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COUNCIL U-TURNS ON BAD PLANS AND FLAWED PROCESS
With a surprising turn of pace, the Transport & Environment Committee convener Lesley MacInnes has responded to an avalanche of protest at poorly designed and inadequately consulted plans for Picardy Place.
Individuals, lobbyists, ‘stakeholders’, councillors and community councils railed against the proposals and the method of their delivery.
It’s nearly October, and Issue 267 will soon be fluttering across Broughton like scrunch-free leaves.
If you’re looking for a warm, sheltered, stylish and interesting place to curl up for a month or so, why not grab yourself a few copies and settle down for a good read.
On Page 1 we carry news of a disappearance, fringed shorts and a gyrating intrusion, special measures for ground-down Leithers, a battle won and a war still to be waged.
Today, the Picardy Place consultation continues upstairs at 11 Multrees Walk from 10am to 4pm. We urge everyone to attend.
For those unable to make it, the display boards are supposed to be online at togetherforedinburgh.com early next week.
We’ve photographed some of the most relevant ones already, and will replace them with clearer images if and when they become available.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN LINE FOR BONNINGTON
Staff from Montagu Evans LLP met Leith Central Community Council on Monday to discuss a pre application notification for new housing and commercial properties on Bonnington Road Lane (Ref. 17/03256/PAN).
Councillors today approved the Outline Business Case for extending the trams.
In doing so, they triggered a year-long ‘fact-finding’ Stage 2, during which tender prices will be gathered by which to check affordability, current tram use will be further assessed, and – it is hoped – some lessons from Lord Hardie’s Tram Inquiry will be learned.
A final decision on whether or not to proceed with the scheme will be taken next autumn.
Changeworks are asking Edinburgh flat and tenement dwellers for their opinions about shared on-street bins used for rubbish and recycling.
‘It is important that Edinburgh flat residents are given the opportunity to give feedback on their current waste and recycling service.’, says Changeworks’ Head of Projects Sam Mills.
‘This will help the City of Edinburgh Council to improve bin design, as well as collections, bin locations and recycling communications which will benefit the local community.’
Remember HAL in Arthur C. Clark’s 2001: A Space Odyssey?
The sentient Heuristically programmed Algorithmic computer began to malfunction in mid-mission.
Artificially conscious, HAL knew he risked being disconnected, so not unreasonably turned against his astronaut masters with fatal consequences.
Something similar may be happening in Regent Place, where a tree has grown too large for the garden and is beginning to cause structural damage.
The Greenside Link is no more.
In still conditions during the small hours of this morning, contractors succeeded in cutting it at either end and gently lowering the central section by crane onto the development site beside the ruins of the King James Hotel.
If you compare the photo below with the one we posted yesterday, you’ll notice not a lot has changed.
Except for a sudden abundance of thin air.
The Leith Street pedestrian bridge between the former St James Centre and the Q-Park over the road was still in place this morning.
It had been timetabled for removal between 1.00am and 8.00am today, but the set-up fell 2 hours behind schedule and had to be temporarily abandoned.
A second attempt to cut and remove the bridge in a series of lifts will be made tonight, wind permitting, and the road between Calton Road and Waterloo Place will probably be closed again to pedestrians, cyclists and all other vehicles.
When does autumn begin and end?
The answer depends on whether you’re a meteorologist or an astronomer.
Weather buffs divide up the year into 3-month quarters, with autumn starting on 1 September and finishing on 30 November.
Astronomers’ preferred start date is the autumn equinox, when the hours of day and night are approximately equal. For technical reasons beyond the scope of this article, that date wobbles around a bit, but this year autumn will begin on 22 September and end on 21 December with the winter solstice.