The capital we deserve
Green MSP Andy Wightman argues that Edinburgh needs greater powers if it is to rise to the expectations of residents.
Green councillors support public ownership of Lothian Buses
Nigel Bagshaw on behalf of Green councillors restates support for continued public ownership of Lothian Buses, after suggestions – which appear to be based on a misreading of the proposals – that there may be moves to privatise the company. At the August meeting of the council’s Transport Committee, Greens sought and received assurances that there…
Live music and city living
Edinburgh can host both a thriving live music scene and a lived-in city centre argues CHAS BOOTH. Live music from pubs and other venues continues to be a thorny issue in Edinburgh. On the one hand, musicians and venues argue that an overly restrictive approach to noise is stifling live music in a city which…
Bye-Bye Right to Buy
Green councillor Steve Burgess welcomes the end of Right to Buy of council houses. Earlier this month, Right to Buy of public sector homes, in Scotland, passed into history. The defining policy of the Thatcher 1980s, its significance cannot be understated. Over half a million homes in Scotland were sold to sitting tenants under Right…
Tron Kirk and the Old Town
Yesterday (18 August) the Finance Committee of the City of Edinburgh Council discussed short term leasing options for the Tron Kirk. Green member of that Committee, GAVIN CORBETT, laments its conclusion. The Tron Kirk is an iconic (over-used word) building in the heart of the city’s Royal Mile. For decades it has lain empty although…
Roads to ruin
Whatever the make-up of the future council, roads will be a priority, says Nigel Bagshaw. Last week’s report from Audit Scotland simply confirmed what everyone knows to be the case: Edinburgh’s roads are in a shocking state. No surprises there, then. Eyebrows might be raised, however, that a Green councillor should champion a more concerted…
Saving Redhall House
Green councillor Gavin Corbett spoke at today’s planning committee hearing which backed fellow Green councillor Nigel Bagshaw in rejecting plans to build 8 mews homes as an “enabling development next to the 18th century B-listed Redhall House. This is what Gavin said: Thanks to the committee for allowing me to speak. I should also say…
A circular economy
Rediscovering skills in reuse and repair will be good for Edinburgh’s economy, says Gavin Corbett. Almost everyone I speak to bemoans the amount of packaging and throwaway waste nowadays. You buy a tiny item from an online retailer and it comes swaddled in plastic and polystyrene and cardboard. But that’s nothing compared to the frustration…
Edinburgh action on refugee crisis
Edinburgh must do more to welcome refugees argues CHAS BOOTH. When I worked for a Scottish aid charity in post-conflict Bosnia in the late 1990s, the physical scars of war were easy to see. Shattered buildings, pock marks caused by stray bullets on nearly every wall and the armoured vehicles of the international stabilisation force…
From the ashes: the success of Gorgie City Farm
Green councillor Gavin Corbett salutes the achievement of Gorgie City Farm in raising £100,000 in 6 weeks. I don’t imagine that there is a family in South West Edinburgh who has not been to Gorgie City Farm at some time. It is also a massive draw across the city. It is one of these fixtures…
A capital for people
WE must reassess the vision we have for this city and not alienate residents in favour of developers, says Alison Johnstone. Local activists protesting plans for another hotel in the heart of the Old Town underline the need to reassess the vision we have for our city. The 225-bedroom facility – descending from Victoria Street…
Let’s play outside!
Increased opportunity for outdoor play needs to be a priority in practice, not just in principle, argues Cllr Melanie Main. If there is one thing about which there is near universal consensus it is that children should be outside playing more often. That is why I have consistently pressed on the need to improve school…
Greening the Edinburgh City Deal
Can Edinburgh’s “City Deal” be the UK’s greenest City Deal, asks STEVE BURGESS The dust is settling on a fifth Holyrood election. In the end, what had been billed as the most predictable election ever, turned up some real surprises. In Lothian, I am delighted that one-time councillor colleague Alison Johnstone has been re-elected as…
That was the 2016 election, now let’s look ahead
Green councillor Gavin Corbett looks back on the Scottish election campaign in Lothian. The Greens in Lothian set out to elect two Green MSPs in the region and we did just that, with Alison Johnstone re-elected and joined by land reform expert, Andy Wightman as regional list MSPs. 34,500 people in Lothian voted Green –…
Election 2016: when the dust settles
Newly re-elected Green MSP Alison Johnstone reflects on the Scottish Parliament election and what it means for the new term. Elections are usually bitter-sweet. I am, of course, delighted to be back in the Scottish Parliament and even more delighted to be joined locally by new Green MSP and radical land reformer, Andy Wightman. It…
Edinburgh Co-convenors: the final few days of the election
We’re heading into the final few days before the election. After months (years?) of work, we now have just a few days more to chap on doors, set up stalls, share Facebook posts and tell everyone we know to vote Green on May 5th and win us the Greenest Scottish Parliament ever! We can only…
School repairs inquiry
Green councillor Melanie Main argues that an inquiry into the school repairs crisis must have no areas which are out of bounds. The current crisis in the condition of PPP1 schools started in the storms of January and is still with us in May. From a collapsing wall at Oxgangs PS, to further problems at…
Lothian list vote battle hots up
Gavin Corbett predicts a tight race in the battle for Lothian list votes on 5 May. As election day looms, I’ve been looking closely at some of the Lothian-specific data in the last couple of days. A couple of things are apparent. First of all, the SNP is well on track to win at least eight of the…
Homes for the future
Alison Johnstone calls on government, local and national, to stand up for a homes programme which meets housing need, not developer greed. Edinburgh needs more homes. As a city with almost a thousand homeless households in temporary accommodation and where rents are soaring, it is clearly feeling the pressure But the pressing need for homes…
An inquiry into school closures
Green Group councillor Melanie Main spoke out for an inquiry during the Corporate Policy and Strategy meeting earlier this week which included discussion of an emergency motion on the closure of 17 schools. At the Council’s Corporate Policy Committee there was an emergency motion tabled about the Edinburgh schools closures. It omitted to call for…
School conditions: after the storm
Urgent answers are needed to the latest Edinburgh school repair fiasco, says Green candidate Andy Wightman.
Tax havens, land and affordable housing
What have tax havens got to do with bold action on affordable housing? Andy Wightman explains. Edinburgh has a housing problem. House prices are the highest of any Scottish city. They rose by 5% last year and, at almost six times average incomes, are the most unaffordable. The value of residential land in Edinburgh has…
Action on flytipping
On my way back home the other day, I passed a pile of abandoned furniture. Wardrobes, drawers, sideboards and sofas had all been dumped by the side of the road. They were unsightly, are likely to attract vermin, and will be expensive and time consuming for the council to clear up. And the cost of…
New Meadowbank
Green MSP Alison Johnstone welcomes progress towards a new Meadowbank stadium. Meadowbank stadium has been a second home to me. From hazy memories of the 1970 Commonwealth Games, to my own career as a competitive runner in my teens and twenties, to my more recent involvement coaching the next generation of athletes, the stadium has…
Hollowed out public services
Do we want hollowed out public services, asks Green MSP Alison Johnstone There is scarcely day goes past without some council or another announcing significant job cuts. In Edinburgh, the estimated number of posts to go is around 2,000, out of a total of just over 15,000, over the next 2-3 years. Almost 500 have…
A Green Energy Policy for a Secure and Prosperous Scotland
Rory MacLure is from Aberdeen and currently lives in Edinburgh where he’s studying to get his Masters in Global Crime, Justice and Security. He’s been a member of the Scottish Greens since 2013. It has become clichéd to say that environmental and energy policy is at a crossroads. Frankly we passed the crossroads long ago…
“Energy for Edinburgh: time to get moving
Cllr Steve Burgess welcomes the council’s progress in setting up its own energy services company but says the proof of the pudding will be in the (h)eating. Among the papers for the City Council meeting this week is a progress report on setting up an Edinburgh ESCO (Energy Services Company). As the councillor who first proposed…
Planning our schools for the long term
There are big lessons to be learned for a long term approach to school provision in Edinburgh, says Melanie Main. The big education controversy this week in Edinburgh was the council suggesting that it may have to turn away S1 pupils at James Gillespies High School this August, as demand from both the immediate catchment…
Planning democracy
A dose of democracy in the planning system is long overdue, says Alison Johnstone Back in August 2015 the City of Edinburgh’s planning committee unanimously voted to reject a planning application to demolish a Victorian building at Canonmills Bridge, which currently houses local cafe “Earthy”. The developer then wanted to use the cleared site for a…
Participatory budeting: to boldly go….
Participatory budgeting is coming of age in Edinburgh, according to Alison Johnstone. Participatory budgeting is a clumsy title for something that is both simple and radical. It is simple because it says that people who are most directly affected by a decision about how to spend money are best-placed to make that decision. And it…