Breaking news

Planning permission is sought for a large new restaurant at 1 Gayfield Square (Ref. 03/02338/LBC; 03/0337/CLP).

Since we last reported on the basement area outside 31 Broughton Street two years ago (Issue 198), problems there have got worse.

Rising numbers of children attending overcrowded Broughton Primary School mean that difficult decisions must be made in order to accommodate them. But many parents are livid that empty, purpose-built educational premises next door are being sold by the Council as housing.

Locals report a heavy police presence on East Claremont Street early yesterday afternoon, with around eight vehicles attending, one side of the carriageway sealed off, and some officers donning protective gear.

Mark Lazarowicz MP (Edinburgh North & Leith) has responded to the Council's Draft Local Development Plan consultation.

Those of his comments which relate in particular to Broughton include:

Someone has been stealing plants from the Hillside Gardens.

Gone are: 3 red rhododendrons (each 2-foot high); four beautiful deep purple hellebores; a St John's Wort hypericum, yellow-flowered, again 18 inches to 2 foot; plus a couple of ornamental grasses.

Passers-by may have noticed this beautiful piece of furniture in a basement on Mansfield Place, but comparatively few will know the bitter-sweet story behind its appearance.

The piece is in fact a memorial bench, donated by her family to the memory of Annie Garven who died in 2011. 

The Royal Scots Club at 29–31 Abercromby Place has uncovered fascinating and rarely before seen photographs of the building's original meeting rooms, taken shortly after the Great War.

Responding to the City of Edinburgh’s recent Draft Local Development Plan (LDP) consultation, the New Town and Broughton Community Council has welcomed progress made since previous drafts on:

Drummond Community High School is a hub of multinational, multicultural and multilingual activity in Edinburgh. Here, Birgit Harris (Community Education Manager)  tells us about the school’s Cultural Peer Project, which has gone from strength to strength over recent years.