Category: Leith Links Community Council

More about Buses

Leith Links Community Council has just received the following message from Lothian Buses, in response to our earlier email correspondence.

16.09.22

From: Gaynor Marshall, Communications Director, Lothian Buses

Thank you for your further email.  All comments and feedback are duly noted.

In terms of our communicating the change I can advise that information was published in advance of the changes on 11th September.  We appreciate that some of our customers are unable to access our digital platforms and so in addition to bus stop information being refreshed to reflect the changes we reached out to approx. 22K households (in the EH6 6. EH6 7, EH6 8, EH7 6) areas with detailed information on Monday 12 September and Tuesday 13 September.

Attached is a copy for your reference – it may be helpful for you to host it on LCC website. 

I can also confirm that all decisions were made with the information available at the time following dialogue with colleagues at CEC (TTN).  

The changes that came into place on 11th September will be monitored over the next few months with our immediate priority being stabilising the longer term commercial viability of the network and subsequent economic recovery of our business.

In terms of your further comments I refer you back to all previous communication which has provided our rationale and reasoning underpinned by commercial data and operational feasibility.    

In closing I would add that Lothian strive to deliver for customers in continuing exceptionally challenging circumstances.  We pride ourselves in being a part of the communities we serve and we will only endeavour to engage in meaningful and relevant dialogue when conducted in a professional and constructive manner.

Kind regards

Gaynor Marshall
Communications Director, Lothian Buses

***

We will be responding in due course.

In the meanwhile, we would be interested –

  1. to know more about the leaflets. Please can you let us know if you got a leaflet through your door (or if you didn’t, but you think you should have, as you live along the bus routes). It would help if you added your street name and/or postcode.
  2.  to hear more about your experiences with the new bus routes. Last week was highly untypical, but starting from this week – how is it going for you, so far?

Please write a comment below or email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk

Bus Update

We are disappointed to report that Lothian Buses have so far not agreed to meet with us to discuss the fast approaching bus route changes, but we continue to press for a meeting. Lothian buses have so far merely referred us to their website, which we think is pretty dismissive.

We have learned  – and feel it is important to pass on to the local community:

  1. The changes will go ahead as of Sunday 11th September  – i.e. the 25 and 21 will use Lochend Road, and the 34 and 49 will use Restalrig Road. The bus stops reflect this change.
  2. For the moment, the 34 will go from Restalrig Road to Ocean Terminal (and same route coming back from OT into town) via Links Gardens, Salamander Place, Baltic Street.

See https://www.lothianbuses.com/live-travel-info/service-update/?alert_id=22a9ec20a664161cd55de74b43ab75f9

We have been told that Lothian Buses DID NOT CHECK with Trams to Newhaven that the route they wanted to use, i.e. Constitution Street and Queen Charlotte Street, would be open for traffic on 11th September. (Of course, those of us who live here always knew it was not). In our view, this reflects a shocking lack of coordination between key transport operators (and overseers) in our city.

The Salamander Place route will be used until Constitution Street is available, which Trams to Newhaven tell us may be some weeks away.

Since congestion on Baltic Street is already horrendous, and the road surface in Salamander Place is in extremely poor condition (understatement!), we fear that passengers are in for a slow and bumpy ride. We also feel that the junction at the top of Salamander Place, turning in and out of Links Gardens, is potentially problematical, even dangerous. So we would be grateful to hear from any of you (in the comments below) of any problems you experience or observe in that area, and/or photos, so that we can pass these on to Lothian Buses (in Comments, below, or send to contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk).

You can read the entire correspondence here (start from the bottom and read upwards, to get correct order) between Leith Links Community Council and Lothian Buses. All correspondence has been copied to our Leith Ward Councillors, and Craigentinny / Duddingston, and to the Convenor of the Transport and Environment Committee. No written response so far from any of them, although there were supportive comments made orally from Leith Councillors at our recent Community Council meeting.

 

Reply from Lothian Buses

It appears that Lothian Buses will not take up our invitation to attend tonight’s Community Council meeting. Discussion of the matter will remain on the agenda however, as we continue to collect the views of the local community on the bus route changes. If you wish to attend the meeting, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk to get the link.

We have however today received the following letter, in response to the letter we sent last week (see below). Please feel free to add any comments you may have below, and we will collect these and forward to Lothian in due course.

29.08.22

From from Gaynor Marshall, Communications Director of Lothian Buses

Thank you for taking the time to write to Lothian.

As we recover from the impact of the pandemic, we acknowledge that there have been fundamental shifts in societal working trends and corresponding shifts in travel patterns. It is critical that Lothian continue to review and adapt your bus network to reflect current travel habits, match supply and demand and maintain commercially viable services to allow us to deliver a service for all of our customers.

As we move toward the cessation of Scottish Government financial support in the autumn it is vital that we stabilise our network and form a solid foundation on which to base our next steps in economic recovery.  With these challenges in mind,  it might be helpful for us to provide some background around the process for the changes in Lochend, Restalrig and Leith Links.

With regard to Leith Links, the situation back in November 2019 was that the 12 had been diverted away from Leith Links due to the closure of Constitution Street as part of the tram project construction.  This left service 1 which had been operating a one way loop via the Links since the removal of the roundabout at the foot of Easter Road.  As part of the next round of closures in the Leith area that were planned to be put in place from Spring 2020 most bus services were planned to be diverted or altered.  For Leith Links this would have seen service 1 extend to Seafield via Vanburgh Place/East Hermitage Place to replace then service 12, which was curtailed in the city centre.  Immediately prior to this change the Coronavirus pandemic broke out and the city’s bus network was hastily adapted to run as a skeleton service during the initial lockdown period.  Subsequently the Spaces for People project closed a number of roads in the Leith Links area which prevented any bus route from operating across the Links.

Service 12 was not ‘summarily removed’ from Leith, the original and indeed Final Business Cases for the Tram project have always assumed that service 12 (along with service 22) would no longer operate via Leith Walk and would be curtailed to the city centre.  The northbound closure of Leith Walk from Spring 2020 led us to anticipate a significant reduction in demand for bus travel based on our experience with previous longer term closures for tram related works on Leith Walk.  As a result a number of changes were implemented to reduce excess capacity and reduced costs which included curtailing service 12 at the start of the project rather than on the introduction of trams in service.

When looking at reinstating a bus service across Leith Links we were faced with the lack of additional resources and a need to not increase operating costs, whilst at the same time remaining cognisant of the need to retain as many existing bus links as possible.  The only option to serve Leith Links under these circumstances was to re-route service 34 between Sleigh Drive roundabout and Ocean Terminal.  In order to provide a reasonable journey time (please see below) the new route would be via Restalrig Road the Links Gardens, Bernard Street and Commercial Street.  This led us to consider the provision of buses on both Restalrig Road, Lochend Road, East Hermitage Place which have links to Leith Walk and the city centre.  By swapping both pairs of services (34 49 to Restalrig and 21 25 to Lochend) both corridors retain their links to the city centre (25 and 34) and to Leith Walk (25 and 49) and to, whilst services 1 and 49 provide the same links on East Hermitage Place. 

Journey times to and from the city centre will change slightly with most journeys being timetable to be quicker.  Current journey times and new journey times are shown below along with a comparison with service 12 for Leith Links from 2019.

12 (2019) 25 (current) 25 (new) 34 (current) 34 (new)
Leith Links to Leith Street/York Place 18 minutes 17 minutes
Restalrig Road to Leith Street 18 minutes 15 minutes
Lochend Road to Leith Street 13 minutes 16 minutes

Lastly, regarding a link from the Leith area to the Western General Hospital, we understand the continuing desire for such a link, and indeed would be supportive of such an initiative in the medium to longer term, however given current pressures we are unable to commit to such a service at this time. 

I hope that this gives a bit more background information and context.

Lothian is absolutely committed to delivering for our customers and I know the significant role we play in a sense of community   I appreciate and acknowledge all that you state and I’m sorry that these changes have caused concern amongst some of your constituents.   However the (harsh) reality as previously mentioned is that as we move toward the cessation of Scottish Government financial support in the Autumn it is vital that Lothian take the necessary steps to stabilise our network and form a solid foundation on which to base our wider economic recovery.

Gaynor Marshall

Communications Director

***

From Leith Links Community Council, 22.08.22

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.

Sally Millar, Secretary

On behalf of 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

 

 

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

 

 

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?

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!
 
,

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.

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