Let’s get the Jubilee Clock working again!

Back our campaign to get the Jubilee Clock  working again.

This year marks 130 years since the Jubilee Clock was erected in Queensferry.  It was installed to mark the jubilee of Queen Victoria and, since 1887, it has been one of the iconic landmarks of the town.

However, the clock stopped working last year. Since we were elected last May, many residents have contacted us concerned that such an important part of Queensferry has been left not working for so long.

We’ve been pressing officials at the City of Edinburgh Council but we still haven’t been provided with a date on which the clock will be fixed.

We need to tell the Council that ‘time’s up’ and to get the clock working again before the end of this important anniversary year.

That is why we have set up a new petition for local people to show their support.  The more people who add their names, the more pressure we can put on the Council to get the clock fixed.

Your can sign our petition here.

It was the people of Queensferry who, back in 1887, worked together to help fund the new clock.  130 years on, we hope you’ll back our campaign to get the clock working again.

 

38/X38 Kirkliston bus update

We recently met with senior representatives of First Bus to discuss the 38/x38 service running through Kirkliston.
This was on the  back of our work to help secure the new Lothian Country service in Queensferry and our commitment to push for a direct Lothians service between Kirkliston and Edinburgh.  First Bus were keen to discuss their existing service.
From our own experiences of using the service and comments from other local residents, we were able to explain that for the majority of travellers the service performs well, with friendly drivers and wifi as standard.  There is also much improved reliability from where we were even a few years ago with missing buses and times way off schedule.
However the fundamental issue for residents in Kirkliston is that they still pay more for a single journey into Edinburgh than their neighbours just a couple of miles along the road to get into Edinbirgh.  More importantly, there’s no through-ticket option to change buses once in the city centre to complete a journey to work or elsewhere in the north and south of the city.
There is a real need for a single ticket/pass that would allow these staggered journeys – no more than people in Queensferry can do from Lothian Country to Lothian.
We had very encouraging discussions with the First Bus team around the introduction of a ‘one ticket’ system.  This could see the main bus companies sign up to a ticket that could be used across Lothian, First and Stagecoach. While this would cost a little more, the day ticket is expected to be only £1 more than the price of a single provider day ticket.
The initiative has seen a successful launch in Glasgow and we are hopeful of seeing this idea develop here in early 2018. Both of us have asked for careful consideration to be given to reasonable pricing for a monthly ticket so as to support those with a daily commute into Edinburgh who have to depend on more that one bus company to get to work (or indeed other appointments).
We will keep Kirkliston residents informed as the idea develops.

Cramond Road North bus stop

We’re pleased to report that the bus stop and shelter on Cramond Road North next to Cramond Place is to be moved.

The current bus stop for the 41 bus was recently closed. This was to help facilitate the building of the new care home, due to open later this year.

A temporary stop has been set up just down the road and next to Cramond Green. However there is no shelter or seating as the case at the usual stop.

After we made contact with transport officials, it was agreed that arrangements would be made for the bus stop to be permanently moved to this new location which is more suitable given the lay by at Cramond Green.

A new bus stop marking is to be painted on the lay by and they will then move the shelter.

Ferry Fair 2017 – all the details including traffic changes

Both of us are excited about this year’s Ferry Fair, which all kicks off on 6th August and culminates ovet the following weekend, including the parade on Saturday 12 August.

Raffle tickets (£1) and programmes (£3) are on sale in most outlets in the Ferry.  You can support the fair by buying programmes and raffle tickets as the event relies heavily on these sources of income.  You can also make a donation direct here.

You can find more via the Ferry Fair webpage or the Ferry Fair Facebook Page.

There will be lots of changes to traffic and parking arrangements during the Fair.

Most of the High Street and all of Burgess Road will be closed 11th-13th August.  There are also a host of parking restrictions which you can see via this link.

There are also a host of parking restrictions which you can see via this link

Finally, a huge thank you and well done to the organising committee who give up so much time and effort to make the Ferry Fair a success.

 

Council lodges application for new Queensferry sports fields

The City of Edinburgh Council has lodged the formal planning application to construct the new artificial grass rugby and football field, just to the south of the Sports Hub on Ashburnham Road in Queensferry.

The new pitches would be built on the site of two smaller natural grass pitches and will also include a sports fence that will surround the pitch and restrict access.

It is expected the pitch will be used primarily by the school and the community and will upgrade of the existing natural pitches which can be in poor condition for extended periods of time.

The proposals primarily come from the planned re-development of Queensferry High School, which is scheduled to be completed by 2020. With the school to be relocated onto the existing playing fields, an alternative site is required until the school building is completed.

The new facility would be used as ‘rugby and football’ pitch. It would be surfaced with the latest 3G artificial grass with a sand and rubber infill and would be ‘let’ outwith school hours through the South Queensferry Community Hub.

You can see more about the application via the Council’s planning portal.

Any comments on the application must be lodged with the Council planning department by Friday 11 August 2017.

This can be done by email to planning@edinburgh.gov.uk or by writing to Planning Department, City of Edinburgh Council, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG.

Remember to quote the reference number 17/03110/FUL.

McCarthy & Stone lodge planning application for retirement development

Following the pre-application consultation a few weeks ago, McCarthy & Stone has now lodged its formal planning application for a new retirement community off Barnton Avenue West.

The proposals would build a sheltered housing development of 36 apartments and 12 houses on the south side of the road, just to the east of Riding Park.

You can see more of the background to the proposals via the McCarthy & Stone website.

The full planning application be seen via the Edinburgh Council Planning Portal using the reference 17/03129/FUL

We made a point of contacting residents in the immediate vicinity of the site when the proposals first emerged.  There was a lot of concern over the density of the housing which people felt would be out of keeping with the area and against the planning guidance which exists for this part of the city.  There was also concerns over parking capacity and the impact on drainage.

Objections to the application must be lodged with the planning department by 11 August 2017.

This can be done by email to planning@edinburgh.gov.uk or by writing to Planning Department, City of Edinburgh Council, Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG.

Remember to quote the reference number 17/03129/FUL.

 

Official airport figures show massive opposition to new flight path

Official figures from Edinburgh Airport have shown massive opposition to proposals to fly thousands of plans over Queensferry.

The official findings report on the airport consultation showed that, of those who responded and had a view on the flight paths, over 60% were opposed to the suggestion that aircraft should be changed in this way.

The airport unveiled proposals to change its flight paths earlier this year.  In the first consultation in 2016, Edinburgh Airport promised to look at flight paths within a broad ‘envelope’ – this did not include aircraft being routed over Queensferry.

However this second consultation proposed something completely different. The new plans involve a preferred flight path (called D0) for departing planes. The new flight path would route many thousands of aircraft directly over Queensferry.
Local people were rightly shocked by this. There was no suggestion of such a proposal in the airport’s first consultation last year.  Over 1,000 people signed our petition against the plans.

We submitted a joint response to the airport’s consultation with local Member of the Scottish Parliament, Alex Cole-Hamilton. We explained how unacceptable it was for the airport to propose a new flight path which was NOT included in the original 2016 consultation design envelope.  We feel this brought the integrity of the airport’s consultation programme into serious doubt.

We understood Edinburgh Airport suggested the new flight path because other residents in West Lothian objected to initial proposals.  However, residents in Queensferry would have also objected if this new proposal had been suggested in the 2016 consultation.

Queensferry is a large and growing community.  It is also an important tourist and heritage site given its position next to the Forth Rail Bridge.  This new flight path will expose thousands of people to increased aircraft noise.  The preferred flight path would also take planes close to Echline Primary School and a possible new school which may be built south of Builyeon Road.

Given the huge opposition to the proposals, we hope the airport will now confirm that it will not proceed with this change.  A formal decision by the airport is expected later in the year.

Weeds – time for action from Edinburgh City Council

One of the issues re-emerging over the summer months is the problem of weeds across west Edinburgh.

This issue was debated at a recent meeting of the full City of Edinburgh Council with concerns raised about the under resourcing of the team responsible for removing weeds.  There have also been problems since the decision to phase out the use of harmful glyphosate weed-killer with a delay in developing effective alternatives.

Both of us backed a motion to push for urgent action.  Unfortunately, this was voted down by the Labour and SNP administration councillors. Instead, they chose to delay taking action until later in the year.

The failure by those running the Council to properly understand the seriousness of the weeds problem was shown when one administration councillor glibly argued that “a weed is just a plant in the wrong place.”

Labour and SNP councillors may be happy to see our streets covered in weeds but we think residents deserve better.  That is why we will keep fighting for action.

If there is a major weeds problem on your street then let us know by contacting us on kevin.lang@edinburgh.gov.uk and/or louise.young@edinburgh.gov.uk

 

 

 

20mph roll out in Barnton, Cramond, Davidson’s Mains, Muirhouse and Silverknowes

Residents will have seen new 20mph signage going up on lamp-posts and being painted on roads throughout Barnton, Cramond, Davidson’s Mains, Muirhouse and Silverknowes.  This is part of the city-wide roll out of 20mph as agreed by the last Council in January 2015.

Even though the signage is going up, the new 20mph limit will not come into force in these areas until Wednesday 16 August.

As part of this third phase of the project, virtually all roads in the area will be 20mph.  Roads which will not change include:

  • Queensferry Road (remaining 40mph)
  • Whitehouse Road (between the Barnton junction and Gamekeeper’s Road remaining 30mph)
  • Gamekeeper’s Road (remaining 30mph)
  • Cramond Road South (30mph)
  • Lauriston Farm Road (30mph)
  • Silverknowes Parkway (30mph)
  • Ferry Road (30mph)
  • Muirhouse Parkway (30mph)

You can view a map which show all the changes by clicking here.

These changes come after the 20mph roll out in Queensferry, Dalmeny, Kirkliston, Newbridge and Ratho Station last year.

The fourth and final phase of the project throughout south Edinburgh is due to take place in January 2018.  There will then be a full review of all streets after a year.

For all the information about the 20mph roll out, visit the Council’s dedicated web page.

Travel information for the Queensferry Crossing Experience

When the announcement was made on the planned Queensferry Crossing walkover in September, we quickly made contact with Transport Scotland about the transport arrnagements.

Recent events including the launch of the HMS Elizabeth have caused a great deal of congestion in and around Queensferry. We are keen to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum when the crossing event takes place in September.

Here is the information we got back from Transport Scotland.

Dear Councillor Lang

Thank you for your e-mail to Transport Scotland regarding the transport arrangements for the Queensferry Crossing Experience on 2nd and 3rd September 2017.

For successful applicants in the ballot, the only way to reach the Queensferry Crossing on the day is via one of our Queensferry Crossing Experience travel hubs. Successful applicants will be assigned to their nearest travel hub. Each successful applicant and their group will receive a bus departure time.

Upon completion of each Queensferry Crossing Experience, buses will return people directly to their original travel hub. Departure points will be clearly sign-posted at the Queensferry Crossing. By adopting this approach it will minimise the impact on the local roads and communities immediately adjacent to the site. I can assure you that City of Edinburgh council officials are invited to all the planning meetings relating to the Queensferry Crossing Experience.

Parking is limited at the travel hubs so we are recommending using public transport to reach them where possible. Parking spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. As soon as these spaces have been filled, individuals will have to park out with the hub and at their own risk.

For information, there will be a limited number of disabled parking spaces available at each travel hub. These spaces will also be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

I hope this has been helpful and I will provide you with further details of the arrangements that have been made in the near future.