Congratulations to Christine Jardine on her election as the new local Member of Parliament.
We were delighted to support Christine and we know she’ll make a first class local MP. We can’t wait to start working as a team with her and Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP.
As new councillors, we’ve asked to be kept informed from the Council’s Road Safety Team following the tragic incident at the Davidson’s Mains roundabout three weeks ago. We received a written update this week.
The local police is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and is keeping the Council updated.
A site visit will be held involving the police and Council officials. They will also look at previous incidents and collisions to help identify fundamental issues with the safety at this roundabout and the crossings.
The matter was discussed at length at the recent AGM of the Davidson’s Mains & Silverknowes Association. At the meeting, Council officials said the whole area had already been ‘on their radar’.
It is important to get the incident investigated and to get full report from the police. As councillors, we believe action is required to make this whole area safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. This is particularly critical given the increasing volume of traffic going trough the village and the close proximity to local schools.
This is one of our top priorities for Davidson’s Mains and we will keep residents informed.
New councillors, Kevin Lang and Louise Young want to say a huge THANK YOU for the fantastic support they received in the recent council election. The result was pretty overwhelming – just look at the party first preferences totals:
Liberal Democrats – 7,217 (51%)
SNP – 3,211 (22%)
Con – 2,395 (17%)…
Lab – 786 (6%)
Green – 375 (3%)
Kevin and Louise said, “During the campaign, we promised to be a hard working and effective team of local councillors. That’s why we are getting straight to work, holding our first meetings in the City Chambers.
“We will be getting our telephone, email and surgery details all confirmed over the coming days. We will also start work on the issues we campaigned on so strongly over the last few weeks. As promised, we will keep in touch through regular newsletters and email updates.
“We are honoured to be your voices on Edinburgh City Council. We will now work as hard as we can to repay the trust which local people have placed in us.”
The local Lib Dem team always work to ensure broken street lights are replaced as quickly as possible.
Click here to report a broken street light in your area
Lib Dem council candidate Kevin Lang said, “I’ve already managed to get a number of broken street lights fixed by the council. I report lights and ensure that they are monitored until fixed. Street lighting is important for safety and security of road users and pedestrians. For street lamp repairs it helps to know what address the lamp is located by, or the number from the lighting column.”
You can report street lighting by filling in this form and Kevin will make the report.
Kevin said, “If you notice a problem in the local area then please report it. It takes just a couple of minutes to let us know and it helps us look after the area.”
Following feedback from local residents, local Lib Dem council candidate Kevin Lang has launched a renewed push to get improvements to street signs throughout Silverknowes. He said, “Too many street signs are damaged with some completely unreadable. Some street signs in Silverknowes were replaced some years back. Now is the time to get action on the rest. If there are particular problems on your street then let me know.”
A major new report has found that almost two in every five roads across in Edinburgh are in is in need of repair. The report also found that the Labour/SNP administration running the Council has allowed the position to get worse over the last three years.
The report from Audit Scotland found that nearly 40% of streets should be considered for maintenance.
Local council candidate, Kevin Lang said, “This is a damning report for those running Edinburgh City Council. Maintaining the roads is one of the most basic services which a Council can provide. Yet Labour and the SNP have let the position get worse over the last three years.
“Every week, I hear from local residents fed up with the pot holes, broken kerbs and faded markings which plague their area. It’s simply not good enough – we deserve much better than this. We now need to review budgets and find new money to fix our broken roads.”
The local Lib Dem team, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Kevin Lang have promised to keep fighting after a report from the SNP Scottish Government supported turning over the Cammo fields for the buildings of hundreds of new houses.
After a year long review of the council’s Local Development Plan, officials for the SNP led Scottish Government backed the inclusion of the Cammo fields for the city wide housing plan.
The government recommended that separate plans for housing at Craigiehall opposite the Cramond Brig should be delayed until the next planning review.
The Council is now set to consider and agree a final plan by the end of the year. Local MSP,
Alex Cole-Hamilton said, “I’ve been proud to stand with local residents against the loss of greenbelt land at Cammo. The situation has already changed since the plan was handed over to the Scottish Government last year. The Council recently approved the first stages of the Garden City housing development at Gogar to help respond to the city’s housing shortfall. This means the fight must go on to save the Cammo fields from development.”
Council candidate, Kevin Lang said, “Local people are right to feel to angry. There is an overwhelmingly view within the local community against the loss of the Cammo fields. Everyone who knows our area understands how our local services and transport infrastructure simply cannot cope with a massive housing development on this site. It will only cause further chaos to roads and junctions which are already gridlocked at peak periods.”