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.

Leith Links Community Council Meeting, 30th September 6:30pm, Leith Community Centre

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be on Monday 30th September , at 6:30pm in the Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate.

If you live in the area, you are warmly welcomed to attend.

This is also election year for Community Councils and we hope that you may be keen to join us. If you are available to volunteer in your spare time and have an interest in a wide range of local issues we would be pleased to hear from you. The Community Council election period starts on 9th September and closes on 30th September.
AUGUST MINUTES Monday 26 August 2019

TV chef cooking up plans for Leith Links event

City of Edinburgh Council, who have oversight of Leith Links, are considering a proposal to host an event at Leith Links, and you are invited to submit your views and questions.

The event – ‘Tom Kerridge Presents Pub In The Park’, is proposed to take place at Leith Links from 22 June 2020 to 1 July 2020. We have also been informed that a Council officer has suggested the event be held in the same area of the Links used by the Mela.

You can view the proposal below (there is very little information provided to us by City of Edinburgh Council) then submit your views or questions.

Your views should be submitted to parks@edinburgh.gov.uk by 4th September 2019.

You may wish to copy in one or more of the City of Edinburgh Councillors who represent Leith Ward 13;

You may also wish to copy in Councillor Lesley McInnes (lesley.macinnes@edinburgh.gov.uk), who is the Convenor of the City of Edinburgh Councils Transport & Environment Committee.

Click on the picture for more information.

Leith Links Community Council Meeting, 26th August 6:30pm, Leith Community Centre

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be on Monday 26th August , at 6:30pm in the Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate.

If you live in the area, you are warmly welcomed to attend.

This is also election year for Community Councils and we hope that you may be keen to join us. If you are available to volunteer in your spare time and have an interest in a wide range of local issues we would be pleased to hear from you. The Community Council election period starts on 9th September.

 

Leith Links Play Park Upgrade Update

Leith Links CC received the latest update from the city council on the new play park equipment

I’d just like to give you a brief update on the Leith Links Play Park upgrade.  If you’ve passed by recently you’ll have seen that works are progressing well with new equipment installed, surfacing work beginning and play sand in place.  The overall programme is nearing completion with the site to receive a wet surface pour this week. Completion will see some tar work to seal the surface and the installation of a new gate.

I hope that you’ll agree that the park is looking really exciting with local kids keen to get in and start playing. Edinburgh Lothians and Greenspace Trust who will be confirming the completion date and assisting us to organise a launch event at the play park as soon as possible. We’ll ensure that we keep you updated as the plans for this event progress.

Great news

ParkLife Project: Leith Links update

An update on the Edinburgh ParkLife project in relation to Leith Links…

Introduction

Parks are vibrant public spaces that are important for local communities as places to exercise, relax, play and appreciate nature. The ParkLife project, a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council, is exploring how technology can help gather more information about how parks are being used and enjoyed – by wildlife and people – to help those who manage and care for them.

The project ran four community meetings across Edinburgh, including one in Leith organised by Leith Links Community Council, to find out what members of the community want to see improved in their park, what the main challenges are, and which areas are the most/least used in their park. Taking this forward, we then asked them to think about the role that technology might play in all these issues.

Leith Links

Our Leith workshop took place at the beginning of April, was hosted by the Leith Links Community Council in Leith Community Centre and was attended by fifteen Leithers. We divided the attendees into three groups and seated them around an enormous map of Leith Links. We were also lucky to have Scott Thomson in attendance – Scott is the Park Officer for Leith Links.

We then asked them to quickly list everything happening in the Links and to mark their location with a coloured dot on the map. Green dots represent the most used areas, red dots mark areas of conflict and yellow dots specify areas for potential opportunities. As you can see in the photos, the attendees identified up to twenty areas, with the space around the playground being the most colourful on all three maps.

After this exercise, everyone came together to walk around each table to discuss the outcomes. The sorts of issues raised included dog owners using designated play areas and the football pitches; the lack of seating in the playground; and whether it was fair for military fitness groups to use the Links without contributing towards its upkeep. There were lots of opportunities to improve the park: planting a community garden and the improvement of the allotments; the need for better cycle path connections; the restoration of the bowling greens; and a wish for an ice-cream stand, to name a few.

For our last activity, we asked the attendees to narrow down their thoughts to name ONE opportunity to be created or ONE challenge to be solved. They produced the following list:

1. Using social media to canvass views on how the bowling green can be restored.

2. Improving the infrastructure of the non-sporting spaces e.g. picnics or BBQs.

3. Surveying how many people use the park and what people are doing in different areas.

Understandably, funding was the single most important obstacle mentioned by the attendees. The ParkLife team will be to take this list and see how using technology can help. This technology won’t replace getting out Leith Links and speaking to more people. Amongst other things, it is hoped that new information will provide more evidence to make the case for more funding for Leith Links.

The workshops were our first steps to talk with the local communities around Leith Links and other areas across Edinburgh. They reinforced how vibrant and integral these public spaces are for those who use and live near them. We look forward to working with the communities and seeing how parks across Edinburgh bloom over Spring and Summer.

We would like to thank all the participants who attended our workshops and shared their insights. If you want to find out more about ParkLife then you can contact us at parklife@ed.ac.uk or visit our website https://www.edinburghlivinglab.org/projects/parklife

ParkLife Project Seeking Community Volunteers (Leith Links)

You’ll recall that earlier this year we brought you news of the Edinburgh ParkLife project, which is seeking to use data & information to improve Leith Links (and three other parks elsewhere in the City).

They are moving forward with their project and require the assistance of some volunteers to help them.

 

 


The ParkLife user research team invites you to be a ‘park blitz’ volunteer. With your help, we will conduct short face-to-face surveys with park users about their experiences in four parks across Edinburgh. ‘Blitzes’ will last for two hours in one park, and volunteers can opt to participate in more than one blitz. We havefurther opportunities to volunteer at two park community events, for two or four hours per event. You will receive a short trainingsession on the survey questionnaire on 7 May at 2pm (if unavailable then, please let us know).

User research is part of the larger ParkLife project, which experiments with new techniques for gathering and analysing park data. For more information go here.

We will provide a packed lunch and refreshments.

Please indicate your availability in the doodle poll below:

https://doodle.com/poll/f8q3rsnpk9b9uuar

The ParkLife user research team is excited to meet all of you!

Morgan & Michaela

Morgan.currie@ed.ac.uk and M.Hubmann@ed.ac.uk


 

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