Breaking news

 CYCLING GROUP ISSUES FULL RESPONSE 

The cycle campaign group Spokes has now published its detailed response to the Council’s consultation on extending the tramway to Newhaven.

The full response supersedes preliminary reactions issued earlier, and is available as a pdf at the foot of this page.

Spokes starts from the premise of welcoming the longer route, and expresses a willingness to participate constructively in making it work well.

 LCCC RESPONDS TO COUNCIL CONSULTATION ON TRAMS 

Leith Central Community has formally responded to the Council’s consultation on extending the route to Newhaven. They have serious misgivings concerning design philosophy, the consultation and delivery processes, and design details.

In broad terms, LCCC is unconvinced that CEC has learned lessons from previous tram-related mistakes, or established procedures to avoid repeating them. 

 LAST CHANCE TO SEE APRIL EXHIBITION 

Contrasting but complementary work by three artists has been on show at the Lennon Art Gallery this month. 

Owner Alan Lennon’s paintings here are characteristically sculptural, delighting in rounded forms that recall the satisfying smoothness of sea-worn rocks. 

Themes of wholeness and completion recur in his work, giving a kind of tactile reality to otherwise nebulous human qualities such as aspiration, protection, reflection, and healing. My favourite of these was ‘Possession’ (below).

 PICARDY PLACE PERPLEXITY

The ‘Battle of Picardy Place’ may have been decisively won by those in favour of a gyratory, but various local stakeholders believed their input would still be valued in fine-tuning aspects of the subsequent design. Months later, some have been left feeling deeply disenchanted. Peter Williamson, Chair of the Picardy Residents Association, gives a personal perspective. 

 CAN EDINBURGH RESIST SIREN CALLS? 

British Telecommunications PLC seeks planning permission to remove 26 payphones from central Edinburgh and replace them with 12 InLink units. 

InLinks offer free superfast WiFi, mobile and landline calls, mobile-device charging, and access to maps, directories and local services. 

GIANT ON ITS WAY … BUT WHICH?

An unnamed ‘global technology company’ seeks permission to convert 42 Shandwick Place from retail use to a Class 10 training and education centre (Ref. 18/01596/FUL; 18/01597/ADV). 

Developers and local community members met last night at Out of the Blue to discuss proposals for major changes on Stead’s Place and Jane Street. Jane Carnall was there, and sent us this report. 

Chairing the event was Ben Macpherson, who is – as he reminded us – the constituency MSP for Edinburgh Northern & Leith (including Leith Walk).

City of Edinburgh Council has settled on a final design for Picardy Place. Enabling works are already in progress. Construction will begin next month and is scheduled to finish by the end of this year. 

Since the Transport & Environment Committee voted to go ahead with the gyratory in January, various tweaks to the plan have been agreed with community, pedestrian and cyclist groups. 

A CEC press release this morning said these alterations include: 

Members of City of Edinburgh Council’s ‘Tram Team’ met members of Leith Central Community Council's 'Tram Task Force' last night in a marathon 2.5-hour Q&A session in McDonald Road Library.

Open to the public, this was not a meeting to discuss the principle of extending the tramway from York Place to Newhaven. The aim was instead to gather sufficient facts for LCCC to assemble an informed, ‘constructive and relevant’ consultation response to the design proposal at a later date.

 COMMUNITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR ANSWERS 

Pressure mounted on Cllr Lewis Ritchie tonight following release of a highly charged letter from Leith Central Community Council.

LCCC’s Chair Charlotte Encombe wrote to the troubled Leith Walk ward representative on 12 April (for full text, see HERE and foot of page).