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.

 

 

 

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.

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

 

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 .

Remembering Lost Leithers

It’s always a shock when you hear about the death of a much loved Leither. 

This week has been particularly bad with the deaths of three people who contributed so much to our community.

The Queen of Leith, Mary Moriarty died last week and her funeral is on Tuesday 25th October. A service will be held in South Leith Parish Church at 12pm then on to Seafield Crematorium (limited spaces). You will then have the chance to raise a glass to Mary in The Dockers Club and share your memories with friends.

Mary was well known in Leith, not only as the owner of the famous Port of Leith pub where many a fun night was had, but also for her many years of hard work with Leith Festival helping it survive through good times and bad.

From my window I remember that on the day before the gala Mary would be out on the Links spraying and numbering the pitches for the gala day stalls.

She was always there at the crack of dawn on the Saturday and still there hours after the last stall had left with a litter picker and black bin bag making sure the park was cleaner than how she had found it.

I’m proud to say that I knew Mary for many years, and she will be sorely missed by many of us in the Leith community who will all have our fond memories of her. She could always make you smile even when you were feeling down.

I also lost another friend, Jim Tweedie recently who died over a week ago and his funeral is on Friday, 28 October, Warriston Crematorium at 2pm. 

Jim was a hard working member of the Leith Community and Chair of Leith Local History Society preserving our history and informing new residents about our rich past.

The society continue to meet on the third Tuesday in the month in the community centre and with a series of monthly talks.

Jim and I were also on the steering group to save Custom House for the people of Leith and with the help of local councillors, especially Councillor Gordon Munro the city council was persuaded to purchase the building using Common Good Funding. Work to establish a heritage display in the building is ongoing.

Finally, Davie Jeneil who ran a successful jewellers shop in Great Junction Street for over 30 years providing gifts for the many birthdays, weddings and celebrations of Leithers.

I also knew Davie as a great supporter of Leith Rules Golf Society. His family always put in a team for the Foulis Medal. A fun competition on the Links every year using hickory golf clubs which is open to local Leith businesses and community groups.

When Davie’s son in law turned up to play, I always thought we would be quicker just handing him the medal because he is such an excellent player.

Davie also supported the society by providing the quaichs and engravings for our other team events and again he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

On behalf of Leith Links Community Council, I would like to extend our condolences and best wishes to the family and friends of all these great Leithers who we will all miss.

Jim Scanlon MBE

Chair 

Leith Links Community Council

Next meeting of Leith Links Community Council, Monday 27th June at 6:30pm, online

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 27th June at 6:30pm, online (Microsoft Teams)

Papers for the meeting will be issued soon.

Scottish Water and the operators of Seafield, Veolia, will be attending to give an update on the sewage plant and answer questions about recent odour issues.

As always, our meetings are open to interested members of the public. If you wish to attend, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk and you will be sent an invitation / link for the meeting.

LEITH CONSULTATIONS

Just like when you’re waiting on a 16 bus stuck in a traffic jam three arrive at the same time.

The City Council have added three really important consultations for the future of Leith to the consultation hub on the city council webpage.

LEITH CONNECTIONS PHASE 3

Leith Connections: Phase 3 west – east proposals – City of Edinbu

Leith Connection Phase 3 has some lovely graphics including one of Salamander Street with a new cycle lane and narrowed road space for cars and trucks that I’m sorry to say do have to use our roads every day on one of the main arterial routes East to West through the city.

I also find it strange that the graphic doesn’t show the CPZ plan for the same route which had permit holder and pay and display parking on Salamander Street at the same view in the graphic so I do wonder IF these teams actually communicate with each other.

The Leith Connection Phase 3 consultation is open until 17 July so please, please make your thoughts known.

 

ETRO Go Home?

The next consultation is on ETRO which we may remember in a previous life was known as Spaces for People. Love it or loathe it,  the road coning and closures project introduced to make streets safer for cycling, walking and wheeling during the pandemic is now finally up for public consultation. This is your opportunity to comment on the future plans. Do you want them kept or ditched? Have your say now or you could be stuck with them permanently.

 

LEITH LINKS MASTERPLAN 

Finally, the Leith Links Master Plan is also open on the consultation hub for your positive or negative comments. Please use this opportunity to add your views on how you would like to see Leith Links developed for all residents in the future.

The Leith Links Masterplan Team had a stall at Leith Gala and many members of the public visited the tent to find out more and to share their views, so now it’s your turn to do the same.

You can see more about the plans here.

Leith Links Masterplan – City of Edinburgh Council – Citizen Space

You can also comment here, on the Hub, but you’ll only find a very limited set of leading questions. If you have more to say on any specific point, you should email directly to Miles.Wilkinson@edinburgh.gov.uk

The deadline for this consultation is 31 July. Please also be sure to copy your email also to our elected Councillors:

Chas.Booth@edinburgh.gov.uk

Cllr.Katrina.Faccenda@edinburgh.gov.uk

Adam.McVey@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

 

Leith Links Community Council next meeting Monday 28th February 6:30 online

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 28th, February at 6:30pm, online (Microsoft Teams)

The Agenda for the next meeting and minutes of January’s meeting will be issued shortly

As always, our meetings are open to interested members of the public. If you wish to attend, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk and you will be sent an invitation / link for the meeting.

Thank you for your support

Edinburgh Climate Festival,Leith Links(East) Saturday 14th August 12pm-7pm

Edinburgh Climate Festival will be coming to Leith Links on Saturday, 14th August

The event will be held on Leith Links East, 12-7pm, they have an exciting day planned. Highlights include an art installation by artist duo Bibo & Brian Keeley, upcycling workshops, sewing repairs, seed swaps, planting workshop, ebike and cargo bike trials, free bike repairs, a free shop, a live DJ and more!

There will also be some scheduled activities throughout the day:

* 12:00 Circle Dancing

* 13:00 Hatha Flow Yoga

* 14:00 Storytelling

* 14:30 Tai Chi

* 15:00 Yoga

* 16:00 Storytelling

* 17:00 Circle Dancing

* + Upcycle Bicycle Inner Tube Workshop (drop in anytime 12-15:00, 16-19:00)

Location

The Festival will be held at Leith Links East, Links Gardens EH6 7EB (grey pin on the map).

Unfortunately, they are not able to offer food, drinks or toilet facilities on site, but these can be found within walking distance from the venue. Staffed public toilets are available on the links by the tennis court here.

COVID-19 measures

Restrictions and precautions will be based on Edinburgh’s COVID-19 level (currently level 0) and the Scottish Government events sector guidance 

The organisers ask that you:

* Not to attend the event if you have COVID-19, have COVID-19 symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19.

* Organisers encourage you to wear a mask.

* Respect social-distancing.

 

The open day is a public event and photographs and films will be taken for use for marketing uses.

 

 

Parkour in the park at transformed Leith Links play area

The new Leith Links play area was officially opened on Friday 1 November 2019.

Image may contain: 4 people, people smiling, tree, child and outdoor

A parkour unit, a Rolli trampoline for wheelchair users, a natural play area and oodles of great new play equipment chosen by the local community have allbeen installed in the north Edinburgh park.

Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust (ELGT) enlisted the help of pupils From Leith Primary and City of Edinburgh Council’s Vice Convener for Culture and Communities to help officially open the new play park today following its £290,000 revamp.

The previous play park equipment was built in 1992 and fell below the play value score of good due to its age and condition.
ELGT held a number of consultation events to identify what types of new play equipment would make an immediate and very visible improvement to the play park. These will aim to serve as a catalyst for subsequent activities in the park.

A variety of equipment to cater for all ages has been installed in Leith Links, including a wide range of exciting new pieces of equipment – all selected by the local community.

Highlights include:

  • A zipwire, a swing basket, a climbing unit, a seated springer and a 3m cone net climber for junior ages
  • A toddle zone, with a swing with seat and cradle; a sand-play area with slide, a springer, a make-it-rain play piece, a wooden snail seat, a 2m orbit roundabout and a springer water lily
  • A Rolli Trampoline for wheelchairs users
  • An area for natural play, which includes a stilt walk and log stack to encourage natural play
  • A parkour unit to cater for teenagers, with a woodchip and rubber safer surface

Councillor Amy Mcneese-Mechan, Vice Convener of Culture and Communities, said: “This wonderful new facility is a fantastic addition to Leith Links, making it one of Edinburgh’s largest and most exciting play spaces. Play facilities for local children were arguably lacking and out of date before but with all these new additions the park’s now a great space for all the family to play and have fun. I’m particularly thrilled that we’ll have play equipment specifically designed for wheelchair users, so that families with disabled children can join in the fun.

“We have a first-class range of parks across the Capital, and we want to help communities make the most of these excellent open spaces. I’m sure these new facilities will draw visitors to Leith Links from all over the city.”

Charlie Cumming, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust, Chief Executive, said:“I am delighted that we have delivered an upgraded play area at Leith Links Park thanks to funding from FCC Communities Fund and the City of Edinburgh Council. The play equipment will help meet the needs of the local children now and for future generations and will encourage greater use of the park for local families”

Leith Links Community Council’s Sally Millar said: “Leith Links Community Council reported that all the users of the new Leith Links Play Park are absolutely delighted with the new design and facilities. It’s buzzing! The old play park was very limited and definitely past its sell-by-date. The newly upgraded play park, thanks to City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust, is so much more interesting, with lots of exciting new activities to explore and enjoy. The large wooden Pirate Ship is an especial favourite, for ‘clamberers’, also the new Zipwire is very popular. Safe, soft surfaces underfoot are reassuring for parents, who also like the seating facilities within the enclosure. A separate space for the smallest/ youngest children is much appreciated, as are the wheelchair friendly and all-age adapted activities that allow children with disabilities to be included in the fun. Thank you, CEC and Greenspace Trust!”

Sophie Cade, FCC Communities Fund Grants Manager said: “We are delighted to have supported this project. As well as providing a modern and safe area for children to play, the new play park will make a lasting and positive impact on the local community, a key objective of the Foundation.”

The new play park was funded by the FCC Communities Fund, which is from the Landfill Communities Fund, and by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Neighbourhood Environment Grant.

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