Our Community Council will next meet on Monday 25 May 2020 from 18:30 on Zoom.
If you would like to take part in the meeting please email us for the Zoom link to the meeting – contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk is the email address you should use.
Leith Links Community Council has submitted its response to the City of Edinburgh Councils City Plan 2030 consultation.
Click on the image to read the response document.
Community Councillors have been working for a number of weeks to understand & respond to the consultation as the product which arises from the Councils work developing City Plan 2030 will have a massive impact upon our communities future for generations to come in areas such as new homes, transport, education and green spaces.
The consultation ran online from 31 January to 30 April 2020 and included a series of drop in events throughout the city. Originally due to close in March the deadline was extended by the local authority due to the Covid-19 national health crisis.
The Council website pages dedicated to City Plan 2030 includes a brief description of what the City Plan 2030 is;
Choices for City Plan 2030 in 200 words
Our next local development plan
Our city continues to grow. We must manage that growth and make sure everyone can share in our city’s success.
Our City Plan 2030 will set out the long-term vision for Edinburgh. It will set out locations for new homes and businesses, protect places of value, and make sure that essentials for a good quality of life – like public transport, schools and green space – are core to our city.
Scottish Government requires councils to produce a local development plan. The plan is used to guide decisions on planning applications.
We’re planning for a city that is a great place to live, where you don’t need to own a car to move around, where everyone lives in a home which they can afford and where everyone’s physical and mental wellbeing is supported.
We’re not starting from scratch – many of the policies in our existing local development plan are working well. The choices outlined for City Plan 2030 looks at key areas for change such as addressing climate change, building affordable housing, short-term lets and student accommodation. They will play a major part in helping us to meet our ambition for a carbon neutral city by 2030.
The next meeting of Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 27 April 2020 from 18:30 until 19:30 via Zoom.
This meeting will consider a much smaller agenda than is usual, hence the reduced meeting length time.
Members of the public may join us in the Zoom session, to be included please email us and we’ll send you the details.
The next meeting of Leith Links Community Council in public will take place on Monday 6 April 2020 from 18:30 on Zoom.
Following a successful trial meeting earlier this evening our public meetings will now be held on the Zoom online platform until further notice.
Members of our community are invited to join the meeting to watch & listen to proceedings.
Usually at our meetings we encourage public participation throughout the meetings but due to the nature of Zoom we need to change how we manage our meetings. This means at this first online public meeting that participation of the community will be limited but please do bear with us.
The required papers for the meeting are as below;
To take part in the meeting we’ll share a link on our website & social media, click on the link to take part.
Following the United Kingdoms departure from the European Union at 23:00 on Friday 31 January 2020 the membership of Leith Links Community Council has decreased by six.
As per section 5.4 of the City of Edinburgh Council Scheme of Administration for Community Councils the six Members of the European Parliament representing the Scotland constituency are ex-officio members of our Community Council.
However, following Brexit the six MEPS elected by Scotland in May 2019 no longer hold office, and therefore are no longer members of our Community Council.
Throughout 2019 our website has continued to go from strength to strength as it continues to grow in terms of the information published & stored, and also in terms of extending our reach amongst our community.
In 2019 our website has had 34,765 visits (1/1/19 to 12noon on 28/12/19). This compares to 10,661 in 2018 and 12,243 in 2017.
A local community member has highlighted the deteriorating condition of the former Leith Town Hall (now Leith Police Station) on Queen Charlotte Street.
Leith Links Community Council intends to discuss the condition of the building at its next meeting on Monday 27 January 2020, at 18:30, in Leith Community Centre.
The building was used as Leith Town Hall until 1920 when Leith amalgamated with the City of Edinburgh. The building currently services as a Police Station.
With significant concerns amongst our community as to the future of Leith and how it will look & feel in years to come due to significant local development work, important community assets linked to our heritage & history are important to many.
Although it is unusual for our local Members of Parliament to attend our meetings, they are members of our Community Council in the same way that our local Members of the Scottish and European Parliaments are.
Following General Election 2019 the following Members of Parliament are returned as ex officio members of Leith Links Community Council:
Earlier this month we let you know that City of Edinburgh Council are considering an application to for a funfair to be brought to Leith Links in 2020 as part of Leith Festival.
We invited our community to submit to us their views, suggestions & questions on the application.
The event application has been considered by the Leith Links Community Council Sub Committee on Parks & Greenspaces, who have submitted the below response to the City of Edinburgh Council. This application specific response is our addition to our standing policy on requests for events on Leith Links.
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing to give the response of both Leith Links Community Council and the members of the public who responded to our asking for comments on our website.
Firstly, LLCC is happy for this event to proceed. The fair has been setting up on the Links during around the time of Leith Gala Day for a long time and their has never been a problem with that. Our only concern is around the short timescale initially given for consultation. As you will know, there are a lot more events that are being planned for the Links and we would ask yourselves to give us and the public sufficient time to respond to these.
Regards,
David Igoe
Leith Links Community Council
Comments Received on the Leith Links Community Council Website
“Is this around the same time as the Chef Food Fair that you advised us of? The consultation is insulting to the intelligence of the interested parties. There is insufficient information given here about:
Where exactly on Leith Links the Funfair will be located.
How many rides and stalls it will consist of and what their nature will be.
Hours of operation.
Sound/music/noise nature and volume during operation.
Management of the site including rubbish and recycling.
Charges and revenue that will be generated and how that money will be used improve Leith Links
Making good any damage after the event.
Also I suggest all properties facing Leith Links are distributed with information about the proposal, they are the most likely to be affectedly noise etc and better effort should be made to inform and consult them
Unless better information is provided to consulates, no decision to approve this should be made
It should also be clearer what the Councils decision criteria are in these cases.”
“It’s a simple ‘no’ from me. For the last four years a resident I’ve had to put up with road closures, building works and noise. I’ve simply had enough.”
“The level of information provided is very poor and not enough to form any decision.
There is not enough information about numbers expected, how the crowds will be managed, how they will protect the grass etc, what their plans are to fix any damage, how they will manage any additional traffic etc. How will they manage the impact of music and noise on other park users, local residents and local businesses etc.”
“I am supportive of this application, provided that the event organisers minimise vehicle use on the Links (i.e. only for set up and take down, no driving on and off/around in between times) ensure scrupulous litter prevention/collection and cease noise by 1pm or midnight if not before.
This is a traditional event linked to a community event that has been coming for many years. Local residents enjoy it and is good for young people, unlike any of the events that want to use the Links, it does not last long, local peopler used to it, it does not generally attract young people from outside the area so no problems with traffic congestion, parking problems,ms etc.”
