Five things you need to know today

October 8, 2024 7:45 am

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Colinton Community Council meeting on Tuesday

There will be a virtual community council meeting held on Zoom this evening at 7.30pm. Everyone in the Colinton area is welcome.

The papers for the meeting are on the community council website. One of the ongoing issues exercising people in the conservation village is the council’s plan to site communal bins on Spylaw Street which they say is a blight on the historic village.

The papers and the details of how to join the meeting are here.

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It’s time for the panto – oh yes it is!

Later today the panto stars will line up for press interviews and photos at The Festival Theatre. It is always a lot of fun with Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young going into rehearsals soon in preparation for Cinderella which runs from 23 November until Hogmanay.

Tickets here.

The panto and Scottish Ballet will be at the Festival Theatre again this year since the work at the King’s Theatre continues but is only 60% complete. It had been hoped that the panto would be back at the King’s at Christmas 2024.

The King’s will not open now until spring 2026. The extra time is needed because of several factors according to Capital Theatres.

It has proved more costly and more time-consuming to refurbish a Grade A listed heritage building. There has been work on demolishing the fly tower roof – and constructing a new bigger tower so that bigger scenery can be used in future. There have been changes made in the sub-contractors working on the new stage and to the design of the building as a result of building control requirements.

Fiona Gibson, Chief Executive of Capital Theatres, said: “We understand audiences will be disappointed not to be back in the King’s Theatre before 2026, especially those who eagerly anticipate the return of the pantomime to its traditional home. Whilst we share this disappointment, we want to reassure the public that we are handling the complexities of the project with the utmost care and dedication to ensure the long-term success of the theatre.
“The King’s Theatre restoration project is not just a refurbishment; it is a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of one of Edinburgh’s most beloved cultural landmarks. We are committed to achieving our vision to deliver a fully accessible, high-quality venue that will serve future generations.”

Donations are still welcome in connection with the King’s Theatre project. www.capitaltheatres.com/kings-future

King’s Theatre Fly Tower Render_ credit John Robb

Pentlands Book Festival

The Pentlands Book Festival begins on 23 October and runs for a month. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance. More information on the range of events taking place in the south west of the city are here.

This week at the council

The monthly meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) will be convened this Thursday – this is the second under the Convenership of Cllr Stephen Jenkinson who was largely praised for his first outing.

This week TEC will discuss several items of note – supported bus services, Leith Connections, the possibility of integrated ticketing to the Edinburgh Arena, a petition by Forrester Park Residents Association, and the expansion of the Controlled Parking Zone in Dalry, the apparent non-problem of parking on tram lines and the rat run at Parkgrove Drive.

These were all the items mentioned at a media briefing last week (when the Convener talked to the press who had not yet had sight of any of the reports even in draft form). Nothing was mentioned then of the proposed £10 million of “savings” which are to be made from the budget for transport and environment matters. This is mentioned in a report this week (simply for noting) but there will be a more specific report produced for TEC next month. The rather woolly proposals for making the savings are drafted out below – it is difficult to comment on them without more information – and it seems many of these savings will be achieved by raising charges in the next financial year.

Forrester Park residents have lodged a petition with 85 signatures calling for the council to rethink the use of communal bins. Opposition is based on loss of parking, traffic congestion, accessibility and hygiene issues. The convener said he was minded to agree to the request for a walk about with council officers.
Controlled parking is to be introduced at Easter Dalry Road, Easter Dairy Drive and Easter Dairy Wind. This is still a fairly new development and the roads have just been adopted by the council which will pave the way for the statutory process to begin. This will be the S4 parking permit area.
Cllr Susan Rae who represents Leith Walk asked the committee to investigate the perceived problem of incorrect parking on the tramline. It seems there is no real problem any more. Incidents are reported using the online form. The tram extension to Newhaven opened in June 2023. There were 22 incidents reported where drivers had parked incorrectly causing delay to the tram in the period between 7 June and 31 July 2023. Since then the number of incidents has reduced. In the first week of September 2024 there were no such incidents reported. But nonetheless the council had considered buying or leasing a “Fancy Forklift” to remove vehicles safely where there are overhead wires. There is no current funding available for such a vehicle and the parking enforcement will continue to use “dolly wheels” to move any vehicles on the tram tracks.
The rat run at Parkgrove Drive is near Clermiston Primary School has been reassessed following discussions with councillors and the Road Safety Team earlier in the year. Council officers will now redesign a layout for the roads in the area possibly to include a raised table at the junctions of Parkgrove Avenue and Queensferry Road as well as at Parkgrove Street and Drum Brae. Pavements may also be built out to slow traffic. This will be reported at the November committee in the Business Bulletin and funding will come from the Local Traffic Improvement Programme.