Five things you need to know today

Phyllis Stephen

October 7, 2025 7:00 am

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This week at the council

Tuesday, 7 October, 2025

9.30 am Licensing Sub-Committee – Dean of Guild Court Room – City Chambers. The council has been advised of a parade on 18 October – Support Palestine – which council officers recommend that it approves subject to some conditions. The council has fairly limited powers as to what it can do but has a duty to prevent public disorder or risk to public safety, and generally the council attaches some conditions to the approval. This committee also considers renewals of licenses for short term lets and taxi or private hire driver licences which are on the agenda.

Wednesday, 8 October, 2025

10.00 am Planning Local Review Body (Panel 1) – Dean of Guild Court Room – City Chambers. This is another application to remove two phone boxes and replace one of them with single black communications kiosk and advertising. Officers recommend refusal. There is a blanket refusal around all of these applications as the council does not want to allow the panels which are proposed.
The report states: “The proposal would fail to preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area and is therefore unacceptable with regard to Section 64 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. As a result of the communication kiosks siting and illuminated design, it would fail to preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area and would have a detrimental visual impact on the surrounding area. Whilst it is recognised that the communication kiosk may be of some public benefit, it does not outweigh the adverse impact on visual amenity.” New World Payphones who make the applications say that two appeals to Scottish Ministers have been allowed in respect of two sites – Home Street and Lothian Road – for advertising consent. The company says it will be applying again for advertising consent “to ensure that the planning balance is properly and transparently exercised”. New World Payphones also say that : “In summary the Council’s original objections have been overtaken by the appeal decisions of the Scottish Ministers. The kiosks represent policy-compliant. proportionate replacements for existing telephone boxes and no outstanding planning harm has been identified.” The letter also refers to two separate applications on Frederick Street and St John’s Road. There are further agenda items on the agenda regarding removal and replacement of three phone boxes at South Charlotte Street, South St Andrew Street and St John’s Road all of which are recommended for refusal. It will be interesting to see how the planning committee responds. Anyone clicking the link above can watch the webcast either live or as a recording.

Thursday, 9 October, 2025 – no meetings

Friday, 10 October, 2025 – no meetings

The council is then in recess until 21 October.

Remembrance Walk

A community remembrance walk will take place in Edinburgh on Saturday, 11 October. Organisers invite women who have lost a partner – along with friends, neighbours, and supporters – to come together for a time of remembrance, reflection, and connection along one of Edinburgh’s most iconic landmarks.

The Widow Walk Edinburgh, organised by Sustainable Change in collaboration with Cruse Bereavement Support Scotland, will meet at 1pm outside The King’s Gallery at the bottom of The Royal Mile, before beginning a gentle 60-75 minute guided walk of the lower trail of Arthur’s Seat.

Anyone interested in attending are able to register for the free event via the link here

Stephen McCafferty

The Edinburgh based indie songwriter is about to release his debut album Monsters and Lullabies on 17 October. He said that the single release from the album called I Am The Buffalo was written while he was on a night shift, saying “It pretty much wrote itself”.

He is an Edinburgh-based indie songwriter exploring existential themes with big choruses. He said: “I don’t write songs to meet people where they are. I write them as invitations to where I am.”

This is his tenth and final single in a run that has spanned the past 20 months. Releasing alongside his debut album Monsters and Lullabies, it reframes the nine previous singles as part of a larger body of work and marks the close of “Chapter One” in his return to music, before he heads back into the studio to begin work on the next.

It is an exciting few weeks for the Edinburgh singer-songwriter:

Friday 17 October – Album & single release on all online platforms
Sunday 9 November – Clarks, Dundee
Friday 14 November – The Mash House, Edinburgh

HIV ALOUD : Raise the Curtain

The Edinburgh Playhouse and Waverley Care have set up a new collaboration, HIV ALOUD: RAISE THE CURTAIN which is an arts initiative to share stories of those living with HIV.

Part of Waverley Care’s mission is to reduce the stigma and raise awareness around HIV. This project, which will be delivered by Edinburgh Playhouse Creative Learning has received £20,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund to help achieve this aim and best serve these communities.

Christopher Ward, National Operations Manager of Waverley Care, said: “Waverley Care is thrilled to partner with Edinburgh Playhouse Creative Learning to launch HIV ALOUD: RAISE THE CURTAIN – a programme of weekly creative writing workshops led by an associate artist. The project will culminate in a script performed by professional actors on the Playhouse main stage.

“The Edinburgh Playhouse sits at the top of Leith Walk, in Edinburgh’s ‘pink triangle’, a historic centre of LGBTQI+ life in Scotland’s capital. While the city still carries the unspoken trauma of the AIDS epidemic, HIV ALOUD is for anyone whose life is affected by HIV today. With the venue’s Creative Learning team rooted in the local community and its deep understanding of the area’s history, the Playhouse is the ideal home for the project.

“This pioneering initiative will empower people living with HIV to creatively express themselves, challenge stigma, raise awareness, and celebrate what it means to live well with HIV today.”

THe partnership will involve commissioning a creative writer who is living with or has lived experience of HIV to work alongside Edinburgh Playhouse and Waverley Care to deliver the project. This artist will have experience working in community settings and will work in collaboration with the partnership to consult participants about the best way to serve their needs and to ensure their authentic stories are heard. The application for this contract role can be found at here.

Astley Ainslie – have your say on the future here

If you want to help shape the future of the Astley Ainslie hospital site, go to aact.scot/local-place-plan and complete the survey which Astley Ainslie Community Trust have set up.

The trust would like to have the whole site transferred to community ownership and are forming a model of that to benefit all residents in Edinburgh.

More details on their vision, mission and strategy can be found here.