Warriston Resident's Association

Warriston Resident's Association

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on Wednesday 11th May 2011 at 20 Warriston Terrace, Edinburgh.

Present: Mr. N. Jack, Chairman: Mr. A.Watson: Mr. D. Irvine: Mrs. J. Mackenzie: Mr. K. MacKenzie: Mrs.A-M. Newman: Mr. W. Tait: Mrs S. Gladstone and Councillor Iain Whyte.

Apologies for absence were received from Ms. S.Geggie, Mr.S Hastings and Mrs. R.Vardy.

Minutes of Previous Meeting: The minutes of the previous meeting held on 23rd March 2011 had been sent by e-mail to all Committee members and were approved. Members, for some reason, have yet to receive the January minutes and Mr. Watson will send these again by e mail.

Reports

Councillor Whyte was consulted on various topics raised by the Committee:

The Chairman had written asking if the parking restrictions in the estate cul de sacs could be extended to cover a twenty four hour period to prevent non residents from using the spaces. Councillor Whyte's written reply is attached to these minutes and he confirmed that it would not be possible for such an extension in our area although such a course of action was being considered by the Council for central and peripheral zones.

Through the Chairman, Mr. Hastings had raised the question of the overflowing of the Walkway drainage across the path about 200yards south of the Gardens bridge with the possibility of raw sewage in the flow.

Mr. Hastings also noted that the weeds were once more becoming prevalent and the grass verge required a cut at the top path between the Gardens and Ferry Road. Councillor Whyte will inform the appropriate Council departments

Mr. Irvine noted that the flooding at the west end of the Drive was still a problem and that despite his calls to the Council, the grit bins had not been refilled.

Councillor Whyte stated that residents around the town had been appropriating the grit for their private paths and that as a result there had been a slow down by the Roads Department in the refilling process.

Mrs. Newman pointed out that the potholes and deterioration of the surface of the road at Inverleith Place north of the Park was becoming worse.

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The Chairman asked about the current situation regarding the sale by the Council of the Inverleith Park Depot.

Councillor Whyte explained that such is the effectiveness of the citizen's campaign against the proposal ( The Council gave no opportunity for consultations or proposals for alternative uses which might benefit the Community ) that the Council are considering the matter again.

The Chairman reiterated the Committee's desire for a twenty mph speed limit within the Estate but without speed bumps.

Councillor Whyte stated that there had been no change in the Council's policy on this matter and that areas where there had been a higher incidence than usual of accidents involving pedestrians were favoured.

All of the one hundred and eighty odd residential areas in the City had been assessed and categorised according to various relevant factors and our Estate comes very low on the list.

However, a pilot scheme in Portsmouth involving signage only, without any roads engineering, has been evaluated for some time and a similar limited trial will be conducted by the Council at the south of the City. Councillor Whyte was of the opinion that, if successful, this scheme may be adopted throughout the City in several year's time with the limits being fixed at 30mph on main roads and 20mph on all side roads.

Further trials of speed indicating and " slow down " signs are currently being carried out on selected main roads.

Community Policing: The Chairman confirmed that he had visited Drylaw Police Station in an unsuccessful attempt to meet our current Community Officer and had once more left a message with colleagues notifying him of the date of the meeting and requesting a report. No report has been received and P.C.Burnett did not attend the meeting. Mr. Irvine pointed out that he too had no success in establishing contact with P.C. Burnett.

Neighbourhood Watch: Mr. Irvine had no incidents to report.

Mr. Tait had complained at Macdonald Road fire station that a resident's request for a smoke alarm installation had not been followed up.

Safer Scotland: It was noted once more that there had been damage to signposts on the Walkway with fresh graffiti here and there. Mr. Watson will report the matter to the Council. Mrs. Mackenzie reported graffiti on her gate at Inverleith Row.

Treasurer: Mr. Tait reported that the bank balance now stood at £ 450.59 after expenditure of £ 11.87 on the Garden Visit flier.

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Roads and Parking: Mrs. Mackenzie reported that the incidence of the parking of minibuses attending on the daycare centre at 17 Inverleith Row was still considerably reduced following our complaints.

Social Affairs: Mr. Taitconfirmed that the trip to the garden of Mrs. Annie Duncan at No. 1 Bonaly Road, attended by thirteen visitors, had been a great success. This was the fifth garden to be visited over the years by the Association; the Chairman observed that this seemed to be the most suitable outing for residents and it was agreed to organise more such visits in future.

AGM: will be held on 12th October at Goldenacre Bowling Club and Mr. Tait will finalise a booking at the Bowling Club premises.

The Chairman contacted Colonel Clive Fairweather who has agreed to deliver a talk.

Mr. Tait will arrange a projector if any slides are to be shown.

Newsletter: The next newsletter will be issued in mid September and contributory articles should be submitted to Mr. Tait by 1st September. The Chairman will ask Corey Hastings to provide another cartoon. Mr. Tait will provide a garden article with contributions from Mr. Irvine and Ms.Geggie on the topics respectively of the Neighbourhood Watch and Neighbourhood Partnership. Mr. Watson will provide copy regarding perhaps the Bowling Club history and the Chairman will ask Scott Hastings for some copy directed possibly towards young people in the area on the subject of the benefits of sports.

Mr. MacKenze will notify residents of the institution of the WRA web site.

Postal Matters: Mr. Tait reported that he had noticed that in some cases, mail was not being pushed fully into residents letter boxes leaving letters etc. susceptible to theft.

He has written to the Postmaster with a complaint.

Inverleith Park: Following the earlier discussions on this topic with Councillor Whyte, it was agreed that the Chairman would send a letter of support to the Friends of Inverleith Park group on behalf of the WRA.

Neighbourhood Partnership: The next meeting of the NP will be on 24th May and Sue Geggie has agreed to attend.

It was agreed that Mr. Watson would submit another grant application for further landscaping and tidying of the unsightly area at the foot of the ramp leading from the east end of the Gardens to the walkway.

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Any Other Business:

Mr. Mackenzie had, with the help of Mrs. Newman and Ms. Geggie, set up a provisional web site template and he issued a comprehensive list of suggestions for items to be included on the site.

Further ideas were discussed and Mr. MacKenzie noted that the site would be in existence for all residents to make use of and young residents should be encouraged to provide input.

Contributions should be sent to him for editing and inclusion on the site pages. Historical photographs would be useful for the home page.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman once again thanked those involved for their efforts to date.

Best Garden competition: Mr.Tait noted that every front garden in the Estate will be judged and the winner will not be eligible for successive competitions. He has written a letter of thanks to Anne Duncan for her hospitality during the garden visit.

Mr. Tait also noted that calls to our local fire station are now, as with calls to police stations, routed to a central control room.

The Chairman voiced the Committee's regret at the death of Marion Cooke of Warriston Avenue who had been a dedicated member of the WRA committee and extremely efficient secretary for a number of years.

There being no further business, Mr. Jack adjourned the meeting intimating that the next would be on Wednesday 14th September 2011 at No. 20 Warriston Terrace