Local Development Plan – Canal Festival – Royal Highland Show – MP heaps praise on Edinburgh Primary School – Today at the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling
The council’s planning committee yesterday approved the second draft Local Development Plan which is now subject to consultation for the next six weeks. There has been an angry reaction from those opposed to the plan saying that it favours the use of greenbelt land over brownfield sites.
Reacting to the outcome yesterday afternoon Colin Keir MSP for Edinburgh Western said:-
“I am deeply disappointed with the outcome of the meeting. There were a huge number of objections made on good planning grounds to the release of Greenbelt land at Maybury and Cammo from local residents. These objections have been ignored and the sites remain in the plan. There were alternatives to the course of action taken by the Capital Coalition councillors today but quite simply they did not have the gumption or backbone to make the right decision for the communities of Western Edinburgh.”
“Constituents of mine who made valid objections will be left feeling angry and ignored. Both Maybury and Cammo have been subject to planning applications recently precisely because those sites are included in the proposed plan. Those applications will not go away because of the action today. Developers wishing to develop the Greenbelt will merely be encouraged.”
“I have campaigned against development on these sites for ten years. I am not giving up the fight and will continue to object to development of these sites.”
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The Canal Festival and Raft Race is on tomorrow at Lochrin Basin.
Between 11-4 the Grove Community Garden Open Day 2014 is on as part of the festival.
A spokesperson said:-“We will showcase our successful and very intersting community garden project. As part of this we offer tours through the garden to give people the chance to understand the concept of the garden.
“After the success of Grove 1 we now have Grove 2 and this second garden is really coming on. Both gardens are green and it is as if you enter a green oasis in the middle of the city.
Here are some of the activities the organisers of the Canal Festival have planned for you! More information on the website and for the programme click here.
water-based: raft race | free boat trips | canoe polo | water walkers
wee boat flotilla | canoe taster sessions | canoe display
land-based: stalls | bouncy castles | edinburgh print makers
face painting | under 5s area | exotic animal handling | art wall
kiddies’ art corner | canal science tent | classic cars | model boats
McGills pop up hairdressing | brewing heritage of scotland
music & dance: Ayikutu | The Gorms | Bhundu Boy | Lara’s Belly Dancers
Rise Kagona and the Jit Jive Band | Kabaret Bastardo | Galoshins
Anne’s Pole Dancing Exhibition
food: Ninja Buns | Harajuku Kitchen | Alplings Dumplings | NKS Indian Cuisine
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The Edinburgh Reporter is off to the Royal Highland Show today and we hope to have photos for you later.
Here is the official what’s on today from the show organisers. You can also read more on the website.
Click to access 109450-RHS-2014-Programme-LR2.pdf
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Speaking in a major debate on Africa, Mark Lazarowicz MP stressed the role of education in offering a better life for children in the world’s poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa in particular but pointed to how young women are so often still denied even the chance of a primary education.
That’s a point highlighted to Mark recently by children from St Mary’s (Edinburgh) Primary School who delivered 300 cut out figures the pupils had produced as part of the Send My Sister to School campaign.
Commenting after the debate, Mark said:-“Education is a basic human right and yet the recent shock of the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by extremists highlighted how girls and young women especially still so often fail to get the chance of finishing even primary school.
“I was really impressed by how the letters written by the children from St Mary’s Primary School showed a genuine desire for children whose lives are so different to have the same chance children here have to an education.
“There is a vital meeting next week to decide funding for the next 4 years of the international Global Partnership for Education initiative yet the UK Government has not yet said if a Minister will be attending.
“Education should be a right not a privilege for people in the world’s poorest countries as here but without funding we won’t move closer to making that a reality.”
Progress has been made: since 1999 the number of children out of school around the world has fallen by almost by half. Yet in many countries the goal of universal completion of even primary school remains far-off and inequality of opportunity remains deep-rooted between children from rich and poor backgrounds and also between girls and boys.
In Sub-Saharan Africa for instance 30 million primary-aged children are out of school – 22% of the region’s primary school age population. 1 out of 4 girls don’t receive even a basic education and only about a quarter of those from the poorest households will complete primary school.
A crucial meeting to decide funding over the next 4 years for the Global Partnership for Education programme will take place in Brussels on 26th June. There has been a decline in recent years in external aid for education so it is important that the UK Government gives a strong lead there.
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The Edinburgh Festival of Cycling continues for another few days. Have you been along to any of the events yet?
Today this is one of the events that is on:-
Click to access SKELF-front-2014.pdf
More details on other events here.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
