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.”
Over 1,000 local people have already signed up to local Lib Dem bus campaign to get a new direct Lothian Buses service between Queensferry, Kirkliston, Dalmeny and Edinburgh city centre.
Kevin said, “Alex and I have had an overwhelming response to this campaign. Local people are frustrated that despite being full council taxpayers to Edinburgh city council, there is still no direct Lothians service to the city centre.
“It all means local people often have to pay twice as much to get to Edinburgh than compared to people in Dalkeith, Musselburgh and Penicuik. It’s just not fair.”
You can add your support online here.
This week’s Queensferry Gazette has covered our local campaign.
There has been a great deal of concern after the subpostmaster gave notice of his intention to leave the network in September.
Post Office Ltd has advertised for a new operator and premises. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any interest so far although they are continuing to seek a solution.
The good news is that the postmaster has agreed to delay his leaving date until the end of December so he will continue to provide a service for now.
I’ll provide updates as soon as they are received.
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 Salvesen Steps by the River Almond were reopened in July after being closed over safety fears.
Local Lib Dem candidate Kevin Lang said, “The closure of the steps caused great concern. The good news is that not only have the steps been repaired but they’ve also been coated with anti slip paint to make them even safer.”
Local residents should have received Edinburgh Airport’s leaflet explaining the current consultation on possible flight path changes.
Most of the impacts are expected to be in West Lothian. However, the local Lib Dem team has already contacted the airport to say how important it is to maintain the current “left turn” before Cramond when aircraft depart to the east.
There is also an opportunity to make this left turn sharper to route Kevin and Alex outside Edinburgh Airport aircraft further away from local residential areas. You can find out more at the airport’s dedicated website www.letsgofurther.com.
The deadline for responses is 12 September 2016.
Local MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said, “With more and more flights coming into Edinburgh, it is vital that the Airport act as responsible neighbours and act on the wishes of local people. Please make sure your voice is heard in this important consultation.”
You can add your support for the campaign by printing off the form below and sending it back using the freepost address.
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.”
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.