City Centre MSP in challenge to council
Blackwood open a new HQ
Holycross Primary School take part in the reading challenge
God Only Knows
Friends of Lochend Park
Edinburgh Central MSP Marco Biagi and Peter McColl, the Rector of Edinburgh University, have released a statement calling on Edinburgh City Council to change council policy to ensure that private developments of student accommodation are not exempt from the requirement to include affordable housing.
Mr Biagi has also written to the Council to call for the relevant policy, Housing Policy 7, to be applied to private developments of student residences.
Mr Biagi commented:
“There is huge concern within the local community about the impact of several proposed developments, as well as utter disbelief at the decision of the Reporter to intervene and allow the Lutton Court development.
“We need a mix of housing, and student accommodation is a part of that. I support the University’s own developments for this reason.
“But the private developments are hugely expensive and are pushing out potential developments of affordable housing.
“The Council should insist that private student developments include affordable homes for the wider community, just as other residential developments are required to.”
“These private developments are hugely profitable – we should put some of that profit to good work in providing affordable homes.”
Mr Biagi was due to make further comments in a debate due to take place at Holyrood yesterday evening, but this was cancelled due to legal action regarding the development discussed in the motion.
***
Later today The Edinburgh Reporter will attend the opening of the new HQ for Blackwood the company which provides housing and care.
It will be an important showcase for the housing and care specialist, which believes in embracing technology to improve the lives of those with disabilities or impairments. Guests will see a range of clever adaptations at work in the Dundee Street offices.
Among the guests will be tenants who volunteer to work with Blackwood’s scrutiny panels, which were relaunched during the summer as Team Blackwood. They include wheelchair users who helped test and choose the new HQ building.
***
A workshop took place at Holycross Primary School off Ferry Road last week as part of the Tesco Bank Summer Reading Challenge Scotland programme.
Tesco Bank are funding a project where the P7 class at the school are creating and publishing their own book based on the Mythical Maze creatures that formed this year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme. This class actually worked with the award winning illustrator Sarah McIntyre last year to create these characters.
The book will be launched later this year.
***
Watch this last night? We think it is worth watching again!
BBC Music created a unique broadcasting and musical moment spanning the BBC’s television, radio and online networks at 8pm on Tuesday 7 October.
From BBC One to BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC iPlayer to BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC outlets will join forces in the very first pan-channel broadcast of God Only Knows, an extraordinary reworking of The Beach Boys’ classic song uniting 27 internationally acclaimed artists from across the musical genres to form ‘The Impossible Orchestra’.
The promotional film marks the official launch of BBC Music – an ambitious wave of new programmes, innovative partnerships and ground-breaking music initiatives that amount to the BBC’s strongest commitment to music in 30 years.
God Only Knows will be released as a single in aid of BBC Children in Need. It is available to download from midnight last night.
Bob Shennan, Director BBC Music, says: “This is an exciting moment for BBC Music as we launch to a global audience. With the 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra at its heart and comprising an array of iconic music stars, from a wide range of musical genres, this ‘impossible’ orchestra is a celebration of all the talent, diversity and musical passion found every single day throughout the BBC.
“Our audiences are very clear in their passion for music and that’s why BBC Music exists: to create, curate and celebrate music – for the love of it.”
God Only Knows features the song’s original writer and creator, Brian Wilson, alongside 26 award-winning musicians including popular music stars Sir Elton John, One Direction, Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams, Jake Bugg, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Sam Smith and Florence Welch; rock musicians Chrissie Hynde, Brian May and Dave Grohl; classical musicians Alison Balsom, Martin James Bartlett, Danielle de Niese and Nicola Benedetti; folk performer Eliza Carthy; Senegalese singer Baaba Maal; jazz performer Jamie Cullum; British Asian Music star Jaz Dhami; the BBC’s Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne, Katie Derham, Gareth Malone and Jools Holland; with the youthful vocals of the Tees Valley Youth Choir and the BBC Concert Orchestra at its heart.
This extraordinary version of God Only Knows is the calling card for BBC Music around the world.
Recognised as a modern masterpiece, Brian Wilson himself says: “I just feel so incredibly humbled that the BBC would choose God Only Knows to promote their new music initiative.
“All of the artists did such a beautiful job I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honoured that God Only Knows was chosen. God Only Knows is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”
Music producer Ethan Johns adds: “One of the things that interested me most about this project was the idea of bringing together so many different styles of music and as a great opportunity to bring the musical community together in celebration of the thing that we all love. To make so much diversity work within one piece of music was quite a challenge. I feel like I’ve taken a 1000-piece puzzle and just thrown it in the air. I’m standing there trying to grab them as they come down and put them into place.”
The film is situated in the seemingly disused and decayed Alexandra Palace Theatre – home of the first ever BBC broadcast over 90 years ago – which is brought to life by a magical performance of God Only Knows. As the track builds, the theatrical space opens up to reveal a fantastical and moving world, with a tropical rainforest, a tiger, birds, butterflies and giant bubbles. Viewers are transported high above the orchestra into a balloon-filled celestial sky, before finally being delivered back into the empty theatre, where the song’s creator and star of the performance, Brian Wilson, sings the final line.
***
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
