Cuts in local services have been big news recently, I’m afraid, and I’ve been working with local groups here in Leith who are worried about these.

Pilmeny Development Project

Leith Central Community Council contacted me about the funding situation facing the Pilmeny Development Project and other agencies doing youth work in the Leith area. They are worried that cuts in funding from Edinburgh’s LibDem/SNP Council will mean they will not be able to run all their youth clubs.

This is particularly serious as since the Calton Centre closed, the Pilmeny Project is the only project of its type for much of the area between Leith Walk and Easter Road. (Leith Gazette readers may remember that I urged the Council to take over the Calton Centre when the church that owned it sold it off. Unfortunately, the Council wouldn’t do this).

It’s vital that youth projects like the Pilmeny Project are able to provide activities to give young people something to do in our area. If they are forced to cut back their services, then not just young people but the entire community will lose out. I am writing to the LibDem/SNP councillors urging them to make sure that Pilmeny and other youth projects are able to keep up with their valuable work without any cutbacks.

An even younger age group in our area is also being affected by cuts planned by the City Council. The Council has announced a consultation process on the closure of Fort Primary School. This is the second time that Fort Primary has been threatened with closure in the last five years. Parents have launched a strong campaign against the closure, and I went along and supported their first campaign meeting. The reason given for the closure is falling pupil numbers. However, although it is true there will be some housing demolitions in the area over the next few years, there are also lots of plans for new housing. And overall, the numbers of primary school children in Edinburgh are set to rise dramatically over the next few years.

Local bus services

There’s some slightly better news when it comes to another public service in Leith. After a long campaign by myself and other local residents, the 13 bus is to be restored to its route through Leith to Lochend. Unfortunately, Edinburgh Council has only agreed to pay for the service to run once an hour, and it will no longer be run by Lothian Buses, which will be an inconvenience for many people. And the Council has refused to pay for the number 12 to be brought back for the section of route from Leith Links past Seafield to Portobello. We will have to keep campaigning about this!

'Seafield Stench'

Speaking of Seafield brings me to another big subject – the ongoing problems with the ‘Seafield Stench’ from the sewage works. This seems to have got worse than ever recently. We need to make sure that the improvement works planned there tackle the problem once and for all, and Scottish Water also need to make every effort to minimise the problem in the meantime. I have written to the Scottish Minister responsible in the Scottish Government, John Swinney MSP, to demand action.