- Council consultations
- Imagining History
- Amnesty at LeithLate16
- Cityroomz
- Funding for Big Bike Revival
The council is currently running a consultation on major events in public parks (It is proposed that from 2017 the following spaces be subject to a competitive tender process: Meadows, Inverleith Park and West Princes Street Gardens)
So time to put your views across on the way the council uses our open spaces. Click on the link below.
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[mc4wp_form id=”169103″]Imagining History is a programme of day-long workshops taking place across the UK, created specifically to give young people a chance to immerse themselves in historical places from the point of view of a writer. Budding historical fiction writers of the future are invited to attend a day that aims to fire imaginations and inspire young people to explore past times and bring them alive through writing.
The workshops are part of an on-going series of events being set up to support a new writing prize, the Young Walter Scott Prize, which is named in honour of the inventor of the historical fiction genre, Walter Scott.
The workshops, run by professional writers, arts educators and experts in creative exploration, aim to show young writers the inspirational potential of real-life places, land, people and events and therefore take place at sites of historical interest that provide a wealth of inspiration and hidden stories.A combination of games and exercises drawn from arts and somatic education practices, as well as extended personal writing time, invites writers to develop their own research and exploration strategies.
Alan Caig Wilson, director of the Young Walter Scott Prize and workshop-co-ordinator said:
“Following the boyhood example of Sir Walter Scott who was inspired to write by the people, stories and places he encountered during explorations of life in the Scottish Borders that continued through out his writing life, we hope to inspire young writers to get out into the historical world and make their own discoveries.”
The Prize, sponsored by the Duchess of Buccleuch, seeks to connect young people with their world by asking them to investigate their history, their environment and the stories of their people, and to write a piece of short fiction set before their own lifetime. Two category winners will be awarded a travel grant of £500 each, and have their work published in a special YWSP anthology. Participants in the writing workshops will be encouraged to enter their stories for the Young Walter Scott Prize.
All workshops are free and run from 10.30am until 2.30pm. Places are strictly limited to 15. For booking: Alan Caig Wilson ywsprize@outlook.com
At LeithLate16 in a couple of weeks Amnesty International’s Imprisoned Writers show will be part of the festival/ All proceeds will be donated to Amnesty International.
On Shandwick Place Cityroomz Edinburgh is to expand into the building next door, Princes House, which will add a further 43 rooms and suites to the budget hotel.
The new wing will open next June 2017 and will take the capacity to 115 rooms overall.
David Myers, chief executive of Sleeperz Hotels, said: “Sleeperz Hotels is delighted to be expanding its market leading Cityroomz operation.
Our brand of low cost high quality hotel stays has proven a winning formula nationally and we are confident that demand for stylish but affordable rooms in Edinburgh will keep growing.”
Town Centre Securities PLC, a leading UK property and investment company is also involved with the development.
Colin Steele, associate director at Caledonia Management Ltd, acting for Town Centre Securities, said: ‘This development is great news for Princes House and the West End of Edinburgh. The area is the cultural heart of Edinburgh, with its World Heritage Site, theatres, arts venues and stunning architecture.
Cityroomz increased bed-stock is a welcome boost and provides affordable accommodation for tourists staying in this vibrant area.”
The Scottish Government has awarded £450,000 through Transport Scotland to help run Big Bike Revival across the country.
Minister for Transport Humza Yousaf announced the funding earlier in the week at the National Active Transport Conference held at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
The Minister said: “I am delighted to award this Scottish Government funding of £453,000 to Cycling UK to bring the Big Bike Revival project to Scotland this year, with the aim of delivering transport and related physical activity behaviour change on a significant scale.
“This project engages a network of established community focused initiatives where cycling has been adopted to help address economic, social or health inequality. Organisations receiving funding from Transport Scotland – such as Sustrans and Cycling Scotland – will work with Cycling UK to add significant value to projects such as Pedal for Scotland and the work in schools which encourage people to take up cycling again, or for the first time.
“The Big Bike Revival will contribute to our vision of 10% of everyday journeys by bike by 2020.”
The project will help more people to revive their unused bikes by getting them out of sheds and garages and fixing them up.
Over 50 centres across Scotland will host Big Bike Revival events over four weeks this summer, offering the public a chance to:
• Fix a cycle so it can start to be used and learn how to maintain it.
• Trade a cycle for one better suited to individual needs and donate surplus cycles.
• Experience cycling in their local area, utilising the National Cycle Network, and discover local cycling networks.
• Take part in a variety of cycle training activities to become confident and competent cycling on the road.
The Big Bike Revival programme has already proved a success in England in 2015. Over 50,000 people benefitted from the project last year, with over 21,000 saying they now cycle more often. Of those who attended, 46% lived in a deprived neighbourhood.
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