Update on how the snow is affecting services

Dear All

Please find attached below the latest update I have from Road Services.  I have been in touch several times a day to see how roads in my ward can be dealt with quicker and have obtained the following information.  Please be assured that I am pressing for every effort to be made to clear the area as quickly as Road Services can manage.

Since the start of the current period of wintry weather, the gritter / snowplough vehicles have been working their way through the priority system, but owing to the frequent snow showers, have had to continually revert back to the Road Category 1 Routes. These are the important principal roads and major bus routes; roads to hospitals, ambulance depots and fire stations. Category 1 pavement routes are also being treated, which consist of the City Centre (high footfall routes) and the high level areas in Balerno, Gilmerton and Liberton.

 

Road Services is presently working through the Road Category 1 Treatment Routes and, once these are clear, will commence treatment of the Road Category 2 Routes prior to any treatment of the Road Category 3 Routes.  The majority of residential streets in Fountainbridge / Craiglockhart ward are classed as Category 3, whilst steep roads serving large areas such as Craiglockhart Avenue and North Meggetland are in Class 2.

 

As a result of the heavy snowfall, additional resources are being mobilised to assist in the task of clearing all streets as quickly as practicable. A significant number of sub-contractors and equipment will be hired, and 90 refuse collection staff redeployed to clear snow and grit pavements. The larger proportion of these extra resources will be deployed in the South, South-West and West areas of the City which have been hardest hit, and these arrangements should take effect from 1^st December. The outlying villages such as Balerno, Currie, Ratho and Juniper Green will be targeted and the first priority will be routes to shopping areas, GP surgeries and other high-trafficked pedestrian areas.

Every effort will be made to clear all roads and pavements as quickly as possible, however, as your constituents will appreciate, our top priority must be to keep the main routes open during these times of heavy and repeated snowfalls.

Update as at 1630hrs, 1^st December

Road services and transport

• Staff are working round the clock to keep the city's main roads clear.
• Extra staff have been allocated to work on snow clearing. However, workers are experiencing difficulties with the exceptional levels of snow on roads and pavements as well as obstacles such as abandoned cars.
• Mechanical plant i.e. JCBs are being used to excavate and remove snow to gain access to many of these routes
• The Council has used over 2,000 tonnes of salt between 25 November and 1 December. Supplies were standing at around 5,000 tonnes, this morning.

Refuse and waste collection

• Bin lorries are operating a limited service, mainly in the city centre and main roads. However, refuse workers are helping with snow clearing.  Any bins not collected as scheduled will be collected as soon as possible.

Further information

·         Please check the Council website at http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/severeweather, http://twitter.com/Edinburgh_CC and Radio Forth for immediate updates. Immediate travel news will be available at http://twitter.com/edintravel

 

Kind regards

 

Gordon

 

Councillor Gordon Buchan

Scottish Conservative Councillor for Fountainbridge / Craiglockhart Ward

 

For Information During Winter:

Garden waste pick up dates are changing for winter. Garden waste wheelie bins will be collected every 4 weeks during December, January and February.  Christmas Tree recycling will be undertaken in January.  See edinburgh.gov.uk for details.

Consultation on the Edinburgh Canal Strategy

Dear All,

The City of Edinburgh Council and British Waterways Scotland are preparing a strategy for the Union Canal within the Edinburgh area and would like to receive people's views as part of the consultation process. 

The Consultation Document accessed by clicking on the link below:

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/187/planning-consultations/1094/edinburgh_canal_strategy

The page also contains details of public workshops. The nearest one for the city centre takes place on Wednesday 24th November at 6:00pm in the Tollcross Community Centre.

If you have any queries regarding the Canal Strategy, please contact kate.hopper@edinburgh.gov.uk
 

Regards

Alan  

Alan Dean BA (Hons) MSc MCIH I Partnership Development Officer (City Centre) I Services for Communities I City Centre Team I 1 Cockburn Street I Edinburgh I EH1 1BJ

Ideas for the objection letter against the appeal

As a follow on to my last post, here’s some more information to help you write your objection letter to the Government regarding AMA’s appeal.

Appeal report

I have learned very recently that AMA has submitted an appeal report. This is really worth looking at because you can argue against what they have said!

Here is the weblink to the report:

http://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseDetails.aspx?T=1&id=qJ12836#Categories

I have posted the link as it allows you to see all the other accompanying documents including new ones which AMA has submitted for this appeal.  These are the annexes to the report as listed at the back of the report. Annexes 2 and 14 are worth looking at, especially 2 where AMA have tried to make their case using photos and using some slightly outrageous angles!

To see these annexes, follow the link and scroll to the bottom of the webpage. You now have a choice of 4 boxes which take you to documents. ‘All’ gives all the documents available, ‘Grounds of appeal’ just takes you to the report. Pages 4 and 5 of ‘All’ may be of interest, being mostly new documents including annexes 2 and 14.

I hope that makes sense!

Why not make your case using photos as well as AMA has done? That seemed to work particularly well last time for us.

Points to make

The FCARA Committee has been advised that all the points we made before are good but it would be particularly good this time to remember to cover two things.

The first is the history of the colonies, the unique-ness of the colonies to Edinburgh’s architecture and their role in providing affordable homes with gardens for key workers in the city. If anyone wants more info on the history, please contact me but its better if you express it in your own words.

The second thing that you should cover is the building materials. Talk about how AMA has gone for building materials that are completely inappropriate for the setting. For example, gigantic walls of glass and pre-cast concrete, etc. These are all made worse by an unsympathetic design and height.

Volunteers

Finally, I am seeking a few willing volunteers to post leaflets through members’ doors. Probably we’ll be posting on Tuesday evening. I want to make sure everyone in the flower colonies area has the information I have sent you in these emails.

Hope that helps you all. Please do send your objections again; it shows the high level of concern if many people write and really does help.

Best wishes

Jenny Goldsmith

FCARA

Appeal by the developer

Hi everyone

Some important news - AMA has appealed the decision made by the council on their planning application for hideous flats on 1 Slateford Road.  

You'll recall that the council threw out the planning application so we won that battle. Unfortunately AMA can make an appeal to the Scottish Government's planning directorate. 

The Government officials will be sent all the objections that everyone has sent before (unless you've marked it as confidential).

If you objected to the planning application (hopefully you did!), you should receive a letter from the council about it. As usual, the stuff the council sends is rather confusing so I've phoned them so I can translate it for you.

As well as your previous objection letters, the Government will consider any new representations that you would like to make. You have got 14 days from when you receive your letter from the council to make these new objections. So, if you get your letter today, your deadline is 14 October.  So, if you want to extend your arguments, make new points, re-affirm what you said before, then this is an opportunity for you to do so.  Please take that opportunity!

Send your new letters to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals, 4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk (Tel: 01324 696 400), Remember, we are corresponding with the Government on this one and not the council,

Hope that helps. The FCARA Committee will keep you posted of any developments.

Jenny Goldsmith

Treasurer, Flower Colonies Area Residents' Association

The developer has appealed!

Councillor Andrew Burns has just confirmed that the local Planning Application, recently refused by the Council, is to be appealed by the developer. He says he is certain that the Planning Committee, and local Councillors, will continue to robustly argue for ultimate refusal and he'll be sure to pass round any further developments as I become aware of them ...

We will keep you posted!

Merchiston Community Council meeting 21st of September

September Meeting

Tuesday 21st at 7.00pm.

Eric Liddell Centre

Holy Corner

MCC’s monthly business meeting to look at current local issues in planning, licensing, the environment, policing etc and catch up on things that have happened in our area over the summer, including..................

• Proposed Redevelopment of Harrison Park East.

• New plans to go forward for planning permission.

ALL LOCAL RESIDENTS VERY WELCOME!
Please let us know if there is anything you would like us to consider for the agenda.

Email: secretary@merchistoncc.org.uk
For further information visit our website: www.merchistoncc.org.uk 


Agenda of the meeting:

Chairman’s Welcome
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of last meeting (June); Matters Arising
3. Code of Conduct/ Communication, revised version
4. Presentation / Discussion on Proposed redevelopment of Harrison Park East
5. Reports

• Chair
• Police
• Secretary 
• Treasurer
• Ward Councillors 
• City Car Club – Fully accessible vehicle
• EACC
• Health
• Licensing
  (a) Liquor & public entertainment
  (b) HMOs
• Parking
  a. Polwarth mini-roundabout
  b. Shandon CPZ
  c. Inconsiderate use of available space 
• Planning
  Ettrick Hotel – decking, car park extension
  Flower Colonies
• Safer Neighbourhood Group
• Transport
• Community Engagement Group
• Other

6. A.O.C.B.
7. Next Meeting -
7pm Tuesday 19th October, St Michael’s Parish Church Hall Slateford Road

Haymarket

If you want to object to the Haymarket proposal the deadline for objections is now Friday 24 September. If you want some pointers about the grounds for objections, just e-mail me.

HAYMARKET DEVELOPMENT - help save our Colonies Heritage

The new development proposals for the site at Haymarket, next to the Dalry Colonies, have now been submitted and are on the Council planning portal. If you recall, the plan for a 17 story hotel was approved by Edinburgh Council but thrown out by the Scottish Government. The developers have come back with a plan for a 10 story hotel. It looks pretty horrendous to me and I shall be objecting. If you care about Edinburgh's Colonies I would encourage you to do the same. You may recall that the Dalry Colonies Residents Association gave us a great deal of support and advice in our own, successful battle against horrendous architecture. The application number is 10/02373/FUL, and here is the link: http://citydev-portal.edinburgh.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?keyval=L7AVE6EW0GY00&searchtype=PROPERTY&module=

The date by which you have to submit responses isn't obvious and I'm trying to find this out, but I think it may be soon.

Public exhibition about the proposed development at Fountain bridge South (South of Dundee Street)

PUBLIC EXHIBITION
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF LAND SOUTH OF
DUNDEE STREET (KNOWN AS FOUNTAINBRIDGE SOUTH)

UPDATE…..
PROPOSED PLANNING PERMISSION IN PRINCIPLE FOR A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING OFFICES, RESIDENTIAL, RETAIL, HOTEL, CARE HOME AND STUDENT HOUSING.

The Project Team have now assessed the feedback received from the first exhibition held on the 08th, 09th and 10th July 2010 and the public meeting held on 26th July 2010. Now a second exhibition will be held to illustrate our finalised proposal.

TUESDAY 07TH SEPTEMBER 2010
AT
TOLLCROSS COMMUNITY CENTRE
FROM 5 - 9PM

Please contact CB Richard Ellis Limited on 0131 469 7666 if you require further information.

Decision finalised by the Council today

The decision was finally given the rubber stamping today! This is what Bob received from the Council:

"The following reasons for refusal were agreed

1. The proposal is contrary to Edinburgh City Local Plan Policy Des 1 (Design Quality and Context) as it would be damaging to the character and appearance of the area around it.

2. The proposal is contrary to Edinburgh City Local Plan Policy Des 3 (Development Design) as the development fails to have a positive impact on its setting due to inappropriate massing, scale and design and will have a negative impact on the amenity of the existing residents.

3. The proposal is contrary to Edinburgh City Local Plan Policy Hou 4 (Density) as it would result in unacceptable damage to the local character, environmental quality and residential amenity.

The Committee decided that there was not a strong enough reason for refusal on transport grounds.

The decision will now be issued and the applicant has 3 months to submit an appeal."

Just in case you have been wondering what is happening at the committee meeting on the 25th of August

This is from a reply that Bob got from the Council:

"Mr Brierley, I am not sure if you have your answers from elsewhere but I can confirm that the application was refused in principle i.e. the decision has been taken and all that is required is for the actual reasons for refusal to now go back to Committee for their agreement. These reasons will go back on 25 August and are based on the minute of the meeting. There has been further consideration of the parking and access issues and whilst these comply with policy, we will give the Committee the option of a reason for refusal based on this.

You will all get a letter informing you of the new committee date but in the notes you will see some information on returning applications. Usually applications that go against officer recommendation are barely discussed - the debate will certainly not be re-opened. The councillors will just tell us whether they agree with the drafted reasons.In this particular case, they will obviously have to discuss whether to add the parking and access as a reason for refusal.

Once the decision is issued, the applicant then has 3 months to decide whether to appeal or not."

How the Flower Colonies overcame the odds ...

Coverage of our journey in the Guardian's Edinburgh blog:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh/2010/aug/20/edinburgh-flower-colonies-residents-development-battle

Coverage of our victory in the Edinburgh Evening News

Here is what the Edinburgh Evening News had to say about yesterday's decision

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/Residents-joy-as-flats-bid.6470978.jp

WE WON!!!!!!!

Fantastic news! The AMA planning application we've been lobbying against for so long was unanimously rejected today by the City's planning committee (the Edinburgh Development Management Sub-Committee) - based on almost all the grounds we objected to. The councillors mentioned that they were impressed by the community's measured approach and our contra-plan, and took into account the flower colonies' valuable social heritage.

So a huge well done and thank you to everyone who made their objections heard - through emails, letters, personal representations at Merchiston Community Council, contributing to the contra-plan in meetings and design workshops (even when it was snowing) ... and let's not forget the wonderful hand-crafted posters and placards displayed prominently for the councillors' benefit when they made their all-important site-visit!

Everyone's invited to celebrate at the Caley Sample Rooms on Thursday evening (12th Aug) from 7.30pm onwards (there will be live music too from 8.30pm) - let's all give each other a pat on the back for pulling together and making sure common sense prevails. Please tell your friends and neighbours too!

It's making the news already - have a look at the Guardian's Edinburgh blog - and the Evening News have also shown interest so keep an eye out.

We feel all the hard work has absolutely been worth it - once again, thank you and well done!

FCARA committee

PS - there is a chance that AMA will appeal against the decision; they have to do so within 3 months so we'll keep an eye out and keep you posted.

Final decision to be taken on Wednesday 11/8/2010

Dear all,

Another update and it's an important one. The planning application is going to be considered by the council's Development Management Committee (the planning committee who makes the decisions) again on Wednesday 11 August at 10 am. This is very likely to be the final decision. In case you didn't see the council's report on the planning application the first time, I have attached it in Word format (view the document here).

Again, if you can spare the time for a few hours on Wednesday, I strongly encourage you to attend the planning meeting to show the councillors what a strong opposition there is to this application. As I said before, if there is a strong turnout from the community, it will make a real difference to the councillors final decision on this planning application.

Please spread the word amongst your neighbours if they are not on this email list and encourage them to come along to the meeting too.

I've been advised by the council that the meeting will commence at 10 am and members of the public are welcome to attend.  Please report to the City Chambers reception on the High Street and they will direct you to the correct meeting room. Some of the FCARA committee intend to be there and we'll report back as to whether the application was agreed to or not. 

If you want any more information on the meeting, the papers for the meeting, how to attend or anything else to do with the meeting, please email Elaine Robertson at the council at: e.robertson@edinburgh.gov.uk

Best wishes

Jenny Goldsmith
Treasurer, FCARA

PS: Fingers crossed. This is it....

A quick update

A few of you have been asking me what is happening with the planning application for the old biscuit factory so I thought I'd better give a quick explanation.

 

The council's planning committee met last Wednesday to discuss the application, gave the council's planning officials a bit of a hard time, made some fairly negative comments about the planing application and decided they wanted a site visit before they made a final decision on the application. The planning committee also commented on our contra-plan; they seemed to like it.

 

So, the planning committee came on the site visit the next day. I think they will have seen all the signs that you made. You can find some of them below. I think the '213 objections can't be wrong' sticking out of the bramble patch at the bottom of Primrose Terrace is my personal favourite, congratulations to that merry protester for full creativity and effort, feel free to tell me who you are when we are all next down at the Caley after a meeting.

 

What's next? The FCARA Committee are expecting the final decision making meeting to be held next week. I will let you know the exact date and time when I have it. The community turning up at a planning committee meeting definitely makes a difference so we encourage you to go if you can spare the time.

 

Please pass this message on to your neighbours.

 

Best wishes

 

Jenny Goldsmith

Treasurer, FCARA

New Jump events

JUMP is having an exhibition about the proposed community development "Granton sur Mer".

Venue: gallerA1   

Exhibition Preview: Thursday 19th August @ 7pm – 9pm

Exhibition Dates: 20th August – 5th September

Time: 11am – 4pm, open: Tuesday – Sunday

Check out their website http://www.artinarchitecture.co.uk/Site_2/gallerA1.html for more information and come along!

For more information about JUMP and their projects have a look at

http://www.granton-sur-mer.eu/Intro.html 

http://www.jumpleith.co.uk/ 

And have a look at the following blog that featured JUMP under the heading "Cultural Planning: can community development work?" http://rudiurbanxtra.wordpress.com/

Media coverage of the planning committee meeting

There was some media coverage about the planning committee meeting and the site visit on the following day.

The Evening News had this article with the headline "Flower power fails as flats set to go ahead"

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/Flower-power-fails-as-flats.6439432.jp

The Guardian has a brand new Edinburgh blog and featured us twice. First with a short note referring to the article in the Evening News and our website

http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh/2010/jul/26/edinburgh-flower-colonies-gillespies-brewdog-transport

and then with a longer post on the meeting of the planning commitee and our objections

http://www.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh/2010/jul/28/edinburgh-council-flower-colony-davidson-main-therapy

The site visit by the planning committee

There were some brilliant posters in many windows during the site visit so that although we didn't have an official voice during the site visit we could at least make our views clear. Have a look below for some examples.

A big thank you to everybody who participated!

That's all we can do for now. Let's hope that our 213 objection letters, all the community effort that went into developing the contraplan as well as the presence we showed at the committee meeting and the site visit will help to overturn the recommendation that AMA gets the go ahead for their plans!

Update from the meeting of the planning committee 28th July 2010

here is a brief update on the planning meeting of today where the planning application for 1 Slateford was discussed. Some of the FCARA members attended and Cllr Andrew Burns made an excellent presentation on our behalf.

 

The main point I'd like to highlight is that a final decision wasn't taken because the planning committee wanted to have a site visit before they made their minds up. After the site visit, the committee will consider the application again at another committee meeting.

 

The site visit to the flower colonies and the old biscuit factory site will take place tomorrow from about 2.45 pm. Yes, I really did say tomorrow! Sometimes things move fast.

 

We can't participate directly in this site visit  but there is nothing to stop you from being in your garden or the area generally and speaking to the councillors on their visit! In fact, I think councillors would welcome a view from people who live here when they visit the place where we live. So this is a call to arms to all flower colonies folk!!

 

Therefore, if you are available tomorrow afternoon, I strongly encourage you to do just that! Do speak to the councillors  - this is a good chance to tell councillors exactly what you think about the horrible concrete high rise atrocity that is being proposed. Perhaps when they see for themselves what the colonies are like, they will agree with us that 5 storey student accomodation is not a good idea for our area. But real colonies residents telling them what a bad development it is will be even better. Why not talk to your next door neighbours about it and join together tomorrow with your efforts to be even more effective?

 

If you are around tomorrow afternoon, do tell them exactly what you think of this horrible development and point out the terrible clash it would create with the 2 storey colonies. You might want to refer back to your objection letters and talk to them about the comments you made in those.

 

The FCARA committee will continue to lobby hard in the meantime to try and make our case an even stronger one. Here is your chance to help out with that very important lobbying which might just help us to victory. Good luck!

 

Jenny Goldsmith

Treasurer, Flower Colonies Area Residents' Association (FCARA)

Contra-plan Flyer

Have a look at our contra-plan flyer which has been distributed at the launch of the contra-plan on Saturday, 26 of June on the green behind the colonies (see blog entry on 29 of June 2010). Click on the pictures below to get a full size version.

Bob's introduction to Saturday's release of the contra plan

Bob's words summarised very nicely the tradition of the colonies, why we want to have a development that is sympathetic to its environment, and how the contraplan was developed:

"Thank you for coming here today.  As Kate said, it’s almost 150 years since these colonies were built. This isn’t a history lesson you’ll be pleased to know, but I‘d like to say a bit about the people  who built them. And to say why what we are doing today has something in common with what they were doing 150 years ago.

When we talk about Edinburgh’s colonies, we are really talking about 2 different stages of building. The first, built mainly between 1840 and 1860, were built by wealthy industrialists, philanthropists, who wished to improve the state of housing for ordinary working people. The second wave of colonies, such as the ones we can see today, were built by the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company. Most of the colonies in Edinburgh are of this second type. And what wonderful buildings they are.

The Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company came into being for the following reasons. At the time, Edinburgh Stonemasons, as well as other workers, were seeking a reduction of their working hours from 10 hours a day to 9. Not an unreasonable request, you might think. But because of this they were locked out by their employers.

These masons must initially have felt let down. But they didn’t just complain about it, or sit at home moaning about it: they decided to do something positive about it. Something positive for themselves and for other people.  Something to improve their environment and to make the world a better place. During this time they decided to form the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company and use their skills to build better houses for themselves and other working people.

And that is what we are doing today. When we found out the details about the proposed housing development by AMA many of us, most of us, were horrified. I think most of us agree that it is truly horrendous and unsuitable for the area. But we haven’t just complained about it, moaned about it. We have done something positive about it. We have worked with design professionals to show that there are better alternatives for developing the site. We have sought not only to improve our environment, but to do something to make the world a better place.

Let me say a little bit about how we got here. When we first had to deal with this planning application, I was really quite down about it. I don’t think I was the only one. We tried, unsuccessfully, to have a dialogue with Edinburgh Council about the application. But we were told that planning officials couldn’t speak to us, because the community was a third party. I think they meant to say third class. Personally, I think communities should be treated as the first party, not the third.  In other words, we were being excluded from the system. 

But things improved when we met Ross and Shaeron (JUMP), and it became conceivable that we could work with a design professional to create our own plan. They introduced us to Duncan. Since then, as you know, we have worked together to produce the contra-plan. Ever since that process began, I’ve felt much more optimistic. We are doing something positive. I’m sure many of you feel the same.

I should make it clear that Ross, Shaeron and Duncan have given many hours of their time to this project, and they have done so for free. We haven’t paid them anything. 

The process, the practice that we have developed, could go far beyond planning. We have shown that it is possible for communities to work with professionals to come up with practical solutions to make our world a better place. We’ve done this for planning, but equally, it could be adapted to help come up with solutions for better local health care or local education or for other things.

Anyway I’ve talked long enough, and I think it’s time I handed over to Duncan. As I’ve said Duncan’s done a great deal of work for us so please give him a big round of applause."

Official launch of the contra plan

Dear friends and neighbours -

Exciting times!  It looks like a decision about the plans for the old biscuit factory site on Slatefored Road will be made on 28th July, and the council's planning committee will be making a site visit.  Let's hope they can see for themselves just how inappropriate the proposed 5-storey high tenement blocks with inadequate access point and parking arrangements would be for our area.

To help them make the right decision, with involvement from ourselves, the alternative contra-plan that many of you have helped to design is going to be launched to the public on Saturday 26th June at 1pm - please come and support this short event, to which journalists and our local councillors are being invited.  It will be held on the shared green behind Violet Terrace (if it's good weather - St Michael's church hall if it's raining).  The architects and urban planners who have been supporting us will help to present the ideas that we think could work much better for both the existing and new communities.  The session will last just over half an hour - after which we can all head off to enjoy the canal festival!

Your support for the contra-plan launch is really important - we do hope to see you there this Saturday.

For more information visit www.flowercolonies.org.uk or email FCARA@hotmail.co.uk.

How blogs can influence councils' decisions

Here is a link to an interesting article of what impact a neighbourhood blog can have.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/jun/16/resident-local-websites-council-services

Thanks Jenny for pointing it out. So let's get blogging everybody!

Next public meeting: 11th May 2010, 7 pm, St Michael's Church Hall

Contraplan Meeting – Decision Time

Edinburgh Councillors will shortly be taking a decision on the future of the Flower Colonies Area. As part of our efforts to influence their decision, we wish to publicise an alternative plan for the area.

You are invited to St Michael’s Church Hall, Slateford Road on Tuesday 11^th May at 7pm to see the results of our work on the Community’s Contraplan, our proposals for the old community equipment store site at 1, Slateford Road as an alternative to the AMA plans. This is your opportunity to have your say, and to help take a decision on what will be released to the wider world. Following your decision, we aim to release the plans to the media within the next few days.

Duncan Whatmore, architect, and Ross McEwan and Shaeron Averbuch of JUMP will present several options for the site based on your input from the community discussions and workshops we have held so far. They have explored a wide range of options, ranging from the traditional to the more avant-garde, but it is up to you to decide on which option(s) should be presented to the wider world as representing the community’s aspirations for site development. This meeting will not be another workshop, but there will be an opportunity to make refinements to the community’s chosen plan(s).

We hope to see you there!

The Committee, the Flower Colonies Area Residents’ Association

Good Neighbours?

Well, this is interesting. On Friday 16th April, the deadline (coincidentally, no doubt) for private individuals to comment on the Slateford Road development, AMA deposited over a dozen large containers on the site. As you can see from the photographs below, they are piled up against the wall of the Violet Terrace garden, and several have been put on top in a second row. The upper row ones are at the entrance end so that they over-bear the Violet Terrace garden; indeed the closest ones are only about 5 metres from the windows of 1/12 Violet Terrace. Amazingly, a couple on the top are arranged at a 90 degree angle from the others so that they dominate the garden for their full length rather than partially, although looking at the large area of the yard (see picture 2), it seems unnecessary to have a top layer at all.

New view across Violet Terrace garden, now that AMA have put all the containers up against our garden wall.

They didn't really need to do that, did they?

So, we have this particular behaviour on this particular day... inconsiderate neighbours, or are AMA sending us a message?

"We are the powerful development company, and you are the little people in the little cottages, so we can do what we like..."

A huge thank you to the Craft Shop and St Michael's Church

We would like to say a huge thank you to staff and customers of the Craft Shop (http://www.edincraft.co.uk/) and the parishioners of St Michael's Parish Church (http://www.stmichaels-kirk.co.uk/) who together wrote at least 80 letters of objections which were submitted today.

Thank you very much for your support!!!!!!!!!

Objection letters submitted by e-mail to David Shepherd

If you submitted your objection letter to David Shepherd by e-mail you will have received an automated out of office reply stating that he no longer works for the council and that e-mails should be resend to Deborah Peterson. As can be seen from the reply given below all e-mails received by on David Shepherd's account will be read and objection letters will be taken into consideration

Dear Mr Bierley

Thank you for your email. I can assure you that whilst Mr Shepherd no longer works for this authority I am checking his email account several times a day and any objection comments received on the Slateford Road application are being processed as normal. I have deliberately not suspended the email account until the time period for objections on this application has expired.

An automatic email response is sent from Mr Shepherds account advising them to redirect their email. If they do not do this their emails will be picked up from the account.

There are a number of large schemes currently open for comment and we are receiving large volumes of representations, this may result in a slight delay to acknowledgment of letters.

I trust that this answers your questions.

Regards

Elaine

Elaine Robertson l Principal Planner |Major Developments Central I City Development| The City of Edinburgh Council | Waverley Court, Level G:2, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG | Tel 0131 529 3612 e.robertson@edinburgh.gov.uk | www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Scotland's Housing Expo: Inverness, 1-31 August

This exhibition might be well worth a field trip:

Scotland's Housing Expo – Inverness August 2010

The Highlands of Scotland is home to Scotland’s Housing Expo for the entire month of August 2010. The first ever Housing Expo in Scotland will showcase over 50 architect designed houses, set in four unique zones, featuring innovative construction and cutting edge sustainable systems plus the very latest in product design, landscaping and interiors.

Affordability and low running costs are a main part of the design brief.

The future of housing

Scotland’s Housing Expo will showcase the very latest thinking in sustainability and materials for the consumer and bring together cutting edge ideas and innovations for the building industry and design professionals. If you are interested in any aspect of house design: architecture, sustainability, interior design, planning, landscape design or simply want the latest ideas or inspiration for your home, then Scotland’s Housing Expo is unmissable.

The legacy will be a living, breathing village

This will be no fantasy design feature. The UK’s top architects have designed and created 55 unique houses, developers will build these houses to a high specification. The houses will be available for sale or rent after the event leaving a living, breathing, contemporary village over five hectares at Balvonie Braes, south of Inverness, just off the A9.

For more info see http://www.scotlandshousingexpo.com/

Sample letter of objection

Please feel free to use all or parts of this sample letter of objection to send to David Shepherd. Remember you can also e-mail your letter to david.shepherd@edinburgh.gov.uk. Your letter of objection has to be submitted by Friday, April 16th!

From: add your name
and address

To: David Shepherd
Business Centre G2
Planning
City of Edinburgh Council
Waverley Court
4 East Market Street
EDINBURGH
EH8 8BG

April 2010

Dear Mr Shepherd,

I am writing to make objections to the revised version of planning application 09/01873/FUL for 1 Slateford Road, Edinburgh. Please note that any previous objections I have made have not been taken account of in the revision, and therefore all my original objections still apply to the revised version. My objections to the revised application are as follows:

Context and Height – The proposed buildings make no attempt to integrate with the surrounding dominant architecture which is Victorian ‘colonies’ terraced houses. The proposed high rise flats of 5 storeys with a flat roof are much too high when compared to the colony houses of 2 storeys (with a third attic storey in their pitched roofs). At one end of Primrose Terrace, the development is higher than nearby tenements on Slateford Road thus towering over the existing colonies on Primrose Terrace. This height difference will cause over-shadowing and loss of light and privacy to existing area residents.

Materials and building design – The proposed building materials are also entirely inappropriate and insensitive to the historic surroundings. The surrounding buildings are all built of Victorian stone with pitched slate roofs. The development is steel-framed, flat-roofed and built of glass, multi-coloured brick, reconstituted stone and concrete with wood cladding. In addition, the overall structure, shape and form of the proposed buildings’ features, e.g. windows and roofs, are not sympathetic to the local architectural styles.

Density and effect on existing community – The development does not comply with the Council’s Policy Hou 4 on Density (Chpt 6, City Local Plan). The density of proposed dwellings is far too high for the existing area and there are excessive numbers of a particular type of resident (students) who are transient in nature. Thus the development will not support a varied community and will drastically affect the social makeup of the Flower Colonies ‘urban village’. There has not been a proper assessment of the impact of this student housing on the locality as in para 6.38 of the City Local Plan; ‘In assessing the degree of concentration of student accommodation the Council will take into account the nature of the locality in terms of mix of land use and housing types, the existing and proposed number of students in the locality and evidence of problems in rapid population turnover and less stable communities...’

The proposed student buildings on Primrose Terrace are largely 5-7 bedroom dwellings, and so would contain a much higher number of residents than existing colonies ‘cottage flats’. This would greatly reduce the amenity of the Colonies’ quiet streets with its existing very low numbers of pedestrians and vehicles. The massive increase in students living on the terrace is also likely to lead to unacceptable levels of both noise and light pollution. The revised plan moves the main pedestrian entrance more centrally into the terrace which will cause further noise disturbance for existing residents.

Open space – following revisions, it still seems unlikely that there is sufficient open space in the development for 104 dwellings (as defined in Policy Hou 3 and Chapter 6 of the Council’s new City Local Plan). ‘The provision of well-designed and integrated landscaped areas is crucial to the success of higher density, flatted schemes in particular and in making these attractive to a wide cross-section of the public.’ (Para 6.15, City Local Plan).

Vehicle parking – the development removes existing car parking amenities from Primrose, Laurel and Violet Terraces. Parking within the development is insufficient (and has actually been reduced in the revised plans) which will result in further pressure on existing limited numbers of car parking spaces in Shandon. The revised plans have replaced the vennel at the end of the student block through to the development with a new unit. This means that the visitor parking provided on Primrose Terrace can only be accessed directly by the students. Additionally, it is not clear from the revised plans whether there is sufficient bicycle parking which would be required, particularly by the 40 student flats.

Transport – The only vehicle access for the development is inappropriate as it is based on taking away the private mews lane belonging to Laurel and Violet Terraces (which does not belong to the Council) and, in any case, it is too narrow. It would create road safety dangers for existing residents and also for vehicles and pedestrians on Slateford Road.

There is no traffic assessment for the new development (as required in para 9.7 of the City Local Plan) - particularly for the vastly increased vehicle usage created both by new residents and the commercial unit when entering and exiting in relation to Slateford Road. There is no transport assessment of the needs of the students to travel to the nearest universities (Napier and Heriot Watt) which are a substantial distance away.

Waste disposal – the revised application shows reduced and insufficient space for waste. There is only one bin space for 104 dwellings with a possible extra space of unknown dimensions underground. There is no mention of recycling facilities for the increase in population.

Consultation – minimal and inadequate effort has been made by the developers to consult with the local community. Residents were not notified regarding the student residences at the consultation stage. The inclusion of the student accommodation block is integral to this application as it defines so many requirements of the development, most notably the quota of affordable housing and parking. To have omitted it from the public consultation shows how derisory the actual consultation process was. The City of Edinburgh Council’s new Local Plan highlights the importance of holding a meaningful consultation process from an early stage but this has been ignored for this development. ‘Proposals should emerge from a design process that includes an appraisal of the local context and of public views and aspirations.’ (Para 3.6, City Local Plan).

In summary, the development is a gross overdevelopment of a relatively small site, in an architectural style and manner completely inappropriate to its surroundings, and with insufficient account taken of important considerations such as transport issues.

Sincerely, yours

Have a look at the original objection letter from the Flower Colonies Resident Association

Click on the link below to access the objection letter against the original planning application to remind yourself what it is all about:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29929425?secret_password=25y0z4vrycph2cy0upra

Have your say by April 16th!

Dear Neighbours and other Friends of the Flower Colonies,

Please make your voice heard!

The developers who plan to build 104 units on the area at 1 Slateford Road (between Violet, Laurel & Primrose Terraces and behind Harrison Gardens) have resubmitted their plans to the City of Edinburgh Council Planning Department. The changes they have made to their first application are minimal and take little or no account of the community's views. No attempt has been made to consult with the neighbourhood about the impact this development might have on our existing amenities or way of life, which directly goes against new local planning guidelines.

On Friday 16th April the window of opportunity to make your voice heard will be closed. The planning department has assured us that any objections the community has made to the original planning application will be taken into account. However, we strongly believe that it is vital to make further comments on the 'material considerations' that the Council's planning department must consider when awarding or rejecting planning proposals. Even if you have previously written, we urge you to do so again with new points and please state that any previous objections you have made still apply for the revised application.

If it helps, please feel free to use the sample letter above to send to the planning department – you just need to include your own name and address, and indicate which issues you feel strongly about. There is space to write your own individual views as well under each point. Remember to sign it from yourself at the end. The planning department have to consider ALL objections and will take notice of the quantity received. If you haven’t been able to decipher the changes made to the revised plans they can be summarised as follows:

• Alterations to the site entrance: the re-submitted design has reduced the plan size and height of the commercial unit/Block D, principally to widen Violet/Laurel Terrace. To achieve this they will be demolishing a boundary wall and taking over a private road, neither of which wholly belong to them. We believe that they have inadequate access for the volume of traffic that this road will service, poor lines of sight for safe departure from site and unsafe pedestrian access.
• Alterations to the Student Block: principally they have in-filled the vennel/access through to the development from Primrose Terrace with another flat and also increased the plan area at the corner of the block facing the cycle track. This is because they have lost units from the reduced commercial unit and they are trying to maintain the maximum number of units on site. However, this now means that all access will be from the Violet/Laurel Terrace side and only the students can directly access Primrose Terrace parking. Additionally the main entrance to the student block has moved further down the street, from No 16-18 to No 12, further disturbing the Primrose Terrace residents.
• Revised landscaping: changes have been made because emergency services and waste collection services expressed concerns of access with the original plans. However the new plans have now removed one car space at ground level, only show one bin space which is not adequate for a development of this size, and do not indicate the space required for bicycle storage. We also do not believe that they have achieved the provision of 20% of open (usable) space that the 'local plan' requires of all new developments.
  

In the first round of letters responding to the application, many people made objections to the excessive density of the development, use of materials and building design inappropriate to the area, the height of the buildings, car parking and traffic problems and the lack of consultation with the community. All of these objections have been ignored by the developers. If you haven't seen the plans you'll find a link to the City of Edinburgh Council's planning standards portal as well as images of the proposed development below. For more background please see our website www.flowercolonies.org.uk. We'll be posting more information over the next few weeks as it becomes available – but in the meantime, please write or email your objections to

David Shepherd
City of Edinburgh Council
Waverley Court
4 East Market Street
Edinburgh EH8 8BG
David.Shepherd@edinburgh.gov.uk

Remember, this has to be in by Friday 16th April to make a difference.

If you have any queries that you think we might be able to help with, or if you would like to see the letter of objections to the original plans submitted by the FCARA committee, please email us at fcara@hotmail.co.uk

One final point: any letters or emails you send to the planning department on this matter should clearly state the reference 09/01873/FUL.

Many thanks - Kate Thompson, Chair, FCARA Committee

Have a look at the full planning resubmission

The full resubmission for planning application can be found here

In order to submit any comments you may wish to make, please send them by e-mail to david.shepherd@edinburgh.gov.uk

or by post to:

David Shepherd
Business Centre G2
Planning
City of Edinburgh Council
Waverley Court
4 East Market Street
EDINBURGH
EH8 8BG

The closing date for comments is Friday, 16 April, 2010.

Meeting of the Flower Colonies Residents' Association

You are invited to St Michael’s Church Hall, Slateford Road on Tuesday 30^th March at 7:30 pm for the Association Annual General Meeting.

The Agenda for the meeting is:

(1) A report on the state of the application by AMA to build on the site of the old biscuit factory at 1 Slateford Road (between Primrose, Laurel and Violet Terraces and Harrison Road/Slateford tenements).

(2) The state of the Community Contra-Plan, our proposal for a development in keeping with our beautiful historic area, as an alternative to the AMA plan.

(3) A report on the Residents’ Association website, which is now up and running at www.flowercolonies.org.uk, with a blog at flowercolonies.blogspot.com.

(4) A financial report of the Residents’ Association.

(5) A discussion of possible fundraising ideas for the Residents’ Association, such as street parties, barbecues and so on.

(6) Election of Committee Members for 2010-2011. Notably, Gurå Bergkvist (our chairwoman) and Mary Weir (secretary) are stepping down and we are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to put themselves forward!

(7) The main body of the meeting should last about one hour. After this, we shall retire to the Caley Sample Room for a celebratory pint and to toast the success of the RA in the next year!

We hope to see you there!

The Committee, the Flower Colonies Area Residents’ Association.

AMA has resubmitted plans for the site. It's time to act again!

AMA have just submitted the new drawings for the site. Ross says they are much better drawings but no major changes to the overall scheme. Duncan, Ross and Shaeron met yesterday to start on a Contra Plan. They will meet again next week to continue.

So we need to act again and don't have much time. Next steps:

1. The next Merchiston Community Council meeting will take place on Tuesday March 23rd, 7 pm at Polworth Church church hall. We will bring it up there and give an overview of what we as community have done so far to develop our own contra plan for the site.
   
2. The Flower Colonies Resident Association AGM will take place on Tuesday March 30th (7:30 pm, St Michaels Church Hall). The resubmission of plans and what we can and will do will play an important role. Fliers about the meeting are printed as we speak and will be distributed soon. Also watch this space for further updates.
3. We will need to be very effective in the community objections to the new AMA / Oberlander drawings. Ross, Duncan and Shaeron will draft a list of points that will be understood and accepted by the planners as "material" objections which should be a great help for drafting our individual objection letters.
   

The "new" plan

The text below each of the drawings is the text on the drawings. Click on the pictures to see an enlarged version.



Primrose Terrace
The development strategy proposes the removal of the existing industrial buildings along the Eastern side of Primrose Terrace. A new street frontage is proposed, taking its height and massing from the existing tenement adjacent, connecting Slateford Road to Harrison Place, Park and Gardens.

In removing the existing industrial warehousing, the distance between buildings on either side of the new street will be doubled, enhancing amenity, bringing in more daylight and opening distant vistas. The new tree line avenue will provide a generous, broad promenade on its eastern side. Visitor parking will be absorbed, discretely nestling between trees.

The elevational treatment will provide a repetitive, modest and calm background to this enhanced green streetscape. The gentle rhythm of window and masonry, solid and void will be drawn from a simple and elegant proportion of window and masonry panel with dappled shadow from afternoon and evening sunlight filtering through the trees to animate and enliven a deliberately restrained facade. The street frontage of four storey masonry, will horizontal banding, presents a contemporary interpretation of the existing tenement form. Height and proportion are borrowed from the neighbouring context. The existing tenement ridgeline is continued (following the existing consent previously granted) and echoes the traditional juxtaposition of tenement and Colony as per Merchiston Grove to the west. The inhabited timber clad roofspace at the top most storey, with glazed projecting bays, animates the roofscape and ridgeline and echoes dormers and bays on the streetside opposite.

The southern tip of Primrose Terrace will flourish into a modest landscaped public realm, with entrance to the semi private courtyard and connection onwards to the Railway Walkway, Harrison Place and Harrison Park beyond.

No 1 Slateford Road
The overall strategy proposes to infill and complete the existing and truncated tenement block (No1 to No37) fronting Slateford Road. No1 Slateford Road occupies the easternmost tenement plot turning the corner from Slateford Road into Violet Terrace. Its unique situations addresses both the frontality of the Street with northerly views across the cemetery, together with easterly views towards St Michael's Parish Church and onwards to the heart of the City. The eastern gable presents a particularly prominent focal point within the wider city context as a visual marker on the westerly departure from the City Centre. On a local scale, the eastern gable had the potential to reciprocate and relate with the prominent tower of St Michael's Parish Church.

The current site condition visually presents an unintended "internal" party wall with a covering of external render to better weather its temporary exposure. The proposed building will initially take its form and massing directly from this existing gable, broadening and rising slightly in response to the turning of the corner and address the consequent elevational "frontality" appropriates for such a visible gable.

The site strategy proposed a mixed use building echoing the existing adjacent tenement topology of residential apartments above ground floor retail and trade uses. The ground floor will primarly contain a commercial unit with potentially three frontages - to Slateford Road, to Violet Terace and to the rear courtyard. Retaining an element of commercial usage with the development site has been requested by CEC Planning and this proposal provides a footprint of the the required size ideally located to contribute to and benefit from an animated streetscape, visible and accessible to all.

The shared entrance to the 7 residential apartments above is located on the Slateford Road frontage. In massing, the commercial unit acts as a podium which consequently serves as a south facing roof terrace to the apartment above. The first floor gable apartment is elevated to read as 'gap' between the podium and the 3 storey corner of apartments above. Windows in these apartments are displaced to articulate the corner and inter rotation of building frontage from norht to east as the elevation rises and rotates from street frontage to city frontage.
The fourth floor elevation utilises a broader horizontal opening along the full breadth of the eastern gable to emphasise the visual connection with the distant city and to infer an inhabited and occupied roofspace. Vertical inset timber cladding unifies the range of windows and counterpoints the horizontal opening.

The south facing rear courtyard elevation relates to the adjacent tenement gable and is punctuated with discrete and inset terracing to embrace the southerly aspect. The massing gradually descends through the terraces to the first floor terraces, stretching out towards the sourthern and evening sun.






Cycle Track Building
The southern edge of the development site fronts the redundant railway line, now reconfigured as a broad recreational walk and cycle path.

The development proposes a flank of residential accommodation in a bold linear form running parallel to this tree lined walkway. A string of residential apartments will be accessed from a series of communal terraces to the north with individual and private living spaces to the south. The elevation to the southerly, public frontage will fully consist of inhabited terraces and balconies, green pockets of dwelling adjacent the existing green and linear natural habitat. Terraces and balconies serve a fixed and regular backdrop to the ever changing treescape and seasons, with a palette of glass and filigree timber panelling, full of activity, animation and habitation. Beneath the balconies and terraces, all ground floor apartments have private gardens fronting the railway edge.

The western end of the access terraces sees the corner stair rising externally between the gable of adjacent Primrose Terrace building. The stair and terraces protrude beyond building elevation above and into the residential building, gently animating the public realm. Screened from the public realm only by a transparent 'garden' gate, intriguing vistas are afforded through the private vertical circulation space and into the courtyard area beyond.

The public space at the foot of Primrose Terraces brings together potential connections north, south, east and west. The space between serves both as public interface and entrance court to the residential apartments and courtyard, ensuring that the space is appropriated and overlooked at all times. Modest in scale, located and oriented to benefit from any available sun, the space will provide a calm community and residential focal point.



Cycle Track elevation - Courtyard Building
The northerly elevation consists, in part, a series of communal, dynamic linear terraces affording access to all levels of apartments, drawing movement and life around and within the courtyard. A palette of balustrading and timber cladding counterpoints the mover masonary elevations.

The eastern gable has a simple repetive form and elevational articulation echoing the rear elevation of Primrose Terrace, presenting a palette, fenestration and massing that is cohesive throughout the rear courtyard environment. Proposed massing steps back, away from Harrison Road, with broad and generous roof terraces fronting the elevated road and railway bridge.

JUMP event

There will be a JUMP Meeting in The Lighthouse, Granton on Thursday 11th March from 7pm - 8.30pm. The JUMP AGM will take place on Thursday 8th April from 7pm - 8.30pm.

We would very much welcome support and election of new committee members who have found JUMP to have been beneficial in some way.

The Lighthouse
20-22 West Harbour Road
Edinburgh
EH5 1PN

Latest update about the meeting with the developer

Dear All

Today's meeting with AMA, Duncan Whatmore, Ross McEwan and myself went pretty well. In fact it was perhaps better than we may have hoped for.

Mr Afshar is now fully aware of the intention we have to propose a contra-plan for the site. He has also said that he is happy for us to come back to him with the new proposals. This does not mean he will run with them but he is open to listening to what the outcomes are and why. It was also made clear by Mr Afshar that he had a very interested party to rent the development site for ten years. Regarding his own scheme for the site, he was a meeting with planners this Thursday and would be submitting the revised proposals for the Oberlander scheme after that.

So it is up to us as the design team to get something started. Ross, Duncan and myself hope to meet sometime next week. We also hope to engage the support of The City Design Leader, Riccardo Marini and the planning officer David Shephard and other suitable candidates from the statutory bodies, particularly Historic Scotland, to take part in a design workshop as soon as possible.

Shaeron

Contra-plan design meeting

The contra-plan design meeting took place on the 4th of March. About 25 participants came to St Michaels church hall to discuss their vision for the development. The evening started with Duncan Whatmore giving an update about what he, Ross and Shaeron did with all the post-it notes from the Gallery of Ideas.

Something that the previous meeting showed clearly that although there is some consensus especially about what we don't want to see on the site there are also widely differing opinions. The slide on the photo summarises what was said about student accommodation on the side. Everything from "Students, yes please" to "Students, no thank you" could be found. "Don't give them balconies" just about sums it up!

Next Kate and Nick introduced the format of the evening revealing that each table was to discuss a specific subject working with the pictures to start with.

The idea was that every table had to rate the pictures provided from 0 (I absolutely hate this) to 10 (This is what I love). This started a flurry of activity and sometimes heated discussion not least because of differences in personal taste but also because the same picture might contain a good element as well as something really hideous.

At the next stage, each table worked on a different theme using the pictures, scribbling on the plans, challenging the preconceptions of others on the tables and deriving at compromises. The subjects discussed at the different tables were "Buildings", "Movements", "Uses and Activity" and "Open Space"

How could access to the site work for pedestrians, cyclists and cars?


What kind of buildings should go where on the site?


What about uses and activities?


How can open space be used to link the new site to the existing colonies?

The very lively evening was wrapped up by 5 minute presentations at each of the tables.