Five things you need to know today

 Portobello Beach – Carers Week – Ministers visit Tollcross Primary today – Arrests for housebreaking – Inconsiderate parking 

Portobello Beach has been awarded a Resort Seaside Award by leading environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.

The award, given annually, recognises excellent litter management, safety procedures and water quality – this is the second year in a row that Portobello beach will proudly fly the Seaside Award flag.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport and Environment Convener of the City of Edinburgh Council, said:- “I am delighted that Portobello Beach has been granted this coveted award for the second year in a row.  The people who use this beautiful beach can be assured once again that it is officially a clean and safe environment for us all to enjoy.

 

“The award recognises the quality of the surrounding area too, and a lot of effort has been made by the Council to encourage people to visit local shopping centres such as Portobello. And of course, the community must be thanked for their help in disposing of litter and generally looking after this much-loved destination.”

 

Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said:-“Keep Scotland Beautiful is working to improve the quality of our local environment across the country, so I’m delighted to announce so many Seaside Awards for Scotland, including Portobello Beach, all of which recognise the incredible diversity of our beaches.

 

“Our new Clean Up Scotland campaign aims to engage with individuals and communities who love their beaches, encouraging them to organise clean up events of their own.  Over 100 community clean ups have already taken place on beaches this year as part of the campaign, including many of the award beaches.

 

“We know that beach users, whether they are local or visitors from near or far, want to enjoy clean beaches, with well-maintained facilities and access. Our awards flags now fly proudly all across Scotland and are your guarantee of high environmental standards. Choose a seaside award beach on our online map, and enjoy a great Scottish day out by the sea!”

 

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This is Carers Week! If you are a carer then you can get some information and perhaps some help here on the Carers Training website for Edinburgh, but there are also lots of activities. Tomorrow for example there is a FREE Tai Chi taster session at the Taoist Tai Chi centre on Marionville Road.

In Edinburgh the Carer’s Champion is Councillor Norman Work who is passionate about his role to help those who are helping others.

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Two Scottish Government Ministers will visit an Edinburgh primary school today to find out how innovative physical education lessons are helping to drive pupil participation and improve competition.

 

Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages Dr Alasdair Allan and Commonwealth Games and Sport Minister Shona Robison will visit Tollcross Primary School, which is one of hundreds of schools across Scotland using Education Scotland funding to raise the quantity and quality of PE in schools.

 

The visit will come ahead of a Scottish Government debate on youth sport in the Scottish Parliament later this afternoon. You can follow this online on the Scottish Parliament website

 

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering in partnership with local authorities at least two hours PE per week to pupils in primary schools and at least two periods of PE per week to S1-S4 pupils in secondary schools by 2014.

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Several people have been arrested and charged in connection with a number of alleged housebreakings and attempted housebreakings across Edinburgh last month.

Officers from the city’s Community Investigation Units conducted enquiries following various reports of break-ins and thefts from addresses throughout the city during May.

The CIUs were formed following the launch of Police Scotland to investigate a range of offences, which impact upon our communities and as a result of their enquiries several incidents have now been solved.

On Wednesday 8th May officers responded to an address in Drylaw Crescent, where various goods had been stolen from inside. A 16-year-old youth was subsequently identified and charged in connection with this crime.

Officers were next alerted to two attempted break-ins at newsagents in Great Junction Street and Newkirkgate, which happened on Thursday 9th May. Forensic investigation was carried out at each premises and a 34-year-old man was charged in connection with both incidents.

A Citroen C1 car was then stolen along with a laptop from a property in Wemyss Place Mews on Tuesday 28th May and the North and Central CIU carried out local enquiries to identify those responsible. As a result, two males aged 18 and 33 were arrested and charged before pleading guilty in court.

A 26-year-old man has also been charged following a break-in at a property in Lorne Street on Thursday 30th May. Jewellery and electronic items worth a four-figure sum were taken. All goods have since been recovered and returned to the rightful owner.

During May, Police Scotland investigated a spate of housebreakings in the Liberton area.

After responding to a report of a break-in in progress officers from the South and East CIU arrested a 25-year-old man and as a result of follow-up enquiries, he was charged with 38 offences, including the recent housebreakings.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Cunningham said:- “Police Scotland is committed to keeping people safe and recognises that crimes such as housebreakings, antisocial behaviour and drug offences have a serious impact on our communities.

“As such, our Community Investigation Units were formed to provide a focused and targeted approach to addressing these issues and bringing those responsible for offences of this nature to justice.

“Rhe recent results of the unithave been good. However, we cannot be complacent and will continue to robustly investigate whenever a crime is reported.

“Similarly, we will maintain our commitment to community engagement and crime prevention through sustained dialogue with Edinburgh’s residents and businesses – offering advice and guidance on appropriate security measures wherever they are required.”

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A resident from Royal Park Terrace has been in touch to show us some examples of inconsiderate parking. We do not want to take over from Edinburgh’s Worst Drivers but these examples are pretty awful.

The worst part however is that the communal bins could not be collected by the council when they called round yesterday morning…..!