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.
It was great to receive the petition from Newbridge residents, calling for action on the village parking problems.
We met with Council officials earlier this week to press for a proper review of options and for a full consultation so all residents can have their say.
The petition really helps to show the strength of feeling and well done to Pauline McIntosh for collecting so many names.
This continues to be our top priority in Newbridge.
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.”
Edinburgh Airport has just published a new master plan with a deadline of 23 December for making comments.
The master plan sets out how the airport plans to grow over the next 25 years. It is separate to the airport’s recent flight paths consultation where local MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton and I are campaigning strongly for changes to route aircraft further away from Cramond and Barnton on departure.
Most of this new master plan document covers future traffic projections and how land around the airport will be used in the years to come. However, it also looks at road access, public transport as well as how the airport will manage noise and other impacts.
Importantly, the airport now says it plans to close the secondary (cross wind) runway at some point in the future. This is to make way for an expansion of the terminal and new aircraft parking stands.
Alex Cole-Hamilton and I are looking carefully at the 50 page document and will be submitting a response. However, several things already stand out to us;
* The need for a tougher attitude on excessive noise. The noise thresholds for fining aircraft need to be lowered and the fines increased.
* The need for a greater commitment to limit night time flights and introduce similar restrictions already in place at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
* There is insufficient commitment to improving public transport to and from the north west of Edinburgh where we know there is demand for new bus links.
These are just some of the points we will be making in our response.
You can view the master plan document an details of how to respond here
http://www.edinburghairport.com/about-us/airport-expansion
Please remember that all comments have to be submitted by 23 December.
You can also get in touch with Alex and I with any specific comments by 15 December. This will ensure we can consider how we can incorporate your views into our own response.
Fresh doubts have been raised over the proposed 1,300 homes ‘Garden City Development’ at Gogarburn.
It follows the decision of Scottish Government Ministers to review and decide on the proposal following an objection to the plans from the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (Sasa) agency.
City councillors passed the planning application last June, despite the land rejected in the Local Development Plan which zones land for housing. Liberal Democrat councillors voted against the proposal because of the impact on traffic and the local greenbelt.
It is now thought that a final decision could take another 9 months, continuing the uncertainty for those who would be affected by the development.
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.”
Virtually all roads in Queensferry, Kirkliston, Dalmeny and Ratho Station will become 20mph from tomorrow (Sunday 31 July) as part of the roll out across Edinburgh.
As part of the effort to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety, 20mph is being introduced across the city in stages over the next 18 months.
The first stage includes rural West Edinburgh.
Loca council candidate Kevin Lang said, “It’s important for the council to learn lessons from these early stages of the roll out. Local residents can let me know about any wrong signage. I’m also keen to hear how they effective they think the new 20mph areas are working.”
You can find out more information at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/20mph
The local Liberal Democrat team has launched a major new “fairer fares” campaign to get Lothian Buses to start new direct services from our area to Edinburgh city centre.
Despite growing populations in Queensferry, Dalmeny and Kirkliston, there are still no direct bus services to the centre of Edinburgh from the council owned bus company, Lothian Buses. Other areas, including Penicuik, Musselburgh and Dalkeith, all of which are outside of the City of Edinburgh Council area already benefit from cheaper direct Lothian Buses to the city centre.
It all means bus fares to Edinburgh city centre from Queensferry, Dalmeny, Ratho Station and Kirkliston can cost TWICE as much as fares from parts of Midlothian and East Lothian.
Local MSP, Alex Cole-Hamilton said, “With more and more people living in Queensferry, Dalmeny and Kirkliston, now is the time for Lothian Buses to start new direct services to Edinburgh city centre. We need to redouble our efforts and get the council owned bus company to listen to local people.”
Local Lib Dem council candidate Kevin Lang said, “It’s simply not fair that local people here have to pay so much more to travel into the centre of Edinburgh than in places like Penicuik and Musselburgh which aren’t even in the City of Edinburgh council area. The Lib Dems believe people deserve better than this.”
You can support Alex and Kevin’s campaign by signing and returning petition using the following link.