The Edinburgh Reporter April 2022

NEWS 5
Sparks fly
in New Town
Bid to unplug electric chargers
Walking for Ukraine
THE PUPILS AND staff of Towerbank Primary School in Portobello responded to
the crisis in Ukraine, by undertaking fundraising walks.
Primary 7 children and House Captains suggested the plan and older children will
walk 1800 km which is the distance from Towerbank to the Ukraine border.
Any monies raised will be handed over to the Disasters Emergency Committee which
is a coalition of 15 UK aid charities. The school has set up a Just Giving page.
By DONALD TURVILL
Local Democracy Reporter
NEW TOWN residents complained that
electric chargers planned for India Street would
attract unwanted traffic to the area.
It comes amid a £2.2 million roll out of 81
new on-street chargers from The City of
Edinburgh Council serving 141 parking bays
across the capital.
This programme includes 21 already
operational at Ingliston Park and Ride and a
further 19 at Hermiston Park and Ride,which
will soon be ready for drivers to start using.
Electric car power points will also be set up
on city streets including Maxwell Street,
Thirlestane Road, Stewart Terrace, Comely
Bank Terrace/Avenue, Sheriff Brae, King’s
Road, Montgomery Street, Fettes Avenue, East
London Street and Heriot Row.
However, two chargers previously approved
by councillors to be installed on India Street
could be reassigned to another location after a
Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) was met with
15 objections.
Residents called for the New Town street to
be removed from plans and raised concerns
about the potential increase in vehicles the
chargers would attract, loss of permit parking
spaces for those who live there and late night
visits from taxi drivers.
One objector wrote: “The cul-de-sac is
frequently used by many local residents,
including children, dogs, and the elderly,
to walk across the road to the gardens
and beyond.
“This end of India Street is mostly made up
of flats, 12 with no private gardens. This will
greatly impede access to India Street Gardens
including for my own primary aged daughters.”
Another said: “The proposal will encourage
significant numbers of extra vehicles in search
of charging points thereby having an adverse
effect on the nature of the street.”
In addition to the objections, transport
officers said site investigations found there
would be “significant challenges” installing
charging points on India Street.
They noted in a report to councillors that
due to the street’s distance from the nearest
substation, 140 metres of track would then
have to be excavated across two roads.
This would require diversion routes in place
causing “significant disruption.”
They added that would risk “significant
financial cost and negative impacts to delivery
timescales for the broader electric vehicle
project programme”.
A Movement for Good
AS PART OF their commitment
to keeping people active and well,
Edinburgh’s leading sport and
physical activity charity,
Edinburgh Leisure, is launching a
new month-long physical activity
challenge that aims to inspire
people to get active every day
this May.
The Movement for Good
challenge is aimed at everyone,
not just their members. It’s
well-evidenced that moving and
being physically active benefits
our overall health and wellbeing,
but putting it into practice can be
hard, with family life, work
commitments and household
chores often taking precedence
over exercise.
Helen Macfarlane, in the newly
created role as Edinburgh Leisure’s
Director of Wellbeing explains:
“Whether people are new to
physical activity or need a helping
hand to get back into the swing of
things, then our new Movement
for Good challenge is for them.
“It’s designed to give
participants a period of focus
when they start to make small
consistent changes by being
active every day. This is the start of
forming healthy habits so that
regular activity becomes part of
their daily routine, and they build
the motivation to stay active
because they feel good.”
Participants signing up to the
month-long Movement for Good
Challenge, will receive a pack full
of useful resources, along with
hints and tips on how to get the
most out of your challenge. This
will help ensure participants have
fun, keep motivated and
experience the health and
wellbeing benefits of becoming
more physically active.
Sign up today to join the May
Movement for Good Challenge
and reap the benefits of an active
life - www.edinburghleisure.co.
uk/movement-for-good
Join together for refugees
AS WE LOOK at events unfolding in
Eastern Europe, it becomes
increasingly clear that we are
watching a massive humanitarian
crisis take place. And in the face of
such a crisis, those of us who are
fortunate enough not to be directly
affected by the conflict should do all
we can to help those who are losing
their homes, families, and
livelihoods. At time of writing, over
8,600 Scots have offered to host
refugees from Ukraine alongside The
Scottish Government’s commitment
to sponsor an additional 3,000. This
is an amazing example of the public
working alongside Scotland’s two
governments for the good of those
who need help and I look forward to
supporting this constructive
relationship.
It should be remembered though
that the process is not over yet and
welcoming in refugees is only the
first phase. Questions must now be
answered by The Scottish
Government as to how they plan to
house, feed, and educate those
whom they have welcomed.
In Edinburgh alone, we are already
experiencing a shortage of housing
and many schools are already at
capacity. This is going to have to be a
concerted, joint effort between the
Scottish Government and local
authorities to make sure that we are
not only allowing refugees in, but we
are also ensuring that they are
looked after and cared for.
Jeremy Balfour MSP