Chris Land is one of two Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party candidates standing in the newly named Morningside Ward, alongside Councillor Nick Cook.
Biography:
  • Raised and lives in Morningside Ward. Educated locally, atĀ South Morningside Primary and George Heriot’s School.
  • Graduated fromĀ the University of Cambridge in 2009 with a degree in Oriental Studies. Speaks several languages, including Mandarin Chinese andĀ Spanish.
  • Lived in Shanghai before working as a political risk consultant in London for four years, advising multi-nationalĀ companies on investment in Asian emerging and frontier markets.
  • ReturnedĀ to Scotland inĀ 2014 to campaign forĀ No vote in the independence referendum. Now works as a political adviserĀ to Scottish Conservative education spokesperson Liz Smith MSP in The Scottish Parliament.
  • Interests includeĀ history, cinema, architecture and rugby. Plays for Heriot’s Rugby Club and TheĀ Scottish Parliament team.
Priorities for MorningsideĀ Ward:
Morningside is a great place to live and work and I want to keep it that way. However, I believe that there are still many improvements that can be made to it.Ā I want to give the ward a strong local voice in the City Chambers and not only have its issues tackled but also be a key part of overall planning for a strong and successful Edinburgh. Specifically, I want to address the following issues:
  • Make much needed improvements toĀ Morningside’s roads and pavements. TheĀ Conservatives are pledging to do this by improving the technicalĀ specification of repairs and restructuring the tendering and delivery of repairs and maintenance so that people get the best value for money for their Council Tax.
  • Improve the infrequent and patchy coverage of our bin collection and recycling services, making them more reliable and cost effective by tendering parts or all of the service and prioritising higher standards and lower costs.
  • Ensure our local schools have sufficient capacity and see through the successful building of a newĀ primary schoolĀ for Morningside.
  • Improve Morningside’s transport links with the rest of the city and elsewhere by lobbyingĀ for theĀ re-opening of the South Suburban Railway andĀ Morningside Station.
  • Oppose destructive planning applications, such as those recently proposed for Craighouse, Midmar Paddock, Comiston Farmhouse and the Old Royal High School. We all understand the pressuresĀ that a growing Edinburgh will put onĀ the city’s infrastructure, however IĀ believe that this can be mitigated and balanced with preserving Edinburgh’sĀ fantastic architectural heritage.
  • Press the Council to provide funding for a gull de-nesting service to tackle the urban gull problem in our city’s tenement areas such as Bruntsfield and Marchmont.
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