Southside/Newington June 2022 Update

Consultation on Spaces for People Schemes

It’s time to have your say by 3 July on Buccleuch Place, Causewayside, Mayfield Road, Craigmillar Park, Mayfield Gardens, Minto Street, Meadows to Greenbank Quiet Route, Teviot Place and Potterow & Whitehouse Loan.  

The Council wants comments on it Spaces for People/Travelling Safely schemes before deciding whether to keep the schemes in place for another 18 months.  This would be done using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs). 

All of the maps for the schemes on the above roads are contained in ETRO/21/29 available here.  You can view the schemes by clicking on the ‘View ETRO/21/29’ button, then selecting ‘plans (weblink)’ and clicking on the Landing page link.

Comments are invited by email to Edinburgh.Consultation@projectcentre.co.uk by the deadline on Sunday 3 July. 

You can submit positive and/or negative overall comments and also make comments on individual parts of any of the schemes.  Even if you have commented before, it is important to tell the Council what you think again.

The Council is also seeking comments on other Spaces for People/Travelling Safely schemes across the city.  Details are contained in the other ETROs for the City Centre, North, East and West.

Carnegie Court

As you may be aware, the Council has promoted a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to introduce new parking controls in Carnegie Court in Southside. A letter was sent out to residents this week to inform them of the changes. Further information on this can be found at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/canegiecourt.

Current permit holders will continue to be able to park during the introduction of the controls. The start date is during the summer holidays, with restrictions in place by the start of the August Festival period.

Scottish Widows Site Consultation

The consultation website for the plans to turn the old Scottish Widows offices in Dalkeith Road into 200 homes whilst retaining some offices is now online at www.dalkeithroad.consultationonline.co.uk.  

This is an important site and Pauline has been asking questions about issues related to the impact on local schools and transport questions, but is keen to hear local people’s views and would encourage you to visit the consultation site and have your say.

Canongate Youth Project

At the end of may Pauline met with Claire Jamieson from the Canongate Youth Project, based in Infirmary Street, which is primarily focused on families in the north part of the Southside/Newington. The project’s mission is to empower young people at each stage in their lives, from 5 – 25. It is a drop-in centre with three youth clubs, offers one to one support and visits schools delivering a range of services covering mental health, emotional and social support. It’s also a great place just to hang out. You can find out more here.

Living Streets Volunteers

A highlight from the end of May was meeting volunteers from the Living Streets organisation.  Pauline was taken round some of the trickier streets in Newington, as negotiated by people who are visually impaired. Many of the irksome issues we might encounter, such as an ill-placed pole at a crossing, broken pavements and spillage from an over-turned bin, become a real hazard if you have limited mobility or sight.  Thanks to Hilda from Living Streets for organising the visit, Dennis for giving his time, and Beryl, for guiding us all.  You can find out more here.

Low Emission Zone (LEX)

The new city LEZ controls came into force on Monday 30 May, even though there is a two-year grace period before enforcement will start for people to get used to the idea. Edinburgh Lib Dems wanted the LEZ narrow remit extended to cover the whole city as we are concerned that limiting it to the city centre will create problems for surrounding streets, leading to the city centre. It is a concern raised by the parents of Preston Street Primary which is already directly affected by the intensive traffic-flow on the Dalkeith Road. You can find out details on the council website here.

Astley Ainslie Community Trust (AACT)

AACT will become a charity in September following its recent Special General Meeting. This means it will be able to raise funds to help realise its plans.  In other news NHS Lothian has produced a draft Strategic Development framework which you can read online by clicking this link suggesting the sale of the AAH site is expected soon.

A Business Association for Marchmont/Sciennes?

Local businesses in the Marchmont/Sciennes area who would like to know more about belonging to a Business Association, should contact Kayleigh at Marchmont/Sciennes Community Council. Marchmontsciennes.commcouncil@googlemail.com