Meeting up with the ladies of the Craigmount Community Wing 'Thursday Club'

This morning, I was delighted to accept the invitation from the ladies of the Thursday Club, who meet in the Craigmount High School Community Wing, to go along and speak about my campaign and why the electorate of Drum Brae / Gyle should vote for me.

In what was a bitter morning, the heat was on - but thankfully not on me! 

After letting the ladies know of my achievements so far on the campaign and what I hope to bring to the ward should the votes go my way on May 3rd, it was a chance for our very own version of Question Time! 

The lovely Thursday Club ladies were gentle and I came out of it relatively unscathed - I am not 100% convinced some of the incumbents would have been afforded such a luxury....

Several fundamentally basic provisions for a safer, cleaner and better area were brought to my attention and these will be relayed back to the Council to allow them to make good and rectify.

A fantastic group of ladies, so much so that I was invited to their Burns Supper next Friday!

Visit to the Drum Brae Library and Community Hub

I was honoured to have been given a 'sneak preview' of the fantastic new Drum Brae Library and Community Hub today.

West Team Neighbourhood Manager Natalie Hoy, Business Manager Jemma Blackwood and Library Development Officer Ewan McCormick all took time out of their busy schedules getting the boxes unpacked and putting the finishing touches to the building which opens to the public at 10am on Tuesday 31st January.

The Hub is not just a library - it really is so much more. The Hub brings together lots of services under one roof: a new library for the area, access to Council services and the Police Safer Neighbourhood Team, a cafe area, community meetings rooms and a day care centre. 

Ewan talked about the history of the site, which housed the Buttercup Diary Company, and the ergonomics of the building are something else.

At a cost of £5.7m, this is the first building of it's kind in Scotland.  I was particularly impressed by the geo-thermal heating mechanism in place.  It was needed today but thankfully the visit kept me inside whilst the mini-blizzard took place outside.

I was particularly pleased to see a couple of the murals, painted by local schoolkids and used as the hoarding boards around the site during the buildings construction, preserved and stuck up on the walls inside. A great touch.

Corstorphine Community Council Meeting 18/01/12

Tonight I attended the Corstorphine Community Council meeting at the splended Heritage Centre,  Dower House at St. Margaret’s Park.

We heard from PC Law who is one of the local Safer Neighbourhood Team officers. PC Law noted some problems still at McDonalds next to PC World. Youths caught causing anti-social behaviour will be taken back home and reprimanded in front of their parents.

Plans for a Mountain Bike Club on Corstorphine Hill were brought to the meeting by Chris McGregor who is looking for support to get this initiative off the ground. 

We were treated to a lengthy but very informative presentation from Riccardo Marini, an Edinburgh City Council Design Leader, on the thoughts of leading architect Jan Gehl and his vision for a better Princes Street.

The presentation, in six parts, can be downloaded here  and maybe viewed over a couple of sittings!

Disabled parking spaces concessions gained for Balfour Court residents

It's been a busy and enjoyable start to the New Year, with success to report already.
Following complaints from residents in Balfour Court about the lack of disabled parking spaces, I am delighted to have arranged for disabled-only car parking spaces outside Blocks 1 and 8.

After consultation with Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association, I have obtained the following concessions which will benefit many residents who have contacted me with mobility issues.

• Paint disabled only symbols on three of the four spaces outside block 1 (as highlighted in my quality graphic above!)
• Paint disabled only symbols on one of the three spaces outside block 8
• Arrange a sign for the entrance to the car park saying "strictly residents only".

This work is due to be carried out either towards the end of February or early in March.

Canvassing in Craigmount

It was time to hunt out the winter woolies and the clipboard and pen on Saturday.  Yes, time to hit the streets of Drum Brae / Gyle for a canvassing session.

Today's session saw me take in several parts of Craigmount in what was a bitterly cold day in the Capital.

However, nothing warms your heart than a welcome at the doorstep from residents - even the ones with the big barking dogs! (It warms your heart even more as it beats a lot faster!)

Engagement with residents so far has been a very positive experience on the campaign trail, with new activists, new voters & members being picked up along the way.

As far as election cliches go, yes it really was a 'great response on the doorstep'!

Mearenside Bustracker - Residents fight back

I've been in to the Campaign HQ to pick up correspondence and one letter jumps out from a Mearenside resident where you may recall there has been an issue regarding vandalism of the Bustracker at the bus stop.

The decision to remove the Bustracker is clearly an unpopular one amongst residents based on the contents of the letter and I have complete sympathy for those who have been penalised by the actions of feral youths and their stupidity through vandalism.

The fight to reinstate the Bustracker continues.....

Saturday nights are for street lights!

Leaflets and rhetoric are all very good, but nothing beats actions and solving resident's issues.

Safety is paramount for all in the Drum Brae / Gyle ward and tonight I was disappointed to spot more than half a dozen faulty street lights on one road alone.

These will be reported to the Council tonight and hopefully we can keep the ward fully illuminated to make sure people don't feel uneasy about walking about in the hours of darkness.