FORTH NEIGHBOURHOOD PARTNERSHIP

Physical Regeneration Action Group Meeting

20 February 2012

Present: Fred Marinello, Granton & District Community Council (Chair); Henry Coyle, SfC Housing and Regeneration; Brenda Tonner, Muirhouse Housing Association; Roy Douglas, Muirhouse Salvesen Community Council; Sandy Gordon, PV Solar Panels; Christine Mackay, Children and Families; Sally Nelson, CEC Zone Manager – Waterfront; Michelle Fraser, SfC Senior Project Manager, Housing and Regeneration; Fiona Blenkiron, Lothian and Borders police; Simon Lievesley, SfC 21st Century Homes; Ruth Stanley, SfC Community Safety; Gillian Macfarlane, Douglas Wheeler Associates; Graham Ross, Austin-Smith: Lord.

  1. Welcome and introductions

Fred Marinello welcomed everyone to the meeting.

  1. Apologies

Patricia Brindle, Trinity Community Council; Diana Harries, Places for People; Ann Confrey, Pro-Scot; Councillor Day; Councillor Morris; Councillor Jackson; Councillor Cardownie

  1. Minutes of Previous Meeting

No previous minutes were considered due to the length of time since the group last met.

  1. Quick Refresher

Henry Coyle gave a short update on events of the months since PRAG last met. He recapped the remit of PRAG, and circulated its priorities for 2011-2014, as per the Neighbourhood Partnership’s Community Plan.

Many new homes have been built in Forth in the intervening period, by Home in Scotland (40 homes for housing association rent at Telford West Campus), Malcolm Homes (21 mid-market rent at Granton Hesperus), Dunedin Canmore (22 housing association rent at Granton Shortbread House, and 68flexible care at Elizabeth Maginnis Court), Port of Leith (17 for housing association rent at West Granton Road), Hillcrest (49 for housing association rent and 42 for shared ownership at Forthquarter) – 259 in total. Port of Leithis on site at Boswall Parkway building 15 new homes, and Castle Rock Edinvar is going on site in late spring at West Pilton to start their Phase 3 and 4.

Council refurbishments of existing properties are being carried out at Royston/Wardieburn, Crewe Road North and CreweRoadGardens and kitchen and bathroom replacements continue across the ward. 21st Century Homes will be on site from summer 2012 to provide 34 new Council homes at West Pilton Crescent.

  1. Total Craigroyston

Christine Mackay has been appointed Change Leader for Total Craigroyston (TC), and she gave an outline of this new initiative. The Edinburgh Partnership agreed in August to the TC approach, which is based on the English experience of Total Place. Total Place has been used in a number of locations in England, varying in scale from small very local projects to initiatives which have involved a number of local authorities working together.

TC is neighbourhood-led and is focussed on improving the life chances for children in the CraigroystonCommunityHigh School cluster, especially looked-after children. It will be aiming for earlier intervention, and early support to stop children needing to be looked after.

PRAG has a connection to the initiative because the environment has an impact on young people, and Christine will keep a link to the PRAG. There is a joint meeting of the Edinburgh Partnership and the Forth Neighbourhood Partnership on 19 March, and representatives will be invited from all the Action Groups.

  1. Pennywell/Muirhouse – Central Area Masterplan

Graham Ross gave a presentation on the masterplan. This is at the end of the consultation and design development phase. Things will now move on to the final masterplan and planning application phase. Preferred options are being finalised.

This is a 4.7 hectare site, with large areas already cleared. The masterplan looks at connections from the site to the north and south, and links to the east and west, so fitting it in to the wider network. The central area has links to the retail centre, the Partnership Centre and CraigroystonCommunityHigh School. There are no significant engineering constraints to preparing the site for development.

Consultation has been taking place on the street, in workshops, at an exhibition and drop in, and with the S4s at the High School. People wanted:

  • A variety of types amongst the new housing
  • The Partnership Centre to be near Pennywell Road
  • A better place to shop
  • Better definition of public and private spaces
  • To see the width of Pennywell Road reduced
  • More for children and young people

Amendments have been made to the plan in response to these points, and points of interest in the plan include:

  • Opening up Pennywell Court
  • Moving the Partnership Centre nearer to Pennywell Court
  • A refurbished library
  • Creating a strong street network linking in to existing routes
  • A new civic square
  • Closing off the north carriageway of Pennywell road, creating parking and cycle routes, reducing the crossing width and making it more pedestrian friendly
  • A multi-use games area in the centre
  • An arts garden and artists studio
  • A possible youth facility
  • A mix of house sizes and types, with a tenure blind appearance (you can’t tell from the outside what type of tenancy or ownership they are)
  • Some communal garden space and some private
  • An enriched public realm
  • Pedestrian friendly plans, accessible by public transport but also catering for private vehicles

In the consultation, 80% of people supported the plans, and only 5% did not favour the plans. An in principle planning application will be submitted on 19 March and will include a design statement.

FM introduced Sandy Gordon, a local resident and energy consultant dealing with solar panels. SH outlined some of the benefits of solar power. It was noted the Muirhouse Salvesen Community Council would like to see renewable energy being included in the house designs. There are trials in other parts of the city on renewables being put into houses. SL advised that in addition to this, the houses will be designed to be very energy efficient, so will be cheap to run. Renewable sources of energy will be considered later, we’re not yet at the design stage for individual properties. The designs will encompass the latest building standards, which have a very high standard for energy efficiency and sustainability.

Over time, we will move into discussing more of the details of the designs, rather than the broad look at the masterplan.

  1. Any other business
  • Future agenda items should be submitted to Henry Coyle. Future topics could include 21st Century Homes at West Pilton Crescent, West Pilton phases 3 and 4, Waterfront, Muirhouse Housing Association, and the Partnership Centre.

MF gave an update on the Partnership Centre. This update had been provided by Steven Whitton and outlined the size and initial list of services that may go into the centre. Steven Whitton will be invited to give an update on the Partnership Centre. MSCC would like to know how they can influence what goes into the centre – they have written to Steven Whitton about this. The best way forward will be to ask him along to the PRAG to discuss this.

  • The Clean Green & Safe Action Group had asked PRAG for a view on a current Neighbourhood Environmental Programme (NEP) application for funding to contribute towards work to remove the Shopping Centre roof and doors and to renew the hard landscaping in and around the centre. The request is for £50,000 NEP funding. This project falls in the masterplan area, and has been planned in such a way as to dovetail with future plans. The work will help to support the shopping centre and stop it falling into disrepair, will help with security, reduce fear of crime and stop people climbing on the roof and the roofs of adjacent housing. There would be a saving in ongoing maintenance costs, and in ongoing policing costs which have been substantial. A more attractive centre would generate increased rental payments, which would bring a financial benefit to the HRA. It was confirmed that the planning designation for the centre is as a local centre, and removing the roof won’t change the designation. The consensus view among PRAG members was to recommend the NEP proposal for approval to the NP Board.
  1. Date of next meeting

To be confirmed – likely to be either 30 April or 14 May.