Tag: Leith Links Park

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

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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

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Sociable Strolls on Leith Links – Thursday lunchtime

Here is an invitation from our friends at Duncan Place Community Hub –

Join us as we take a wander round Leith Links and the surrounding areas, enjoying the changing seasons. There’s always something to spot!

We’re trialling a new day of the week, and a slightly different time:

Thursday 31st October, 12 noon til 1pm
Thursday 14th November, 12 noon til 1pm
Thursday 28th November, 12 noon til 1pm

Meet in the car park at 5 Duncan Place five minutes before (at 11:55am).
It’s free to attend.
You don’t need to book, you can just turn up, however some people like signing up on Eventbrite for a reminder.

If the weather is really bad, we’ll call the walk off. If we do, we’ll post on our social media pages and contact Eventbrite signups on the morning of the walk.

Email events@duncanplace.org or call 0131 364 4350 with any questions.

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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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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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Dept Q , Location Filming , Monday, 11th March , Links Gardens

Location filming will take place in Links Gardens/Links Place for a chilling new detective series called Dept Q.

The crew will be filming scenes between 4pm and 10pm on Monday 11th March and this will lead to some road closures during these hours to allow the action to take place.

Location equipment and crew will be on site from 9am to set up.

The map link below shows where road closures will take place from 6pm to 10pm.

If you would normally be planning to drive through the area at that time of day then plan an alternative route.

LINKS ROAD CLOSURES

Dept Q is based on the crime novels of the Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen which have sold many millions of copies. The books have been made into successful television adaptations and films ( In Danish). This new production which moves the location of Dept Q to Scotland stars some well known actors and could be very successful.

I’ve just finished the first book in English which introduces you to the characters.

The book was first published in 2008 and then made into a movie.

Lets wish them great success with this new take on the novels.

 

 

 

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Leith Local History Society, The Northern Light House Board

The next meeting of Leith Local History Society takes place on Tuesday, 16th January .

We meet in Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirgate at 7pm

Free to members and £2 for visitors.

This months event is a talk by Mike Bullock about he Northern Lighthouse Board who control and maintain all the lighthouses round the coast of Scotland.

You may have walked past their offices and control centre based in George Street and wondered about the flashing small lighthouse above the door,

I’m sure Mike’s talk will give an insight into the history and continued work of the Board.

LIGHT HOUSE TALK

Hope to see you there.

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Joy to the World

Seasons Greetings

If you were writing a new Christmas Panto script and you were looking for an idea, then Leith’s Christmas tree could be it.

Our sad tale begins in Leith with tram works and a modern-day plague.

Constitution Street and Leith Walk ripped up, and then Covid strikes.

The Christmas Tree that was installed and stood proudly in the Kirkgate for many, many years had to find a temporary home, and after little or no consultation a decision was taken by council officers to place a tree in Taylor Gardens instead, with 6 lights (4 working) added to lamp standards.

It’s a nice enough tree, but really not the true location where  Leithers would expect it to be, and that is something council officials don’t grasp in their decision making process.

It was supposed to be a temporary move, not permanent, but although it may tick boxes with council officers they miss the point of how the community view things.

When I first asked our elected councillors why the tree hadn’t returned to the Kirkgate, Councillor Faccenda kindly wrote to council officers and received a reply with reasons why it couldn’t go back to the Kirkgate. But all of those ‘problems’ really could have been worked out, had there been a willingness from council public servants.

“Unfortunately due to the installation of the Tram lines we are now unable to provide any festive Lighting on Leith Walk which involves working at height. The installation on a cut Christmas Tree involves using a telehandler to lift the tree into position and then a cherry picker later to install the lights”

Where there’s a will there’s always a way of achieving the impossible?

Someone in the council also had the idea to plant a fir tree in Taylor Gardens which could become the Leith Christmas tree of the future.

 

 

In reply to Councillor Faccenda the council said about this tree (- and please don’t laugh but I suppose it’s panto time. It’s behind you!)

The decision to move the Kirkgate Christmas Tree along the road to Taylor Park has enabled us to plant a tree which will hopefully be ready for dressing with lights within the next 5 years or so. We will continue to provide an 8m cut tree here until the planted tree is ready.

Now as I’m of a certain age and don’t have a life, I’m drawn to TV programmes like Gardeners’ World and Landward, and having done a few Christmas Quizzes I can confidently say that planted tree will not be ready in ‘less than 5 years’

Quiz answer is 15 years before an average Christmas tree is ready.

So why do council officers put nonsense in emails and expect us to accept what they say without challenging them? I suppose their get-out clause legally was ‘or so‘.

They apparently know even less about trees than me and it comes across that they really don’t care,and possibly haven’t been down to Leith to have a look because they call it Park not Gardens.

They reply in a confident ‘I know what I’m talking about because I’m a council officer’ manner then they don’t expect to be called out for nonsense speak, they expect the community to just say ok,move on.

However they miss the point that it’s not just about location of a tree on a spreadsheet.

They don’t take into account how people who live in the area view it, and have shared memories of good and bad times

The historic heart of Leith for a tree has, for as long as I can remember, been the Kirkgate beside Queen Victoria’s statue. If you take a walk down there today it looks drab and uncared for, and especially at this time of year it could do with some cheer.

We keep getting told that Leith is hip and has a vibrant community and is a top 10 destination as a place to visit and stay.

You wouldn’t think that if, as a tourist, you arrived at the Foot of the Walk by tram to an area that Christmas seemed to have by-passed all because of council bureaucracy which prior to lockdown had never been an issue.

But if you get it right, people will keep coming back, and spend money in our community, and tell their friends what a great place it is with friendly and helpful locals.

It doesn’t have to be over the top flashy lights.

It just has to be welcoming, which is supposedly what we in Leith are good at.

I would like the community to support me in bringing the tree back to the Kirkgate in 2024 and hopefully with help from local businesses in the Kirkgate, to brighten the place up.

Take a trip out to Davidson Mains Street or the front at South Queensferry and you will see what some communities and businesses can achieve at this time of year.

Let me know what you think, and more importantly hit the email inboxes of your elected Leith Councillors, MP and MSP

Don’t moan, just drop them a quick email: BRING BACK THE CHRISTMAS TREE TO THE KIRKGATE

Yes, I know life is hellish at the moment for many, many people, and you can’t eat Christmas trees, but let’s give it a go for our own pride and self-respect returning.

Thanks, and have a peaceful and enjoyable festive holiday.

Jim Scanlon MBE

Chair, Leith Links Community Council

 

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HISTORY OF LEITH GOLF

The next meeting of the Leith Local History Society will be on Tuesday 21 Nov. 2023 at Leith Community Centre at 7.00pm.
The original proposed talk has been rescheduled the talk will now be The History of Golf by Brian Graham.
We look forward to seeing you there. If you are interested in this, or the upcoming talks, why not complete a membership form and bring it to the next meeting.
Also, you may be interested to hear that an archaeology dig is due to start in Coatfield Lane off Constitution Street before new housing is built. The archaeology team are having an open day for the public to find out more on: Saturday, 25th November from 10am to 2pm .
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