Maureen Child: Report March 2011

[administrator]

Dear All

Please find my report for this month attached. In addition:

2011 Census
Scotland's biggest population count starts this month. Your census questionnaire should have been delivered to your house by Sunday 27 March (yesterday). It's very important that you fill in and return the form and it's not to late to do it now. Census results are used to help target and deliver billions of pounds worth of services such as education and transport, and business investment, including our own Council services. Find out more details on the website http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Register to vote
You need to register before 15 April to secure your vote in the Scottish Parliamentary Elections and the Referendum on the voting system for the UK Parliament. Call 344 2500 to check if you are registered. If not, download an application form at http://www.lothian-vjb.gov.uk.

Do you know an inspiring volunteer?
If so then you may want to recognise their outstanding work by nominating them for an Inspiring Volunteer Award. Nominations close 6pm Monday 28 March and the Lord Provost will present the special awards at a ceremony on 24 May at the City Chambers. Find out more information about how to nominate on the Edinburgh Volunteer Centre website http://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk or call 225 0630.

Next Saturday is Brighton Residents Association are organising the annual clean up which usually covers both Brighton and Rosefield Park. It will concentrate on Rosefield only this year (due to overlapping with the Farmers Market, and other issues). It should be a very family friendly event, with treats for children and a great way to meet up with neighbours - 10:00 - 12:00 in Rosefield Park.

Best wishes

Maureen

Councillor Maureen Child | Labour Elected Member | Portobello/Craigmillar (Ward 17) | City of Edinburgh Council | City Chambers | High Street | Edinburgh | EH1 1YJ | Tel 0131 529 3268 |

[administrator]

Councillor’s Report
March 2011

Maureen Child, Labour Councillor for Portobello/Craigmillar

Castle Credit Union
Our local finance co-operative, covering most of east Edinburgh, is going from strength to strength with a growing active membership, volunteers and staff. We recently changed our name from ‘Craigmillar’ to ‘Castle’ Credit Union to take account of the expansion into the area we cover. We are retaining our logo - the castle, of course - and the base in Craigmillar from which we intend to do more outreach, rather than wait for people to come to us. CCU recently held our AGM and welcomed two new members to strengthen the current Board. We have also signed a lease for a smaller, more suitable space in the Hays Community Business Centre and are set to move from 2 Niddrie Mains Road in the first week of April. This will give CCU a more sustainable future, cutting our running costs by half. We recently took on a new full-time member of staff, who lives locally and came to us thanks to the excellent Cyrenians local employment project, also based in the Hays. We look forward to welcoming even more local people joining up and providing an even better service to our current members. Our contact number is still 0131 661 9942.

Road Works
As expected, the railway bridge strengthening works at Milton Road are causing lane closures and some irritating, long delays for travellers in all directions. Thanks to my constituent contacts for their feedback to date. Their feedback enabled me to liaise with the Council project manager, who has worked with traffic police, contractor and signals specialists to keep the delays and disruption to a minimum. The project is still on schedule. I have been in touch with the operations manager of Lothian Buses about drivers leaving space for pedestrians and cyclists and action has been taken. I have also been working with the head of transport to try and resolve parking issues for the residents most affected by the works at the Wisp. These works are also causing irritating tailbacks and delays.

Richmond Hope ‘Memory Mile’ on Portobello Prom
Richmond’s Hope is a charity founded in 2003 to support children who have been bereaved. It is unique in Scotland, based at the Richmond Church in Craigmillar. It offers children and young people individual sessions and activities to help them explore the effect a death is having on their lives and help them to come to terms with it. Over the years they have supported 1000 children, throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians. The charity are organising a ‘Memory Mile’ on Portobello Promenade to raise funds so they can continue their vital work. You might have seen a leaflet or poster inviting you to take part and contribute to this very important cause. To find out more about how to take part in the Memory Mile or how to contribute, contact: Richmond’s Hope. Richmond Craigmillar Church, 227-229 Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh EH16 4PA or email info@richmondshope.org.uk, visit the website www.richmondshope.org.uk or phone 0131 661 6818. The Memory Mile will take place on Portobello Prom on Saturday 28 May.

Towerbank Play Park Mural
I am glad that the shelter is at last restored at the playground behind Towerbank Primary school off Portobello Promenade. A local parent got in touch with me recently to say that she would like to organise the design and painting of a mural on the wall by Towerbank school children. The school are keen, and I hope this project will go forward. A previous generation of children painted the last mural at the shelter with the help of Portobello Community Council. It is very encouraging to see a new generation taking up this challenge anew.

Niddrie Burn Works
I recently visited this site to see the archaeological work, the trees that will be lost and where new planting will take place. A public open day is scheduled for Saturday 16 April to show the archaeological finds. The Gulliver statue will be removed, but is being recorded by the team. One of Gulliver’s concrete hands will remain in situ. If it comes away intact, when dismantled, one of Gulliver’s feet will be incorporated into the new mountain bike track in the park, part of the Hunters Hall Park improvement works led by the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust. This work is running alongside the Niddrie Burn works. While the Craigmillar Community Council, and other representative local groups, expressed the view that the public transport link from Craigmillar to the Hospital must be a priority, it is also vitally important that the second phase of environmental works, to make bridges and walkways for local people, goes ahead as soon as possible. I will be pressing for that work to be done when the matter is discussed at the next Finance and Resources Committee of the Council.

The White House Exhibitions
This art deco B-listed building is well worth a visit in its own right, but for the next couple of months it is also housing two fascinating exhibitions. One exhibition presents the Scottish Government‘s Sustainable Communities Projects which are at various stages throughout Scotland – of which Craigmillar is one out of eleven ‘model’ Scottish community regeneration projects. The other presentation was brought together by a local group of volunteers who have been working on the Craigmillar archives, mainly photographs but also text about Craigmillar through the ages. Both exhibitions would merit more than one visit. Opening times are 10.30am to 3.30pm Tuesdays to Saturdays at 70 Niddrie Mains Road and they run until 10 June. Before you ask, the ugly mobile phone mast at the back has a lease until 2021, so it seems The White House is stuck with it for a while yet.

Newhailes House Grounds
I recently had a couple of complaints from dog walkers about the fences that have gone up in the grounds of Newhailes House run by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), just over our border into East Lothian. Sheep are about to be reintroduced to the area called ‘Sheep Park’, which seems to make sense. The NTS spokesperson told me a tonne (literally) of dog dirt is picked up by the NTS rangers every year. That said, he assured me that dogs - and their responsible owners - are welcome.

National Spring Clean 2011
The time of year has come around again, where those who want to make a difference to their local area, over and above what the Council can and will do, get out there and do their bit of litter picking. Craigmillar Country Park clean-up is taking place from10.30am to 3pm, Wednesday 20 April, organised by the Countryside Rangers. The Council supply gloves, bags and litter pickers. You are advised to dress for the weather – including welly boots if you have them. All under-16s must to have a responsible adult with them. The website for the meeting place is www.edinburgh.gov.uk/countrysiderangers or phone them on 0131 447 7145. Other neighbourhood groups are also doing their thing, no doubt, like Brighton Residents’ Association Spring Clean on Saturday April 2, 10am to 12 noon.

My Contact Details: Councillor Maureen Child, City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ; phone number 529 3268; e mail maureen.child@edinburgh.gov.uk