Home News Five things you need to know today

Five things you need to know today

September 11, 2011 10:07 am

Today marks the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and in Edinburgh faith groups are planning a peace march.

Yelp advise us in their weekly newsletter that Stockbridge Sunday Market takes place from today at 10am in Jubilee Gardens. Everything from food to jewellery will be available.

Priority Parking Morningside are trying to gather some support to counter the council’s proposals to introduce a controlled parking zone in the area during the 12 days left of the consultation period. PPM also have a Facebook page to spread some of the information they think residents need to make an informed choice. They tried to present a deputation to the council meeting in August but this was prevented by the council solicitor.

The Council said at their meeting of the Transport Infrastructure and Environment Committee on 2 August 2011 that:-“The cost of implementing the eleven proposed priority parking schemes had been estimated at between £550,000 and £730,000 to be met from within the existing Transport revenue account in the financial years 2011/12 to 2013/14.” At the same meeting they reported that the committee budget was heading for an overspend of about £455,000.

This is some of what Priority Parking Morningside have to say:-

Local residents have organised the printing and distribution of a couple of leaflets highlighting information that was not even mentioned in the letter sent out by the Council. The intention is to highlight “the hidden facts” and enable people to make a fully informed decision, whether that is for or against the scheme. The view of each individual resident is, of course, to be respected. If you have not yet received these leaflets – just reply to this email, saying so, and a copy will be sent to you by email.Many people have already sent in their objection, since the first and only public “consultation” started on Mon 29 Aug.

If you are one of those people, you have already made sure that your view will count. That is a positive step.

You should expect an acknowledgement from the Council – eventually – not sure when

If you do not get one – you should contact them again to ensure that they did receive your objection

An informal survey conducted 23-31 July 2011 showed that 90% of people object to the Priority Parking scheme.

This survey will not be counted, by the consultation, as evidence of the views of residents

The only thing that counts is an objection sent from each individual resident

If you have not yet sent in your objection – you need to do so or your “silence” will be considered as support for the scheme

it only takes a few minutes to submit an objection by email – click on the link to see how https://sites.google.com/site/priorityparkingmorningside/object

Even if you have sent in your objection – you can still do a little bit more to help ensure that the majority view is made clear to the Council.

You may have missed First Minister’s Questions on 8 September 2011 but you can follow the full proceedings again here on the Holyrood magazine website. They covered FMQs with a liveblog. We are currently planning our next series of liveblogs. Watch this space!

Abundance Edinburgh is all over the city collecting surplus fruit grown here and putting it to good use. They said:-” There are many fruit trees in Edinburgh, growing wild or in people’s gardens, yet most years a good deal of this produce goes in the bin. We plan to harvest this abundant food and redistribute it to local charities as a way of highlighting the social and health benefits of growing local, seasonal, and organic food.” Perhaps you could help? Either donate your food or become a volunteer.