SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting on Tuesday, 10th November 2020, 7:00pm
(by Zoom)

Present:
Tim Pogson (Chair), Bob Hodgart, Sakshika Raghav (minute), Daniel Fisher, Philip McDowell, Steve Burgess (Councillor), Stephen Benson, Liz Logie, David Wood, Joan Carter, Nick Oddy, Tommy Sheppard MP.

Agenda item	Discussion	Action
1. Welcome and Apologies	Maggie Peatield, Svetlana Repanova
2. Issues brought by members of the public	None
3. Minutes of meeting held on 13 October and matters arising	A number of amendments to the October minute were raised: Joan had raised concerns about mental health and all peripatetic support being unavailable in schools due to the pandemic; Daniel had not been able to join Local Business Framework meeting by phone; Joan felt it important that we record that the next steps in developing the tourism strategy now lie with the Council; Bob asked for clarity that we opposed most vehemently the proposed 28 day short term let licences. Bob also raised concerns regarding the 8th September minute of the discussion of the Innocent Tunnel art proposals. These were subsequently agreed. Matters arising: the unsatisfactory signage at Holyrood Park Road had not been changed. Both Cllr Burgess and Tommy Sheppard offered to take this up with authorities; there had been reference to the Community Council's planning vision which had been partly developed previously. Tim had looked this out and circulated the statement on community facilities. He would continue to consult with members on these vision statements over coming weeks.	TP
4. Councillor's report	Steve reported on the concerns the Council had over whether Edinburgh should be in Tier 3 or Tier 2 of pandemic restrictions. He also commented on the Council's commitment and progress towards tackling climate change.
5. MP's report	Tommy spoke about the UK Government's support for businesses during pandemic restrictions. Daniel commented that organisations such as his own were allowed to be open, so not eligible to seek financial support, but not to trade, so incurring costs without being able to generate income.
6. The Public Space Management Consultation	Tim summarised the key principles and proposed guidelines of the consultation. Members found the proposals to be generally positive. Tim summarised some relevant positions that the Community Council had previously proposed and suggested that these would be appropriate submissions to the consultation. This was agreed. Members made a number of additional observations: to protect the smaller community greenspaces such as Nicolson Square Gardens; that the reinvestment of income generated from event hire into the greenspace affected should be transparent; vehicles should be banned from grassed areas; event venues and temporary access roads should not limit access; licences should be issued subject to events not being promoted by flyposting. Tim will pull together these comments and circulate before submitting. There was also some discussion of barbecues but this is not within scope of this consultation.	TP
7. Reports from committees and meetings	Shop Local Campaign Briefing Daniel had attended this meeting earlier today. Resources had been discussed to promote the use of city businesses, but it was not clear that this activity would be a good route to the Community Council being able to engage better with local businesses. Daniel would circulate any useful resources from this engagement. Tim was aware of effective work that had been undertaken by Corstorphine CC in this regard. He would find out more about their activities. Dumbiedykes Action Group Daniel had attended a meeting of the above Group.	DF TP
8. Planning and Licencing Applications	Philip had alerted planning enforcement to the frontage of the new Peri Peri Chicken restaurant in South Clerk Street.
9. Southside Community-Based Organisations Audit	Following the winding up of the Dumbiedykes Residents Association, Tim asked whether members were aware of any other community-based organisations that were potentially vulnerable. Various known organisations were mentioned, for example, Carnegie Court Residents. However, no-one was specifically aware of any organsiations that were currently vulnerable. Tim asked all to remain alert to any concerns. Daniel offered to follow up on any such concerns.	All DF
10. Any other business	10.1 While updates about the Bernard Terrace zebra crossing had been received, there was still no concrete evidence of progress. Further requests for action had been made. Joan and Philip had volunteered to make deputations to the Transport and Environment Committee. It was raised that a TRO would presumably be required which would be yet another reason why progress would be delayed. This clarification should be added to the questions to Alan Dunlop. 10.2 Joan had let members know by email that the grant application to fund tree planting in Lutton Place had been unsuccessful. She asked for other funding suggestions. Daniel promised to look out information on potential sources. 10.3 David reported briefly on the work to improve the area at the rear of the Meadows east end pavilion. This would be added to the December agenda. 10.4 Bob said he would take the second place at the EACC AGM on 19 November unless any other member would be interested.	PM DF TP ALL
11. Date of next meeting	Tuesday 8th December 2020, at 7pm.