The Paddy - John Street

[Alastair]

Maureen Child's latest e-mail talks of plans for the paddling pool site. Does anybody know what they are?

[Guest]

I'm not sure exactly what stage the plans for the paddling pool are at. Perhaps we can tempt Maureen, or the architect involved, onto the forum to give us an update? The most recent drawing I have is pasted below. As you can see, it features a mix of landscaped garden, a basketball area and a refreshment kiosk. The design followed a lot of local consultation, so hopefully there is something there for everyone.

[Guest]

I had an email from Maureen on this. The Council has pledged £100,000 to the paddling pool project. There had been rumours that this had been cut but Maureen assures us that this is not the case and, as exec member for Finance, she should know. Other sources of funding are still being sought. A detailed planning application will be lodged soon to include the refreshment kiosk, based on the design of the one in Princes Street.

[sample808]

[Hawkeye]

In reply to the new arrival it was only after considerable consultation with local residents and the wider community, including a well attended workshop, that the above provisional design was arrived at. This has been costed using, as far as, possible sustainable materials and on the basis of these costings a provision made in 2004/5 for the first phase.

[sample808]

sorry, i did not mean to dismiss the plans in such a gung-ho manner, i am sure that the majority of local people involved are perfectly happy with the plans.

i still feel, however, that there is a real need for some kind of focal point for the whole community (and visitors) on the prom. i feel that a beach centre of some kind could provide an answer to a lot of the problems being talked about on this very forum - irresponsible dog owners, irresponsible cyclists, people burning xmas treest on the beach... if there was a business or centre on the prom that could lead by example then i'm sure you would see other businesses getting involved and all these problems, and more, start to be addressed in a hands-on manner.

on the subject of basketball courts, who came up with that one? we have seen loads of courts go up all over edinburgh but how many are actually used? however i have noticed a lot of skateboarders in the area with absolutely no facilities, what about these kids? skateboarders are often alienated and treated with contempt, why not give them somewhere to go? i guess what i am trying to say is that, although i am sure local residents are happy with the plans that are in place, not much thought has acually gone into the needs of the community and once the money is spent, the piece of land will become as unused as it is now.