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Councillor report

Green councillors report December 2018

Policy Work

Claire Miller sits on the cross-party working group on Brexit, and during December while the withdrawal  agreement was becoming increasingly uncertain, she raised questions and got agreement for more intense work to prepare Edinburgh for a No Deal scenario, and began to form partnerships to continue attracting and welcoming European people into Edinburgh.

Gavin Corbett secured Education Committee backing for a plan to be prepared so that all of the city’s schools are on track to meet climate change obligations.

In Education, Mary Campbell brought amendments to check that council staffing is assessed to make sure that there is the capacity to deliver the planned programme of school builds and extensions to a high standard of community consultation, and pushed to ensure continuous improvement to the schools letting service.

In full council Steve Burgess questioned the council leader on providing carbon literacy training for staff and councillors – the idea will be considered in a report to CP&S committee in January.

Melanie Main had a motion passed at full Council, which agreed to delegate decisions on non contentious changes to streets, and she met with officers to discuss a ‘city wide amnesty’ to clear the backlogs of hundreds of small local changes requested by communities. The contentious awarding of grants for health and social care was agreed unanimously by the Edinburgh Intergrated Joint Board, with an amendment instigated by Melanie with the other Councillors on the IJB, setting aside a pot of over £2million to ensure that services users have access to help they need.

At council level, Alex Staniforth successfully got the city’s unanimous support for the return of the Post-Study Work Visa.

In Planning Committee, Chas Booth and Alex Staniforth successfully put forward a motion calling for measures in the next City Plan to meet climate change emissions targets.

Transport spokesperson Chas Booth has continued to press for better parking enforcement, and welcomed a recent council decision to crack down on persistent offenders.

Ward Work

In the city centre ward, Claire Miller and green members have started preparations for 2019 and are intending to host an event on the next local development plan, and send a newsletter to all Tollcross residents updating them on all the work Greens have been doing in the area.

In Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart Gavin Corbett has been in full clean-up mode with community events in Harrison Park, the Union Canal and the Caledonian Railway Path.

In Portobello/Craigmillar ward, the December late night shopping event Mary Campbell helped plan went well, with a thankfully dry evening and most participating shops being full to bursting. She has also been involved in supporting community centres management committees who are working through council proposals for new working arrangements. She also helped get a large number of waste items dumped across Magdalene collected before Christmas.

In Craigentinny/Duddingston, Alex Staniforth has been trying to get some peace for the residents of Marionville Road, where noisy roadworks have been reported as continuing long past their 11pm deadline.

In Southside/Newington ward, Steve Burgess compered the switching on of Southside festive lights at St.Patrick Square.

In Morningside, Melanie was elected vice chair of Gillespies’ High School Trust, supported Save MidMar< Paddock in gathering almost 1000 pieces of evidence for the rights of way campaign, and agreed the consultation and implementation plan for delivering the extensive road safety changes in Braidburn and the Hermitage. Melanie is exploring with officers a rarely used traffic order which require Sat Nav. suppliers to add bans of lorries or large vehicles in specific streets, to improve safety for residents.

In Leith, Chas Booth has been supporting the Newhaven Project, which aims to find a community use for the Victoria Primary School building in Newhaven, when the school moves into a new building in Western Harbour, scheduled for 2020.

In Leith Walk, Susan has been chairing LeithChooses, which is reaching a critical time with applications due 21st of January and the event taking place in late February. This is a huge amount of work which relies heavily on a group of stalwart and highly knowledgeable volunteers. Susan is also heavily involved in the Save Leith Walk Campaign, with community planning workshop taking place on 19th January with a remit to look further at alternative proposals for the site. The planning application proposed by Drum Property Group, will go to a hearing on the 30th January and SLW will present their objections to the hearing. Susan has also set up meetings with the team leading on the Powderhall housing development which will incorporate artists studios, a nursery and elder housing, and the culture and communities heads. This is to encourage a more strategic and innovative approach to housing, culture and green space.


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