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LCCC minutes 2014_04_28 DRAFT of 11

Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Leith Central Community Council, held in the McDonald Road Library on Monday 28 April 2014 at 7.00pm Actions and decisions are RED ITALIC UNDERLINED SMALLCAPS. NEM CON means that no-‐one spoke or voted against a decision. URLs added by minutes secretary.

1 Introduction, attendance and apologies 1.1 Attendance Marion Donaldson LCCC Bruce Ryan minutes secretary Charlotte Encombe LCCC (secretary) Liz Ballantyne resident Anne Finlay LCCC (treasurer) Adrian Graham resident Pamela Grant LCCC Peter Mellors resident John Hein LCCC (chair) R Rennie resident Ross McEwan LCCC Katherine Sced resident Julian Siann LCCC Chris Hellawell Edinburgh Tool

Library/resident Irene Sweeney LCCC Cllr Nick Gardner Leith Walk ward (Labour) Harald Tobermann LCCC (vice-‐chair) Ella Taylor-‐Smith Broughton Spurtle Alex Wilson LCCCC Kevin Weaver Police Scotland

1.2 Apologies Keith Hailes Leith Business Association Cllr Dierdrie Brock Leith Walk ward (SNP) Cllr Angela Blacklock Leith Walk ward (Labour) Malcolm Chisholm MSP Edinburgh North and Leith

(Labour) Leah Lockhart Greener Leith

2 Approval of Minutes of the meeting of 17th March 2014 Adopted without changes (proposed A Wilson, seconded C Encombe)

3 Matters Arising 3.1 Actions from previous month’s minutes

3.1.1 URLs in February minutes (item 2 in March minutes) The minutes secretary has checked these – they work.

3.1.2 Leith partnerships (item 3.1.2 in March minutes) Still no reply from A Herriman (Partnership and Information Manger, Edinburgh Council)

3.1.3 Standing orders (item 3.1.3 in March minutes) The secretary stated that these are straightforward guidelines on running CCs. They are now on LCCC’s website at http://leithccc.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/2013-‐edinburgh-‐sos.pdf.

DECISION: ADOPTED NEM CON.

4 Community Police Officer’s Report • As requested last meeting (item 4, paragraph 4), the CPO brought a map of Leith Police Station’s area. This

confirms that all of LCCC’s area is covered by Leith Police Station. A PDF version of the map was requested. • The CPO stated that the community policing team covers Leith Walk. Actions include checking on two

problem premises every day. • There have been successes combatting housebreakings and burglaries. Of note is the offender who was

sentenced to 37 months for braking into the Drill Hall. • There will be extra action against antisocial behaviour next week. This will be in partnership with Edinburgh

Council. • In response to a resident’s report of nuisance noise from cars, the CPO stated that this could well be

classified as antisocial behaviour. Such issues can also be reported at the regular police surgeries, each Wednesday, 12:00 to 2pm at the McDonald Road Library. A council officer is also at these surgeries.


5 Officebearers’ reports 5.1 Secretary

5.1.1 Leith Festival The festival is on Saturday 14 June. (See details at http://leithcentralcc.co.uk/2014/04/19/leith-‐festival.) The secretary noted that previously LCCC has shared a stall with Leith Neighbourhood Partnership, often handing out consultation flyers. This year LCCC will share a stall with the other Leith CCs.

ACTIONS: • PREPARE CONTENT FOR A FLYER, REPORT ON POTENTIAL PRINTING COSTS (ASSUME BUDGET OF £100) – M DONALDSON • LAY OUT THE FLYER – J HEIN • CHECK WITH L DUCKWORTH OF LEITH NP ABOUT TENT/STALL ARRANGEMENTS – C ENCOMBE

5.1.2 Leith CCs get-‐together (7pm, May 9th, Tourmalet, Iona St) The secretary pointed out that there are many ways Leith CCs can collaborate, and asked everyone to attend.

5.1.3 Community Engagement meeting This will be at 7pm on Tuesday 6th May 2014, in Nelson Room, McDonald Road Library

5.2 Treasurer Account balance now £1432·∙98

6 Leith Walk Repairs and Improvements H Tobermann reported

• there has been progress following his presentation to Edinburgh Council’s transport committee, in that they have agreed to make repairs to pavements and potholes between Pilrig St and Piccardy. This should cure the current dangers of these pavements and road surfaces. The budget and start date were not stated but work is apparently ‘not far away’. Cllr Gardner added that work will be restricted to daytimes outwith peak traffic times. For details of contractors and their duties, please see appendix 1 (email from Cllr Gardner)

• Edinburgh Council will recruit an on-‐site project manager, rather than an overall project manager who might drive the whole repairs and improvements project onwards.

• Concerning the stretch below Pilrig St, the contracts are now in place and work will start imminently. There will be disruption but it will result in full repairs improvements (replacement/installation of flagstones etc). This work should be finished by the end of 2014.

• Concerning the junction of Great Junction St, Leith Walk, Duke St, Constitution St, a design has now been agreed by all stakeholders. The work to implement this design should be completed by spring 2015.

Cllr Gardner stated that getting this work started was a triumph for LCCC, especially HT.

A resident expressed extreme concern that Crummocks are involved. She stated that they had created ‘merry hell’ for residents near Shrub Place, and have a history of unauthorised and extremely unwelcome practices, yet have not been penalised for this. It was suggested that while Edinburgh Council should be ensuring work occurs only during daytimes, they have a vested interest in getting the work done. HT suggested that is well worth developing a procedure/ready-‐to-‐role motion to condemn unauthorised activity.

It was asked why there had been so few prosecutions for unauthorised, unwelcome activity such as the above. Cllr Gardner confirmed that Edinburgh Council does have approved contractor lists.

7 Friends of Pilrig Park • Balfour Botanics have given a donation to Grow Wild, who are now undertaking some projects in Pilrig Park.

The first of these – a workshop on propagating wild flowers – was well attended yesterday (27th April). Another will take place on 10 May.

• £eith Decides has awarded £1000 for the 1st litterwise project to create anti-‐litter posters. Workshop are due with Pilmeny youth development group, the Gaelic school, and Lorne primary school.

• There will be a clear-‐up in mid May. • Senior parks officials will be visiting the park on 8 May. There are still potholes, as evidenced by I Sweeney’s

injuries. • Green Leith had received money from Pilrig residents’s Association. This had been earmarked for new

benches but has now been passed to FoPP for ‘capital improvements’ (new pavements, signs etc)


8 Planning sub-‐committee report 8.1 14/00894/FUL Lidl, Easter Rd

Lidl now have planning permission, so they are expected to take over this store soon

8.2 14/00624/ADV 10 Croall Place outcome • It was reported that retrospective planning permission for has been given for this ‘internally illuminated

digital display advertisment’, but that there are many conditions, e.g. permission granted for 5 years, at the end of which the site must be reinstated within 3 months; illumination restricted to 07:00 to 23:0o; intensity limited to 30 kcd (daylight), 2·∙5 kcd (darkness); changes no more frequent than every 15 seconds; static images only – no animation. See appendix 2 for full details.

• A resident stated that the no-‐animation condition has already been broken. This resident has little confidence in enforcement of conditions by Edinburgh Council. He asked whether the situation could be reviewed by a third party.

• The secretary noted that stakeholders had not been engaged, and had been given no time to address the issue. For example, a letter dated 14 April (appendix 3) stated that application would be considered on 9th April; the letter (appendix 2) stating permission had been granted was also dated 14 April.

• Concerning compliance, it was suggested that intensity seems to increase each day during peak traffic hours. It was questioned whether Edinburgh Council possessed equipment to test without notice, or test continuously. This would prevent operators from being warned and turning down intensity during tests It was also suggested that a change in the sign’s size meant the retrospective permission conditions had been broken, as did the current position of the sign.

ACTION: CLLR GARDNER TO FIND OUT WHAT RELEVANT EQUIPMENT EC POSSESSES., AND TO FIND OUT WHAT ENFORCEMENT ACTION IS POSSIBLE

• Concerning action to reduce the sign’s impact or even get it removed, it was noted that several councillors have contacted the head of planning. Cllr Gardner suggested that LCCC should object to the sign because it does not fit the area’s character, not simply because it allegedly breaks technical conditions. Residents have contact the owners, apparently without success. Cllr Gardner noted that compliance would be investigated at 5pm on 29 April, and that while it is easy to determine whether the sign does not fit permitted dimensions and positioning, he questioned whether it is possible to give permission on intensity, animation and similar conditions which cannot easily be ‘policed’. It was suggested that the advertising code of conduct might be a viable avenue for reducing the sign’s impact.

• He similarly noted that LCCC does not (currently) have proof of breaches of conditions, but objections about the timescale (see point 3 above) could be made.

ACTION: PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEE TO WRITE OBJECTION. IF THIS DOES NOT WORK, LCCC TO WRITE OBJECTION

8.3 Outcome of MacDonald Road Secondary School appeal J Siann stated that the background to this item is that the school has been unused and derelict for several years. A developer wishes to use the site to build flats. Edinburgh Council refused permission by a narrow majority, but the developer had appealed to the planning Reporter who has very recently overruled Edinburgh Council’s refusal . This is in spite of a very vociferous campaign from the parents of pupils at the primary school next door, who fear inter alia that the flats will overlook their childrens’ playground.

JS suggested that this result showed that objections and planning work by CCs was pointless: CCs are out of their depth. JS’ concerns are listed in appendix 4. To overturn this decision, LCC would need to go to the Court of Session. Cllr Gardner noted that the planning law introduced about 4 years ago (bringing in Pre-‐Application Notices etc) favours developers – they can appeal LA decisions but ordinary people cannot.

8.4 SESplan The secretary suggested that the decision in item 8·∙3 might be due to such regional plans which set parameters for local plans (e.g. assumptions that certain numbers of new homes are needed in certain areas, hence making flat/house-‐building imperative). Hence she suggested that it is worthwhile engaging with regional/scene-‐setting plans to minimise the chance of unwelcome outcomes being set in motion, rather than fighting rearguard actions against them. She noted that SESplan is at odds with the current local development plan.

Following on from this, she suggested that the planning subcommittee meets regularly, rather than on its current ad-‐hoc basis, and that all LCCC members contribute to LCCC’s planning work. R McEwan has now joined the PSC.


8.5 Shrub Hill House and Shrub Place SHH has now been sold to Ziggurat, who develop student accommodation. SP, which is also derelict, is up for sale. Apparently there are 5 bidders, and sale should be concluded in June. H Tobermann recommended that relevant Edinburgh Council staff should be invited to LCCC asap, as a first step towards influencing developers

8.6 Shop unit in Dalmeny St The PSC will submit an objection to conversion of this shop unit to residential use because these tend to be ugly and undermine the economic livelihood of the area.

9 Councillors, MSPs and MP’s reports 9.1 Cllr Gardner

There will be a conference on the Leith community plan, covering issues such as parks/green spaces, community safety. It will be at 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm, 16 May 2014, South Leith Parish Church Halls, Henderson Street. See http://leithcentralcc.co.uk/2014/04/29/leiths-‐community-‐plan-‐2014-‐17-‐community-‐conference/ for more details.

10 Open forum/AOCB 10.1 Redbraes community garden

The minimum repairs to have now been carried out. (See item 8 in March minutes.) The gardeners look forward to meeting with Edinburgh Council about further improvements.

10.2 Edinburgh tool library ETL (http://edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk) wishes to base itself in Leith and so is looking for suitable properties. It aims to provide employment and employability training for young people who face barriers to employment. The service will be delivered jointly by a trainee and a volunteer mentor, with a trade background. It is currently being reviewed by OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (http://www.oscr.org.uk).

10.3 Recordings of meetings The minutes secretary suggested that his audio recordings of meetings should be put on LCCC’s website, as the nearest LCCC could practically achieve to telecasting/webcasting its meetings. H Tobermann stated that he had concerns over the audibility of such recordings.

ACTION: MINUTES SECRETARY AND CHAIR TO PUT SAMPLE RECORDINGS ON THEIR SERVERS SO QUALITY CAN BE CHECKED.

10.4 Photos of CCllrs on website The point of this was to try to create greater engagement with LCCC area’s citizen by beginning to break down anonymity.

ACTION: CCLLRS WHO WISH THEIR PHOTOS ON THE LCCC WEBSITE TO SEND DIGITAL PHOTOS TO THE MINUTES SECRETARY.

10.5 Referendum debate It was noted that Stockbridge and Inverleith CC are hosting an independence debate (15 May, 7pm at Edinburgh Academy) and hence it was asked whether LCCC should also host one.

ACTION: M DONALDSON TO CO-‐ORDINATE LCCC’S OWN DEBATE, INVESTIGATE OPTIONS AND POSSIBILITIES, AND TO REPORT TO NEXT MEETING (19 MAY)

11 Dates of Future Meetings (mostly 3rd Monday of the month) 19 May 2014 (AGM), 16 June 2014


12 Appendix 1: Leith Walk repairs details Works will be carried out by 2 contractors;

1. Crummock Ltd working on the pavements to deal with any areas that may cause a trip hazard or pose a safety issue during the next 12 months Hard Landscaping -‐ estimated 4 x 5 day weeks for a footway hard landscaping squad A schedule for flag and footway works has been produced and a prestart meeting arranged with the contractor, Crummock Ltd for 29th of April to discuss the scope of the work and to confirm a start date as soon as practical.

2. Lightways Ltd carrying out repairs to the road to prevent break up and remove cycling hazards. Surfacing – estimated 3 x 5 day weeks for a carriageway patching squad A schedule for carriageway patching has been produced and a prestart meeting arranged with the contractor, Lightways for 29th of April where the extent of the patching will be discussed, traffic management measures agreed and start date confirmed. We aim to programme the works for daytime but out with peak times to speed up the process whilst minimising both inconvenience to traffic by the works and removing any potential disturbance to residents caused by backshift working.

3. Works between Pilrig St and FoW are about to start and any safety repair issues will continue to be immediately addressed ahead of programmed works.

Nick Gardner, Labour Councillor, Leith Walk Ward 28 April 2014


13 Appendix 2: Conditions for Croall Place


14 Appendix 3: Croall Place consideration


15 Appendix 4: J Siann’s concerns about 154 McDonald Road decision 154 McDonald Road

Conversion of offices to single bedroom flats

Scottish government Report’s findings

The Reporter was considering an appeal by the developer, Kingsford Development, against the refusal for planning permission by City of Edinburgh Council

The Reporter visited the site on 30th January and issued his report on 25th March 2014.

I wish to highlight some of his findings which I feel illustrative the difficulties in public participation in the planning process.

Out of Date The existing waste management at Powderhall is cited in the context of acceptable mixed development. The waste facility if scheduled to close in the near future.

No effect on the functioning of Broughton Primary School This sharply contrasts with the view of the parents’ association

Director of Children and Families “Not unusual for playgrounds to be visible from residential properties”

Thus judged by Reporter to be unnecessary to visit other schools, although this was demonstrated by parents.

Police Scotland With appropriate out of school hours supervision, no increased risk to children in playground. Thus education authority has not objected to proposed use.

Housing mix Developoment does not comply with Hou 3 but seen as acceptable with surrounding development of 2 and 3 bedroom flats.

Open space Accepted that there is limited amenity space but generally not thought to be a problem within this residential environment.

Single aspect 50% guidance is informative rather than prescriptive.

Privacy of flats Finds that the proximity of the playground will not significantly intrude on the privacy of the residents.

Transport No transport assessment was submitted to proposed development, but Council has not taken isse on this matter.

Finds that there is no evidence to suggest that the generation of additional vehicular traffic from the development will have a significant adverse effect on road and pedestrian safety.

Local Development Plan “The Edinburgh City Local Development Plan, which has not yet been the subject of examination on behalf of Scottish ministers, carries limited weight and does not affect my conclusions relating to the current development”

Comments by Julian Siann 28/4/14

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