IMPORTANT – WASTE AND RECYCLING UPDATE

Many more residents have contacted us over recent days about the problem is missed waste and recycling collections.

We have now received a full briefing on this and it is clear the problem is an acute lack of HGV drivers which is causing major delays across the city.

Here is the update we received.

WASTE & RECYCLING COLLECTION UPDATE
Waste and Recycling collections are currently experiencing delays in parts of the city. Garden waste collections are running three days behind schedule. There are also some delays of between one and two days for some food and glass collections.

The main issue causing the delays is a shortage of available LGV (HGV) drivers.

A recent recruitment exercise resulted in 10 appointments. However, a mix of both agency and permanent staff have subsequently left the service for work elsewhere. Our agency provider is assisting in trying to source drivers but has so far been unable to cover all vacancies. This shortage is not an Edinburgh specific problem (as several other Scottish councils have confirmed to officers recently). Both the public and private sectors are citing issues in securing and retaining HGV drivers.

As of the start of the week commencing 10th July the service was 10 drivers short; eight at Russell Road Depot and two at Seafield Depot. All of the driver vacancies are on kerbside services – individual household bins for garden, landfill, mixed recycling, food and glass services.

The actions being taken to eliminate the delays on services are:
1) The hourly rate being offered to agency drivers has been increased and adverts have been placed on social media sites, via our agency partner.
2) LGV drivers from the Cleansing service will undertake driving duties in waste collection for the remainder of the week, including the weekend. This will be reviewed for the following week subject to progress against delayed collections whilst ensuring that cleansing requirements are not compromised.
3) Other employment agencies are being contacted and invited to supply drivers. Two drivers have been sourced and are being assessed on the 11th July with a view to an immediate start.
4) Supervisors with appropriate licences have been employed on driving duties.
5) Extra collection routes are being serviced on a Saturday and Sunday to reduce the number of collection rounds running behind at the start of next week.
6) Given the national shortage of drivers the service is looking at upskilling existing staff through a learning contract. This is not an immediate solution but is more sustainable in the long term than reliance on agency and will avoid future recurrences.

It is also recognised that changes to the way in which customers can contact the Council to report a missed collection has caused frustration due to the number of options available to the customer.

Resulting from recent customer feedback a dedicated line for waste enquiries is anticipated to be operational by the end of July. This will make it more straightforward for residents to log missed collections.

Plans for new housing at Dalmeny approved

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The Council’s new planning committee has approved the proposals to build 15 new homes next to Bankhead Road on the field behind Wester Dalmeny cottages.

The decision was reached after a site visit by committee members and officials.  Cllr Kevin Lang, representatives of the Queensferry & District Community Council and some local residents were also present.

As your local councillors, we had submitted a formal request for a full hearing at the planning committee before a decision was taken.  This would have allowed us and the community council to talk to our detailed concerns on the development, specifically the issues around safe access from Bankhead Road as well as the size and shape of the proposed houses. Unfortunately, the committee decided against holding a hearing and instead proceeded to support the application.

Whilst we are obviously disappointed with the decision, we want to thank the local residents who worked so hard to try and suggest improvements to the proposals.  We still think a more appropriate development could have been agreed for this site and one which commanded more support from people in the village.

We will always work hard to represent local views and protect the unique character of Dalmeny as an important conservation area.

Waste collection issues

Since our election in May we have been surprised and frustrated at the number of complaints about missed collections and damaged bins.

At the first ‘normal’ full council meeting on Thursday Louise asked a question of the new Convenor for Environment about the quality of the service.

While pleased to hear that a new monitoring system is being introduced and new supervisor roles to work on reliability of service, Louise raised the issue over the inconsistent service including particular streets in Kirkliston and Queensferry.

The Convenor has agreed to meet with Louise to get into more detail about these issues.

Thank you to those of you who have already taken the time to complete our waste survey. Please do take 2mins to do this if you have time as it is helping to build up a case file of specific examples that can be taken to that meeting.

Burnshot Bridge update

This week saw the first ‘normal’ meeting of the new Edinburgh City Council. Kevin’s very first question was to the new Transport Convener on when the Burnshot Bridge will reopen.

The new Convener (Lesley Macinnes) confirmed the centre section of the bridge needs to be removed and that this work will be undertaken in the autumn. She said planning was underway for this to happen probably over a weekend as it will obviously require the A90 to be closed.

She also said the removal of the centre section would allow a fuller investigation into the refurbishment and replacement options. A recommended option will be then presented to Transport and Environment Committee prior to the programme of work commencing.

She confirmed the bridge is unlikely to re-open before the Summer of 2018.

Kevin was allowed a follow up question so emphasised the disruption this was all causing. He said how concerned he was that the bridge could be closed for a full two years before being reopened. He asked her to make this a priority and return with a more definitive timetable so folk can feel progress is being made.

Both of us will continue to pass on any information we get.

Queensferry High – Lib Dems push for community facilities

Earlier in the week and in response to the comments we received by email and through Facebook, we promised to raise the Queensferry High proposals with the new Council Leader at this week’s full Council meeting.

Kevin did so and highlighted how the project needed to provide, not just a world class educational facility but also enhanced community facilities. Kevin also explained that many felt the current proposals are simply not ambitious enough.

The Council Leader accepted the principle of the need for improved community facilities. We’re pleased to say the new Convener of Education agreed to come out and meet with us and other interested residents to discuss this.

Don’t forget, there is still time to feed your views into the consultation. The Council is still receiving comments by 11 August 2017.

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/…/newqueensferryh…/

Good news on Kirkliston cross roads

One of our key pledges in the recent council elections was to get action to tackle the congestion at the Kirkliston crossroads. We promised to fight for a new transport study to help develop solutions and address a problem which is getting worse and worse.

This week saw the first full council meeting with the new administration. Cllr Louise Young used that meeting to press the new Convenor for Transport on this issue. We are pleased to say… that Louise managed to secure agreement from the Convener to conduct a full traffic study after the new Queensferry Crossing opens (i.e. after school holidays). The Convener also agreed to Louise’s request to establish a working group to find tangible improvements on the back of any findings.

It’s a good step in the right direction and we will keep residents informed as work moves forward.

New community council for Muirhouse / Salvesen

If you live in Muirhouse and the Salvesens and want to be a voice to improve your community then why not stand for the new community council?

Nominations are open until this Friday and it’s easy to apply.

As councillors, we already work with community councils in Queensferry, Kirkliston, Cramond & Barnton and Ratho & District. We’re looking forward to working with the new community champions in Muirhouse and the Salvesens too.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/…/nominations_open_for_muirhous…

Good news as Salvesen steps re-open

GOOD NEWS – SALVESEN STEPS REOPEN
We received the welcome news that the Salvesen Steps in Cramond reopened today. Still work to be done in terms of the permanent replacement around the rock face.

The following is taken from the update we got from the Friends of the Almond Walkway

“Although the Council commendably and speedily agreed to replace the condemned structure with a temporary replacement, implementation has unfortunately taken longer than originally estimated.

“This has been due to a series of delays with Contractors, weather conditions and other factors too tedious to relate here. This has resulted in considerable inconvenience to local users and visitors alike. However, the big picture is that we can all now use the Steps again which is good news indeed.

“Furthermore, it is now unlikely that they will need to be closed again until a permanent structure is installed.

“It is important to note that the newly opened Steps are a temporary structure, pending a permanent disability-compliant replacement around the rock-face. There has been a welcome firming-up in the Council’s plans to commission a new structure.

“A fresh round of consultant’s reports has been completed and meetings, on which FRAW has representation, have been held to take the project forward. A couple of issues remain, to be clarified with partner and regulator organisations. Once these are resolved there is nothing to prevent the preparation of a detailed design ready for the tendering of the actual construction.

“Substantial funds have been allocated for this last stage of preparatory work and even possibly beyond. All this has all been a protracted business and it is too early to celebrate as there have been many ‘false dawns’ to date but there are now real grounds for optimism and a clear way ahead.”

Joy riding and motorbike crime

During the recent council election campaign, we said that tackling the issue of motorbike crime and joyriding through Silverknowes, Davidson’s Mains and Muirhouse would be amongst our top priorities.

We have been working with the local police since we elected as new local councillors. This has been important as anti-social behaviour including the use of stolen motorcycles tends to get worse over the lighter summer months.

Earlier today and in partnership with the Council, the local police in north Edinburgh launched a new “Stronger North” initiative. This should provide a better and more organised approach to tackle youth disorder, anti-social behaviour and crime in north west of Edinburgh.

We are pleased to say this initiative will also bring extra resources, including additional officers. We have been promised they will provide a very visible presence within the area and robustly tackle any criminality. Additional support such as road policing, specialist crime resources, police dog handlers and the Police Scotland helicopter will also be available.

As councillors, we have seen a real determination from the police to try and tackle these issues which are caused by a small number of people but have caused real distress in the local area. We hope these extra resources as well as the ongoing support and assistance from the community will make a real difference.

Remember, if you want to report crime in your area, you can do so by speaking to police in complete confidentiality, or by phoning Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Rubbish/recycling collection – have your say

Complete Louise’s survey here.

Later this week, Cllr Louise Young will be asking the Council’s new convener of environment about the problem of waste collection across north and west Edinburgh.  She wants to hear about your own experiences in your street.  Her survey takes no more than five minutes to complete.

So if you’ve suffered from missed collection or broken bins then let her know by using the link below.

Complete Louise’s survey here.