Tag: 2024

Public Toilets on Leith Links 2024

The temporary public toilets on the Links are located beside the low cream coloured (heavily grafittied) building beyond the hedge, behind the tennis courts, in the old bowling greens area of the Links, near the junction of Links Gardens and Johns Place

These toilets are operational 10-6pm daily. Or so we’re told. If you go to use them within those times and find them locked, please email parks@edinburgh.gov.uk to report the date and time you found them locked.

You’d think that installing the temporary public toilets on Leith Links for the summer season would go fairly smoothly, wouldn’t you, considering that this is the fourth year it has been done? Sadly, you’d be wrong.

First, the Council said they wouldn’t install temporary toilets this year, as permanent ones were to be installed.

Then they said they would, because the permanent ones have been delayed indefinitely.

Then they said they didn’t know when they would be installed, but they would let us know. They didn’t.

Then the toilets suddenly appeared, in mid June, without warning – though the Community Council was not informed.

They were not connected up to the water and electricity for some time, and again the Community Council was not kept informed.

They were still not open for public use on 12 July (when there was a World Orienteering Championship held on the Links, with 200 + people attending)

Ar random times between 13 July and the present, the toilets have sometimes been found open and operational, and sometimes / often been locked.

The council tell us they have been operational since 15 July and are open 10am – 6pm daily. We know that is simply not true as we have often found them locked and deserted during those hours.

There has been no sign erected to notify the public that the Portocabin on the bowling greens area is a public toilet. But now (24 July), after repeated requests from the Community Council, one has been affixed to the door at last. Good.

However there are no signs anywhere in the park to alert park users to the fact that the toikets exist at all, and where they are. The community council has fixed up some ‘home made’ signs, to help people find them.

Do use the Comments below to feed back to us your experiences of the toilets and how well they are working out, for the local community.

What’s the situation elsewhere?

Portobello – toilets open 10-6pm at the beach end of Pipe Street, near the food stalls on the Prom. (Other ‘alleged’ toilets at 4 Bath Street – are they open or not?)

Joppa – The restaurant Joppa Rocks at the furthest (east) end of the beach kindly makes its loos available to the public even if you don’t buy anything there. Staff will direct you to an upstairs loo, but there is a downstairs one for anyone with mobility issues.

Inverleith Park – same as Leith Links – temporary toilets but not obvious to visitors, no signage or notice re opening hours etc.

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Off on hols, and your Postal Vote has not arrived yet? Emergency Voting facility available!

Emergency facility for postal voting

If you haven’t received your postal vote yet, it should be delivered by 29 June. Keep an eye out for your post, and then return it as soon as possible.

If you are going away on holiday shortly and won’t be at home to receive and return your postal vote, then the Council have an emergency drop-in facility where you can pick up a postal vote ballot pack from Friday 28th June, at the City Chambers.  You will need to bring along photo ID.

This facility is not a polling station – you pick up a postal vote form, complete it on the spot, in private, and then put it into the Royal Mail postbox outside the City Chambers. The City Chambers will be open from 9am-5pm today (28 June) and over the weekend (29/30 June).

This facility is only for people who will not be at home to receive their postal vote. If you will be in Edinburgh next week please wait for delivery. Only contact the council early next week if you are still without your pack.

You’ll find information on the council website  www.edinburgh.gov.uk/postalvotes

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Call for urgent action – local building at risk of collapse

Responding to local residents’ concerns about their safety, the Chair of Leith Links Community Council (LLCC) has called on City of Edinburgh Council urgently to use its extensive powers to protect the public by requiring the owner of a building at risk of collapse in John’s Lane to make it safe and repair it.

22 John’s Lane is a listed Georgian warehouse which has been neglected for many years. It has been on the Historic Environment Scotland ‘Buildings at Risk Register’ since 1991, though pictures there show it had a roof at that time which is now long gone. See  22, John’s Lane, Leith | Buildings at Risk Register

The outer wall facing John’s Lane is now leaning dangerously and at over 3 storeys high, with obviously eroded mortar, a high wind could cause a collapse. Any falling masonry could cause damage or injury to passers by in this narrow lane, off Queen Charlotte Street. In addition to providing rear access to a number of homes and businesses, John’s Lane is used by a local garage business and their customers.

Clearly the owner of the building is responsible, but the Council has strong powers to act to prevent any accidents from the obvious neglect of this structure. It can issue a Dangerous Building Notice which is used by Local Authorities to protect the public when it appears that the building owner has failed to prevent the building from falling into a dangerous condition. The notice is served to require a building owner to reduce or remove the danger posed by a building.

A Dangerous Building Notice requires the owner “to make safe or demolish a building that poses a threat to public safety. Repair Notices can be served on both listed and unlisted properties, and specify those works considered reasonable and necessary for the preservation of a building, along with a timescale within which these works should be completed. Failure to comply within the specified deadline may result in works being undertaken by the local planning authority, and a charge being made to the owner(s).

The Council can also issue an Urgent Works Notice on vacant listed properties, to allow the local planning authority to undertake emergency works such as the erection of supportive scaffolding or temporary roof structures.

Leith Links Community Council reports acute concern

LLCC Chair, Jim Scanlon, said ‘I feel this is a very urgent issue because of the risks to life that the condition of the building currently represents.’

You can read the full letter sent by the LLCC Chair to the Council here [link]

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If you are concerned about a dangerous structure and don’t know who owns it, you can contact the City of Edinburgh Council Shared Repairs Service who have the responsibility for this type of issue.  Further information can be found here Unsafe buildings and emergency repairs – The City of Edinburgh Council
The email address is esrs@edinburgh.gov.uk. ‘

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What’s Happening around Leith Links this summer?

Here’s what we know about – please contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk if you know of any other events on or around the Links in the next couple of months, that local people might like to be aware of.

Public Toilets
The Links were supposed to be getting a permanent public toilet block this summer, but it has been delayed, apparently, for various reasons, and will not now be built until the autumn or later…watch this space….
HOWEVER, good news – the Links WILL be getting temporary public toilets, like the past few years. If you want to know when exactly these will be arriving we suggest that you all – like this Community Council – email your local Councillors to ask when / and can they please try to speed the process up, stressing the urgent need that you and your family and friends experience for toilets, now that the weather is improving and people are spending longer out of doors.
Cllr.katrina.faccenda@edinburgh.gov.uk; chas.booth@edinburgh.gov.uk; adam.mcvey@edinburgh.gov.uk

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Duncan Place
All sorts of exciting events & activities take place at Duncan Place Community Hub, including sociable and undemanding ‘Seasonal Strolls’ around the Links, usually on Wednesday lunchtimes (But not every week- check with Duncan Place for schedule). Sign up here to receive their regular Newsletter, to keep abreast of what’s on.

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Earth in Common (on the corner of the Links at the Queen Charlotte Street end of John’s Place) now offers a Cafe and Farm Shop (Food Hub).
Cafe open Tuesday -Friday 9-3pm and Saturday-Sunday 10-4pm for tea and coffee, homemade sweet treats and a simple vegetarian menu.
Farm Shop sells local produce like vegetables, eggs and milk

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Leith Links Funfair
The traditional ‘shows’ will be on the Links this year as they are every year around Leith Festival time (over on the Duncan Place side) Sunday 2nd – Sunday 9th June

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Leith Festival Gala Day
This traditional community event will be held on Saturday 8th June

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Leith Festival 8th – 16th June
For news of the many exciting events held all around Leith during the Leith Festival, see www.leithfestival.com and look out for the printed paper programme which you will be able to pick up soon all over Leith (in cafes, pubs etc.)

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World Orienteering Championships 2024 – 12 July
This one off event will be held on and around the Links on the morning of  Friday 12 July, with start & finish points on the small triangle on the west side of Leith Links at Duncan Place, beside Leith Primary School. For more information, see www.woc2024.org/woc-tour/

Organisers are keen for people to come along and spectate too. The WOC races earlier in the morning on Leith Links will be the most exciting for spectating and there will be a ‘Finals’ event culminating in Central Edinburgh the same afternoon.

Latest news is that there are also going to be ‘open’ races for spectators / the local community, on the main part of the Links, slightly later in the day, with entries open to anyone – the shortest courses are suitable for complete beginners!  These involve people running around, navigating to checkpoints marked with a stake, small flag and electronic timing box. Entries are at:

https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=1280

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Archeology tests on the Links

Please be aware that there will be people working on site at the bowling greens at Leith Links this Thursday 9th May.  In case you are wondering – and to combat any possible misinformation – these are workers from AOC Archaeology Group who have been officially contracted to carry out archaeological tests at the site. This is part of the development work and site scoping for the proposed Activity Hub project (part of the Leith Links MasterPlan).
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Hello Sun! ……Hello Stench?

As the weather warms and softens a little, local people will have noticed the return of our old friend(?),  the disgusting ‘Seafield Stench’.

Despite the assurances of the sewage plant operator Veolia, that the weather and the smells are not connected, we have all noticed that the Stench seems to descend on sunny days, just to try us. Report smells here!

Same campaign success, some progress?

Although it is a long-running saga, local people may remember that our years of campaigning DID get the Scottish Government to commit funding-

  1.  – to build a £100,000 million state-of-the-art new Sewage Plant, starting in 2029 when the current private finance agreement with Veolia comes to an end, and
  2.  – in the meantime, to spend £10 million on improvements to the existing plant, aimed at reducing odour problems.

These improvements are, sadly, still at the procurement stage, and they are not expected to ‘break ground’ until early 2025. Though they may well improve things longer term, it’s possible that there will be more, rather than fewer, stink incidents next year, as the work disrupts the normal running of the plant. So it’s important to keep them on their toes!

Reporting Portal Working again, please report!

Those in authority have openly admitted that our reporting facility (see on this page), which so many of you used to great effect, was a huge factor in getting the Government to commit to spending on Seafield. Unfortunately, for the past few months it hasn’t been working properly due to technical glitches

However, we have got the report form system working again and some of you have already been using it to complain about our recent, treasured sunny days becoming stinky days.

So please take the few moments needed to report every time you smell sewage from Seafield. Your reports go to every official who has anything to do with Seafield Waste Water Treatment facility, right up to the Scottish Government Minister, who gets every email!

It worked the last time, let’s keep the pressure up!

Report smells here! leithlinkscc.org.uk/seafieldnuisancereportform

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Next Meeting of Leith Links Community Council, 29 April 6:30p, online (Teams)

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held online only (via Teams) on Monday 29th April, at 6:30pm.

Agenda April 2024.

Minutes of previous meeting available here.

February 2024 Police Report here.

March 2024 Police Report here.

The meeting is held in public, to allow interested local residents to participate, as well as members of the CC. Please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk if you wish to attend, and you will be sent a link.

Leith Local History Society April talk BRUCE KEITH Scotland Beneath the Surface

Bruce Keith joins us again for his talk, Scotland Beneath the Surface

Everything underground! Souterrains, manmade tunnels from castles and for roads and railways, pumped storage schemes, mines for coal and shale, quarries and more…

The talk is at Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate, Leith (up the stair from the shops) on Tuesday 19 March 2024, at 7.00 pm. Admission is £2∙00, or free for members 

llhs_flyer_for_apr_2024

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Leith Links Litterpick, Saturday 27th April – Join us!

In partnership with our friends at Duncan Place Community Hub, Leith Links Community Council is organising a community litterpick on Leith Links on Saturday 27th April, from 10am until 12 noon

Please do join us! All are welcome! Adults and children!
Litterpicking  – believe it or not – is strangely enjoyable and satisfying.

Litterpickers and bags will be provided but please bring your own work gloves.

Meet outside 4 Duncan Place (next to the school) at 10am on 27th.

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