a Zoom link.

To register to attend this meeting (free, obviously) please click here.

If you would like to submit a question to be asked on the evening please click here.

Here is:

(1) The Agenda for the meeting

(2) The LLCC MINUTES January 2021 (draft until adopted at next week’s meeting).

These are also stored for access at any time in our online Library.

Come to discussion meetings on traffic / travel / parking

Edinburgh City Council is proposing various new traffic schemes for our area as if they were completely separate events. But if you add together all the various effects of each scheme, there will be a major impact on local residents.

Is the community getting enough chance to share information and air its views? 

The next two (online) meetings of the Leith Links Community Council will be on:

1. Monday 1st March at 6:30 pm, and

2. Monday 8th Match at 6:30 pm

For both meetings, the Agenda will be turned over entirely to discussion of travel & mobility changes proposed that will affect our area.

Please come, and make your views known!

More about the meetings

1.

On March 1st we will discuss the ‘Leith Connections’ / Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme for Leith scheme (because this consultation has an earlier deadline date).

To register to attend this meeting (free, obviously) please click here. (Now closed)

If you would like to submit a question to be asked on the evening please click here. (Now closed)

‘Leith Connections’ is about a new, safer cycle route through Leith which involves removing parking, moving bus stops and closing some roads to motor traffic.

‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ involves closing several roads to traffic / creating one-way routes and cul de sacs, with the intention of making the area safer and nicer to walk or wheel through.

You can view the plans and should respond directly via this consultation which closes on 28th February.

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/leith-connections/
Or email your comments to miles.wilkinson@edinburgh.gov.uk 

2.

On Monday 8th March, we will discuss the proposed Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in the area between Easter Road / Lochend Road / Restalrig Road.

To register to attend this meeting, please click here. (Now closed)

If you would like to submit a question to be asked on the evening please click here. (Now closed)

See the plans and comment here: https://consultprojectcentre.co.uk/ph2westleith
(consultation runs until 14th March)

You can also visit the consultant’s virtual drop-in session on 24 Feb. or 2 March (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-leith-cpz-drop-in-session-tickets-138733558809)

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What’s going on?

City of Edinburgh Council is proposing a set of big changes to the road  / traffic / parking  systems in our area. For example – in addition to the tramworks of course – a controlled parking zone all through Leith Walk and Leith; possibly making Spaces for People road closures (eg Links Gardens) permanent; a controlled parking zone for ‘West Leith’ (actually the Easter Road / Lochend Road / the colonies / Restalrig Road area); a new cycle route through Leith that includes road closures and removal of parking spaces; a Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ that would effectively close Leith off to through traffic (and make the road alongside the Links one of only two main routes). The aim of all of these is to reduce emissions and make the area safer and more pleasant, which in theory everybody of course would agree with, and support. There would however be big impacts on people who need to use cars for work, or because of age or disability or family reasons, and for businesses.

Have the plans been thought through well enough, by people who really know the area?

Has there been adequate engagement with the local community?

Controlled Parking Zones Phase 2 Consultation Leith

 

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The City of Edinburgh Council launched Phase 2 of its consultation yesterday on proposals for Controlled Parking Zones in the Leith area including Bonnington, Easter Road and what is described as ‘West Leith’ but is actually the area between  Lochend Road and Restalrig Road, East Hermitage Place and the colonies.

If you live in these areas please take time to look at the plans for the introduction of permit holder parking, pay and display and other measures. Then make your comments known via the online survey.

You can see the plans here.

The consultation company have also organised two virtual drop in sessions on

Wednesday, 24th February between 6-8pm

Tuesday, 2nd March between 1-3pm

You can sign up to attend these meetings through the link below

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-leith-cpz-drop-in-session-tickets-138733558809

Phase 1 of the consultation on parking took place in late 2019 for other areas of Leith.

This consultation is separate from the other consultation currently running on Leith Connections / Leith Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

 

 

 

 

 

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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

Please respond to proposals for new cycleway and road changes in Leith

A new consultation has opened up this week about:

(1) a proposed new cycle route (called ‘Leith Connections’) from the bottom of Leith Walk to Ocean Terminal. The main aim is to create a segregated lane, to make cycling safer, but the plans also include some very radical changes to the roads and traffic along the route, including narrowing lanes, removal of parking and loading bays, moving bus stops and restricting access to several streets, including Yardheads, Parliament Street, Sandport Bridge.

(2) a proposed new ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ (LTN) for the whole of Leith which would see many roads closed to through traffic. This is building on the city council’s ‘Active Travel Plan’ and aims to make the streets within the zone safer and more pleasant to walk and cycle and wheel in.

Either or both of these would mean very extensive permanent changes to how we get around Leith.

The Leith Links Community Council area is half in, and half out of the proposed LTN, but whether we happen to live inside or outside it, we will all be affected by the resulting effects on traffic.

Please take the time to read the proposals and respond to the consultation, which you can find here.

You can respond to the questionnaire as laid out, but it is one of those ones that sort of leads you into what the Council wants to hear, so it might suit you better to (also) use the other facility, which is to email your response to miles.wilkinson@edinburgh.gov.uk

The consultation closes on 28th February. Don’t put it off!!!

Feel free to also add comments below, if you wish, and we will try to incorporate these into the Community Council response.

 

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