Secretary’s Update Report
23 June 2016
Secretary’s Update
- TWO IMPORTANT MEETING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
- PLANNING COMMITTEE TO CARRY OUT FURTHER SITE VISIT TO PROPOSED CARE HOME AT 18 WHITEHOUSE ROAD AND TO CONVENE HEARING
- WORK BEGINS ON REPAIRS TO SALVESSEN STEPS
Meeting 1
The Cramond Campus Action Group is hosting a meeting to be held on Monday 27 June 2016 in the Millenium Room at Cramond Kirk Hall at 7:30pm. As AMA Homes Ltd move to complete the latest phase of the residential development so the question of the green space and the commitments given about sports and leisure facilities once again come to the surface. Come along, listen and share your views.
Meeting 2
Many of you will have seen reports about the consultation exercise which the Edinburgh Airport has embarked upon as part of its review of take-off and landing flight paths. As part of the first stage of that consultation a drop-in exhibition is to be held in the Cramond Kirk Hall from 3:30 to 6:30pm on Thursday 7 July 2016. Later that same evening at 7:30pm in the Cramond Kirk itself there will be a formal presentation by Gordon Dewar the Chief Executive of the Airport. This is your opportunity to be better informed about the options that are being looked at and so that you may be better placed to offer your comments in participating in the consultation.
Proposed Care Home at 18 Whitehouse Road
The Council’s Development Committee met on Wednesday 22 June and decided to initiate a further visit to the site of the proposed home. They also agreed to conduct a hearing into the application and the Community Council (and the Cramond Action Group) will be invited to speak at the hearing at a date to be confirmed – likely August. Much thanks are due to the Cramond Action Group and the many other local bodies and individuals for their tireless efforts so far. Also to our local Councillors who have doggedly pursued Committee members to make them aware of the strength of feeling on this proposal. If the mood was muted when this was discussed last week at the CC meeting that did not last long and within hours a salvo of measured and thoughtful challenges were launched at the Convener – and at officials – over the way in which the process had been handed or mishandled. We are now beginning the preparation for the fresh opportunities we have been given. We are however under no illusion at the challenge we face where the presumption in favour of development remains paramount. One of the other applications which the Committee considered and approved was that for a 72 bed care home on the Queensferry Road (diagonally across from the old Barnton Hotel). No traffic issues there eh!!
Salvessen Steps
David Lyon presented at last week’s CC meeting. For those of you who were unable to attend commitments were given about the process for securing a replacement structure; albeit he was not light on offering warnings about funding challenges. More immediately he was able to tell us that work had begun on the repair of the existing steps. I checked this out yesterday and I can confirm that work was in progress and I spotted several new timber supports and handrails already in place. Weather permitting this work should be complete before July.
Ian Williamson
Secretary, 23 June 2016