Draft Firrhill Community Council ‘Nec Aspera Terrent’ (Undaunted by Adversity) Note of Meeting of the Council on 22nd October 2018 held in Lochan View Community Business Centre, Firrhill Neuk. Attendance: H Levy (Chair); L McGurk (Sec); L Linn; S Weir; S Duffy & J Napier. Visitors: Cllr Doggart, CEC Council; Police David Crow, Oxgangs Police; Apologies: F Gosney; J Turnbull; Cllrs Arthur & Cllrs Rust, CEC Council; S Lawson, Resident & K Stewart, Oxgangs PS PTA. The meeting started at 6 pm, with H Levy in the Chair. Minute of Previous Meetings: The draft minutes for our meeting held on 24th September 2018 were reviewed. There being no corrections, minutes were moved for approval by LL, seconded by SW. Matters Arising Item 2.1 NP Review & Appendix 2 Edinburgh Partnership Review Report Oct 2018 SW questioned why the Report failed to mention of the Neighbourhood Partnerships and asked if this meant the were being discontinued. Cllr Doggart indicated that the value of NPs was still under discussion as there was a recognition that the Localities set up did not lend itself to informal public engagement. HL indicated that she had sent in the CC’s comments but has not received an acknowledgement. SW noted in recent correspondence CC’s could claim additional funds for community engagement and hire of halls, etc. Cllr Doggart indicated there were circumstances where additional funds could be applied for and the forthcoming Review may see this included in the Community Council Scheme. SW queried what the EACC position was in regard to this. Noted there is a meeting on the 25th but we have no-one able to attended. Item 6 AOCB, Colinton Mains Bowling Club This matter has been dealt with. The bowling club has closed and the property returned to the local authority Correspondence 28 Sept: Planning and Building Standards systems upgrade Email from Planning Edinburgh advising that an upgrade of the Planning and Buildings Standards systems is planned for early November this year, with an expected downtime of one full week. The upgrade will result in a number of improvements, such as making it easier to view documents, comment on planning applications and share information using social media. The process will impact on the delivery of the service and the planning and building standards portal will be unavailable during this time. The weekly list of planning applications will not be issued and you will be unable to view and comment on applications. When our systems are back online, the weekly list of planning applications will include newly submitted applications. Additional time will be given to comment on applications affected by the downtime. 28 Sept: Notification of Major Gas Replacement Works in Colinton Mains Drive area; 1 October Email from Caroline Lawrie, Stakeholder and Community Manager, SGN, via Kevin Cook, Engineer, CEC Services for Communities, giving notification of Scottish Gas Network’s operation in the Colinton Mains Drive area to replace old gas mains and services with new plastic pipe. They will start work on Monday 1 October and be working in Colinton Mains Drive between Colinton Road and Colinton Mains Road for approximately 11 weeks. Temporary traffic lights will be in place in Colinton Mains Drive. Colinton Mains Road at its junction with Colinton Mains Drive will be temporarily closed at the start of the project. Colinton Mains Gardens will also be temporarily closed when the works reach that location. The good news is that the new plastic pipe has a minimum lifespan of 80 years. 01 Oct: Notification of EACC Meeting: 25 October Notification from David Bewsey of the meeting and advising of a special item on the agenda. The City of Edinburgh Council are currently carrying out a preliminary consultation with a view to launching a review of the Scheme for Community Councils later this year. A copy of the current version of the Scheme is available on the EACC website for information. Other items on the Agenda include Tram extension presentation by the consultants to the project; Governance review and draft Community Plan The papers for the last Edinburgh Partnership on 24th September are posted on the website in EACC Documents along with the report on the Governance Consultation. Please note that nominations for Office Bearers and Edinburgh Partnership are open. Nominations will close at 7pm on 25th October at the start of that meeting and the nominees announced by the end of that meeting. AOCB items should be notified to the Secretary at least 24 hrs prior to the meeting. It will be at the Chair's discretion to discuss these items. 05 Oct: Edinburgh: connecting our city transforming our places Email from the Spatial Policy Team following up on the recent workshops discussing the development of the City Mobility Plan, Central Edinburgh Transformation and the Low Emission Zone and seeking further input via an Online Survey. If you were unable to attend a workshop, or if you attended a workshop but haven’t already done so, please tell us what matters to you in terms of ideas for the city centre and transport and mobility across Edinburgh by completing this Online Survey. The more views we hear, the more suited the development of three projects will be to meeting the needs of people who live, work and visit Edinburgh. 05 Oct: Allermuir Health Centre Arts Commissioning Meeting Email circulated by Chair: Notice of the above meeting on Monday 8 October regarding art works from the NHSL art collection being offered for the health centre. Potential artwork locations include 2 in the reception, 1-3 on the upstairs landing, 1 large work on the ‘staff’ stairwell accessed to the rear of the building and between 1-4 works in the 1/F staffroom and corridor. With the exception of the stairwell all works would be of a domestic scale. A list of the works offered provided for discussion at the meeting. Chair looking for guidance from members re selection. 09 Oct: Working Together to De-Clutter our Streets Email from Ruth White, Senior Planning Officer, Spatial Policy, PLACE, CEC providing an update on the Transport and Environment Committee’s agreement to a citywide ban on A Boards and other temporary on-street advertising structures would come into action in late autumn 2018. The date for the commencement of the citywide ban, which will be Monday 5th November 2018. Letters have been issued to businesses around the city to confirm this date, and from the 5th November, environmental wardens will be working their way through the city on an area-by-area basis initially to ensure awareness and provide guidance where required. See the dedicated website http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/onstreetadverts for further information Reports from Police, Councillors, etc. Police Report (for previous month) The following Police Report covering crimes in Firrhill area during September 2018, received from PC David Crow. During this month there were 213 calls made to the police from PF57 beat and 45 recorded crime reports. Good News: We are looking to support more litter clean – ups in the area with the help from Edinburgh Council South – West Housebreakings: On 16th, 3 bikes were stolen in Colinton Mains Road but recovered nearby, enquiry ongoing. Assault: On 6th, there was a minor assault reported in Firrhill Crescent, suspect has been arrested and charged. On 13th, there was a serious assault reported where a man had his hand slashed in Oxgangs Crescent, enquiry ongoing. Road Safety/Initiatives: Oxgangs community officer and school link officers are aware of ongoing parking issues. Theft: Oxgangs Primary School was targeted twice in September. A child’s bike was stolen on 12th and a child’s toy scooter stolen on 26th. Hate Crime: There were no reported hate crimes during September. Incidents of Note: Vandalism calls during September. 1. Oxgangs Road North on 1st – Shop sign smashed. 2. Firrhill Drive on 1st – Common stair door window smashed. 3. Oxgangs Road North on 4th – House window smashed. 4. Oxgangs Road North on 5th – House window smashed. 5. Firrhill Crescent on 14th – Door within common stair kicked and damaged. 6. Firrhill Drive on 16th – Common stair door window smashed. 7. Firrhill Drive on 26th, 2 vehicles had their tyres slashed or punctured deliberately. 8. Spruce Way on 13th - a car rear window was smashed by a brick. Enquiry ongoing to identify suspects. Colinton Mains Drive on 12th – a male was charged for possessing an air rifle. Oxgangs Brae on 11th - a 64-year-old female was charged with a statutory breach of the peace for verbally abusing a 70-year-old female. Firrhill Crescent on 14th - a male was charged with possessing illegal drugs. Oxgangs Farm Drive on 27th - a male was charged with possessing illegal drugs and attempting to head butt a police officer. Raised at Meeting Primary Schools - the issue of parking at local primary schools was discussed. General acceptance that actions taken by the Authority have not been a success and there is a need to look at alternative solutions. The development of two additional new schools on Oxgangs Road North, where it is a narrow housing estate road already serving a high school and a primary school was seriously flawed. The issue was raised in discussions at the planning stage with assurances traffic would be managed. Fireworks – discussion on arrangements for coping with bonfires and fireworks. Community Police Team Ward 8 comprises of 3 Policing Beats with 2 City of Edinburgh Council Funded Officers - Police Constables Eric Jones and David Crow as well as Firrhill Schools PC, Paul Robinson. Beat PF57 covers the Firrhill CC area. The Community Policing Team Inspector covering Wards is Police Inspector Scott Richardson.