Tag: 2025

Stinking Seafield! Scottish Water replies…..

After weeks of appalling sewage smells, and after sending through an unprecedented high number of complaints from the local community, on our online forms,  the Community Council has today received this missive from Scottish Water:

Dear stakeholder,

I am writing to update you about the odour issues that have been impacting customers living close to the Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works in recent days.

You will be aware Scotland is currently experiencing the driest start to the year in more than 60 years.

This long period of dry, hot weather has combined with sustained onshore winds at Seafield creating a ‘perfect storm’ where slow moving sewage is already giving off a strong odour by the time it arrives at the works.

This is simply because with less surface and grey water entering the sewer system, sewage is more concentrated than usual.

An independent review commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2017 highlighted this increased risk of odour as an unavoidable consequence of the weather conditions we are currently experiencing.

This can be mitigated by wind direction but we are also experiencing an unprecedented level of onshore wind for this time of year.

However, there are some immediate actions that we are implementing. 

  • We have increased chemical dosing at Seafield and are working with partners to ensure this is at levels that will have an effect on the first point where sewage arrives at Seafield.
  • We are switching to a specific chemical where the sewage enters Seafield that ‘targets’ the specific odour causing most of the issues.
  • Further discussions are being held today, and a site meeting tomorrow to evaluate additional measures that could include increasing dosing points that again specifically target the inlet works.
  • All non-essential maintenance activity has been suspended, and this will remain in place for the remainder of this week and then reviewed again.

Please be reassured every complaint is being looked at, investigated and acted upon and we will continue to work closely with the site operators Veolia to address the problem.

We will be in touch with an update when we have more information.

Matt Bingham

Senior Communications & Engagement Consultant

Scottish Water

Buchanan Gate Business Park,

Cumbernauld Road, Stepps,

Glasgow

G33 6FB

Tel: 07709 504 350

Email:matt.bingham@scottishwater.co.uk

,

Next meeting of Leith Links Community Council, Duncan Place, 6:30pm, Monday 26 May 2025.

The next meeting of Leith Links Community Council will be held in person at Duncan Place at 6:30pm on Monday 26 May 2025.

Minutes of previous meeting are here.

Agenda is here.

This will be the second meeting of the new Community Council, as elected in March 2025, and we will welcome our new Community Councillors, and any local residents who wish to attend. Thre are quite a few things going on locally so it’s good to catch up!

A Teams link will be set up for councillors and local residents who are unable to attend in person, but we do not have the technical facilities to guarantee a good ‘hybrid’ set up.

Please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk if you wish to receive an online link.

 

Leith Local History Society AGM, Tuesday 20th May, Leith Community Centre, New Kirkgate

The society will hold its AGM in Leith Community Centre on Tuesday, 20th May at 7pm.

Please join us to find out more about our exciting programme from September 2025 to May 2026. The society can do more if people join us by becoming a member.

We desperately need someone to join the committee who has IT skills to update our old website or help create a new one and help with our Facebook presence.

I hope to meet you all next Tuesday.

 

LLHS PROGRAMME 2025:26, LLHS AGM 20:05:2025,LLHS CHAIR REPORT 2025

Best wishes

 

Jim Scanlon

Chair, LLHS

, , , , , ,

Sprucing up YOUR street? Tell the Council where to go!

You might have thought that your Council tax already covered street cleaning, however City of Edinburgh Council have announced a new project, with a new extra budget, which was originally called “Scrub My Street” and now seems to be called “Pride in our City”. See: https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/litter-flytipping/pride-city

Please note that the focus is on Leith Ward, in May 2025. The Council is asking local residents to suggest specific places that need a deep clean. You can send in your suggestions directly, and/or the Community Council will pass on any suggestions that are made. Please suggest any streets in the Leith Links Area that should have priority, and that need a particular clean up! Please act quickly as May is nearly upon us!

They say:

“We want your neighbourhoods to be cleaner and look better. 

So we have dedicated teams who are working throughout the city, one ward at a time, to spruce up Edinburgh’s neighbourhoods.

This might include removing

  • dog fouling
  • dumped items
  • graffiti
  • chewing gum

and litter picking and sweeping.

We’ll also be working with our colleagues in other services to improve other parts of your neighbourhoods.”

“We will be checking neighbourhoods for areas that need to be cleaned up. We are also talking to communities about where they would like us to work.

Please come along to one of our community events or email us at cleanstreets@edinburgh.gov.uk to let us know what you think.”

,

Leith Local History Society, Tuesday 15th April , Leith Community Centre, New Kirkgate

Please join us at the next meeting of the Leith Local History Society, on TUESDAY 15th April AT 7pm in Leith Community Education Centre, to hear this fascinating presentation:

SS Explorer

Dr Meredith Greiling, Curator at National Museum of Scotland will share her knowledge of the SS Explorer launched in Aberdeen in 1955. The ship was the first purpose built steam driven fisheries research vessel and now on the at risk historic ships register and moored in Leith Docks.

You can I find out more at  ssexplorer.org

All welcome, £2 or free to members

, , , , , ,

New ‘Rules’ for parks – have your say!

Revised rules for parks and greenspaces – your chance to comment by 11 April 2025

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/management-rules-parks/

Do you use Leith Links and other parks in Edinburgh? If so, you might be interested in the Council’s ‘rules’ for use of parks which are intended to ensure these shared spaces are used properly and safely. For example barbecues and fires – which are clearly safety issues – cause damage to grassy areas and in hot dry weather could cause wild fires and also result in high levels of particulates in the air, are already not permitted in parks except in designated areas. Did you know that a range of other activities and events need prior permission from the Council to be held in parks?

The Council plans to bring in a revised set of Management Rules for Public Parks, Beaches, and Green Spaces to cover the next 10 years. These rules are made under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. A revised draft set of management rules have been developed over the past 2 years and are now out for consultation.   A final version will be submitted to Culture and Communities Committee for consideration. Once it’s passed, presumably the Council will be empowered to enforce these rules.

Here is a link to the consultation exercise on the Council’s website – please take a little time to contribute your views on the matter.

Management Rules for Parks, Beaches, and Greenspace – City of Edinburgh Council – Citizen Space

,

Join the Litterpick, Saturday 22nd March

Please come and join in the Spring Litterpick on Leith Links, next Saturday morning, 22nd March! Litter-picking is surprisingly satisfying in itself, and you will be contributing to making our area a much more pleasant place for everyone.

Duncan Place is coordinating the litterpick, which is also supported by the Leith Links Community Council.

  • We’ll all meet in the Duncan Place car park at 10am. 4 Duncan Place, Leith, EH6 8HW.
  • We have litter pickers you can borrow, however please do bring your own if you have one. Bring gloves (not your poshest pair!)
  • We’ll supply bin bags. We have a limited number of bin bag hoops and sturdy gloves that people can borrow.
  • Children very welcome, but under 16s to be accompanied by an adult.
  • Join us after the litter pick for a hot cuppa and biscuits, inside Duncan Place, as a thank-you for getting involved.
  • If the weather is *really* bad, we’ll call the litter pick off. If in doubt, check the Duncan Place socials, or call 0131 364 4351.
  • Litter picking volunteers can just turn up on the day, but it does help to let the organisers know you’re coming. You can email on events@duncanplace.org or fill in the form here > https://forms.gle/e7DbVQHq7ENikTSZ6

, ,

Leith Local History Society, Tuesday 18th March , Leith Community Centre, New Kirkgate

Do come along to the next meeting of the Leith Local History Society, on TUESDAY 18th March AT 7pm in Leith Community Education Centre, to hear this fascinating presentation:

The Royal Navy and Leith between 1780 and 1805

Brian Pinkstone will share his research into Royal Navy ships, some with Leith crew or ‘pressed men’ who escorted valuable cargo during a time when shipping could be attacked by privateers

All welcome, £2 or free to members

, , ,

More changes planned for our area…?

The Leith Low Traffic Neighbourhood has now been made permanent  (and has apparently also been ‘renamed’ the “Leith Liveable Neighbourhood”)

But things have not stopped there. At the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee next week (6th March), Councillor Chas Booth is proposing a motion that signposts to further changes in our area. (See below) What do people think of these?

Can / should such steps just be imposed from ‘above’? Is it time for a public meeting, and a focused discussion with local residents, to explore the ideas Councillor Booth is pushing forward?

You can comment below, or email your views to: contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk

*

Motion by Councillor Booth – Liveable Neighbourhoods

“Committee:

1)         Notes the decision of TRO sub-committee on 18 February to make the Leith Liveable Neighbourhood, introduced under ETRO 23/20, permanent; further notes that while the scheme was generally successful at reducing motor traffic, there was a traffic increase on Duncan Place and northbound on Salamander Place;

2)         Notes that while there is a commitment in the City Mobility Plan (CMP) to roll out liveable neighbourhoods, this work is currently unfunded within the CMP action plan (action 105) but this is being assessed as part of the CMP CIP review agreed by committee in December 2024;

3)         Requests a report to committee in 4 cycles setting out:

           a)         options to address the increase in traffic on Duncan Place and northbound on Salamander Place including, but not limited to, moving the bus gate to Links Gardens and introducing a full modal filter at either the north end of Johns Place or the south end of Duncan Place;

            b)         what further action can be taken to improve dropped kerbs, pavements camber and improve conditions for walkers and wheelers throughout the project area and in particular at Claremont Park/Gladstone Place, including the potential for a new pedestrian crossing near the nursing home;

            c)         what further action can be taken to improve conditions for those cycling in the area, in particular along quiet route 10 between Sandport Bridge and Links Gardens;

            d)         whether there would be advantages to coordinating the timing of any further changes to the Liveable Neighbourhood with rollout of the CPZ to the area south of Leith Links;

            e)         any lessons learned from the Leith Liveable Neighbourhood scheme, in particular on how the council can better engage with disabled people who might be impacted by a scheme at the earliest possible stage.”

*

At the same meeting, it is proposed to launch proceedings to ban parking on a number of streets, by introducing new double yellow lines on both sides. Worryingly, according to a recent Evening News article, Claremont Park is included on the list – can this really be the case, given that it is a wide road with plenty room for buses to pass each other, and no record of pavement parking? Seafield Place, Seafield Road and Salamander Street are also listed. Further information urgently needed!

 

See the full meeting agenda here: https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=7245&x=1

2 Comments ,
1 2 3