Edinburgh Councillor blogs – Councillor Maureen Child

Maureen_Child_17_200x200 Dear All

Among others, the young people of the Portobello Venturers, part of Porty’s Woodcraft Folk, are sleeping out to raise fund for the homelessness charity The Rock Trust tonight. Please sponsor if you can: Fundraiser for Rock Trust

Thank you for the very positive feedback I have had about my interview on Radio 4’s Today programme about Edinburgh’s welcome of the first group of Syrian refugees in Edinburgh last Wednesday morning.

I did say this was a cold place, but they could expect a warm welcome – as should all the 100 people a week that will come to live here, as Edinburgh is growing rapidly. These particular vulnerable individuals will need extra special support in settling in and we need to give them the space and time, privacy and opportunity to settle in well.

Thanks to all our partner agencies, working well together well to get it right for each one of them. Our local refugee task group have been truly inundated with hugely generous individual offers of voluntary help of all kinds and it is difficult – in practice – to channel those kind offers.

If you want to help with the refugee crisis, in any practical way, the ‘go to’ website is here: http://www.scotlandwelcomesrefugees.scot/

There is a chance for more local people to find out about Tribe Porty, Windsor Place (above Earthy) 19 Windsor Place, EH15 2AJ. Tribe Porty hope lots of folk will drop in for the Tribe Fest Launch and other events happening over the next couple of months. Here is the link- Tribe Porty Christmassy stuff also happening here on 6 December: Christmas Makers Fair

The fabulous Bridgend Inspiring Growth (BIG) has secured £1 million Big Lottery funding for Bridgend Farmhouse. This Council-owed asset is now set to be transferred to BIG for development as a community space and they are inviting everyone to their Christmas Fair and Burns Supper: Chronicle Online

CCG, the company developing the old Niddrie Mill Primary School site right now, invite people to a community engagement event top see their proposals for the first phase of residential development as part of the Craigmillar Town Centre Masterplan. The plan is for 121 homes, community parks and public realm. It is a drop-in event at the White House Kitchen, 70 Niddrie Mains Road any time between 11am and 5pm. More here: Craigmillar Town Centre Proposal EDI and the City of Edinburgh Council have announced a new temporary greening project for Craigmillar town centre, to be delivered in partnership with Edinburgh & Lothian Greenspace Trust. The new initiative will create a meanwhile space for community use on the reserved school site while works begin on the town centre development: Temporary Greening Craigmillar

What are credit unions and how can they beat payday lenders?. Find out more herein this Guardian article: Credit Unions If you travel along Niddrie Mains Road, you may have noticed that what was ex-MP Sheila Gilmore office has become the new main street home for the local Craigmillar credit union trading as Castle Community Bank. The Craigmillar-based credit union recently joined forces with North Edinburgh and a credit union study group in Leith to form a new joint entity and provide better savings and loans services locally, particularly in the neighbourhoods where those services are most needed. The new premises are shared with the local advice service Community Ability Network (CAN) a few doors along. Do call in and find out more.

There is a planning application for the redevelopment of Telferton Allotments at Craigentinny. The site is not in Portobello/Craigmillar Ward, but many people I know in Portobello do have plots there and some have been tilling this soil for decades. The land is privately owned and these owners want to develop part of the land for housing, which would help ‘clarify’ the position of the allotment holders, but would substantially reduce the ground available for growing.

Years ago, Ex-Councillor Lawrence Marshall and I helped bring in some planning guidance on allotments which was robust enough to resist one previous attempt to get permission to develop the land or to bring in the bulldozers.

Given my keen interest in this site, and community growing in general, I will not be taking part in the decision. I have probably shown my hand already on social media, so I have just signed the petition today so as to complete the picture. T

he application number is 15/05072/PPP Allotments Telferton Edinburgh. The link is to the detail of the applcation is here: Telferton Allotments Application People have until 4 December to tell them what you think, and you can do it on line. Link to more community information is here: Craigentinny and Telferton Allotments under threat of eviction | The Edinburgh Reporter

You and yours might get a new bike for Christmas; who knows what Santa may bring?! If you do, and wonder what to do with the old one, do consider donating the old jalopy to the bike recycling charity The Bike Station. Website here – wwww.thebikestation.org.uk

The police are giving out some good advice, some of it may be blindingly obvious but we don’t always do the sensible thing, now – do we? Stay safe online this Christmas – if a price looks too good to be true then it probably is! Christmas shopping online? Look for the padlock in the address line before you enter any card details. Don’t tell thieves your house is empty over Christmas, so do watch what you post on social media. Never leave purchases on display in your car.

Wouldn’t it be great if more people contributed to local media like Portobello Online, The Portobello Reporter and the new digital Chronicle about all the good stuff they are doing and what’s going on locally. Not confident you know how? A free online community journalism course returns in Feb 2016! Find out more: Course

Craigmillar Literacy Trust and partners are hosting the 19th Craigmillar Book Festival 16-28 November with over 700 children taking part. ‘Our Stories’ is the theme and everyone gets a chance to create their own stories and illustrations, inspired by visiting authors and illustrators.

The Festival’s launch event featured Nick Sharratt, acclaimed illustrator and writer of a host of bestselling books for all ages, whose interactive event was for a hundred children from Niddrie Mill, St Francis, Newcraighall and Castleview Primaries and nursery children from Moffat Early Years Centre.

A fun workshop with award-winning graphic novelists Metaphrog (John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs). They are coming to Craigmillar Library ahead of a US tour promoting their new book, The Red Shoes. John and Sandra have been developing comics and graphic novels together for over 20 years.

Their workshop is aimed at children aged 8+ and their families – you get to make and take home your own mini comic, and ten free copies of The Red Shoes will be given away on the day to lucky young artists.

The workshop is 2pm to 3.30pm on Saturday 28 November at Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road. No need to book for this free event, just come along to the library on the day. Craigmillar Castle is hosting events with Vivian French, whose ‘Tales of the Five Kingdoms’. Craigmillar Books for Babies have storyteller Eric Brennan at Craigmillar Library on Saturday 28 November at 11am.

Since October 2013, a small group of staff from Carr Gomm’s community development team have been working with doctors to provide support to residents in the Craigmillar. Community Compass is funded by the Alliance and the Scottish Government. The project is designed to support people to connect with local services and help them overcome challenges they are facing, using an approach known as social prescribing. More here:

Carr Gomm in Craigmillar

Finishing with a few snippets this week:

Portobello Timebank Christmas Party is at the Dalriada, 7:30 – 9:30pm on 3 December. Find out more in their newsletter here:Portobello Timebank

The Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership want you to take in this consultation. They want to know how antisocial behaviour affects you, what you think we should be doing about it and how you think we should be dealing with it over the next three years. Click here: Consultation

Pick up some tips here: Are you prepared for winter?

Here is how to order your Caring Christmas Tree available locally. Go to: caringchristmastrees.com/edinburgh

A reminder of the wonderful world of nature we have on our doorstep: Figgate Burn Park Photos

The woman who changed Craigmillar, a brief history: Helen Crummy

The White House Pub Darts Team from Craigmillar, Edinburgh, display their trophies (1974): Darts Team – Know Anybody?

Digitally-cleaned 1832 map of Portobello. Portobello 1832

Have a good weekend!

Best wishes

Maureen