Our website during 2019.

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.

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Concerns raised about condition of former Leith Town Hall (now Leith Police Station)

A local community member has highlighted the deteriorating condition of the former Leith Town Hall (now Leith Police Station) on Queen Charlotte Street.No photo description available.

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.

 

 

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City of Edinburgh Council considers future of Leith Walk / Halmyre Street site

City of Edinburgh Council Planning Service are holding a series of public consultation events early in the New Year on the future of a development site at Leith Walk / Halmyre Street. The site area is shown on the plan below although the surrounding area will be considered in the consultations.

They are looking to gather people’s views about the future of this site to inform the development of a place brief (a place brief sets out high level principles to guide the future development of a site).

Clearly there has been a lot of community engagement activity in the area. It is crucial that the place brief is progressed in the context and spirit of the recent Leith Conference, held at the end of October.

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Duncan Place Resource Centre Community Asset Transfer takes another step forward

In late 2014 the council closed Duncan Place Resource Centre & subsequently proposed demolition.

The community came together to achieve the following:

  • Demolition prevented
  • Charity formed
  • Business plan developed
  • Building refurb & business start up funds secured.

On Thursday Dec 19th Jim Scanlon, Chair of Leith Links Community Council, represented the area on a panel to scrutinise the plans & finances for Duncan Places future.Image

Under the Community Empowerment Act, the panel unanimously agreed to recommend a Community Asset Transfer of building from the council to the charity. This recommendation will be put to the Council’s Finance & Resources Committee in March 2020.

This is an historic moment for Leith and so, the setting of the Historic Leith Town Hall was a befitting venue. The charity will reopen the building in early 2020 and plan to hold a community celebration in Sept, when the building itself will be 100 years old. There will be rooms available by the hour for groups & classes as well as rooms available for permanent let to charities, social enterprises & similar. A great achievement when compared to the potential demolition.

For further details please email: Info@duncanplace.org

 

 

 

 

Scottish Government dismiss appeal by Steads Place developers

Today the Scottish Government has announced that it has dismissed the appeal by Drum Image result for scottish government(Steads Place) Ltd against the decision by City of Edinburgh Council not to grant them the required consents to demolish buildings at Steads Place, and replace with a new development.

 

 

 

You can download and read both decision notices here:

 

 

General Election 2019 decides membership of two Leith Links Community Council seats

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.Image result for house of commons logo

Following General Election 2019 the following Members of Parliament are returned as ex officio members of Leith Links Community Council:

 

 

 

  • Edinburgh East: Tommy Sheppard MP
  • Edinburgh North and Leith: Deidre Brock MP

 

 

 

 

 

Projekt 42 seeks community support for new Leith Links facility

Leith based charity Projekt 42 provides accessible, inclusive and affordable health & well being services in Leith.  Image result for projekt 42

The charity, led by Sara Hawkins, has requested a Community Asset Transfer from City of Edinburgh Council of the old pavilion at Leith Links with a view to using it to provide their services.

 

The building is currently not in use and has recently attracted graffiti & vandalism.

 

 

 


Re-post of message from Projekt 42 published on Facebook:

 

Projekt 42 needs a little help 🤗

Projekt 42 submitted a community asset transfer request in August 2019 to the Edinburgh Council for the Leith Links Pavilion, and the Edinburgh council has ignored our request.

The charity has plans to bring the area back to life. We want to rebuild the pavilion and create a space for family activities, yoga and meditation classes, and space to extend our mental health services. Our plans include partnering with the Judy Murray Foundation who will provide the support we need to launch family tennis activities and we hope to bring other activities to the space including volleyball, outdoor fitness and yoga.

We’re a great fit for the area. All the profit we make goes back into leith through providing training opportunities and funding towards qualifications, free and subsidised counselling, free activities for seniors, a youth fitness academy and support for people undergoing cancer treatment. Nobody personally profits from anything we do.

We’re under a really tight deadline. If we don’t receive the support of the Edinburgh Council by the 24th December, the charity loses the funding opportunities we need to renovate the space.

We need your help.

⭐️If you have Twitter, login and RT the @projekt42edi messages to the Edinburgh council.

⭐️If you can, email the local councillors and ask for their support for the community asset transfer (Chas Booth, Adam McVey and Gordon Munro).

⭐️Email the Edinburgh council and ask for an explanation to why they are not creating a safe space for families in this area, why they’re not processing our community asset transfer request and ask what their plans are.

We really need the communities support.


Photographs of the pavilion:

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Leith is my home: Banner making project by Leith Festival

Leith Festival Banner Project would like to invite us all to come and talk to us this Sunday (8 December 2019) between 12noon & 2pm in Leith Community Centre.No photo description available.

They are supporting the community to make a banner for the 2020 pageant.

They would like your ideas, creativity & skills to start to think about what the banner should look like and to hear from you what makes Leith home for you.

 

 

 

Leith Festivals ‘Christmas in Leith’ celebrations

Leith Festival invite our community to join them at the Foot of the Walk for the start of Leith Festival’s “Christmas in Leith” Celebrations. No photo description available.

Enjoy hearing the choir from St Mary’s (Leith) Primary school who will also lead the Community Christmas singalong and switching on of Leith’s Christmas Tree.

Leith Festival wish to thank to GAMECHANGER for their much appreciated support.

 

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Leith Links Community Council responds to Leith Festival Funfair plan being considered by City of Edinburgh 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.”


 

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