Kevin and Louise help force action on gritting

At this week’s meeting of the full Council, we were pleased to work with other Liberal Democrat and opposition councillors to ensure there is a proper review of the Council’s gritting operations.

The whole gritting and winter resilience plan has caused a huge amount of frustration amongst our constituents over the last two months. The colder weather created treacherous conditions in many parts of the city and the response from the Council was wholly inadequate.

However, Council officials admitted the online gritting map is completely out of date. Grit bins have been left empty, days even weeks after being reported. Requests for new grit bins appear to go into a big black hole and school bus routes were left ungritted, forcing pupils to miss school. That is why we thought it was so important for lessons to be learned and big changes made for next winter.

In the end, the Council voted unanimously for a motion to review the priority routes.  The motion also included our own amendment to improve the whole system of requesting new grit bins which is cumbersome, difficult and also ensure the online grit bin and prioriy route map, which so many people rely on, is kept properly up to date (currently, many grit bins and priority routes are missing from the map).

Here was the full text of the motion passed:

“Council

Acknowledges the good work carried out by Council staff in servicing Priority 1 routes during the recent snowy and icy weather, to keep the city moving and minimise accidents and injuries;

However, recognises that a significant number of roads and pavements outwith Priority 1 – across large swathes of Edinburgh – received no gritting treatment and that many suburban grit bins were empty or not refilled in a timely manner, creating hazard for many people such as the elderly, disabled and active travellers.

Calls for a report to the Transport and Environment Committee within three cycles reviewing the continued suitability and responsiveness of the current priority system, including, but not limited to, consideration of how the council can better service suburban and other ‘non priority’ areas; give due consideration to the divergent topography and thermal make-up of the city; make better use of technology like ‘routesmart’ to improve response times; and better advertise, service and encourage safe use of grit bins by local residents in their community.

  • Council further:
    • recognises the importance of providing residents with accurate information via the online
    winter road and pavement maintenance map and notes that officials have admitted the
    current map does not include all grit bin locations or show all current priority gritting
    routes.
    • acknowledges the current difficulties in obtaining information on the status of new grit bin
    requests and the decision making processes involved in the siting of new grit bins

Council therefore agrees that the report to Committee should also cover:
• how the updating of the online map will be made a priority for next winter.
• the potential to develop the online map in order to provide real time information on
planned and completed gritting of priority routes.
• the improvements that can be made to the processes for requesting new grit bins and the
information that is available on the status of new grit bin requests.

Lib Dems step up pressure on A90 slip road

The local Liberal Democrat team have been clear that Transport Scotland needs to consider how the A90 slip road at the roundabout at the Forth Road Bridge can be re-opened.

Since the closure of the slip road and the opening of the new Queensferry Crossing, far more traffic is entering and exiting Queensferry to the east via Dalmeny Station.  This is on roads never designed for this volume of traffic.

It is a problem which risks getting even worse if new housing developments at South Scotstoun and Builyeon Road are approved.

We were delighted to be working closely with Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP on this.  He has now written to Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, asking him to re-open the South-bound slip to the A90.

You can see Alex’s full letter here.

LibDem team demand funding for the new Burnshot Bridge

Although designs are now being developed, there is still no firm commitment from the Council administration to provide the money needed for the actual building and construction of a new Burnshot Bridge.

Along with Alex Cole-Hamilton and Christine Jardine, we are concerned by suggestions that the Council’s 2018/19 budget (due to be agreed next month) may not include all the funding which is necessary to ensure the bridge can be delivered and opened this year.

This is why we have joined together and written formally to the Council Leader, Transport Convener and Finance Convener, to emphasise how important it is that the money is found from this coming year’s budget.

It’s now 14 months since the original bridge closed. Local people have been disrupted enough. We need to have the new Burnshot Bridge opened this year.

You can read out full letter to the Council Leader, Transport Convener and Finance Convener here.

Consultation on a new Burnshot Bridge design

Although we are still fighting for the funding for a new bridge, Council officials are currently consulting on what the new structure could look like.
 
We’ve been asked to collate any views and make sure we respond to officials leading the project by 23 February. So if you have views then please let us know.
You can see all the details from the official letter by clicking here.

Overall, here is a summary

  • The slip-road arrangement at Burnshot junction will remain similar to the existing, i.e. it will
    still be possible to leave and join the A90 carriageway in both directions.
    The span arrangement, material choice and detailing will be determined during detailed
    design, however internal discussions have taken place to propose the width of the
    structure, as detailed below:
  • Pedestrians/cyclists – Due to the relatively low numbers of pedestrians using the
    bridge, the footpath/cycleway will be a shared facility but will be 250mm wider than
    previously. Additionally there will be a 500mm separation zone between the
    footpath and the road. The parapet will be raised to 1400mm. This is in accordance
    with current standards and guidance from Sustrans.
  • Buses – The carriageway is 500mm wider than the minimum required for lowfrequency
    bus routes, facilitating some future increase in use
  • HGVs – The bridge will be designed to support SV100 vehicles (maximum gross
    weight of 100 tonnes with a maximum basic axle load of 16.5t). The headroom
    under the structure will be in accordance with current standards.
  • All vehicles – The bridge will return to normal 2-way operation (a one-way
    arrangement was in place since 1999).

If you have views then please email us at kevin.lang@edinburgh.gov.uk and louise.young@edinburgh.gov.uk

Proposal to exclude Kirkliston from the Queensferry Medical Centre catchment – tell us what you think

Complete our survey and tell us what you think about the proposed change.

NHS Lothian is consulting on changes to the catchment boundary for the GP Medical Practice in Queensferry.  This would remove Kirkliston entirely from its catchment area.  The local Lib Dem team are keen to know what you think.

If the changes are agreed then Queensferry Medical Practice would continue to care for existing patients living outside the proposed new catchment boundary.  This would include Kirkliston residents already registered at the practice.  However, new residents in Kirkliston would not be able to register and would have to register at Kirkliston Medical Centre or another practice.

The request from the Queensferry Medical Practice is in response to the rising population in Queensferry, particularly from all the new house buiding and the expected further growth in future years. The practice believes that by changing the boundary now, they can better manage their GP and other services.

Alongside local MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton, we are concerned about the pressure this change could place on the Kirkliston Medical Practice where there can already be long waits to get an appointment.

This goes to the very heart of why we have opposed a number of proposed housing developments.  We believe areas like Queensferry and Kirkliston need new and improved services and infrastructure before any new major developments can be approved.

We are keen to hear local views before the NHS consultation deadline of 19 January.  You can tell us your views using the below link.

Complete our survey and tell us what you think about the proposed change.

Kirkliston cross roads update

Back in June, the first question we asked the new Transport Convenor, as new Councillors, was about the traffic congestion in Kirkliston. After years of inaction from the SNP, we secured a commitment to conduct a full traffic study in the village.

Having agreed to wait until the new bridge was open and fully functional, the time is now
right to carry this out.

Louise met with the local Transport Manager and Roads Engineer just before Christmas to discuss the scope of the study.  She stressed the importance of not just having a review of what the problems are, but also the need to have proposed solutions.

The study will take into account all the surrounding routes coming into the village and explore the pattern of journeys. Louise has also asked that the impact of the new school catchment options are taken into account.

Due to the scale of the project, an independent contractor will be appointed, and this is expected to be done early this year. It is hoped that the study can be done before the Easter break, but most importantly that it is done during school term time.

We will keep you updated on the progress of this study.

New Kirkliston residents to no longer access Queensferry Medical Centre

NHS Lothian is consulting on changes to the catchment boundary for the GP Medical Practice in Queensferry.  This would remove Kirkliston entirely from the catchment area.

Queensferry Medical Practice would continue to care for patients currently registered and living outwith the proposed new catchment boundary.  However, new residents would not be able to register and would have to register at another practice.

The request from the Queensferry Medical Practice is in response to the rising population in Queensferry, particularly from all the new house buiding and the expected further growth in future years. The practice believes that by changing the boundary now, they can better manage their GP and other services.

However, we are deeply concerned about the pressure this could place on the Kirkliston Medical Practice where there can already be long waits to get an appointment. This goes to the very heart of why we have opposed a number of proposed housing developments.  We believe areas like Queensferry and Kirkliston need new and improved serviced and infrastructure before any new major developments can be approved.

We will be seeking assurances from NHS Lothian about the capacity of Kirkliston Medical Centre and how improvements can be made in light of any changes in Queensferry.

Time to look seriously at a Kirkliston High School

Earlier today, councillors on the Education Committee (which Louise is a member of) were asked to agree that Kirkliston Primary should be a feeder to the new West Edinburgh High at Ratho Station as and when Queensferry High reaches capacity.

This follows the consultation with parents over recent weeks on options between either a new school at Ratho Station or a shared school with Winchburgh. The consultation showed there was no clear preference between these options.

What was clear from parents was a desire to have a a proper study on the option of having a high school right here in the village if capacity is reached at Queensferry High. 

Looking at the report before committee today, both of us agreed more detailed work had to be done on this option of a Kirkliston High School BEFORE councillors could make a decision.

This is why Louise tabled an amendment at committee to have this option properly assessed through a feasibility study. We were delighted that, after making these arguments, all other parties supported our Lib Dem amendment and that this work will now be undertaken.

Equally, we know parents are keen for certainty on future secondary school provision. This is why we will be pushing to have this work completed as quickly as possible with the results published in full.

Virgin Media Broadband – update on Kirkliston

After a number of months of disruption and complaints, the Virgin installation works are coming to an end and we expect Virgin to be fully out of the village this side of Christmas.

We fully understand that for some residents, the presence of the Virgin works has been terrible and we have tried to help resolve these whenever we can. The following aims to give some clear information in response to the number of email and social media questions being asked of us.

Getting the service

Where the pavement has been dug up outside your house, then the service is now ‘live’ and available. If you’ve registered with ‘cable my street’ then you should have already received a call or visit, or will do in the very near future. If not, and you want to get contact details, then please email us.

Louise spoke to one of the installation team when he was out in the village.  He has confirmed that, due to the scale of disruption, they are waiving the installation charge (usually £40) for Kirkliston residents. Now, we are not suggesting this gesture makes up for the disruption – just passing on the information. And again, for those of you who have asked us, it’s about £30 a month for phone and broadband and you can get up to 100mbps.

‘New build’ – non adopted roads

There are some areas in the village where Virgin will not be available.  We wanted to update you on that as it has come up a number of times over the last month, and has not been well communicated by Virgin.

In short, if your road has not yet been adopted by the Council, then Virgin will not come in and lay cables. To do so, they need the landowners permission (e.g. Barratts, Millers etc) and those Developers won’t give permission unless they have assurances  the disrupted footpath won’t negatively impact on their road adoption request.

The default position with the Council’s Road Adoption team is that any ‘altered’ pavement, needs to be fully re-tarmaced. That of course is a hefty cost for the developer or for Virgin. Louise has been exchanging a large number of emails around these different interested parties, trying to get some agreement and concession, and while some areas are possible, others are not. So here’s a rundown of what we know:

  • Catelbock Close (off Burnshot) – not yet adopted due to lack of agreement between Cala and Council. No agreement for Virgin to disrupt the pavements so no service.
  • Buie’s (opp leisure centre) – again, not yet adopted and as we understand it there is some level of dispute between Council and Developer so it’s not close to adoption. As above, Virgin are therefore not providing the service.
  • Catstane (off Housefield) – very new housing, and road adoption won’t start until 2 years after the last house is built. So no Virgin service.
  • Maudes & Todshaugh (off Kirkland) – again, due to the recency of the housing, road adoption won’t start for some time, and both sides of Kirklands are affected. No Virgin service.
  • Eilstons (off Eilston Rd) – road is very close to adoption and likely to happen within weeks to only a few months. I’ve encouraged discussion between the Council, Developer and Virgin to see if a compromise regarding permission can be found to allow works to be done before Virgin leave. I don’t have resolution yet but will advise via Facebook group.

For these areas, we have asked about when they could likely expect an extension of the network to be included, once road adoptions are resolved.

Frustratingly Virgin won’t give any guarantees and it would be unlikely to be during 2018 due to the advance planning of what communities they go into. However, if a number of these neighbourhoods were to become ‘available’ then collectively it could warrant a return visit of the installation team.

We will keep local people posted.

Massive opposition to Foxhall housing plans

After four weeks of consultation, local residents have shown their massive opposition to the proposed housing development plans at Foxhall in Kirkliston.

Over 300 individuals objections were made through the Council online planning portal with only two submissions in support. We lodged our own objection as local councillors as did local Member of the Scottish Parliament, Alex Cole-Hamilton.

Well over 400 people signed our own petition against the plans.  We want to say a huge thank you all those in the village who added their names in support.

It is clear these proposals have caused real concern, particularly over the potential traffic impact on the already congested village cross roads.

The planning application and comments submitted are now being considered by planning officials working at the Council.  They will then need to make a recommendation to the planning committee on whether to approve or refuse the application.  This is not expected until well into 2018.

We will keep people posted on developments and when a specific date for the planning committee is arranged.