From Wester Hill to Wester Hailes
Green councillor Gavin Corbett, describes a day in the life… I’ve had a couple of queries recently asking me to describe a typical day as a councillor. I usually reply that there is no such thing. Nevertheless, the day described below (yesterday), while not typical in the sense that every day is like it, does…
A green future for our great city
A “low carbon” Edinburgh is about what works for people and communities, argues Steve Burgess Next week Edinburgh hosts a low carbon cities conference. At a time when the most powerful country in the world is led by someone who is in denial about climate change, it’s an important event. But it is not enough…
On the buses
Alison Johnstone says it is time to rethink transport priorities. ‘For a while I had to stop going to events, to educational stuff to do research and I’ve even turned down work in Edinburgh.” The words of Helen Jeffrey. Helen and her husband Rab, a retired couple from Bo’ness near Linlithgow, who have made the…
Managing the school “run”
Let’s put child safety and safe streets first in school travel choices, says Claire Miller. The “school run” has been a hot topic since the Evening News reported the head teacher at Heriots school tackling head-on what he describes as the selfish behaviour of some parents, clogging up busy city streets and parking dangerously in…
Greener Edinburgh: affordable homes
A greener future for Edinburgh needs firm action on housing costs, argues Alex Staniforth. Three cheers for the Evening News for its leader headline just before Christmas. “High property prices are not good for the city” it said. To me, it seems so obvious but is amazing the number of newsrooms around the country which…
Carers and patients deserve better
Green council candidate, Claire Miller, says that a lot more can be done to improve the experience of care, for both service users and carers. Most of us will need social care at some point, either for ourselves or our relatives. I’ve recently had personal experience of the social care system, and understood first-hand how…
Our great city; our Green future
Green Councillor Nigel Bagshaw says Edinburgh can make big choices in 2017, for a greener future. Edinburgh is a very typical capital city. Thousands of us have come to the city from other parts of Scotland, the UK, or indeed across the world. It is that mix of new and old, that link to the…
The Path not Taken: City Region Deal and Active Travel
Dan Heap and Gavin Corbett argue that Edinburgh is missing a trick on the economic importance of active travel. What do roads, roundabouts and rail-links all have in common? Apart from all starting with “R”, the answer is that they are each regarded as a vital part of economic infrastructure. In order to get people…
Unlock the shackles to unleash our potential
A visitor levy could raise millions, if only Scottish ministers would grant the city the freedom to implement one, says Alison Johnstone. Local councils have “spending power”, according to Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, who used this slogan during his budget statement to claim that he is being generous. The reality is that our councils have…
A welcoming capital
It is a good time of year to reflect on help needed by families cut adrift from their homeland, argues Melanie Main. Recently a small group of child refugees from the Calais camps arrived safely in Edinburgh and are now being well looked after in the city. To its credit, Edinburgh city council agreed to take these children without waiting for the end of the protracted…
Tackling child poverty in the Capital
The poorest children need to benefit from Edinburgh’s successes, argues Dr Dan Heap. The film “I, Daniel Blake” has been out for a month now. For my money it is as every bit as striking as the film which first made director, Ken Loach’s name – “Cathy Come Home”, 50 years ago. “I, Daniel Blake”…
Serving Edinburgh’s deaf community
The council has come to the right decision in commissioning services for deaf people, says Gavin Corbett. Over the last month I’ve spent a lot of time looking at and discussing services to deaf people in Edinburgh. The backdrop has been a tendering exercise to provide interpreting services to deaf people over the next 4…
Citizen of the year
One of the privileges of being a councillor is getting to meet so many fantastic people who, at a community level, do fantastic work in the city. This evening, I am delighted to be joining the Lord Provost in an event to mark the granting of the William Y Darling Award for Citizenship to Tracy…
Bellfield Church: the city “right to buy”
Green candidate Mary Campbell heralds the “urban right to buy” in Portobello. Community “Right to Buy” has been with us for some time. Back in 2003, the Scottish Parliament passed the Land Reform Act, which included a ’Community Right to Buy’ that allowed rural communities the right to buy land for common use, mainly by…
Green Edinburgh: People, Place, Power
Edinburgh is a great city but needs a green future to match, argues Claire Miller The term “PPP” has had a bad press in 2016. Its longstanding use for “Public Private Partnership” for schools and hospitals came crashing down with the collapse of a wall at Oxgangs Primary School in January. An inquiry will tell…
Keep Britannia jobs in Leith
Britannia should stay in Leith, argues Green councillor Chas Booth I’m not a great fan of the monarchy. I have nothing against them personally, you understand – it’s just that I think our leaders should be elected, and accountable to the people, rather than being chosen by an accident of birth. Having said that, I…
A sustainable Edinburgh?
Gavin Corbett says Edinburgh has a long way to go to be a “sustainable” city.
Shining a light on common stairways
Let’s shine a light on common stairways, says Cllr Melanie Main As of July the Council stopped repairing lights in common stairs across the city. If there are council-owned properties in a stair, repairs will still be done and the council will still pay the electricity bill. But, in general, if stair lighting goes wrong…
Moving forward with waste collection services
Waste collections have been high profile in Edinburgh in recent weeks. Green Environment spokesperson Cllr Chas Booth outlines a Green way forward. Who would want to work on the bins? It is hard, physical work, you won’t get rich doing it and any weaknesses in the service are visible straight away. But there is no…
Parking in the city chambers quadrangle
At the full meeting of the city council today, Green councillor, Gavin Corbett, asked why the city chambers quadrangle is so often crammed with cars. Below is an edited version of what he said. For the benefit of the webcast the question I asked was about permitted vehicle access to the City Chambers quadrangle and how…
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…