Environment

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NTBCC Statement for the City of Edinburgh Council Public Spaces Management Plan ‘Collaborative Engagement’, January 2021

We thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important subject and in particular appreciate the change to a more open form of consultation which allows suggestions to be aired and explored. This contrasts well with previous Council ‘consultations’ which were often narrow, simplistic and too obviously designed to produce a pre-determined result which agreed with officers’ preferred proposals.

Our views can be summarised as follows:

  • The management plan should be for spaces all the year round, not just for events
  • Primary use is to be as open space, with events as occasional users
  • Spreading events over a larger area of the city, consistent with protection of amenity
  • Distinguish between community and commercial events; and note quality of events
  • All commercial events to be subject to full consultation, not just notification
  • Environmental protection and controlling impact
  • Financial and economic impacts
  • Robust and efficient management
  • All requirements / restrictions etc to be strongly enforced

Detailed comments on each of these topics are set out below.

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NTBCC minutes – Monday 14 December 2020

Minutes of New Town & Broughton Community Council’s ordinary meeting, held via Zoom, on Monday 14 December 2020 at 7pm Continue reading →

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NTBCC January meeting summary – Mike Birch, Transport convener

Another well attended virtual meeting – peaking at 47 attendees including yet another excellent turnout of NTBCC members as well as local City of Edinburgh Councillors Mowat, Osler and Mitchell and our MP, Deidre Brock – their presence, as always, very much appreciated. It was a time to say farewell to one of our long-standing Community Councillors, Jonathan Finn, who has recently served as both Treasurer and Licencing Convenor. We also welcomed Ken Lochrie, who was formally adopted as a new Associate member as a temporary representative for the Drummond Civic Association.

After the problems that some people had accessing the meeting last month, we were all relieved that normal Zoom service returned. As always the agenda was very packed but due to the excellent marshalling of our Chair, Carol Nimmo we managed to finish the discussion within two minutes of the scheduled time!

The Police Scotland report highlighted several burglaries of business premises and further cases of vandalism occurring within the New Town as well as their continuing efforts to respond to reports of Covid-19 breaches but no details of the number of fixed penalty notices were provided. There was also mention of Operation Watchnight for Hogmanay, which was unsurprisingly reported as being the quietest in many years.

Much of the meeting was taken up with Planning issues. Richard Price, who as always is on top of all matters to do with Planning in our area, provided an excellent summary of the status of the key planning applications.  We also had a brief presentation from the team responsible for the plans to develop 12-14 Picardy Place into a new 67-bedroom hotel with an enclosed rear courtyard bar and restaurant (incorporating The Outhouse bar). This presentation coincided with   the formal submission of the  planning applications but the developers had already presented to the NTBCC Planning committee in late October but it was helpful that a wider audience  got an early sight of the final plans and the opportunity to ask the developers questions about the impact on neighbours and the environment.

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NTBCC meeting agenda – Monday 11 January 2021

Agenda for online meeting: 6:45pm for 7.00pm start

We very much welcome members of the public joining the meeting (using the Zoom platform).

Please register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-town-broughton-cc-meeting-via-zoom-monday-11-january-2021-tickets-134689994399

Log-in details / Zoom link will then be emailed to all those who have registered.

Anyone who wants to raise an issue for discussion can do so either by submitting a Contact Us form or send a message via Twitter @NTBCC.

  1. Technology check / Admin/ Welcome
 (6:45 to 7:00 pm)
  1. Minutes of 14 December meeting (via Zoom) and matters arising
    (To approve)
  1. Police Report
    (To note, Police Scotland key messages as received/circulated prior to meeting)
 (5 minutes)
  1. Presentation on hotel proposals for 12-14 Picardy Place and Q&A
    (Jonathan Lonie, Proprietor and Alex Orr of Orbit Communications)
 (20 minutes)
  1. Planning
    1. New Town North Revised Application
    2. Update on 108-116 & 118 Dundas Street
  1. (10 minutes)
  2. (10 minutes)
  1. Summary: Edinburgh Civic Forum ‘Princes Street & Waverley Valley Strategy’ meeting
 (10 minutes)
  1. Public Space Management Plan
 (15 minutes)
  1. Transport
    Licensing
    Environment
    Engagement and Communications
 (10 minutes)
  1. Local Residents Associations/Local Interest Groups
 (10 minutes)
  1. Any other business
    (including any contact by residents not previously covered)
 (10 minutes)

During the meetings, names and email addresses may be recorded. Email addresses are held and used for circulating information about NTBCC but may also be used to seek residents’ views on local issues.

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NTBCC minutes – Monday 9 November 2020

Minutes of New Town & Broughton Community Council’s AGM, held via Zoom, on Monday 09 November 2020 at 7pm Continue reading →

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King George V Park: Update to Tree Removal & Replanting Proposal

For those that have seen the ominous white ‘X’s on the trees in King George V Park.

Adapted from an email copied to NTBCC from the Secretary of the Friends of King George V Park to their members.

‘Dear Friends of the Park,

We are picking up an understandable amount of somewhat bewildered concern in the neighbourhood about just what is happening to the trees in the park at the moment, and The Friends’ committee thought it might be a good idea to try to clarify the situation as best we can.

It is obvious that many of the people expressing concern suspect the hand of the developers of the ex-RBS site to be behind the tree works.  To a certain extent, it is. Planning legislation makes provision for local authorities to seek from developers a financial contribution to a community, by way of compensation for disruption or otherwise unwelcome change, and the Council has been involved in discussions with Ediston about the form this could usefully take.  Parks staff  have concentrated on funding for upgrading the paths in the park and tackling much needed tree management.

The trees conspicuously marked with a white ‘X’ in the park are ailing and are probably appropriate subjects for removal & replacing with new.  Sadly they include all the ash trees, which are threatened nationwide by the devastating outbreak of chalara fraxinea.

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NTBCC Meeting Agenda – Monday 14 December 2020

Agenda for online meeting: 6:45pm for 7.00pm start

We very much welcome members of the public joining the meeting (using the Zoom platform).

Please register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-town-broughton-cc-meeting-via-zoom-monday-14-december-tickets-131718277915

Log-in details / Zoom link will then be emailed to all those who have registered.

Anyone who wants to raise an issue for discussion can do so either by submitting a Contact Us form (links to ntbcc.org.uk) or send a message via Twitter @NTBCC.

  1. Technology check / Admin/ Welcome
 (6:45 to 7:00 pm)
  1. Minutes of 9 November meeting (via Zoom) and matters arising
    (To approve)
  1. Police Report
    (To note, Police Scotland key messages as received/circulated prior to meeting)
 (5 minutes)
  1. Transport  
    1. Presentation from representatives from ‘Better Broughton’ followed by Q & A
    2. Other SfP updates from 12th November TEC from Transport Committee Convenor
 (15 minutes)

(5 minutes)
  1. ‘Public Space Management Plan’ 
    1. Update following The Cockburn Association / EACC meetings on PSMP (To note)
    2. NTBCC input to PSMP (note final date for input / comments extended to 20th January 2021)
 (20 minutes)
  1. George Street & First New Town Project
    Developing proposal – update from NTBCC attendees at recent consultation sessions (1 & 2)
 (10 minutes)
  1. Environment
    1. Summary of agreed Committee Structure (Please note paper circulated) 
    2. Communal Bin Review – update including Residents’ Associations input
 (10 minutes)
  1. Planning 
    1. Latest Powderhall (ex-Bowling Green area) – Public Event 8/9th December
    2. Update on 108-116 Dundas Street (20/03923/PAN) Pre-consultation
 (10 minutes)

 
  1. Engagement/Communications update
 (5 minutes)
  1. Licensing
    (by exception)
  1. Local residents’ associations/local interest groups
  1. Any other business
    (including any contact by residents not previously covered)
  

During the meetings, names and email addresses may be recorded. Email addresses are held and used for circulating information about NTBCC but may also be used to seek residents’ views on local issues.