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The next meeting of Leith Links Community Council will be on Monday, 26th November, in Leith Community Centre (Shore Room). Please remember the new start time is 6.30pm.
If you live in the Leith Links area, and have questions or concerns to discuss, we would be pleased to welcome you.
LLCC Minutes Draft October 2018
Below is the response from Leith Links Community Council (LLCC) to City of Edinburgh Council (Parks and Greenspaces Dept.) on the proposal to use Leith Links as a Fringe venue between 29 July 2019 and 28 August 2019, by Lady Boys of Bangkok / La Clique Cabaret. Leith Links Community Council itself starts from an impartial position on the matter but considers its duty is represent the interests of local residents, who have raised a number of important points and concerns. Follow the links to read those points in more detail.
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The Leith Links Community Council has considered all aspects of this application very carefully. Please see attached our policy on events outlining the general terms that any applicants (and City of Edinburgh Council) need to meet in order to be acceptable. It is clear that for a large and exceptionally long-running event such as is proposed here, there are many key issues that would need to be addressed, on which we would need to be reassured, before even considering accepting such an application. We have also carefully read and considered the many views expressed by local residents, and these have very much informed our view as a Community Council.
Views of local residents / community
Because this proposal is unusual in proposing a much longer use of the Links than previous applications for events, LLCC decided to put this proposal out to wider public consultation. From our website, FaceBook page and Twitter accounts we provided a link to an easy-to-complete ‘form’ for local residents to give their views. In the 5 days the form was available, we received 56 formal responses (plus a number of informal comments, that are not recorded here).
We have copied and pasted from those responses into the attached document public comments . Please take the time and trouble to read these comments – or you will not be ‘listening’ to our community.
We are aware that these are popular Fringe shows in need of a new venue. We have nothing against the shows in question. We can appreciate the potential value for local businesses in bringing more Festival visitors down into Leith. However, overall, we would have to question whether that is a powerful enough rationale for granting the application, when set against the opposing arguments. It is not clear that having these shows on the Links for 4+ weeks would be in the best interests of the local community. We therefore propose that City of Edinburgh Council should not approve this proposal at least until there has been wider consultation and until all the concerns raised have been adequately addressed.
On a practical basis, there are barriers to Area 9 as a potential venue, due to the John Rattray Statue due to be installed shortly exactly on the access point for that part of the Links. (See attached picture). Also, the childrens Playpark close to Area 9 is due to be upgraded in 2019, so there could be vehicles to and fro-ing, and fairly major building works still taking place there. Furthermore, it is our understanding that that part of the Links is already booked by LAFC for football (which season restarts in mid-August).
The Links is a large park, however other areas on the Links are equally ‘booked’ or in permanent use e.g. football, cricket pitches, St. Mary’s Primary school playground, PE and sports (term restarts in mid-August), informal childrens’ play, informal sports and/or relaxation, family picnics, dog walking, cycle path, formal and informal bootcamps, tennis, future development of the ex Dry Dock area etc. etc.
In short, Leith Links is not a commercial business but a green space for relaxation, health and well-being, much needed by the community in this very densely populated area of Edinburgh. It is a busy, family-friendly, public place that belongs to the local community and that should be openly accessible to them at all times, rather than blocked off in part for a long chunk of the summer for adult shows and private profit.
Wider Consultation?
We think that the Council should undertake further consultation with the community, given the scale of the event proposed, the risk of a significant precedent being created, and the sensitivity of citizens of both Leith and the whole of Edinburgh, at the moment, about Council decisions about the use of public green spaces being imposed upon them.
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We are currently considering proposals submitted to City Of Edinburgh Council to allow The Lady Boys Of Bangkok to use Leith Links as a venue during August 2019.
As we are a statutory consultee we will be submitting a response in due course, as we consider our response we are particularly keen hear & consider the views of others on the proposals.
We have created a brief easy to use web form to help people submit their views to us.
We will publish our response to the proposals on our website as well as our Facebook & Twitter channels.
The Lady Boys Of Bangkok propose to use area 9.
Although there was no community council meeting in July we were still involved in meetings regarding trams, planning and Seafield. The next meeting of the community council will take place on Monday, 27th August at 7pm in Leith Community Centre.
Agenda27.8.18, LLCC Draft Ordinary Minutes May 2018, LLCC MINUTES Draft Jun 2018 (1)
Lovely Leith Links is YOUR park! This is the final chance for you – and the kids, of course! – to have your say on the forthcoming upgrade of the play park on Leith Links. Please take time to consider the alternative proposed designs, and feed back your views, either in person at the local sessions next week (see poster below) or online. Click here to access the designs and to vote for your favourite
It’s not just ‘either/or’ – it may be possible to mix & match across the different designs, apparently, so get in there quick!
The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 26 March
at 7pm, in the Shore Room, Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate
Our guest speaker is Rory Garriock from the Trams Project.
All welcome
The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 26 February
at 7pm, in the Shore Room, Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate
Our guest speaker is from Port of Leith HA to give an overview of their proposals for the Porthaven House site.
All welcome
Children’s Orchard
Pruning & Clean-up Day
Sunday 4 February 2019
10.30am to 12.30pm
on Leith Links Eastern End
We’re holding a pruning day for adults interested in learning how to carry out pruning on young fruit trees. Demonstration will be provided by Ben Dell from the Royal Botanic Garden
All volunteers are welcome as there will be plenty to do with tree planting and general orchard clean-up. However, places available for pruning instruction are limited to 16, so please book in advance if that is your main interest.
Please bring secateurs and gloves if you have them, and wear suitable outdoor clothing and sturdy footwear.
All equipment for the clean-up is provided. Children must be supervised by a responsible adult. Wear warm outdoor clothing and suitable footwear. Lunch is provided
For more information please contact: chair.lccc@leithcentralcc.co.uk
Press release from Changeworks
Leith to become Zero Waste Town
Leith is set to lead the way in becoming a zero waste town for residents and workers and drive forward Scotland’s waste-free revolution, as part of an initiative led by local environmental charity Changeworks.
Leith, along with Perth and central Edinburgh have been selected as the locations for Scotland’s third Zero Waste Town projects. Each will receive a share of nearly £900,000 in funding from Zero Waste Scotland and the European Regional Development Fund to ‘make things last’ in their communities.
Changeworks’ ambitious plan is to develop zero waste approaches to life and business in Leith working with community groups and partners and contributing to Scotland’s growing circular economy. Activities include using area-based street approach to tackling waste to develop a best practice model to roll out beyond Leith, engaging all stakeholders in school communities, a Zero Waste business charter, community clean up and campaigns to improve repair and reuse and cut fly tipping and food waste.
Changeworks’ plan will build on work already underway in the area, with benefits and legacy which go well beyond the funding end date of March 2020.
Teresa Bray, Chief Executive, Changeworks said:
“We’ve had such a positive response to Zero Waste Leith from community groups, businesses, schools and residents across the community. We engaged with people living and working in Leith earlier in the year to inform plans for what will happen to tackle waste reduction – Leith is very much at its heart.
“We’re hugely excited to be working with the Leith community to cut litter, fly tipping and food waste and improve recycling, repairing and reusing to get the most out of what we have. We’re building on what’s already happening – adding capacity, resource, support and energy – to ensure Leith leads the way in becoming a new Zero Waste Town. This is a united front by businesses, community groups, schools and residents to improve quality of life and create better places to live and work.
“Leith will be part of a bigger Zero Waste Town movement, working alongside the Zero Waste Perth consortium and SHRUB, and learning from the previous experiences of Zero Waste Towns Dunbar and the Isle of Bute. We’ll see lots of opportunities for people to get involved and make a difference locally, as well as contribute to Scotland’s ambitious targets.”
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said:
“Communities are right at the heart of delivering real, lasting behaviour change. With their new Zero Waste Town status these three areas will have new tools with which to build on their zero waste work – while contributing to coordinated action across the country to drive a more sustainable, circular, economy.”
Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, said:
“Re-using and recycling more, and making the most of the food we buy and grow, is something we can all do to reduce waste and keep products and materials in high-value use for longer.
“In Scotland we are working towards ambitious targets on waste, with 70% recycled or prepared for re-use by 2025, and a commitment to reduce food waste by a third by the same year.
“Action from households, communities and businesses is crucial for us to achieve this. That is why I am delighted to announce this funding which will help Scotland’s Zero Waste Towns come up with new and innovative ideas to bring these targets within reach.”
The Zero Waste Towns initiative forms part of the Resource Efficiency (Highlands and Islands and Lowlands and Uplands Scotland) operations of the £73 Million Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Accelerator Programme, funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Just a reminder that the festival fireworks display is tonight from 9pm onwards. If you have a pet please try to make sure they’re safe indoors. Thanks
